I-Heart-Comfort Food

For those days when you aren't counting calories...



I unabashedly admit that my chicken pot pie is freakin' awesome! By no means would I call myself a chef, but it's my husbands favorite food and I learned to make it especially for him. I managed to come up with this recipe through trial and error. I usually cook with the freshest ingredients possible, but the addition of a few pre-made food items really saves time, and otherwise would prevent me from being able to make this dish. I learned that using deli meat does not taste very good. It's too salty and the texture is wrong. Also, I tried cream of celery and cream of chicken canned soups and they were either too salty or too rich. I think the addition of cheese adds just the right amount richness without being too much. I never cook with frozen veggies, so that was never an option, and I don't use peas in this recipe because I don't like them. However, add fresh peas if you like them and/or sauteed mushrooms would also be really good. I'd say this dish takes about 1 hr to 1 hr 15 minutes to prepare and cook and serves about 6.

Food ingredients:
1-lb chicken breast, cut into inch sized chunks
1-family size can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup
1-package of ready to cook pie crust (I like Pillsbury)
2-stalks of celery, chopped about half an inch thick
2-carrots, peeled, and chopped at 1/4 inch thick
1-half of a small onion
3/4 cup of shredded monterrey jack cheese
season as you prefer
butter or margarine for sauteing veggies and chicken (it makes the dish taste much better, but if you prefer oil, I recommend extra virgin olive oil)
Other: pie dish and large cooking pan

Preheat oven to 425 or 450. The food is cooked, you're just cooking the crust by the time this goes in the oven. I've played with the temp depending on how much time I have on my hands.

Chop up the vegetables and saute in a dollop of butter (do the carrots first so you can get them sauteing before the other veggies).



Once all veggies are cooked remove from the pan to a separate bowl. Then, using another dollop of butter, saute the chicken until cooked thoroughly. I don't cook the veggies and chicken together because the flavor tends to taste watered-down. Once the chicken is cooked, turn off the heat, add the cooked veggies back to the pan and add the can of soup. Mix all ingredients well, then add your cheese and mix well. Put your pre-made pie crust in the pie dish, fill with the mixture.



Add the top of the crust (don't forget to add slits for venting). Put in the oven for about 45 minutes, depending on the temperature and cook until the top of the crust is golden brown. This also tastes really good as leftovers because the flavors have a chance to become friends and sometimes I serve with mashed potatoes (the ultimate comfort food!!). Also, you can prepare this dish the night before and store in the fridge. Don't forget to make it with love...it really makes a difference.

Enjoy! :)