Beats Marie Calendar's Chicken Pot Pie

I have always dreamed about making a chicken pot pie at home. Ever since my little brother and I ate the Marie Calendar's frozen pot pies like they were cake (how ironic!) growing up. My mom was a great cook, but frozen meals were a huge hit for the two of us... And I'm sure she appreciated not having to put together lunch every day when we could operate the microwave ourselves.

These delicious little puppies were adapted from here. Enough about me already, right? , here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

• Chicken meat (I bought a rotisserie chicken for $5 and will use for enchiladas this weekend!)
• 1 stick + 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• About 1/4 cup of flour (although you will only add one tablespoon at a time!)
• Garlic powder, celery salt, seasoning salt, and black pepper
• 4 cups of chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream (same thing as heavy whipping cream it turns out - you learn something new every day!)
• 2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cups baby carrots, chopped
• 1 bag frozen peas

Directions:

1. Begin to remove the meat from your chicken and shred it into bite sized pieces. (If you're not going to make enchiladas later with the chicken don't shred it all, just shred what you need for your pies!)
2. Peel and chop the potatoes and carrots.
3. Bring a sauce pan (make sure it's big enough to handle all of the water and the veggies!)
4. Place chopped veggies (carrots and potatoes) in the pan and boil until tender.
5. Add the frozen peas to the boiling mixture in the last five minutes or so.
6. Drain the veggies and set them aside for later use.
7. In a deep frying pan, melt the 1 tablespoon of butter.
8. Saute the onions and garlic in the butter.
9. After the onions and garlic are browned place them in the same container the veggies are in.
10. Melt the 1 stick of butter in the same deep frying pan. (Don't worry about cleaning it out, just let it be)
11. After the butter is melted begin adding the flour by the spoonful in order to make a nice paste in the bottom of the pan. (I added about 1/4 of a cup before I felt like it was thick, but not too thick)
12. Cook the paste for a minute over low heat, stirring constantly.
13. Add the chicken broth and stir until warm.
14. Add the heavy cream and stir over medium-high heat until the mixture begins to thicken.
15. While this is cooking, season to your heart's content with the garlic powder, celery salt, seasoning salt, and pepper. (This is where you have the chance to make the meal all your own! I suggest trying the little mixture every couple of shakes to ensure the spices aren't getting out of control or are too boring)
16. Once the mix has thickened, turn the heat down and add the chicken and veggies.
17. Stir until warmed all the way through.
18. Line the pan with the pie crust. (I use the pre-made pie shells found in the cookie and bread dough refrigerated section in the grocery store, you could use frozen shells, or make your own if you're that skilled)
19. Divide between 2-3 pie shells.
20. You will use one crust for the bottom of the pie, and the other crust will become the top.
21. Once one pie crust is full you can top it off with the other crust and pinch the edges shut.
22. Slice a few vents in the top of the crust to allow the pie to breathe and keep it from exploding!
23. Slide it right on into the oven (Unless you used a freezer crust, then place it on a cookie sheet and slide it into the oven).
24. Bake for 45 minutes or until the crust is a golden brown color.
25. If you made extra pies that you are going to freeze skip placing it in the oven and cover tightly with tinfoil before putting it in for the deep freeze.

Jason's Rating: 5/5. He absolutely loved it and made sure that I was going to put the other pie in the freezer. Yep, hun, don't worry it's freezing.