Chicken pot pie

I have a lot of favorite "comfort foods", but chicken pot pie is up close to the top. Even so, it's been a really long time since I've indulged because, let's be honest, they don't call it comfort food because it makes you shed fat cells.

I adapted Ina Garten's recipe, probably enough to call it my own, and used this recipe as a spring board for the sauce. Here's how I made it:

 

Ingredients:

This makes enough filling for two 9" pies or 8 ramekins

3 chicken breast halves, boiled and cut in 1" cubed

2 large carrots, cubed

1/2 yellow onion, diced

2 medium red potatoes, cubed (I leave the peels on)

1 c. frozen peas

2 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 c. milk

1 c. chicken stock, plus 1/4 c.

1/4 c. butter

1/4 c. flour

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

1/2 t. celery salt

1/2 t. onion powder

2 pre-made pie crusts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheit.
2. Boil the chicken until cooked through, then cube.
3. While the chicken is boiling, saute the onions and garlic in a little bit of olive oil until the onions are transparent. Add the carrots and potatoes and 1/4 c. chicken stock, let simmer.
4. In a separate sauce pan (2 qt.) melt the butter and add the flour, stirring until it becomes a paste. Add the milk and the rest of the chicken stock, bring to a roiling boil until it thickens to your desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper, celery salt and onion powder.
5. Add the cubed chicken to the veggies, add the peas and fold into the sauce. I had to use a separate bowl to combine all the ingredients.
6. For the crust, I rolled out the pre-made crust and, using my 3" biscuit cutter, I cut enough to place 1 circle in the bottom and 1 on the top. Stretch the top and press along the edges to seal. Make several small slits in the crust.
7. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees farenheit for 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown.