Chicken Pot Pie

Lets use up those left overs! Get enthusiastic about them and let the world know leftovers can taste good! It is about just adding spices or transforming it all.  In this case, we are changing it so much it's not even like leftovers. It is more like hiding the taste to make people eat leftovers without knowing it. To use up chicken or turkey, we use our chicken pot pie recipe. It has never failed us once through all those chickens and turkeys we've eaten over the years. Let's give it a go!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup chopped onions

2 tbsp. butter

2 cups water

2 chicken bouillon cubes

3 generous cups potato

2 cups cooked chicken

1 ½ cup carrots

1 cup peas

½ tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 tsp. poultry seasoning

1/3 cup flour

¾ cup milk

1 cup water (optional)

Cook onions in 2 tbsp. of butter until softened. Add 2 cups of water and 2 bouillon cubes. Add potatoes
(if using fresh vegetables add here) and then bring to boil with a lid to cover. Add chopped cooked chicken (if using frozen vegetables add here). Simmer until potatoes are soft. Stir in salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Whisk together flour and milk. Stir as you add milk mixture. If the stew is too thick add water to thin. While the stew is simmering, prepare your pie crust.

Pastry for Double Crust Pie
(source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book )

4 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 1/3 cup shortening or lard

12 tbsp. water

Mix together flour and salt. Use a pastry blender to cut in shortening or lard. Once the pieces are about pea size, pour in water tablespoon at a time and mix till in a sticky ball. You can use a machine mixer or by hand. Once you add in the water it is a very quick process to mix it all together.

Roll out about a hand full of dough to reach the size of about a saucer plate. Take a saucer plate and place it down and cut around it with knife or table knife. Take dough circle and place it in one of the tin pot pie plates. Scoop about 1 to 1 ½ cups of stew into chicken pot pie. Cut another circle the same size and place it on top as a cover. Crimp the edge with a fork by pressing into it to seal it. Poke the fork into the center of the covered pot pie to let air out when cooking, and to stop explosions. Repeat process until all dough is gone. Makes about 8 chicken pot pies. Set on cookie sheet to cook at 425° about 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Okay, it may seem like alot, but it goes fast. It is worth the effort for how good these "leftovers" taste. You can use this recipe with turkey too. It is nearly just the same except that it is a different kind of meat all together.

Here is a quick interesting fact about using flour. In the winter the air is dryer, so flour may also be dryer. When the flour is dryer, it will absorb more water so you might have to add a little more water than what the recipe calls for.  My mother says not to worry about this. And like I said - mothers are usually right.

Yes, I did say that leftover taste good. As a matter of fact, I've had cooking that tasted better on the second day or third day of serving it! You probably have too.

When ever you are serving leftovers, be proud of it! It's not every day that you get to eat that same great meal twice or three times in a row! If you are hiding the "leftovers" in the meal, don't say any thing and see if the people you are serving it too say anything. If they haven't said any thing, you have truly perfected the art of serving ( or hiding ) "leftovers". Good luck!!!