CHICKEN POT PIE

Chicken pot pie is a wonderful comfort food.  It is a great dish because you can include whatever vegetables your family enjoys the most or leave out the vegetables all together if that is your preference.  It freezes well, though I have found that I like to freeze the filling in a Ziploc bag and then when I am ready to use it, I just have to thaw that out.  I put the thawed filling into a fresh crust before baking.  Treat your family to this delicious recipe!

Ingredients:  Adjust ingredient amounts to taste or if using a square pyrex dish or a round pie dish.  

6 chicken breasts (or 1 whole chicken, cut up)

2 large stalks celery (cut in half)

1 medium onion (quartered)

salt

Vegetables of your choice:  2 cups total

* I use chopped broccoli but the more classic choices are cubed, cooked potatoes, small slices (or shredded) carrots, or frozen green peas.

2 cans of undiluted cream of chicken soup

(or 1 can cream of chicken and 1 can cream of celery)

black pepper

2 Pillsbury pie crusts (or just a top crust if you prefer)

(I use the crusts that are not frozen but are flat then rolled up and are sold with the other Pillsbury products-such as biscuits-in the grocery store).  Use homemade pie crusts if you prefer.

1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Instructions:

*Place chicken in a pot of water with the celery, onion and salt and boil until tender. 

*Debone chicken; strain and save broth.  Cut chicken in to bite size pieces.  

*In a large mixing bowl gently combine the soups, cooked chicken, vegetables of choice and pepper.  Add more salt and approximately 1 cup (or more) of strained broth.

*Line a 9 x 11 pyrex baking dish with a pastry (roll it out a bit to make it more rectangular).

*Fill with chicken mixture.

*  Cover with another pastry (also rolled out).  Crease 2 pastries together all around the edges.  Make air vent holes all across the surface of the pie with a knife point.  

*Brush egg wash (a beaten egg with a bit of water or milk) over the surface of the pie.

*Bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes or until pie is brown and bubbly.  It may be necessary to tent aluminum foil over the top of the pie during the baking process if it becomes too brown before the pie is done.