The Best Chicken Pot Pie

What can I say.. This is comfort food..

This is an old family recipe.....Well at least that is what my Grandma said when she taught me how to make it.

Now I get to share it with you.

There are a couple ways to go about this. You can make your own crust or buy the already made crust from the store. If you decide to buy your crust, go ahead and skip to step 4. Making the filling.

But if your like me and prefer to make  your own, your going to need the following ingredients.

2 1/4 cup AP(all purpose) flour
2 Teaspoons Salt
1 teaspoon Sugar
10 Tablespoons cold butter
5 Tablespoons cold shortening
2 Eggs
1 1/4 cup cold water

In a bowl, your going to mix together the flour, salt and sugar.

Then cut the cold butter and cold shortening into smaller pieces and place them in the flour mix.

Start cutting the cold butter and cold shortening using either a couple of butter knives or a pastry blender. You don't want the pieces to big or to small. They should be about the size of small pebbles. Then place the mix in the fridge for about 10-20 min to chill it.

While the mix is in the fridge, take the 2 eggs and 1 1/4 cup of water and mix those together.

After you take the flour/butter mix from the fridge, your going to start adding the water. Add 1 tablespoon at a time until the mix will stick together. You want it to stick together, but not be wet.

Save the extra egg & water mix for later.

Split the dough in half and make 2 balls. Flatten them a little, wrap them in some wax paper or plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for about 20-30 min.

I sometimes make the dough a couple of days ahead. It will stay good in the fridge for about a week.

Flour your surface lightly and roll out the dough to about 1/8" thick. you want to make the dough slightly larger than your dish.

I made a mistake and did not have anymore pie tins so I used a deep baking dish. I had to cut the dough to shape which took a little longer, but it seemed to work out fine.

You can also make individual pies in small tins.

Place this in the fridge while you make the filling.

Your going to need to following for the filling.

1 pound boneless and skinless chicken
1 cup celery (optional)
1/4 cup peas (optional)
1/2 cup diced carrots (optional)
1 to 2 pealed and diced potatoes (optional)
1/2 small onion
1/3 cup butter
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 to 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth (can or bouillon)

For the peas and carrots I used a small can of mixed peas and carrots. Sorry I forgot the potatoes in the picture.

Dice the chicken into small cubes. Put it in a pot and add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring the pot to a boil then add the vegetables that you decided to use. Cook for about 15 min then drain the water.

While the chicken is cooking, melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium heat. Add the onions and cook them till they become somewhat clear.

Add the flour and stir till it incorporates with the butter and then add the cream. Mix it well.

Next add the chicken broth and keep cooking over medium heat until it thickens and looks more like gravy.

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Take your crust from the fridge and use the egg / water mix to brush the bottom and sides of the crust.

Spoon in the chicken and vegetable mix into the crust and the pour the gravy on top. You may have some extra gravy and thats fine. You can pour some on top when you serve it.

Put the top crust on, crimp the edge, brush with the egg / water mix and cut some slits on top to let the steam escape.

I usually place a cookie sheet underneath in case it spills out.

Put it in the oven for 45 min. When done take it out and let it cool for about 10-15 min.