Chicken Pot Pie

There's nothing like good ol' chicken pot pie! It really is as classic as mashed potatoes, cinnamon rolls, and mac 'n cheese. It's a creamy and buttery comfort food that's good to eat all year long, but especially comforting during the cooler months, which believe it or not, we're still experiencing some cold days here in California even in the middle of April.

Chicken pot pie is easier to make than it sounds. It’s really just a mixture of chicken and veggies topped with a creamy, rich white gravy that is flavored with onion, garlic, and thyme. You can use either poached or roasted chicken, even rotisserie chicken works here, but I don't really like to use that as I prefer to make my own. I actually use the chicken that is left over after I make my homemade chicken broth.

We also added ham to this recipe, which really adds another dimension of flavor, so don't skip out on it. And we infused the chicken broth with 2 bay leaves and dried morels (found in the freezer section of the grocery store), but any kind of dried mushrooms works. I found dried morels at our local Raley's, or they may be purchased on Amazon. Then we covered the chicken mixture with puff pastry, or you may even use pie crust (either store-bought or homemade), so do whatever your family prefers or what you have on hand.

Our homemade version of this comfort food definitely won't disappoint! Enjoy!

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CHICKEN POT PIE

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds cooked shredded chicken, about 4-5 cups

• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (store-bought or homemade)

• 1/2 cup dried morels (or any kind of dried mushrooms)

• 2 bay leaves

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 2 yellow onions, diced

• 1 celery stick, diced

• 2 large carrots, diced

• 5 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• 1 cup milk

• 1 cup heavy cream (or half & half)

• 10 ounce bag frozen peas (about 2 cups)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• Puff pastry enough to cover top of pan

Instructions:

1. In a medium saucepan over high heat add broth, bay leaves and dried morels and bring to a slight simmer, then turn off the heat, cover, and let the morels re-hydrate for 15 minutes. Once re-hydrated, strain the mushrooms; chop and set aside.

2. In a separate medium stockpot or Dutch oven, over medium high heat, add oil; once hot add cubed ham and saute until browned on all sides. Remove ham and set aside. To the same pan, add the butter, then add onion, carrots and celery. Stir to scrape the bits of the bottom of the pan and the butter melts completely. Add garlic, saute for 1 minute more. Stir in the the flour.

3. Add the mushroom-infused broth, milk and heavy cream (or half and half) and bring to a slight boil. Turn heat to medium low and continue to simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly.

4. Add the ham, chopped mushrooms, thyme, and frozen peas and combine well. Turn off heat then stir in the cooked shredded chicken; place chicken mixture in a 3-quart round casserole baking pan or 12-inch cast iron skillet. Cover the top completely with the puff pastry. Brush the top of the pastry with heavy cream.

5. Cook in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes until the crust is browned. Remove from oven, let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Serve warm.