I’ve decided to drop the “themed” and “organized” approach to the Recipe Swap for this week. Perhaps this shall be the new norm, and every now and then we’ll have a theme. Your thoughts?

I found a new recipe last week for chicken pot pie; it was my first attempt, and it went over WELL. The crust was so tender and flaky, the filling was rich and creamy, and the vegetables were the perfect consistency and size. And the flavor? Cream, butter, chicken, vegetables… it doesn’t even need spices!

Ingredients

1 c potatoes, chopped
1 c chopped onions
1 c celery, chopped
1 c chopped carrots
I increased the carrots by 1/2-3/4c – Benjamin LOVES carrots.)
1/3 c butter
1/2 c flour
2 c chicken broth
(I used the broth I made from my crock pot chicken, it was VERY well seasoned…)
1 c half and half
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 c chopped cooked chicken
2 pie crusts (I used the crusts from this recipe, minus the milk and sugar coating at the end.)

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Saute onion, celery, carrots, and potatoes in butter for 10 minutes.
  3. Add flour to sauteed mixture, stirring well. Cook one minute stirring constantly.
  4. Combine broth and half and half and gradually stir into vegetable mixture.
  5. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.
  6. Stir in salt and pepper; add chicken and stir well.
  7. Place one pie crust in the bottom of a shallow 2 qt casserole dish, pour mixture in, and top with remaining pie crust. Seal edges like you would with an apple pie (I ended up not having much wiggle room and was in a hurry, so I used a fork to seal. It was decorative!).
  8. Cut slits in top crust to allow steam to escape.
  9. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly and cooked through.

I think the reason this new recipe went so well for me is because it was very similar to the tuna noodle casserole I make: chop, saute, add flour/milk/broth/what-have-you, stir until thick and bubbly. And, of course, I’ve made enough pies to know what I’m doing with a crust, as well.

So, bottom line, the more you cook and stretch your boundaries, the more you can surprise yourself with yummy successes in the kitchen!

What recipe do you want to share with us today? Make sure you tell us the recipe title in Mr. Linky, and please link to your recipe post, not your blog’s homepage. Thanks for sharing!