Chicken Pot Pie

I went to a Farmer's Market today and picked up tons of locally grown organic veggies and fruits. I had some chicken thawing in the fridge so when I got home I decided to make a chicken pot pie. I adapted my recipe from my mom's America's Test Kitchen cook book. Basically I subbed fresh green beans for the frozen peas. (I also added a handful or 1/2 cup of frozen mixed veggies, to make up for the peas). I didn't have any sherry on hand or heavy cream, so I improvised and increased the chicken broth and used some half and half. The filling was so yummy, but not thick enough. Next time I will increase the flour to 1/3 cup and let it cook and simmer a minute longer before I start whisking in the liquids. I used the recipe for a single crust pie dough, but refrigerated pie crust could be an easy substitute. I didn't have any on hand, so I made one. Its really easy to make a great crust in a snap. This was yummy. Carl is not a fan of comfort food, but I am. He just has to suck it up and eat it sometimes, since I do all the cooking. Tonight, he had seconds...so I know it passed his test.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 Tbsp butter
2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 ribs celery, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 small red onion, minced
2 garlic cloves (I used frozen pureed garlic)
1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp fresh minced
1/4 cup flour (Id increase it to 1/3 cup)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup half & half or heavy cream
pepper
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed
1 Tbsp dried parsley, or 2 Tbsp fresh chopped
1 Single Crust Pie Dough (recipe below)

If making the pie crust, make it first and let it chill for at least an hour while you make the pie filling.

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, plus extra for rolling out the dough
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp shortening, cut into 1/2 inch pieces and chilled
4 Tbsp butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces and chilled
4-5 Tbsp ice water

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter. Once it is like course crumbs, cut in the butter. Using a wooden spoon, add 1 Tbsp water at a time and mix vigorously until the dough begins to come together...about 4 Tbsp of water or more. When the dough just comes together in a ball, press it together tightly and wrap with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least an hour. When ready to use, let sit out for 15 minutes to soften before rolling out.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large dutch oven, melt and butter over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onion and 1/4 tsp salt and cook until softened, about 7 minutes.

Stir in the garlic and thyme and cook until just fragrant, about 15 seconds. Stir in the flour. Slowly stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth, scraping up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan, deglazing the pan. Stir in the rest of the broth, the half & half. Simmer until the mixture is thickened, about 10-15 minutes.

Stir in the green beans and parsley. Cook for another minute. Pour the mixture into a pie dish or a small casserole dish.

Roll out the pie dough into a 10 inch circle and place on top of the filling. Trim the edges. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is hot and bubbly..about 20-25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.