The Best Pot Pie Ever!

Back in 1988, I was lucky enough to get to move to Odessa, Texas. Boy, did I love it there! We were on the far west side of town, out in the middle of nowhere with the oil pump jacks and the wild packs of guinea hens! It was fantastic - another lifestyle that was a dream of mine.

However, dreams end. This one did but I did bring some memories with me from that beautifully ugly part of Texas! And also realized that life is different most everywhere you go. Bring what you need with you, but don't shut out the adventures of the new place.

I was working with a bunch of ladies and one afternoon during break time, everyone was talking about what they were going to make for dinner and how rushed they were to do so. This one girl, Connie, was telling that she makes (homemade)chicken pot pies from scratch. She went into this long recipe of creation that she did and I listened and then thought to myself..."good grief... all that for a chicken pot pie? Just buy one from Stouffers or Banquet, let the oven do do all the work and you spend your time with your kids!" I went back to work shaking my head - no wonder these ladies were always rushing!

But for some reason that story Connie told stuck in my memory banks - or as my 7 year old grand daughter refers to it - the pages of my brain - and for some strange and really odd reason, many years later in the early 1990's, for some strange and really odd reason, I got the strange and really odd notion to make a chicken pot pie from scratch. For some strange and really odd reason, Connie's "recipe" was still vividly on a page in my brain and one Saturday I made a homemade chicken pot pie - totally from scratch and memory.

No strange or really odd reason about it - my pot pie turned out fantastic! So fantastic that my son raved about it and asked for more! Often!! So quick and easy I enjoyed making them and of course, made several at once and froze the others! Then just take it out of the freezer before I went to work and put it in the fridge and when I got home, pop it into the oven! No nuke'um power here! While baking, I changed clothes, got the kids settled and the rest of the meal going and within an hour all was ready to sit down and eat!!

So here's what I did. Using chicken breast, cut them into bite sized chuncks and cook over low heat until well cooked. Grab a bag each of frozen corn, carrots and if you like them, which we didn't, peas and can of chicken gravey and a Pillsbury Ready Made Double pie crust from the refrigerator section of your grocery store.

Pre heat oven to about 350*. Lay the first pie crust out on the bottom of the pie plate. Use a fork and prick the bottom of the crust to prevent it from bubbling. Combine chicken and veges in a bowl to the amount you want - about 1 cup of each and then more as needed to fill the crust. Make it a heaping formation. Pour the whole can of gravey over the chicken and vegetables. Take the other pie crust and place it over the top of the chicken and veges, securing the crust edges to the pie plate and the bottom crust. Take a knife and make slice marks in a nice fashion around the top of the pie crust to allow air and heat to escape and prevent a pot pit blow up in your oven! Place it in oven for about 45 - 60 minutes - depending on your oven and size of the pie. Watch it so it doesn't burn! Since everything is already cooked, you are really just heating up the contents and browning the crust. Once the crust is nicely browned, it is finished! Let it cool, cut, serve and enjoy! I also would have an extra can of the gravey, heated, to add if anyone wanted a bit more gravey.

I make 2-3 at a time and then freeze the extras. Just cover with a piece of plastic wrap, nice and tight and then a piece of aluminum foil over that, nice and tight.
These make up in no time and bake in about an hour! Quick, easy and oh, so good!

And you can add anything you like! Onions, spices, other veges, and even use beef, turkey (great use of leftover pieces of the Turkey come Thanksgiving!) or even shrimp or other seafood! The sky's the limit - you are only limited to the amount you can use, but that is easily remedied by using larger pie plate or make serveral pies at once! And you can add more gravey or use less - however you choose! That's what makes this pot pie the best in the west! Because it is exactly how you want it and you only want the best!

I recently saw in a magazine that you can do this same thing, only different. Using small corning ware/ceramic type baking cups, spoon the chicken/vege mixture into the bowl, add gravey and top with a biscuit! Individual pot pies! These would be great for after school snacks. Set them out in the fridge in the morning, and pop them in the toaster oven after school! OR for any time you need a snack!

Good luck and good eating! Let me know of your sucess!