I grew up in a home where Pot Pies were not even heard of. I honestly had no idea there was such a thing until I started seeing little ones, frozen in the grocery stores. Since I have a negative thing about frozen entrees, I never even tried one.
It wasn’t until I was in my late 30’s that a very wonderful lady from our church introduced me to a true homemade, family size Pot Pie, and I LOVED it. However, I didn’t start making my own until about 10 years ago. Since then, Pot Pies have become a regular at our home. I am partial to the Chicken Pot Pie and my Husband’s favorite is the Beef Pot Pie. While they are not a quick meal, they are so very worth the effort.
I make my own crust (which I have included here), but I hear there are some very good alternatives in your local stores dairy case to save time.
While these recipes are large and can serve a family of 6, they can easily be cut in half or just make the full recipe and freeze half for another day. Another trick we did at the restaurant was to make the filling and then bake small soup bowl size pastries out of the savory pie dough. Then we would heat the filling through and serve a bowl of it topped with the bowl size pie pastry. It’s much faster and tastes just as wonderful. Whatever makes you happy and stresses you less is the way to go.
Savory Pie Crust
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cold Butter, shredded
1/2 cup plus 2 T ice cold water
Blend well and shape into 2 flat discs. Wrap each in plastic wrap and chill for at least one hour. Roll each disc out on a lightly floured surface. Line a 4 quart dish with one and save the second for the top.
Chicken Pot Pie Filling
1 1/2 pound Chicken Breast – cut in 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 cup Onion – diced
1/2 cup Carrots – sliced
6 Baby Red Potatoes – cut in 8ths
1/4 cup fresh Parsley – chopped
1/3 cup White Wine or White Wine Vinegar
3 T Olive Oil
1 Cup Heavy Cream
2 Cups plus 3 T Chicken Stock
2 T Lemon Juice
4 T Flour
Dash Salt and Pepper
1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
3/4 cup Frozen Peas
Place potatoes in a small pan and cover with the chicken stock. Cook just until the potatoes are tender but not mushy. When done, lift potatoes out of stock and add them to the cooked chicken. Keep stock.
While potatoes cook, in a large fry pan cook Chicken pieces in 2 T of Olive oil until cooked through. Place in large bowl, cover and set aside. Cook Onions in 1 T Olive oil until clear. Add carrots and cook for another minute. Remove from heat and place in bowl with chicken. Deglaze pan with white wine, scrapping up bits from bottom of pan. In deglazed fry pan add chicken stock, cream, dry herbs, fresh parsley and lemon juice. Also add the liquid from the bottom of the chicken and vegetables bowl. In small dish, blend the 3 T chicken stock with the 4 T flour, then blend that into the liquids in the fry pan. Add 1/2 tsp Kitchen Bouquet and whisk it all over medium heat until thick. Add in the potatoes, meat and vegetables (including the frozen peas). Stir well.
Pour into your prepared pie crust. Top with a second pie crust and brush with an egg wash (1 egg and 2 T water whisked together). Bake at 375 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.
Beef Pot Pie Filling
1 1/2 pounds Beef Sirloin – cut in 1 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups Onion – diced
1/2 cup Carrots – sliced
6 Baby Red Potatoes – cut in 8ths
1/4 cup Fresh Parsley – chopped
1/3 cup Red Wine or Red Wine Vinegar
3 T Olive Oil
1 cup Heavy Cream
2 cups Plus 3 T Beef Stock
2 T Lemon Juice
4 T Flour
Dash Salt and Pepper
1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
3/4 cup Frozen Peas
All of the directions are exactly the same as the Chicken Pot Pie recipe.
I hope you enjoy these as much as we do.