Pot Pie

Last night, I made a chicken pot pie with the most delicious gravy. The chicken was all-dark meat leftovers from a bird that I slow-cooked on Sunday. Add in a couple carrots, some celery and whip up some gravy, and you got yourself a good meal (with leftovers!) Sometimes I get really excited about a dish and try to capture it for posterity's sake; this was such a meal. After the lady friend and I ate our fill, I snapped this shot.


Try it out.

Filling:
1 lb. of dark meat leftovers
1 c chopped carrots
1 c frozen peas
1 c chopped celery
1/2 of an onion, chopped

Gravy:
5 tbsp butter
1/2 onion, diced
1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp salt
1 3/4 cup of chicken broth (dissolve a cube of boullion for concentrated chickenness)
2/3 cup milk, at room temperature

Other:
2 pie crusts
additional chicken broth (to cover veggies while cooking)

To cook the filling:
put carrots, peas, and celery in a saucepan and cover with the additional broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for 5 more minutes. Drain, set aside. Meanwhile, prep the bottom crust by pre-baking in a 425 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.


For the gravy:
melt the butter over med heat and add the onions. Cook until translucent. Add the flour, salt and pepper and stir. Slowly stir in the milk and broth, allowing the flour mix to soak up as much liquid as possible. Finally, once all the milk and broth are incorporated, simmer over slightly reduced heat until thick, stirring occasionally to keep the mix from sticking to the bottom of the pan.

This got poured over the pot pie, but it would go just as well over mashed potatoes, chicken fried steak or fresh biscuits (add in browned ground sausage for that "clog the arteries" goodness).


Put it all together:
put the filling in the pre-baked crust, and pour the gravy mix over the top. carefully place the second crust over the mix and crimp down the edges. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let it sit a few minutes before serving, then enjoy!

-jaf