Semi-Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I've been told that long stories before the recipe are taboo. So I'll just say that rainy days call for things with crusts, ALL the things with crusts. I don't know why but it's a firm belief of mine. Rain = ooey-gooey fillings and flaky, delicious crusts.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced (you could use less, but why?)

8 small potatoes (red or gold), sliced in bite size pieces

10 oz frozen peas & carrots

4 TBSP butter

4 TBSP flour

2 cups vegetable stock

1 cup heavy cream

1 tsp tarragon

salt & pepper to taste

2 ready made crusts (or make your own if you're fancy)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 415 degrees. Remove pie crusts from the fridge so they can come to room temperature, they're easier to work with this way.

2. Slice potatoes into bite size pieces and toss in 1 tsp of olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. Roast potatoes for 20 minutes or until fork tender. While potatoes are cooking, chop onion and mince garlic, chop the chicken on a separate cutting board. Remove potatoes from oven and set aside. Lower temperature to 400 degrees.

3. Sauté onion in 2 TBSP of butter until almost translucent and then add the garlic. Continue cooking until fragrant. Add in the other 2 TBSP of butter and allow to melt. Add in 4 TBSP of flour and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add in vegetable stock and cream and lower heat to medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add in chicken, frozen peas and carrots, and potatoes. Continue to let it simmer while you prep the crust.

5. Put one crust in your greased pie plate and let the crust hang over. Using a ladle, add your filling. Fill 3/4 of the way and place your second crust on top. Pinch your crusts together and using a fork, prep the edge of your crust. You could also crimp it but that is so much harder.

6. Add slits to the tops of your crust for venting and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. I like to serve it with a green salad and a good pinot noír.

Extras

This recipe will make 2 pies. Add vegetable or chicken stock to the leftovers to make soup and serve with garlic toast or baked pie crust triangles.

You can also serve the leftover filling over biscuits for a southern twist!

Roasting the potatoes gives them depth of flavor and helps them hold their shape, instead of getting mushy.

Cooking the flour for 2 minutes, gets ready of the "flour" taste... or at least that what my mom always said.

Allow to simmer while you prep the crust.

Crimping crusts is not my forté, I wish it was, but the fork trick works perfectly.

And dinner is served! Yum!