My first Pot Pie

Tonight we ate as if it were a cold day in January. I made my very first chicken pot pie. The hubs isn't a huge fan of chicken noodle soup. I am. Anytime I get a rotisserie chicken from the store we eat all the yummy chicken and then I pick it nearly clean and make stock. Sometimes it turns into soup right away and others, I pour the stocky goodness into a freezer bag and stick it away in the freeze for another day (for soup). The husband finds great humor in that. He laughs every time he sees a bag of stock. I tell him to shove it, that I'm saving money and he'll be happy when he gets a yummy dinner out of it. He snorts and mumbles something about soup. Tonight hubs ate his words - via the chicken stock in the pot pie gravy. He loved it. I win.

I didn't realize when I set out to make pot pie that the web would be chock full of recipes, and opinions on how to make it. People are very passionate about the "best" pot pie recipe and aren't afraid to fight about it.  After 3 hours (and a headache),  I settled on Martha's pie crust recipe from the Baking Handbook and loosely followed several pot pie recipes.

Here's what I came up with.

Chicken Pot Pie

about 3 cups of chicken cooked and chopped.
3 cups of chicken stock
1/2 cup milk
6 Tbls butter
6 Tbls AP flour
1 cup sliced carrot, cooked
1 cup diced zucchini, lightly steamed (if you cook it too much it will get mushy)
1 cup corn, cooked
1 cup onion, chopped and cooked
one pie crust, homemade or store bought.

I steamed my veggies in the microwave to avoid washing another pan.
Preheat oven to 375.
Spray the bottom of pie pan, casserole dish, or otherr cooking vessel with non-stick spray.
Add chicken, carrot, zucchini, onion and corn to said vessel.
in a pan or pot melt the butter, add flour and whisk to create rue. Add chicken stock and milk. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken.
Pour gravy over chicken and veg. Stir.
Cover with crust and crimp edges. Cut a few slits to allow steam to be released.
I used a ceramic pie pan and 2 small crocks for the extra.
Cook on 375 for 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Tonight mama, papa and the oldest little all sat down together for a tummy filling, heart warming dinner. My oldest even ate it! She's a bit of a picky eater, but I am trying to combat that by getting her involved with cooking dinner. Some evenings she can be super involved, some days I only have enough time and patience left to let her sit and watch and talk to me while I whip it all together. It seems, for now, that if she participates in making dinner, she is more apt to be excited about trying them. That, to me, is a victory.