Chicken Pot Pie

I am always on the look-out for quick, easy, and good recipes. One that I always seem to come back to is Chicken Pot Pie. I am including recipes for two versions of this dish. The first, I found on the side of a Bisquick box some years ago. The second recipe is from Paula Deen’s “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook.”


Bisquick’s Easy Chicken Pot Pie

1 2/3 cups frozen, mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup cut-up, cooked chicken
1 10 ¾ ounce can condense cream of chicken soup
1 cup Original Bisquick mix
½ cup milk
1 egg

Heat oven to 400°F. In ungreased 9-inch pie plate, stir vegetables, chicken, and soup. In medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until blended. Pour into pie plate on top of chicken, vegetable and soup mixture. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until crust golden brown.


The Lady & Sons Chicken Pot Pie

One 10¾-ounce can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
One 10¾-ounce can condensed cream of celery soup
½ cup milk
1 chicken, skinned, cooked, boned, and cubed
1 medium onion, diced
One 10-ounce package frozen green peas (or one 8-ounce can, drained)
3 carrots, sliced, cooked, and drained
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pastry for top and bottom (see recipe below)
Butter to dot pastry

In a large saucepan, heat soups and milk. Stir in chicken, onion, peas, carrots, and salt and pepper. Cook until mixture boils. Remove from heat. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour mixture into a pastry-lined 13x9x2-inch pan. Cut pastry for top into strips. Lay over pie filling in a lattice style. Dot with butter. Bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.

Pastry:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup shortening
Ice water

Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut in shortening with pastry blender until pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 to 2 tablespoons of ice water over part of mixture. Gently toss with fork; push to side of bowl. Repeat until all is moistened. Form into two balls. Flatten each on a lightly floured surface by pressing with edge of hand three times across in both directions. With a floured rolling pin, roll out on floured surface. Roll from center to edge until 1/8 inch thick.


Just a couple of shortcuts I’d like to mention. When preparing dishes that call for de-boned or cut-up chicken, I often purchase a rotisserie chicken rather than going to all the trouble of cooking one. I also typically purchase the ready-made pie crusts rather than making my own pastry. I hope you enjoy!


**Weekly Tip: I despise cutting up vegetables when preparing meals. More and more I am seeing already chopped onions, celery, bell peppers, etc. available in the grocery stores in the produce department. You can also find many chopped veggies with the frozen foods. I am a sucker for pre-chopped vegetables! I keep at least one bag of frozen, chopped onions in my freezer at all times.