Warm up a cool day with Chicken Pot Pie

If the cool, crisp days of fall have you craving hearty comfort food, here’s a recipe that you should try — homemade chicken pot pie!

This is something I’ll often make when I have leftover rotisserie or other baked chicken. I pick off the remaining meat by hand, tear it into smaller pieces, and use in the pie.

I’ve always loved making chicken pot pie, and for many years I used a recipe that called for a can each of cream-of-potato and cream-of-chicken soup. However, when I started trying to “eat clean” and reading labels, I realized that those soups include ingredients that I don’t want to ingest anymore, such as MSG.

These days I use an even better recipe that doesn’t require any soup, and it’s simple and delicious! My family loves it. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

About 2 cups of cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces
2 Tbsp. butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. celery seed
14.5 oz. can of chicken broth (low-sodium, MSG-free)
2/3 cup milk
15 oz. can of mixed vegetables (I use the “no salt added” Veg-All brand)
(2) 9″ unbaked frozen deep-dish pie crusts
1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Take the pie crusts out of the package to thaw. Place one on a cookie sheet. (Tip: baking the pie in a tin on a cookie sheet makes it much easier to transport to and from the oven; and prevents spillage if it bubbles over).
In a saucepan over medium heat, saute onions in butter until soft and translucent.
Stir in flour, salt, pepper and celery seed. Then add chicken broth and milk.
Simmer until thick, stirring frequently. Add chicken and vegetables, stir.
Pour chicken mixture into the pie crust that’s on the cookie sheet.
Take the other pie crust and turn it upside down over the filled one, carefully removing it from the tin pan to form the top crust.
Press down on the edges gently with your fingers, then with a fork, to seal the edges.
Take a knife and make a few small slashes in the top to allow steam to escape.
In a cup, whip one egg and a little bit of water with a fork, to make an egg wash. Brush the top of the pie lightly with some of it.
Bake for 30 minutes, until pastry is golden brown.
Let set for a few minutes before serving.