Carnival of the Recipes, Chicken Pot Pie.

In keeping with the theme of the night, my son's birthday, I give you my family's secret recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. (OK, it's not exactly secret, but I thought maybe it sounded even better that way... plus I know my folks are reading saying "Secret?!!! What's she talkin' about?") This is a favorite of ANYONE who has ever had it at my home. When my nephew's come visit, they request it. It is tradition in my home that the birthday boy gets to pick dinner and every year, all of them pick this dish. Obviously, this is what we had for dinner tonight.

(Side note: I used blog daughter VW's chocolate icing recipe for tonight's birthday cake and it was FABULOUS. In google if you put Chocolate Icing Carnival of the Recipes, you get that Carnival entry with her link.)

This week's hostess is Caltech Girl of Not Exactly Rocket Science.

Chicken Pot Pie

3 lbs. chicken breasts (This is good for turkey leftovers too)
4 (14 oz or 396 grams) cans chicken broth (I use canned Fat Free)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 stalk celery cut into 2" pieces
1 medium onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
1 (16oz) pkg. frozen mixed vegetables
2 lg. potatoes, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup milk (I use skim)
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 boiled eggs, sliced
2 9" refrigerated pie crusts (Pillsbury, comes in the red box in the refrigerator section of Publix)

Combine first 7 ingredients in large Dutch oven; bring to a boil and cook until chicken is tender. If chicken has already been cooked, just allow it to simmer a few minutes for the chicken to pick up some of the flavor and get really tender. Remove chicken. Throw out vegetables and bay leaf. Keep the broth. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces.

Bring broth to a boil again and add frozen vegetables and potatoes. Bring to a boil again and simmer eight minutes or until tender. Remove these veggies from the broth and set aside, then measure out three cups of broth and set it aside too.

Melt butter in Dutch oven over low heat, add flour, stirring constantly. Gradually add three cups of broth and milk, cook over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in 1/2 tsp salt and 1 1/4 tsp pepper, and thyme. Add vegetables, chicken and boiled eggs; stir gently. (NOTE: The extra pepper can make this dish spicy, so if you are serving to children or those who do not like spice, leave out the last 1 1/4 tsp pepper. I never include it and it tastes fine.)

Unfold the piecrusts: cut and paste one of them so it fits the bottom of the a 13X9" baking dish and brown it in the oven (about 10 minutes at 400deg.). Spoon the chicken & vegetable mixture on top of the crust and cut and paste the other crust so it covers the top. Cut slits in the top and bake at 400 deg for 20 minutes.
6-8 servings.