Since Winter is finally winding down, I wanted to post one last hot, home made meal for you all to enjoy.  There are a lot of pre-made frozen items we love, but don’t realize how easy they are to make at home.  You probably have most of the ingredients already in your pantry.  I love pot pies because they are amazingly delicious!

I started with a simple dough for the pie crust.  After creating the dough, roll into a ball and place in the fridge for at least an hour.  The colder the better (without placing it in the freezer).  When you are rolling it out be liberal with the flour.  You don’t want it breaking apart before it gets into the plate.  I bought smaller tins from the dollar store so I could put the extra pies in the freezer to eat another time.  This pot pie frozen will last about 6 months.

Cut up your chicken into cube pieces and cook in a pan with black pepper, garlic, onions and green peppers on medium heat with a teaspoon of oil.  I used a little over a pound of chicken this time around.  You can make this without meat as well.  You can substitute the filling with eggplant and mushrooms to the veggie mixture to maintain the “meaty-ness” that a traditional Pot Pie has.

Add two cans of cream of chicken, one can cream of mushroom, and a can of cream of celery into the pot according to the directions on the can, and let it simmer about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  You will smell when it’s ready to add the mixed vegetable pack.  Yum!

If you want to spend the time chopping up all those mixed veggies, I applaud you.  This bag is a great cheat to this recipe.  At first, I only planned on using half the bag, but ended up dumping the whole bag.  Why not, right?  At this point, I let the veggie soak in the mixture on medium low for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Give it a taste to see if you want to add any other flavors at this point.  Once the chicken is cooked, you can add it all together into the pot.  I usually don’t let it simmer again at this point because the pot pies are going into the oven for an hour, but it’s up to you.  Once your pie plates are ready, spoon in small amounts of the mixture at a time.  Remember, you will have to add the cover on the pie.  I try to fill to just below the rim of the pie plate to avoid any spilling in the oven.  As you can see in the picture below one pie got a bit out of hand and spilled.  It happens to the best of us.

I don’t recommend putting the pie straight onto the oven racks.  If you have extra pans, or cookie sheets, set the pot pies on them.  This way you won’t have to clean any spills out from your oven.  I suggest this even if you have a big tray at the bottom to catch spills.  Save yourself the hassle!

Egg wash the surface then pop these bad boys in the oven at 375 degree for an hour.  I check them 45 minutes in to see if it’s browning nicely.  The picture below was about 5 minutes before taking them out of the oven.  Let them sit out for at least another 15 minutes.  They will be piping hot!  Be careful!

The size of one pie I made can feed two adults.  You can always cut back to make one pie, or add to make more than one pie.  This is a great dish to make in a large batch to freeze for future dinners that are as easy as sliding it into your oven.  If you are reheating one, set the oven to 375 and bake the pie for an hour again.

Don’t be scared to try something new, and a bit more challenging.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Happy cooking!