Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie.  You know, the individual serving kind you buy for 50 cents out of the freezer section.  For anyone who knows my husband, it will not come as a surprise to find out Chris does not love frozen chicken pot pie.  I tried several times to find a good recipe online for homemade pot pie and only got frustrated, as most of them call for frozen bagged veggies and store-bought dough.

My wonderful grandma gave me a cookbook for a wedding gift (3 1/2 years ago!).  I found a recipe that finally called for fresh ingredients, but it only called for steak and potatoes with a single crust on top.  No matter!  I adapted it our tastes, and we love it!

Recipe:

3/4 cup diced onions
vegetable oil for cooking
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch allspice
pinch ginger
1 lb chicken, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 1/4 cups boiling water
3 small potatoes, peeled and diced
4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced
3-4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
2 crust pie recipe

In a large skillet, saute the onions in 2 Tbs oil until golden.  In a plastic bag, combine dry ingredients; add meat and shake to coat.  In the same skillet, cook meat until no longer pink.  Add boiling water; cover and simmer until meat is tender, about 45 minutes.  Add veggies; simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, or until tender.  Roll pastry onto bottom of an 8x8 or 10x10 baking dish.  Pour into dish and roll pastry onto top; seal to edges.  Bake at 450 for 25 minutes.

Pie Crust (both my mother and mother-in-law use this recipe, so I think it's the best one around!)

2 cups flour (or a bit more)
1 tsp salt
1/2-3/4 cup crisco (this is a case of less is more; too much and the crust will tear easily while rolling out)
7-8 Tbs cold water

In medium bowl, stir flour and salt with fork.  Cut in shortening until coarse crumbles form.  Sprinkle in cold water, mixing with for until the mixture holds together.  Shape into ball and divide in half.  Roll out on floured surface.

This is just about the most involved recipe I have.  It's not "hard", it just takes about 2 hours from starting prep until it's on the table, so if you work during the day, this would work much better on the weekend.  And we finally have chicken pot pie again in the Zak household!