Pull on your cozy attire and get ready for some comfort food that will warm you from head to toe. The Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a snowy winter we’ll not soon forget. Solution? Warm up your family with a hearty dinner that tastes great and satisfies the hungriest of appetites.
Chicken
Pot Pie
CHICKEN
lb. chicken breast, boneless, skinless
chunks
chunks
chunks
water
Fill
a medium-size saucepan with water. Add celery, carrots, and onion. Cover and
bring to a boil. Add chicken. Cover pan. Turn off heat and let the chicken sit
in the hot water 1½ hours.
Remove
chicken from pan to a plate. Discard water and veggies. Don’t wash the pan. Allow
breast to cool then cut off any excess fat. Slice meat into bite-size pieces.
cup butter
cup celery, sliced
cup carrots, chopped
cup onion, chopped
cup flour1
cups chicken stock
tsp. garlic powder, not salt
tsp. ground thyme½
tsp. dried sage
tsp. dried parsley
tsp. salt
ground pepper to taste
cup heavy cream*
cup frozen peas, thawed is fine
Melt
butter in the same pan you used for the chicken breast. Stir in celery,
carrots, and onion. Sauté on medium heat until veggies are semisoft and onion
translucent, 7 – 9 minutes.
Stir
in flour. Cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
Carefully
pour in stock while stirring. Scrape pan bottom and sides to capture flour
residue. Add garlic, thyme, sage, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir in cream then
simmer on medium low until mixture thickens, 5 – 10 minutes, stir often to
prevent burning.
Add
chicken and peas. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.
THE PIE
premade refrigerated pie crusts
egg yolk
tbsp. milk
Preheat
oven to 425° F.
Follow
the directions on the pie crust package to prepare the pan for a two-crust pie.
Scroop
filling onto bottom crust. Lay the other crust on top. Seal the edges by
pressing the two crusts together around the rim. Trim off excess crust.
Mix
egg yolk and milk in a small bowl. use a pastry brush to spread mixture across
the top crust including the rim. Score the top crust with 4 – 6 thin slices.
This allows the pie to cook better by releasing a little steam.
Bake
10 – 15 minutes then remove from the oven then cover the edges with aluminum
foil so they don’t burn. Return pie to the oven. Continue for 30 – 35 minutes
longer or until the top is golden brown.
Allow
the pie to cool 10 – 15 minutes before serving. This allows the filling to set
properly.
*No
need to run out to buy heavy cream. The following recipe is easy and works
great for a any cooked dish that requires heavy cream.
Cream Substitute
cup milk
cup butter
Pour
milk into a small bowl then set aside. Don’t use milk fresh from the fridge or
this recipe won’t work right.
Melt
butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat or in the microwave until melted.
Allow butter to cool at room temperature.
Combine
milk and butter with a hand mixer until well blended.
Use
this substitute 1 for 1. Don’t use it as whipping cream. It won’t work.
May you enjoy all the days of your life filled with good friends, laughter, and seated around a well-laden table!
Sloane
Taylor’s cookbooks, Hot Mean Wear Aprons, Date Night Dinners, Date Night Dinners Italian Style, Sizzling Summer, and Recipes to Create Holidays Extraordinaire are released by Toque & Dagger Publishing and available at all book vendors.
