Jeri's Chicken Pot Pie

Yesterday was such a terrible day that I came home and did what my family has come to affectionately call Kitchen Therapy. Kitchen Therapy works well as a stress reliever for me. It usually includes cooking and cleaning the kitchen. I find it therapeutic to create food, maybe because my family enjoys eating it so much. When I am having Kitchen Therapy I don't even mind cleaning up the mess from the cooking.

It has been cold--that kind of cold that chills you to the bone so Chicken Pot Pies sounded so appealing. I have always liked chicken pot pies, but until about two years ago they seemed like too much work. A couple of years ago, my friend made them for our freezer meal group. They were easy and so yummy! My family loved them, so they have now joined the ranks of other favorite family recipes.

Budget Tip: After Thanksgiving, I had leftover gravy from the turkey and some leftover gravy from biscuits and gravy. I combined the two and added the vegetables and a little salt and pepper and the filling was great–better than with the cream of chicken soup. If you are a pie maker, obviously home made crusts are best; but if you aren't inclined to make pie crusts (which I am not), stock up on the frozen crusts when they are on sale and you will have them ready to make this a quick meal.

The basic recipe can be adapted by adding or deleting some of the vegetables or changing the kinds of vegetables you use. The filling can also be mixed together and frozen to use at another time when you need a quick meal.

I have also adapted this to use no milk by making a gravy like a white sauce using chicken broth instead of milk. I then use that instead of the creamed soup in the filling. It is yummy!

Jeri’s Chicken Pot Pie

½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped onion
1-2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
2-3 cups cooked chicken, cubed
1-2 cans cream of chicken soup with herbs
2 cups frozen mixed veggies
1 cup cooked potatoes, cubed
milk to thin
pepper

2 frozen pie crusts

NOTE: Measurements are approximate (believe it or not, this was the note from Jeri when she shared the recipe—my kind of recipe and my kind of cook!)

Sauté celery and onion in butter in large pot. Add soup then remaining ingredients.

Bake the bottom crust for a few minutes to prevent a soggy crust, then pile in the filling.

Turn a frozen crust over the filling, press down edges and cut slits in top to vent.

Bake at 350º for 30-45 minutes or until golden brown.

What I Do: I don’t use quite this much celery or chicken, of course.  I cube the potatoes before I cook them so that I only have to drain, then add them to the mixture. I usually just have cream of chicken soup on hand so I use that. I make two of these for five of us and usually it is all eaten, but everyone is full.


This filling freezes well (even though it has creamed soup). Thaw and add to crust that has been baked, cover with another crust and bake 30-45 minutes until golden brown.