Chicken Pot Pie

My Beautiful Mother's Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups flour

1 tsp. salt

1 cup shortning

7-8 TBSP. ice water

About two cups of cooked or roasted chicken breast (or thighs if you want darker meat), cut into bite-size chunks. I usually just cook two chicken bone-in breasts.

1 large potato, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks

2 large carrots, cut into bite-size rounds

1 onion

1/3 of a package of frozen peas

4 TBSP. butter

4 TBSP. flour

1 tsp. salt

few shakes of Herbs de Provence or whatever other herb you would like....Rosemary is great

pepper
2 1/4 cups milk

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degress. Make pie crust by stirring the flour and salt together, and then cutting the shortning in with a pastry cutter (or two forks!) The crumbs should be about the size of peas. Add the water, 2 TBSPs at a time, mixing with one hand to combine. Continue combining with your fingers until dough holds together.

Cook the potatoes and carrots in a big pot of boiling water until tender but not falling apart. Add half of a chopped onion a few minutes before they are done. When ready, drain into a colander with the 1/3 of a package of frozen peas waiting in the bottom. The steaming hot vegetables will thaw and cook the little peas just enough.

Make a white sauce by sauteing a chopped half of an onion in 4 TBSPs of butter until transparent. Add the flour, salt, herbs, and pepper and stir until cooked, about 40 seconds. Add the milk and stir until nice and thick.

Roll out the pie dough into two halves....one for the bottom, one for the top.

Mix the white sauce, vegetables, and chicken together, then dump into pie plate draped with one of the pie dough rounds. Cover with other portion of rolled dough, and seal and crimp the edges. Make some slashes in the top, and cover the crust edges with foil. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 35- 40 minutes, removing foil from edges of crust the last 12-15 minutes. Enjoy!