Mmmmm, Chicken Pot Pie, Family Size

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People sometimes ask for my Chicken Pot Pie recipe, and like many cooks I didn't have one, so I have figured it out to the best of my ability.  Refer to my tutorial on pie crust if you don't already have a favourite.

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

4 cups of cooked chicken

4+ cups of chopped potato

3 cups of sliced carrots

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1 can of chicken broth

(I prefer homemade gravy, but since I often don't have it I substitute)

Pie crust

I am lucky enough to have potatoes and vegetable from the garden, although the potatoes I used in this post are white, and I never use white potatoes, always red.

There, they look a little more appetizing don't they?

I often use a ready cooked chicken from the grocery store, take all the meat off of it and cut it into pieces, this is what i got from one chicken.

I cook with salt, so I salted the water, cooked the carrot pieces for 10 minutes, then added the potato chunks and cooked for another 10 minutes.  Drain the vegetables before adding to the meat mixture.

Combine the two soup mixes, and then combine the chicken, gravy mixture, potatoes and carrots altogether in a 9 X 15 cake pan.

Roll out the dough so that it is bigger than your pan.

Fold it into a quarter size and cut steam vents.

Lay it into the corner of your pan and open it up to cover the top of your meat and vegetable mixture.

Roll the edges up

Bake at 400 degrees until crust is golden brown and gravy is bubbly.  Mine is a little dark on the edges because I used my small oven and that puts it fairly close to the burner

Enjoy!  

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Now to Show You my Crusty Side; How to make pie crust

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I take no credit for this recipe, I just make it the way my Mom taught me to. 

Pie Crust Recipe

5 cups all purpose flour

1 lb lard

1 tsp salt

1 cup very cold water

Mix flour with salt, cut in lard until evenly distributed and dough starts to form into a lump.  Add water and gently form into ball.

I gotta tell you I took a lot of flack from Manuel for taking pictures as I was making this, but he doesn't even know I have a blog, so he just didn't get it.  I told him I take a lot of pictures of him chopping wood, so why can't I take pictures of me baking :)

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 Yes this is how I keep my flour, a five gallon pail, what can I say, it holds a 20 lb/10 kg bag just right.  I know, there I go being fancy again, lol.  Robin Hood is my flour of choice, but I have been known to use other kinds (when I need it, and Robin Hood is not on sale.)

I generally use Tenderflake lard, but have recently used Crisco with fine results.

No, I'm not left handed, but I couldn't take a picture with my left, so I just faked it (shhh, don't tell anybody).

Okay, there we go.

I remember reading that you should cut the lard into the flour/salt mixture until it is formed into pea sized lumps.  However, I have found that if you keep cutting in the lard until it seems like it is about to come together into a lump, and then add your cold water, the crust comes out nice a short (tender).  Once you add the water you want to be very gentle with your dough and work it as little as possible.

Once you have formed your dough into one lump, let it rest for about 20 minutes.  (honestly sometimes I do this and sometimes I don't)

I usually divide this into 6 pieces, ready to roll out for pie crust, however, if I am making a large chicken pot pie (9X15 cake pan) I use 2 of the pieces, or 1/3 of this recipe.  It will make a nice thick crust.  If I cut off edges, I usually just bake them to be eaten with jam, rather than re-mold them into more crust.

Happy Baking!!!

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