I ran across a recipe on MomsWhoThink.com recently, and I wanted to give it a try. Of course, me being me, I tweaked the recipe to fit my mood at the moment. I tried to make it easier for the moms out there that might shy away from a recipe with lots of steps to it. I like to tailor recipes to my liking, if I do not have a certain ingredient, I like to substitute something I do have. Here is the original recipe, with the modifications I made in bold, italicized print:
1 ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used leg quarters that I boiled the night b4)
5 cups chicken broth
¾ cup plus 3 Tablespoons butter
¾ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (did not use)
1 teaspoon ground dried thyme (did not use)
1 teaspoon minced parsley (fresh) (did not use, used McCormick Grill Mates Montreal Steak Seasoning instead)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup chopped carrots
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced ¼ inch thick
½ cup frozen peas, thawed (did not have, so I used frozen lima beans instead)
2 recipes of pastry for a double crust (recipe below) (did not use, used Safeway brand Pie Crusts instead, just unroll & bake! I used 2 boxes, they each have 2 crusts each)
¼ cup butter, melted
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400° degrees F, place oven rack in middle position.
2. Place chicken and broth in a stock pot over medium heat. Cover, bring to a simmer and simmer until the chicken is done (about 10 min.)
3. Transfer the chicken to a large bowl; reserve the broth in a separate cup or small bowl.
4. In a large saucepan over medium high heat, stir together the ¾ cup butter and the flour for five minutes until smooth.
5. Slowly whisk in the chicken broth, continuing to stir until the sauce is smooth and thickens. Add the poultry seasoning, thyme, parsley, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and pepper.
6. In a separate large skillet, warm the remaining 3 Tablespoons butter, add the carrots, onions, and celery and sauté 8 to 10 minutes, or until softened.
7. Add the sautéed vegetables and peas to the sauce and place in a large bowl. Place plastic wrap directly on top of the sauce and refrigerate to cool completely.
8. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
9. Roll out the pastry dough and line the bottom and sides of the baking dish with one of the pie crust recipe.
10. Line the pastry with aluminum foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven and remove the pie weights and aluminum foil.
11. Add the reserved the chicken to the vegetable mixture and pour into the prepared crust. Cover with the other pie crust recipe. Pinch together the edges of the top and bottom crust. Cut a slit in the center of the pie.
12. Combine the melted ¼ cup butter and the remaining 1 teaspoons salt. Brush on top of the pastry and place in the oven.
13. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350° F and continue baking for 30 more minutes or until the crust is lightly browned.
14. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Pastry for a Flaky Double Crust Pie
Ingredients:
2½ cups all-purpose flour (I did not use this recipe at all, as I used the pre-made pie crusts from Safeway!)
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
½ cup vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into small pieces
4 to 5 Tablespoons ice water
Directions:
1. Combine flour and salt in medium bowl, cut in butter and shortening until mixture is crumbly.
2. Sprinkle water, 1 Tablespoon at a time, over flour mixture, tossing lightly with a fork until mixture forms an even dough.
3. Form dough into ball and refrigerate, wrapped in plastic, for 1 hour.
4. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured surface to ⅛ of an inch thick.
5. Carefully fold in quarters, lift gently and unfold into pan.
6. Gently press pastry against bottom and sides of pan. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch, then fold the edge under. Pinch edges to flute.
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As I was making the dish, I was taking step by step photos & then realized I did not have my memory card in my camera! AAGGHH!! So here are the pics after I put the memory card back in! lol! They start right after I put the chicken & veggie mixture into the baked pie crust.
Then I put the pie crust over the top, it took 2 crusts for the bottom & 2 for the top. I brushed the top of the pie crust with melted butter before placing it into the oven.
A short time later, it was ready!
I let it cool off for about 10-15 minutes, as it was still bubbling when I removed it from the oven. Then I cut into it!
Only thing left to do was to serve it up! It was a hit! Even my boys, who dislike anything with onion in it, loved it! (I made sure to cut the onion up real small). Only thing I wish I would have done differently was to add the mushrooms I had in the fridge…but I forgot they were there! Hope you try this, if you do, please post a pic to my FB page! Thanks!
