Hungry, not thirsty, Thursday

We try to do a home cooked meal two times a week. Last night I gave chicken potpie a whirl. AND LET ME TELL YOU.....it was glorious. Not only did it taste good, but the recipe required a minimal amount of prep, AND it called for store bought, already cooked rotisserie chicken. Love that. My husband did the shredding of the store bought, already cooked rotisserie chicken, so it was even more glorious! Oh and to make matters just a little better, the recipe made not one but TWO potpies, so we have one frozen for another night. SCORE. Here are the recipe details, with a few candid food shots of Wednesday's potpie progression.

Simple, Classic Chicken Potpie (adapted from allrecipes.com)

Ingredients:

6 C roasted, shredded rotisserie chicken

2 (15oz) packages refrigerated pie crusts

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 medium onions, chopped

3 small stalks celery, cut crosswise 1/4-inch thick

2 C chicken broth

1 (12oz) can evaporated milk

1/3 C butter

½ C all-purpose flour

¾ tsp dried thyme

¼ C dry sherry or white wine

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ C fresh parsley, chopped

1 (16oz) package frozen peas and carrots, not thawed

Directions:
1) Adjust oven rack to low-center position; heat oven to 400 degrees. If using whole rotisserie chicken (uh, duh, yes please), separate meat from skin and bones, and tear into bite-size pieces. Discard skin and bones. Then remove pie dough from its box and follow directions for bringing to room temperature.

2) Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add garlic, onions, and celery; sauté until just tender, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl along with the shredded chicken; set aside.

3) Meanwhile, microwave chicken broth and milk in a microwave-safe bowl until steamy, 4 minutes. Heat butter over medium heat in the empty Dutch oven. When foaming subsides, whisk in flour and thyme; cook until golden, about 1 minute. Whisk in hot chicken broth/milk mixture. Bring to a simmer, and then continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens, about 1 minute more. Turn off heat, stir in sherry or wine, and season to taste with salt and pepper (I used a generous amount of salt and pepper).

4) Stir shredded chicken/onions/celery/garlic mixture, parsley, peas and carrots into the sauce. Lay the bottom pie crust in each 9-inch, deep-dish pie plates. Divide mixture between the two plates. Top each pan with the other pie dough, and flute crust by pinching with your fingers (I trimmed the top crust before fluting it). Make a slice or two on top. Set pie on a baking sheet and bake until pastry is golden brown and bubbly, 30-35 minutes (I took it to the full 35 minutes).

(do you see those trimmed bits of raw dough there, off to the right side of the pic....yep, I ate those...appetizer, what can I say?!)

5) Option for extra potpie: Wrap second potpie in freezer wrap and freeze for a later meal. When you’re ready to bake, remove wrapping, place potpie on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until golden and bubbly, about 1 hour.

And voila, here's the finished product:

For the last 10 minutes or so, I placed a piece of aluminum foil over the potpie so the crust wouldn't burn. That was a good decision, I think.

I have a piece of potpie for lunch today.......oh goodness, I can't wait. It might be one of those days where lunch is at 10am......and so what?! ha.

Really, try the recipe, it's a keeper.