Chicken or Turkey or Mushroom Pot Pie

With all the crafting and blogging, I am always short on time for real dinner lately. But this life saver of a "Dinner in One Pot" meal is my all time favorite. Of course, I don't eat meat anymore so I'll scoop out a bowl before I add the meat and finish it off, while standing over the stove.

But what's really really great about this dish is that you can bake this in a nice casserole dish, put a little bow on top, and give it to a neighbor or a friend as a pre-Christmas present. And why not? They will appreciate the one time that they don't have to hurry home to cook dinner during this busy season. And the casserole dish you'll give will be a perfect eco-friendly giftwrap! Oh, and another idea? This pot pie freezes and bakes really well after unthawing, so you can ship it across the country, packed with dry ice, and all they need to do is bake it in the oven at 350°F for 40 minutes.

Wouldn't you want someone to cook you a meal? Thought so.

I know there are a lot of Pot Pie recipes out there but this is foolproof. If my Kitchen Aid challenged brother can make this, you can too.

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Bro: Sis, I'm at a grocery store; what did you say I needed for that pie?
Me: I'll text you.
Bro: No, I'm already here so talk me through the recipe so I can grab the items while you tell me.
Me: You'll need.....*I rattle off the list* ...I'll e-mail you the directions.
Bro: It's pretty simple, you said, right? Just throw everything in a pot and bake it, right?
Me: Sort of, yeah, uh huh, that's about it.
Bro: Got it. *click*
******************

He posted on my facebook wall, 2 hours later, "Turkey pot pie turned out great! Thanks!"

Score!

Chicken or Turkey or Mushroom Pot Pie

You'll need:

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

• ¾ cup arrowroot flour
• 1 cup cold water
• 2 cups organic chicken broth, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or ⅓ cup ghee
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ½ small yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup  frozen green peas
• 1 cup  chopped carrots
• 1 cup  chopped celery
• 1 cup cubed potato
• 1 teaspoon each of basil, oregano, parsley, thyme, and tarragon
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 Whole roasted organic chicken, shredded (cooked at home or store bought)
• 2 sheets frozen pie pastry shells (optional) You can skip for gluten free
• 1 egg, beaten for brushing pie pastry shell. (Optional) Skip if not using pie pastry shell

Instruction

Heat oven to 350ºF

Combine 1 cup of cold water and arrowroot flour, mix well and set aside. Heat oil or ghee in a large pot over medium-high heat and sauté onions and garlic until onion becomes transparent. Add potatoes and carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes. Add celery and peas and season with salt and pepper. Slowly add slurry, stirring until consistency of a thick gravy, but not brown. Slowly add chicken broth (or vegetable broth if making Mushroom Pot Pie) and keep stirring. Add chicken. Remove from heat.

Note: If you are like my brother or short of time, you can use a bag of  frozen vegetables.

If using pie pastry shell, line the bottom of a deep casserole dish with one sheet of pie pastry crust. You can skip this step if you don’t want too much pie crust. Fill the dish with the chicken pot pie filling.

Cover with the second sheet of pie crust. Brush with the egg mixture. Using a fork or a knife, poke a few holes on top.

For gluten-free: Omit the pie pastry shell and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or  until the top bubbles and browns.

Put the casserole dish on a baking sheet to catch any drippings and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F. Then turn up the oven temperature to 450°F. Bake for 10 minutes until the crust is golden brown. This is right about the time when your whole house will smell heavenly and you'll question whether you'll give away the pie away or not.

Oh....it's going to be hard to give this baby away, isn't it? But you can. And you will.

*I think I can...I think I can...I think I can....*

*NOTE: you can skip the meat ingredients and make it vegan or vegetarian. Substitute the meat with mushrooms for a little more substance. I've made this for myself by using water/vegetable broth with no meat and it tastes yummo!*