Chicken Pot Pie

My family loves chicken pot pie.  In fact, when I tell Isabella that's what we're having for dinner, she starts giggling out of excitement.  One of the things that I appreciate about it, is that it's a one dish meal, which means less dishes to clean after dinner!

Ingredients:
6 Tablespoons butter
6 Tablespoons flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups shredded, or cubed, cooked chicken
3/4 cup frozen peas
12 baby carrots
3 small potatoes
1 9-inch pie dough, unbaked

Make chicken broth (or use a canned version, but I really think it's better to just make your own.  It's less expensive this way, and you can make exactly what you need.  1 cup of boiling water + 1 teaspoon of bouillon = cup of broth).

This is by far my favorite bouillon and I always have it on hand.

Put water in a tea kettle and boil.  When it boils, mix two cups of the boiling water with 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon granules.

Peel the potatoes, and then cut them into bite size pieces.  Set aside.

Bite sized potato pieces

Slice carrots and set aside.

Place carrots and potatoes into a small saucepan and cover with water.  Place on the stove and cook on high heat until it comes to a boil.  Turn down the heat to medium high, add frozen peas, and let it cook for 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender, but not mushy.  When done, drain the veggies and set aside.

While these are cooking, in a medium/large saucepan, melt the butter.  When the butter has melted, remove from the heat and add the flour, stirring until smooth.

Return to heat and slowly stir in the chicken broth and milk, salt and pepper.  Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens.  The time on this may vary, depending on how heavy your saucepan is.  Just be sure to continue to stir, getting the spoon to the bottom of the pan, so that it doesn't become lumpy and/or stick to the bottom.

Add the veggies to the cream sauce, and then stir in the chicken.  Pour it into a 9-inch, deep dish pie plate (or use a 2 quart casserole dish), and top with the crust.  Leave enough of the crust to hang over the sides so that you can crimp it around the edges.  Cut several slits in the top of the crust to allow the heat to escape while baking.

I recommend placing a cookie sheet on the rack below the pie, so that this doesn't happen in your oven (I put mine in a little too late):

Bake at 425 for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

*Recipe adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook.