30-Mile Pot Pie

Before I go into why I love the following recipe, let me tell you why I am a follower of this blog. First off, I LOVE food. It is no coincidence that my husband is trained in culinary arts and has worked as a chef, caterer, baker for many years (ahh yes, the most delicious appetizers you can imagine, and chocolate chip cookies and cheesecakes to die for- and worth every single calorie!!) So you can imagine, I am usually not jumping up to prepare meals. However, about once a week now, I whip up something that is fairly easy (I hate having to have too many things going on at once to make a recipe work) and typically yields leftovers - I mean, c'mon, since I don't love to cook, I better have more than one night's worth of food for my efforts!! So for the most part, when I share a recipe, it will likely give you enough food for a large family, or leftovers.

Now that brings me to this recipe for pot-pie. As a kid I remember dreading the frozen Swanson Pot Pie my Mom would cook and then flop over egg noodles. Many years later, when my husband requested a comfort food meal, I searched Food Network.com for some ideas and found Chef Jerry Chollet's recipe (of The Painted Giraffe Restaurant, St. Louis, MO). I feel that everytime I make this it gets better and better, probably because of our recent switch to eating as much organic as we can afford. I used organic chix stock and all organic veggies- but other than that the rest was conventional, including the not healthy at all store bought pie crust. Also, rather than having to cook the chicken, I purchased the rotisserie chix from our grocery store. Final result was delicious, and it made 4 whole pies!! They freeze very nicely and make for a great quick meal during the week. Enjoy! Oh yeah, I substitute peas for the mushrooms and then add more salt and pepper to taste.

Ingredients:
6 1/2 cups chix stock (I use low sodium)
6 (6-oz) boneless skinless chix breasts, diced
1 stick butter
2 1/2 c diced onions
2 1/4 c diced carrots
1 3/4 cups diced celery
1/2 lb medium mushrooms, qrtd
1 c all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper, or 1/2 tsp bl pepper
3/4 c heavy whipping cream, warmed
Store bought puff pastry or pie dough
2 egg whites

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 375.
In a medium saucepan, bring stock to simmer. Add chix and poach until just cooked through. Remove chix and set aside. Save stock for later use.

In 10-qt saucepot, melt butter over medium heat then add onions, carrots, and celery and saute for a couple of mins. Add mushrooms and continue to cook until onions are about transparent, being careful not to brown. Add flour and gently mix well. Cook this mixture over low heat for 6-8 mins, stirring occasionally and gently so as not to break up the veggies. Scrape the bottom of the pan often w/ a wooden spoon so that the roux doesn't burn. Increase heat and add chix stock in 3 additions, whisking well after each so that no lumps appear and return to brief simmer each time. (IF, LIKE ME, YOU MESS THIS UP AND ADD IT ALL AT ONCE, just get rid of the lumps and then let it reduce for a little while so it thickens).

Add bay leaf, salt, pepper, and cook over low heat for about 10 mins more. Add poached chix and warm heavy cream, and stir well. Spoon equal portions into the pie plates. Top with your favorite pie dough. Brush egg white over top. Bake til golden brown. (The mixture also is yummy over egg noodles- just like my Mom used to do!!)