Chicken Pot Pies

Today my Mom and I made a batch of homemade chicken pot pies.  We made miniature sized pies and regular sized ones.  Here's our recipe for traditional pot pies, made simple. 

This recipe will yield seven mini pies, or 1 large pie.

Ingredients:

1 cup chicken (to save time, we used a rotisserie chicken that was pre-cooked; we just cut pieces of chicken off the bone and diced into small chunks)
1/3 cup onion, finely diced
1/3 cup celery, finely diced
1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables (we used a bag of peas and carrots from the store)
1/2 cup diced potatoes ~ (if using canned potatoes, use as is; if using fresh potatoes, make sure you microwave the diced pieces for about 2 minutes until they soften)
2 tablespoons butter
2 flavored bouillon cubes
1/4 cup flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups of chicken stock
Pie crusts ~ (if using store-bought crusts, 1 package will be enough for this recipe; if you want to make your own - see my past recipe for homemade crust in my Apple Pie post)
7 mini pie tins or 1 large pie tin~ disposable tins are easily found at the grocery store in the baking section

Instructions:

In a large saucepot on medium heat, add your olive oil. When it heats up a bit, add the celery and onions.  When the onions have cooked down a bit and the vegetables look translucent, add the butter.  When it melts completely, add the flour and start whisking immediately. Whisk until the flour is completely dissolved into the mixture.  

In a separate bowl, put the bouillon cubes into the chicken stock and microwave it for about two minutes.  Now, add the chicken stock to the saucepot.  Turn up the heat.  Add the potatoes and the frozen vegetables.  Add the chicken.  The mixture will almost come to a boil.  Let it cook for about 7-10 minutes.  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  We used the mini pie tins as "templates,"  flipped them over onto the crust, and cut the crust around the edge of the tin.  As I said, a "top" and "bottom" crust in a package from the store made 7 mini crusts.   You are only using these as top crusts; the pies do not need bottom crust.

Now, ladle your veggie mixture straight into the pie tins, leaving a bit of room in the tin.  Lay a crust on top of each tin, and then slice a tiny slit into the top of each pie.

Cook in the oven for about forty minutes.  When the crust is golden brown, they are done! 

Look at these - so delicious!  The individual ones are great if you were having guests over for
dinner, and the larger pies would be a great item to bring if you are the guest!