Cozy Chicken Pot Pie

By: Heather from Modern Mouthful

When it's cold outside, there is nothing more comforting than a delicious recipe for chicken pot pie that will have you eating bite after bite. Our wonderful Cozy Chicken Pot Pie is a wholesome supper that the family will love. Easy to make and loaded with pot pie goodness, it's a recipe that you'll look forward to on a brisk day. A simplified chicken pit pie recipe, it's a hearty meal that will have you cleaning off your plate so you don't miss a single bite.

Ingredients

1 rotisserie chicken, meat picked off (best if you remove the skin) then chopped into 1-inch chunks
1 box (2 rolls) roll-out pie crust (I use Pillsbury but store brand is fine), thawed to room temp
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 whole carrot, diced to 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cup chopped potatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
2 of something
whole garlic cloves
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 cup half-and-half or cream (can substitute with more milk instead)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Spray bottom of deep-dish pie pan then roll in the first pie crust. Try to make sure the edges come up over the sides of your dish or the whole crust will shrink when you cook it.
Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork a few times to vent then bake for about 10 minutes, until just getting golden. Remove and let cool.
Heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a saucepan or dutch oven then add carrots, celery, onions and potatoes – season with salt and pepper.
Cook about 8 minutes on medium meat until browned and onions are translucent. Add in 1/2 cup chicken stock then simmer for 5 minutes more.
Add remaining butter to the vegetable and stock mixture and allow to melt. Now add the flour to the stock you haven’t yet added and whisk until smooth – this will prevent lumps. Add flour-stock mixture to vegetable mix then bring back to a simmer. Stir in milk and cream/half-and-half – add more salt and pepper if desired.
Bring back to a simmer over medium heat (don’t boil!) and let cook about 10-15 minutes or until it thickens slightly. The mixture should coat your spoon but shouldn’t quite be the consistency of pudding. You don’t want it to be too goopy but if it seems thin simply add about a tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in hot water to the mix. If it’s too thick just add more milk.
Remove the pot from heat and add peas and chopped chicken. Let sit about 2 minutes to set. Pour mixture into pie dish then cover with the second pie crust, careful to press the top crust down over the sides of the dish fully. Slit crust a few times to vent then brush with extra cream, melted butter or a beaten egg, whatever’s easiest.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until crust is fully browned. Remove from oven and let sit at least 8-10 minutes so filling can set a bit before you serve.