Chicken Potpie

When I was growing up, mom would occasionally buy the chicken and beef frozen potpies. My brothers and I thought they were so good, and I remember the flaky crust. Plus, we each got our own (I remember being very excited). Then, she stopped purchasing the potpies.... When I tried them again years later, I was very disappointed to find the potpies didn't live up to my expectations for taste, flakiness, or filling!

Well, I got up the courage to try a homemade chicken potpie, and it is definitely a keeper recipe. My whole family liked the flavor, filling, and flaky crust. The smell of the potpie baking brought all the kids into the kitchen at some point.

This recipe makes two pies. You can bake one and freeze one; or bake both, if you need more than six adult servings. The first time I made the recipe, I cut it in half because I didn't want to have extra, if it was a flop. This week, I made the full recipe and put one in the freezer. I'll update later to let you know if the frozen pie bakes up as nice.

TIP: You may want to bake the pie on a cookie sheet to catch drips. The first pie dribbled over the pie plate quite a bit and would have caused a burnt mess in the oven. The second batch was fine (which is good, because I forgot to put a cookie sheet under it!).

CHICKEN POTPIE
Yield: 12 Servings
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

INGREDIENTS
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1 3/4 cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup butter or margarine
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
4 pastry crusts for a 9 inch pie (2 crusts per pie)

DIRECTIONS
1. Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, saute onion in butter. Whisk in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended.

3. Gradually whisk in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat.


4. Line two 9-in. pie plates with bottom pastry. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture.

5. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies. Place over filling; pinch the edges of the bottom and top crusts together. Cut slits in top pastry to release steam. Cover the edge of the crust with foil to prevent over-browning.

6. Bake at 425 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Remove the foil in the last 15 minutes of baking to let the edges brown. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting (I did skimp on the ‘sitting still’ time).

We were all so hungry, I forgot to take a picture of a serving on a plate! We just dished up, prayed and ate. The crust is wonderfully flaky and the flavor is comforting. I'll definitely be adding this to the recipe list. For our family it's a 5 star recipe.

FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS: Cover the potpie with plastic wrap and then foil. Label the potpie and include baking instructions on the label.

BAKING THE FROZEN PIE: Cover the crust edges with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees F; bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.