Chicken Pot Pie

This post is dedicated to the hard working ladies in the Hillsboro Elementary School cafeteria!  This year, they have been working hard, making more homemade food, as opposed to frozen goodies.  More fruits and vegetables are being offered too!  These changes are good changes, but the children are taking to them slowly. 

                          The ladies dressed up for Halloween!

 

Last week, they made chicken pot pie.  It was so good!  We noticed that not many children were taking it..............and then we figured out that they have probably not ever had it!  Our lives are so busy, it is easy to stop and get some take out, or go to fast food.  If we are eating at home, it is too easy to open a box of frozen something or other (blah!).

Tonight, chicken pot pie is on the menu.  The first thing I did was make a pie crust.  Here are the ingredients:

2 cups flour
3/4 cups Crisco
4 tablespoons COLD water
1 teaspoon salt

I my food processor, I put the flour, salt and shortening.  I pulsed that a few times, until it is course.

Add the water, I tablespoon at a time, pulsing as you go.  Do not overwork the crust.

After the crust is made, remove it and place it in two ziploc bags.  Put the bags in the freezer while you assembly the other ingredients.  The ingredients are:

3 poached chicken breast tenderloins
1 small potato, cooked until just soft
1/2 bag frozen vegetables
1/2 onion, diced
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup chicken stock (broth you poached the chicken in)
3/4 cup milk or cream
salt
pepper

Next, I poached some chicken.  I put 2 cups of water in a saucepan, along with 3 breast tenderloins.  To the water I added, some celery, onion, salt, pepper, bay leaf, and parsley.  Simmer the chicken until tender, about 15 minutes.

I sauteed some onions in butter.  When the onions were transluscent, I added 1/2 bag of frozen vegetables.  When they were warmed through, I added the chicken and potato.  I added the flour and stirred to make a roux.  To that I added the chicken broth and cream, stirring as you go.  Let that simmer on low heat until you are ready to assemble the pie.

When you are ready to assemble the pie, take the pie crust out of the freezer.  Put some flour on your counter so that the dough doesn't stick when you roll it out.  Divide the crust in half.  Roll 1/2 of the crust and line the bottom of your baking pan.  I used a glass pyrex bowl. 

Add the chicken vegetable mixture.  Roll out the other 1/2 of the pie crust and lay on top of the pie.  Take a fork and put some holes in the top to vent.

I put my pie inside a stone so that if it overflows, I won't have a huge mess in my stove!  Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Keep up the great work ladies!  You'll convert the kids to the beauty of homemade food soon!  This recipe is listed on Simple Living and Eating!