Let's talk CHICKEN POT PIE

Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Last week I made a really good roasted chicken dinner with veggies [ click HERE to see that post ]... The point of both of these post was to show you how you can get 2 GOOD meals with a $5.00 chicken. Its crazy. I am not a frugal girl but I am starting to try to save a little money with groceries and thought this was a prime example of how to stretch a dollar!

In the other post, at the end you will see that I took the left over chicken off the bones and saved the veggies.

So lets get started.. This post, like the other one is very pic heavy so just hang in there with me, I wanted to show you guys step by step!

Ohh.. I also had to take out the veggies out of the frig and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes so the broth would be easier to work with.


Here is basically everything I am using..

I left a few things out but we will talk about that in a few.


Here is the left over chicken and veggies.


For this chicken pot pie I am using just a couple of Pillsbury Pie Crust. You could just use one and use puff pastry on the top but I was going for something easy. Since there were 2 pie crust in this box.. I thought it was perfect.


You need to sit them out at room temp for about 15-20 so they soften.



Then take one and line a pie dish. It doesn't have to be perfect, just get it in there!

Next, I took the left over veggies and


strained them.

I didn't break anything fancy out to do this. Just a colander and a small little casserole dish.



We will be using the left over broth to use in the roux mixture.

A roux is a flour paste that will thicken a sauce. We spent MONTHS on sauces in cooking school and this is one of the first things we learned. I know, from emails, that some of you think this is rather hard.. Its not.. I am not using exact measurements.. But I will do my best to explain how much I am using.


Here is basically the ingredients for the roux. Butter, flour, and Milk. I like heavy cream because its more rich and has a better taste.


Take either 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter and melt in a sauce pan.

Add the about 4-5 tablespoons of flour


stir.

You need to have the heat on medium high and cook that roux for a few minutes. Keep stirring because it will burn. You will want to cook it because if you don't it will taste like flour. While it is almost done, it will start to smell nutty.

At that point, remove it from the hot burner and



pour in about 1 cup of the left over broth or any other broth you have in the house.



whisk it into the roux.

Put back on low heat and let it cook for about 1 minute and then



add about 1 1/2 cups of milk and


whisk it in.


Now, bring it to a boil. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM IT. Keep whisking. When it starts to boil it will be at the thickest it will be. This is the time to add more milk if needed or if you need to add a little more flour add it by the teaspoon.

What you are going to want is for it to


coat the back of a spoon. Once it is to this point, sit it aside.

In the mean time, I also put a cup or so of frozen peas in a


bowl to thaw.

Now on to the left over veggies..



Start picking through them and


and dice them up. Even the onions.

Then take the


left over chicken and


run your knife through it. As you can see, it's a mixture of white and dark meat. I should say at this point, I don't normally eat dark meat chicken. But with this meal, you won't notice a difference with the sauce.

One the chicken and veggies are diced up, start adding them to the roux.



Chicken first..


mix

Then the


peas and last add the


cooked veggies and don't stir them in but fold them in.

 You add the cooked veggies last because if you mix them too hard they will just break up.


To fold, you come up one side with your spoon and gently bring it over the top. Do this a few times and its all gets mixed up super easy.


And here is the chicken pot pie filling.. Pretty easy huh!?

Also at this point,


TASTE IT. ( A lot of people skip this step ) but see if it needs anything.

For me, I thought it needed a little extra


salt and pepper.

Then add the entire pot of chicken pot pie filling to your


pie crust.

Pat it down


with the back of a spoon.

Then I put a little flour on


on your board and find a pretty little



cookie cutter if you have one. Since its fall, I picked out this little leaf.



Dip in the flour and


sit it aside.


Roll out your pie crust over the flour


and in the middle stamp out your cookie cuter


as you can see most of the time it will stay in the cutter but its better to gently


push it through and sit it to the side again.

Then add your pie crust to the top of the chicken pot pie and try


to make sure your cut out area



in the middle.

Then start to



crimp the side or you can use a fork to crimp it.

 Either way works fine.

I didn't really work too hard at the crimping. This is homemade and I don't mind it looking so!

Then make an egg wash.


Just an egg and a little milk or heavy cream ( tablespoon or so )


mix and then


brush it the top with the mixture

It will help give it a beautiful color.

Next add a little egg wash to your


cut out and


add it in a cute way to the top.

In the oven it goes,


at 450 for about 30-40 minutes.


After about 20 minutes I checked on it and


it was cooking right as it should! Still a few minutes to go!

And here it is..


finished!!

Doesn't the cute leaf look


cute!?

A little heart would have also been cute too!

And you can see the egg wash


helped it brown up nicely.

Also I wanted to point out,


I used a deep dish for this.

You could use a regular one but for a dinner pie I think deep dish is better!


And from this picture you can really see inside the pie..

Yummmmm!!!!!


Getting the first piece out is never easy! But it sure



tasted amazing!

Husby had 2 plates last night and today we both finished up the left overs for lunch.

Really Really Good!!!!!!!!!

See how far that $ 5.00 chicken went! I am telling you, if you have a family to feed there are so many ways to do that without spending a ton of money.

Let me know if you want to see more frugal recipes!!

I didn't sacrifice taste AT ALL.

2 amazing meals!!

~ Also going to link up this post with the other roasted chicken post so you have them both in one place, as I did on here! ~

K Jaggers
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