Chicken Pot Pie

“OH.MY.GAH!”

So, this tiny phrase is all the rage in my house right now. Last week it was something about a “baby shark and mama shark.” I’m hoping the “bruh” phase works its way out soon. What is it about children (and my husband) taking a line from a song, movie or some YouTube sensation and beating it into the ground until I’m close to committing myself.

Snoop Dog’s “Drop it Like It’s Hot” is so deeply ingrained into my brain I wouldn’t be surprised if I sat next to you in a quiet room and you thought you heard the song playing. It’s all because of the “SNOOOoOOOP.” It was my very first year teaching middle school and this song came out around the same time. OH.MY.GAH! All I heard from morning until quitting time was “SNOOOoOOOOP!” Not to mention the mouth clicking noises. LOL. Don’t get me wrong, I love this song and you’ll find this old lady on the dance floor, droppin’ it like it’s (still) hot.

While I wait in blind anticipation for the next lyric or statement that will make me want to hide in my crawlspace, here’s some comfort in a tasty recipe.

CHICKEN POT PIE:

Your favorite double crust pie dough or try our favorite, click here!

1 1/2-2 pounds of shredded chicken (rotisserie or poach your own)

10 Yukon gold potatoes

3 tablespoons of butter or olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1-8 ounce container of crimini mushrooms, sliced

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1 teaspoon of sage

1/2 teaspoon of rosemary

1/2 teaspoon of thyme

(1/2 teaspoon of sweet curry powder would be lovely here too, optional)

1/2 cup of chicken stock 

1 can of evaporated milk

1/2 cup of flour

1 cup of frozen mixed veggies

Salt and Pepper

If you choose to use our favorite pie crust, you will want to roll out the crust to line the pie pan and for topping the pie. One pie dough and filling recipe will fill 1-9 inch pie pan. Double the pie dough recipe, keep the filling recipe the same and make 4 smaller pies built for 2. Both will feed 8 people.

Still using our favorite crust recipe? Next, par bake your bottom crust. Roll out the rest of the dough for the top and keep refrigerated until ready to use. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line the pie pans with dough. Let them rest for at least 30 minutes up to 2 days. You have to give that gluten a chance to settle down or bad things will happen. Alternatively, you can freeze the prepared pie pan and bake from frozen. When ready to bake, line the dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Par bake your crust for 15-20 minutes or until light brown. 

In the meantime, boil your potatoes until fork tender, but not mashed potato tender. This step can be done 1-2 days in advance. Once the potatoes cool, cut them into bite sized pieces.

You can pick rotisserie chicken or poach your own in about 20-25 minutes. Add your chicken to a large saucepan, cover with water and some aromatics you have on hand, bay leaves, rosemary, sage, peppercorns, chicken bouillon, etc. Bring the water to a boil until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 degrees. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes. Shred by hand or pull out the stand mixer with a paddle attachment. You will shred chicken in a matter of seconds. SERIOUS, I do it all the time. THANK YOU INTERNET!

Now, it’s time to work on the filling. Melt butter or olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat, add the onions and mushrooms and cook until soft, about 5-6 minutes.

Toss in the flour, herbs and stir for about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of chicken stock, stirring constantly until it starts to thicken. Slowly stir int the can of evaporated milk and stir until thickened. Remove the pan from the heat and add the shredded chicken, cut potatoes and frozen vegetables. 

Use the chicken mixture to fill up your large pie pan or 4 small pie pans with the par baked crust. Cover with the raw pie dough.

Before the egg wash, you could stick these pies in the freezer and when frozen, wrap tightly with plastic wrap for up to a month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake per instructions. Whisk together 1 egg and a touch of water. Brush the tops of the dough with the egg wash.

Bake your pie until the filling is bubbly and the crust is a gorgeous golden brown, about 35-40 minutes.  I would suggest putting the pies on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to avoid any potential messy bubbly overages. Save yourself for a quick clean up. 

If the tops of the pies start to brown more than you would like, simply cover them loosely with foil while they finish up baking. It’s also a good idea to keep an oven themometer in your oven to ensure proper oven temps.

Let the pies cool for 5-10 minutes before breaking into one or say hello to the roof of your mouth, you’ll be friends for the next couple days.