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Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie




I have tried a lot of chicken pot pies, and I had yet to find the perfect one.. until now. Some were made with biscuits, others lacked flavor and that creamy gravy. But this.. this is THE chicken pot pie recipe. It has delicious soft vegetables, a creamy flavorful broth, and a buttery flaky crust! I will never make another one. It is seriously that good! Now, I have heard a lot about preparing and then freezing meals, but I have never took the dive and tried it, until now. This recipe is actually recommended to make ahead of time and freeze. The first time I made it, I had cream, celery and pie dough left over. Of course, it felt like a waste of money. We loved it so much, that I made it again the next week, using enough ingredients for 2! It was so much easier, the portions are just right for 2 batches and I love that I have nice, delicious chicken pot pie in my freezer waiting for me to feel like having a lazy dinner and not wanting to cook!


Ingredients (for 1 pie):
3 celery stalks
3 medium carrots, peeled
1 large yellow onion
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter
2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups low sodium chicken broth or stock
1 chicken bouillon cube
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup heavy cream
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 teaspoon salt
black pepper, for seasoning
pie dough, store bought or homemade (homemade recipe below)


Directions:

1. Begin preheating the oven to 400 degrees and by dicing the celery, carrots, and onion into small, fine dice. 

2. Melt the butter in a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots, and onion. Saute the vegetables for a few minutes, until translucent. 

3. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the top and stir to combine. Cook for a few minutes, gently stirring. 

4. Pour in the chicken broth and stir. Add the chicken bouillon cube and stir. The mixture should start to look like a creamy gravy, but still runny. Next, stir the frozen peas in.

5. Pour in the cream and stir. Allow the mixture to cook over low heat, for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, so the mixture can thicken. Season with thyme, salt and pepper. Be sure to taste it and make sure it is seasoned good!

6. Pour the mixture into a deep pie pan, or small casserole dish. (If you are freezing one, the foil pie pans work great!

7. Place the crust onto the top of the pan, pressing the edges down (it doesn't need to be prefect) and place a few slits in the crust to make sure the mixture can let out steam. 

8. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and the crust is golden brown. Let the pie cool for 10 minutes before eating (this will help the mixture to thicken some as well). 




Thyme Pastry Dough

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold butter (1 1/2 sticks)
1 egg
2 1/2 tablespoons cold water
1/2 tablespoon distilled white vinegar 
1 spring of fresh thyme leaves, thinly diced


Directions:

1. Combine the flour and salt in large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or 2 forks to gradually work the cold butter into the flour until it resembles small pebbles, this should take about 3-4 minutes.

2. Lightly beat the egg with the fork and add it to the mixture. Next, and the old water and vinegar and stir until combined. (This can be made ahead of time and refrigerated at this point)

3. When ready to use the dough, cover a clean surface with a small amount of flour, and in the thyme and knead the dough to mix it in. Then, begin to roll out the dough1 inch larger than the pie pan. 




Comment if you made this and loved it! 







Photo Source: lydias cozy corner
Recipe Source: foodnetwork.com 

18 comments:

  1. You're right it is enough for two pies. First one is in the oven now - Can't wait to try it! Do I just wrap up the uncooked one and freeze? and then how long do you usually thaw/cook it next time?

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    Replies
    1. Did you thaw it and how long did it take to cook it?

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  2. wow and there are no potatoes in it?? cant wait to make it

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  3. Yum! I'm so glad I made this! It was a little soupy, but the leftover dried a bit.

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  4. Margie Gregson CaterDecember 21, 2016 at 6:08 PM

    Well, hell yes!!!
    You were right again, Ree Drummond.
    Wow! Made two pies, one to put in freezer, my husband says,"can we eat the other one"?

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  5. Can you use ground thyme powder?

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  6. Is there no pie crust on the bottom?

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    Replies
    1. Correct, no crust on the bottom. this was great for my husband and I because we are trying not to eat too much starch at dinner. Still tastes great!

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    2. If you do crust at the bottom does the cooking time change?

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  7. Made this last night & it was great! It did make 2 pies, but I cooked both so would have plenty of leftovers. I also used a bottom & top crust, & it didn't change the cooking times. I put it in my 5 start list!

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  8. I loved this recipe more then I can ever express. I did make it with a bottom crust as well and it was heavenly. I wrote a blog post about this Pie with a link here to your blog. I was wondering which Pioneer Woman Cookbook this recipe came from, I would like to buy it.
    If you would like to see my blog post its at https://www.southwesthomestead.com/2018/07/13/chicken-pot-pie-pioneer-womans-recipe/
    I am a brand new blogger still learning the ropes.
    Again love love love this recipe, thank you for pinning to Pinterest!!

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  9. This is a favorite recipe of mine! Family and friends request it and devour it! I do make a bottom crust and instead of peas, I peel and finely cube a potato which I saute with the other veggies. I bake the double crust pies for 5 minutes longer or until golden brown. A winner every time!! I always get 2 pies from the recipe and if I'm not baking both, I freeze the other. These potpies freeze nicely!

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  10. I've made this several times now. A family favorite in my house! I do use a bottom crust and skip the bouillon cubes. It has always made two pies for us. I skip the peas ( we don't like them). I substitute a large potato, diced. I cook the potato in butter a couple of minutes before the other veggies to get it softened. Delicious!!

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  11. This website really has all of the information I needed about this subject and didn't know who to ask.

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  12. Hello just wanted to give you a quick heads up. The words in your article seem to be running off the screen in Chrome. I'm not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but I thought I'd post to let you know. The layout look great though! Hope you get the issue solved soon. Kudos

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  13. Does the pie crust recipe make 2 crusts?

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  14. I've made this pot pie over and over and we just love it! I've even served it for company, it's just that good! Definitely my go-to pot pie!

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  15. I've made this pot pie over and over and we just love it! I've even served it for company, it's just that good! Definitely my go-to pot pie!

    ReplyDelete