Whenever September hits, I start thinking ahead about the holidays and all the festivities that come along with it.  I start dreaming about the cold winter air, which doesn’t hit California until November, but usually lasts us until the following Spring.  Then I start craving hot soups and belly warming foods like Chicken Pot Pie!  It makes the kitchen smell sooo good too.

With the help of store bought pie crusts and rotisserie chicken, this time-consuming recipe can be turned into an easy one for cooks short on time, like moi!  You can add your own spices to the filling to make it your own, but this is a great base recipe.  I’ve been known to add curry powder to mine for some Curried Pot Pie.  Yum.

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Serves: 8

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken, stripped from bones
1 cup frozen carrots
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen white corn
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup chopped onion
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cup milk
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts (I love the ones from Trader Joe’s)
Egg Wash* (optional)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, then blanch the corn, peas, and carrots.  Drain.  (Shortcut: Microwave the corn, peas, and carrots with a TBSP of water for 1 minute)
  3. Combine chicken and vegetables in a large bowl and set aside.
  4. In another saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed.  Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk.  Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
  5. Combine sauce with chicken and vegetable mixture.  Pour mixture in bottom pie crust.  Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough.  Brush on egg wash*, if desired.
  6. Make several small slits on the top to allow steam to escape.
  7. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes.  Cool for 10 min before serving.

*Note: to get a beautiful golden crust, brush a thin layer of egg wash right before baking.  There are a few variations to making an egg wash, but I chose to whisk together 1 whole egg and 1 tablespoon milk.

Adapted from: Chicken Pot Pie IX from AllRecipes.