Entree: Chicken Pot Pie

We've tried many chicken pot pie recipes over the years, and this one was one of the best. Ryan found this one at Ruf Love.

Ingredients:

Filling
3 Tbls unsalted butter
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 purchased cooked rotisserie chicken
8 oz fresh green beans (optional)
1 (8 oz) package frozen peas (optional)

Cream Sauce
½ C (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 C all-purpose flour
2 ½ C chicken stock, preferably homemade
½ C heavy whipping cream (optional)
dash of hot pepper sauce, such as Tabasco
salt and freshly ground white pepper

Crust
1 C (2 sticks) chilled, unsalted butter
3 C all-purpose flour
10 oz. chilled cream cheese
1 tsp salt
½ tsp white pepper
1 large egg 

Directions:

Filling

1. Melt the butter in a large saute pan set over medium heat. Add the onion and potato: sauté for 5 min. Add the garlic, bell pepper, and mushrooms and sauté about 15 min, until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the crushed red pepper and add salt and pepper to taste.
2. While the vegetables are sautéing, skin the chicken, pull the meat off the bones, and shred the meat or cut into bite-sized pieces. Place the green beans in a microwave-safe bowl and add enough water to cover. Cover the dish and microwave on high power about 10 min, until the beans are tender. Drain thoroughly. Stir the beans, peas, and chicken into the vegetable mixture.  Set the filling aside.

Cream Sauce 

1. Melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the chicken stock and cook the sauce over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of a cream soup. Add the cream, hot pepper sauce, and slay and white pepper to taste. Pour the cream sauce over the individual 1 ¼ C capacity oven-safe bowls three-quarters of the way to the top with the creamed chicken filling.

Crust

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the butter in 16 pieces. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade, pulse the butter and flour until crumbly. Add the cream cheese, salt, and white pepper. Continue pulsing just until the dough forms a ball.
2. Set the dough on a flat-surface dusted with flour. Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to ¼” thickness. Measure the diameter of the pot pie bowls—mine are about 4” across—and cut out dough rounds that are 1 ½” larger in diameter. Whisk the egg in separate bowl. Lay the dough rounds on top of the pot pies, making sure the dough hangs evenly over each bowl. Brush the dough lightly with the beaten egg. Bake the pies for 20-25 min, until golden brown. Serve immediately.