Recipe: Pot Pie

I promised some recipes to go with my saving celery post last month. One of my favorite things to make is Chicken Pot Pie. I'm not a fan of making pie crusts, so my recipe actually uses puff pastry for the crust.

Ingredients:

3 blocks of frozen soup base from the saving celery post

OR

3 T butter, 2 ribs of celery, 1/2 an onion, 2-3 carrots (depending on size), 1-2 tsp dried basil, 1-2 tsp dried parsley

1/4 to 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups cream (either heavy whipping cream or regular)

(note, you can substitute 3 cups of half and half for the milk and cream)

1 1/2 cups water or chicken broth

2 cubes of chicken bullion (if you opt for water)

1 lb of cooked, chopped chicken

1 can of peas, drained

4-5 cups of cubed potatoes

1 sheet of puff pastry (I use Pepperidge Farms, which comes with two sheets)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

First, remove your sheet of puff pastry and set it out on a plate to thaw. It usually takes at least 45 minutes for it to thaw enough to work with. The puff pastry sheet comes folded in thirds. Just set it out, and don't worry about unfolding it until it is thawed out.

Next put your blocks of soup base in a large pot and cook over medium heat. You don't have to thaw them out, just put them in the pot and stir. The blocks will break apart as they melt. If you don't have soup base on hand, go ahead and finely chop your celery, onion and carrot and add it to the pot along with the 3 T butter and the spices. Cook and stir until the onions and celery are translucent. Add flour and stir well. You should add enough flour to make things really thick, almost like paste. (See pic below)

Next add the milk, cream and water (with bullion cubes) or broth. Stir with a whisk and cook over medium heat until things thicken. Meanwhile, in a seperate pot cook the cubed potatoes in salted water until they are fork tender. Pour your sauce mixture into a 9x13 pan. Add the cooked potatoes, chicken and the drained peas. Stir everything together.

Unfold the puff pastry and cut it into thirds along the fold lines. Cut each third into four equal pieces. Place the 12 pieces on the top of your filling. I do this by alternating the pieces the long way and the short way so that they will all fit nicely. If you prefer to do it a different way, that is okay too.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until the puff pastry is golden. Serve with a spatula, making sure that each serving has a square of pastry on the top. This makes 12 large servings.

I hope you enjoy it! I'd love to hear your thoughts if you try it. This is my own original recipe, not adapted from anything else. Please don't claim it as your own.