Surprise Gift for Readers

http://www.pepperidgefarm.com/

Well, despite problems with Blogger all day yesterday, I am committed to keeping my word, but perhaps a little later in the day than expected.  So, here it is: my surprise gift for you each.

This is a family favorite of ours, something I can always count on my picky daughter asking for more, each bite.  And, almost every time I have made this for guests or taken it to a family, people ask for the recipe.  I have sent it to a handful of friends privately, but have never posted it publicly...until now.

When Dave and I first married, we loved to have a Pepperidge Farm Chicken Pot Pie on occasion.  Then, one day, I read a Yahoo article implicating this very dinner meal as one of the most unhealthy things you could buy in the frozen foods section.  You see, I always thought one pie was a single serving, but it is actually two servings...so, if I remember correctly, that amounted to over 60 grams of fat in my dinner.  I think that is a day's worth of fat?  :/  So, I told Dave that I had to learn how to make a Homemade Chicken Pot Pie.  I finally did my research a couple of years ago, and the following is what I came up with for our family...

Amber's Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

INSTRUCTIONS

1.  If your oven takes a while to heat up, preheat it to 375 degrees F; otherwise, wait until you are on the last two steps.

2.  Boil 1 - 1.5 lbs. of chicken breasts until no longer pink.  I turn the water to high, until it starts to boil, and then I turn it down, so that the chicken cooks only on medium heat and will not dry out. 

3.  Add 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic (so tasty and SO good for you), 1/2 cup chopped onion, and 1/2 cup sliced celery to a heavy saucepan.

4.  Saute these with 1/3 cup real butter (please no margarine, folks; it's just not natural), until soft.

5.  Stir in 1/3 cup all-purpose flour.  (You may use a good wheat flour, if you prefer that taste...Dave prefers white flour in this recipe.)  Add 1/2 teaspoon salt (preferably Sea Salt or Himalayan Pink Salt), 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon celery seed (important.)  Mix ingredients gently...

6.  Slowly stir in 1 3/4 cups of chicken broth and 2/3 cup raw milk.  (Check on chicken.)

7.  Add 1 bag of mixed vegetables.  I used to use the Birds Eye® Steamfresh® Mixed Vegetables 12 oz. bag, which will work just fine.  But, since we've started eating more organically, I've come to love the 16 oz. bag of Mixed Vegetables by Cascadian Farm.  Either will suffice...however, I do love the little square carrot pieces in the organic bag!  :D  Now, people, it is okay to use frozen vegetables...sometimes they retain more nutrients than even fresh vegetables.  :)  You can certainly chop up your own mix, but using the bag cuts out a lot of time and footwork for me.

8.  Simmer all of this over medium-low heat until mixture thickens a bit.

9.  Chop your cooked chicken into small chunks or shred it into pieces, whichever texture you prefer, and add to the saucepan.  You may also like to add 1/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese at this time -- yummy, but optional.  Mix well and turn off stove top.

 

10.  Now, you are ready to form one of the pie crust dough pieces into the bottom of your baking dish.  I use the refrigerated pie crusts by Pillsbury®.  (You'll find these near the refrigerated biscuits, cinnamon rolls, and ready-made cookie dough.)  I know, shouldn't I be making my own pie crust?  Yes, I most certainly should....and one day when I have a nice food processor, I will do just that.  :)  I use my lovely deep dish pie stone, from the Pampered Chef, but you may use any round, deep dish bakeware; I even used to use the square 9x9 CorningWare baking dish that my Nana gave to me years ago.  It was a little awkward to form the dough around, but I managed.  :)  FYI, a regular pie dish will be too shallow...and a 9x13 dish will be too long, for this recipe, at least.

11.  Place the chicken mixture evenly into the bottom pie crust.  Make sure oven is preheating...

12.  Cover with the top pie crust dough piece, and seal and shape extra dough around the edges.  I just do pinches, all the way around, with my index fingers and thumbs on each hand, together.

13.  Make several small slits in the top of dough to allow the steam to escape. 
(I use a fork and make holes.)

14.  Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  I put a cookie sheet underneath it, as it bakes, because sometimes the juices will bubble over and spill out.

15.  You may brush the top with melted butter or egg whites, for shiny presentation, five minutes before finished baking.  Cool for 10 minutes, at least, before serving.

We enjoy fresh cracked pepper with ours...  I hope you might give this recipe a try -- please let me know if you do so! :o)

Dinner is served!  Delicious!

Amber's Homemade Chicken Pot Pie (condensed recipe)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 - 1.5 pound chicken breasts (boneless, skinless) - cubed/shredded (usu. 2 breasts)
• 1 bag mixed vegetables (16 oz. by Cascadian Farm)
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2-3 large garlic cloves (chopped small or minced)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (Himalayan Pink Salt or Sea Salt)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 3/4 cups organic chicken broth
•  2/3 cup raw milk
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesean cheese (opt.)
•  2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts (Pillsbury® 15 oz. box refrigerated pie crusts)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Boil chicken breasts until no longer pink.  (Let cool on cutting board / mat, when done.)
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook garlic, celery, and onions in butter until soft.  
4. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. 
5. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk.  
6. Add mixed vegetables.  Simmer over medium-low heat until thick.
7. Cube or shred chicken breasts.
8. Add chicken and parmesean (opt.) to sauce mixture on stove.  Mix well.  Turn off stovetop.
9. Form one of the pie crust doughs in the bottom of baking dish (square or round -- not 9x13.  A regular pie dish may be too shallow.  I use my deep dish pie stone by Pampered Chef.)
10. Place the chicken mixture evenly in bottom pie crust. 
11. Cover with top crust, seal and shape extra dough around edges. 
12. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.  (I use a fork and make holes.)
13. Bake in the preheated oven (on a cookie sheet, in the case of overflow) for 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly.    
14. You may brush the top with melted butter or egg whites, for shiny presentation, five minutes before finished baking.  
15. Cool for 10 minutes, at least, before serving. Serve with fresh cracked pepper!   :~D  Yummy!