Chicken Pot Pie

To me, nothing is more perfect on a chilly fall evening than a nice warm dinner.  And of course, chicken pot pie is the mother of all comfort foods.

But...nobody every said it was particularly photogenic.  Then again, when it tastes that good...no one ever said it needed to be.  I did the best I could, and I think that if you're a fan, these pictures will look delicious to you.

If not...well.  Sloppy may or may not be fitting here.  Anyway.

I worked for years in a restaurant where chicken pot pie was our top seller.  But at the time (10lb ago, but who's counting?), I had an unfair bias against gravy and anything remotely resembling gravy.  I'm still not sure if what holds this masterpiece together would be considered "gravy" per se...but I no longer care.  Because I actually tried it.

And it was good.

Chicken Pot Pie

(adapted from allrecipes)

1lb chicken breasts, cut into smallish pieces

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup diced onion

1/3 cup unsalted butter

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp celery seed

1 3/4 cup chicken broth

2/3 cup milk

2 unbaked 9 inch pie crusts

Preheat the oven to 425.

Place chicken, carrots, celery, and peas into a medium/large pot.  Cover (just barely) with water.  Boil for 15 minutes, uncovered.  Drain off the water (you can use this as your chicken broth in the recipe if you desire) and set aside.

In a medium sauce pan, place butter and diced onion over medium heat.  Stir until butter is melted and onion in translucent.  Add flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed.  Stir to mix and cook for a minute or two, reducing heat to medium/low.  Add in chicken broth and milk.  Simmer over medium/low heat until thickened (it will coat the back of a spoon when it's ready).  

Place one pie crust in the bottom of the pie pan.  Add chicken mixture.  Pour sauce over top.  Place second crust over the top of the pie, trimming the edges and pinching the two pie shells together.  Cute a few slits in the top and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Allow to cool on a wire rack about 10-15 minutes before serving.