Chicken Pot Pie

This past weekend, per my daughter Kate's instructions (read: pleading), I made this little dish. I had just stocked the house with groceries, but the one ingredient I was missing was organic chicken broth. Luckily, David volunteered to go get some while I started pulling out the other ingredients. Pot pies aren't hard to make, they just take a few extra steps. You can make double or single crust, deep dish or regular, with vegetables or without.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 1/2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (instructions below)
2 tablespoons butter OR 1-2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn...)
2 prepared pie crusts or homemade (instructions below)

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Make and/or assemble pie crusts for a 9-inch pie pan.

2. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter or canola oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently until tender. Stir in flour, salt and garlic powder until well blended. Gradually stir in broth, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

3. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust and seal edges. Cut slits in several places in top crust. Remember: You can opt to only use pie crust as a topper. Simply fill pan or dish with mixture and top with crust.

4. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Chicken Breasts

2 lbs. (approximately 2-3) chicken breasts
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Coat chicken breasts with olive oil (approximately 1-2 tsp. per breast) and salt and pepper to taste.

3. Bake for 20 minutes.

4. Remove from oven and let cool before shredding.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup Crisco
6 tablespoons of cold water plus 5 additional tablespoons as needed.

1. Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl.

2. Cut in the shortening with your fingers or a pastry cutter, until the pieces are the size of small peas.

3. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons water over the flour, and gently toss with a fork. Push the flour to the sides of the bowl, add the remaining cold water, and mix until all is moistened and combined.

4. Divide the dough in half, and form each half into balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Photo: flickr.com