Chicken Pot Pie (From Scratch!)

After just getting over a stomach bug and eating soup and soup alone for two days, we were starting to feel more like ourselves, but not quite ready for a super heavy meal. Insert: Chicken Pot Pie! 

I used this recipe as the backbone, making it my own as I went. I also made my own crust rather than buying a pre-made one...I wish now that I had whole wheat flour on hand, but I was out.

Ingredients (for the crust):

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling
• 1 cup (2 sticks or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, very-cold, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 6 to 8 Tbsp ice water

1. Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a food processor; pulse to mix. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add ice water 1 Tbsp at a time, pulsing until mixture just begins to clump together. If you pinch some of the crumbly dough and it holds together, it's ready. If the dough doesn't hold together, add a little more water and pulse again. 
2. Remove dough from machine and place in a mound on a clean surface. Gently shape the dough mixture into two disks. Work the dough just enough to form the disks, do not over-knead. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour, and up to 2 days.
3. Remove one crust disk from the refrigerator. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Roll out with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle; about 1/8 of an inch thick. Trim dough to fit pie dish.
4. Add filling to the pie.
5. Roll out second disk of dough, as before. Gently place onto the top of the filling in the pie. Pinch top and bottom of dough rounds firmly together. Flute edges using thumb and forefinger or press with a fork. Score the top of the pie with four 2-inch long cuts, so that steam from the cooking pie can escape.

For the filling:

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 cup sliced carrots (I used a bit more because I love carrots!)
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth (I used homemade here, will post a recipe)
• 2/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

The homemade broth really gives this pot pie a hearty flavor, and it is the perfect amount of crust to filling ratio!