Aunt Anneke's Chicken Pot Pie

 

This is another recipe my children would list as comfort food. It requires a little more prep work and some kitchen utensils that might not be common in a dorm kitchen. You'll need a saucepan and a pyrex-type pan for the stove. Access to a stop-top and an oven is necessary. You will make a crust first, and then the filling. The basic recipe will come first and then a list of ways to adapt the recipe for dorm living.

Aunt Anneke's Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:

     1 and 1/2 cup flour

     1 Tablespoon sugar

     1/4 teaspoon salt

     1/2 teaspoon vinegar

     3/4 cup butter (soft)

     3 and 1/2 Tablespoon cold water

Blend/Mix everything together using either your fingers or a pastry knife until it is all incorporated and you can form the dough into a ball. If you mix using a mixer be careful not to over mix. Form it into a ball and put it into the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Filling:

     1/2 cup butter

     1/4 cup Flour

     1 teaspoon salt

     1 teaspoon garlic (minced or finely diced)

     2 cups chicken broth

     1 cup milk

     2 cups of cooked chicken, shredded

     1-2 potatoes cooked and cut into small cubes

     1-2 carrots cooked and cut into small cubes

     salt and pepper to taste.

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Mix together.

2. Add the salt, garlic, chicken broth and milk to make the sauce. It should thicken up as it heats.

3. Add the vegetables and the shredded chicken.

4. If you want a bottom crust, using your hands spread half the crust on the bottom of your baking pan.

5. Pour in the filling and cover with the rest of the crust.

6. Bake until the crust has browned and the filling is bubbling.

OTHER COMMENTS

This recipe really doesn't make enough for top and bottom pie crust. If you want a thick bottom and top, double the crust recipe. The dough will be soft and stretchy and often the top I just pat out with my hands and stretch it out into long rectangles and place it on top.

For cost, you can use margarine which is cheaper than butter. Butter always tastes better, especially for the crust.

You can use bags of frozen (or canned) potatoes, peas, and carrots instead of making them from scratch. We have also added green beans and corn at times. The recipe does not call for onions but you could add some to the sauce. We tend to make our own chicken broth, but canned or box broth would work just as well. If you boil the chicken before shredding you can just use that broth. Be careful when using prepared broth so that you don't oversalt the recipe.