Chicken & Apple Pot Pie

Suddenly it's all nasty and cold again, so it's pot pie time! Specifically chicken and apple pot pie. One of the nice things about just working part-time in the afternoon is that it leaves all morning for productive things like watching long PBS documentaries about Frank Lloyd Wright and pot pie making, but this recipe isn't actually very time-consuming, even if you make the crust. Or you could use puff pastry and make it even faster. 

It's shortening!

Everything boiling up and reducing

Pie crust after being chilled in fridge

Pie crust laid out on top of everything with slits cut 

I wasn't sure where the baby dog was hiding, and so I went to go find him as the pot pie baked. He had snuck into my bed.

And it's ready.

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Chicken & Apple Pot Pie

Crust from Simply Recipes' Chicken Pot Pie

Pot Pie Crust (make first & chill)

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled, unsalted butter, diced into 1/2" cubes)

1/4 cup vegetable shortening, chilled

3 to 4 Tbsp ice water

Straight from Simply Recipes: "Combine the flour and salt in a food processor. Add the chilled butter cubes and pulse 5 times to combine. And the shortening and pulse a few more times, until the dough resembles a coarse cornmeal, with some pea-sized pieces of butter. Slowly stream in ice water, a tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition, until the dough sticks together when you press some between your fingers. Empty the food processor, placing the dough on a clean surface. Use your hands to mold into a ball, then flatten the ball into a disk. Sprinkle with a little flour, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days, before rolling."

 

Pot Pie Filling

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 zucchini, diced

1-2 apples, chopped (not too small)

1 tbsp butter

1 sprig rosemary, just leaves & chopped
1 sprig thyme
1 tbsp curry (or more)
1 tbsp paprika (or more)
2 tbsp flour
water/broth/wine to cover
1/4 cup milk
2 cups pre-cooked chicken (I was using leftover rotisserie chicken, but you could boil some up and use the broth)
1 package frozen peas

1. Saute onion, celery, carrots, zucchini, apples, rosemary, thyme, curry and paprika in butter for about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and cook another couple minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Pour in water/broth/wine and milk. Bring to bubbles and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Add chicken and peas and let simmer another 5 minutes or until it's a bit thicker.

3. Pour mixture into pie pan. Cover with rolled-out dough. Make at least a couple slits for venting.

4. Bake at 400 for about a 1/2 hour or until golden. You might want to put a baking sheet underneath in case of overflow.