Chicken Pot Pie

I'm always looking for comfort foods that don't rely on canned creamed soups, and this one is fantastic. I generally use chicken for this, but it's also a great way to use up your turkey leftovers.

Prep time is 30 minutes, bake time is 30 minutes, cool time is 10 minutes. You'll need to prepare a pie crust in advance, so that's an extra 20 minutes for a total of an hour and a half. It's worth it.

2 cups cooked, chopped chicken (or turkey)
6 medium carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 can corn, peas or green beans (optional)
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

In a saucepan, combine carrots and celery. Cover with water and boil 15 minutes or until tender.

 (Don't throw away your celery and carrot scraps! Put them in a zip top bag and put them in the freezer. Each time you have vegetable scraps from cooking, including onion, garlic, carrot, celery, lettuce, leeks, whatever, add them to the bag. When the bag is full, use them to make your own vegetable broth!)


Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine onion and butter. Saute until onions are translucent. Add flour, salt, pepper and oregano and stir well. Add broth and milk. Simmer over medium high heat until thickened. This might take as long as 10 minutes. Don't be hasty, thick sauce is worth the time.

I was trying to show you how thick I like it.. it's an action shot.

Drain vegetables. In a large bowl, combine chicken or turkey, carrots, celery and canned vegetables, if using. (Only use one can, though, or you risk overflowing your pie pan.) Dump them into the prepared pie crust.

Pour the sauce over the veggies and meat. I stir it in a little bit, too.

Top with the second pie crust. Cut several slits on top and seal the edges.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is nice and brown. Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before serving. Longer lets the sauce thicken up a little so it isn't as runny all over your plate.

So nice on a cold evening! Enjoy!