Chicken Pot Pie

It is cold outside, really. It was twenty-eight degrees last night and I needed some comfort food. Of course, I had pie dough in the fridge and some leftover cooked chicken from our grilling adventure last weekend. Everything else is a pantry staple, so we had Chicken Pot Pie last night. I used the vegetables we had in the fridge. Use your favorites and make this your own. Sometimes I like to add green peas, squash or substitute sweet potatoes for the russets. If you do that, cook the sweet potatoes half as long as the russets or they will disappear.

Chicken Pot Pie

Serves: 4 - 6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large stalk celery, diced

1 1/2 cup cooked chicken, diced

1/2 teaspoon sage

2 medium russet potatoes, diced

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

3 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper

1 recipe single crust flaky pie dough

Preheat oven to 375˚ F.

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepan or skillet on medium high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook until onion is translucent and the other vegetables begin to soften. Add the chicken and the sage and cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. In another saucepan, simmer the diced potato in salted water until almost cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the sauce, which is a chicken veloute'. In a medium pan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook until the mixture is a light brown and the flour is fragrant. Whisk in the chicken stock and continue to cook until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Combine the chicken mixture and the veloute'. Pour into a 9 1/2-inch deep dish pie pan. You can also use a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Roll out the pie dough. Place dough on top of the chicken stew. Trim and crimp. Cut slits in the top and decorate as desired.

Bake for 35 - 40 minutes, or until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.