at the Water's Edge


Living life and learning all I can along the way!

Springtime Chicken Pot Pie

I have a confession to make. I always disliked Chicken Pot Pie. Only, I'm not sure I ever actually ate it to know that I didn't like it. It was more the concept. I mean, meat pie? I don't even like cooked fruit pies (much to my pie-loving mother's chagrin and dismay). Plus, it usually contains mushy peas and a gravy looking substance. Just, no.

A few years back, I actually was served some for the first time since I could remember and it wasn't bad. The crust was good. I could eat it. Then sometime in the last several months I got brave and decided to try making it for myself. It turned out pretty good! Unfortunately, I don't think I saved the recipe or wrote down what I did, so when Tom requested I make Chicken Pot Pie this week, I had to start at square one. Well, almost. The one thing I did remember was that I had used my apple pie crust recipe for the pot pie crust -- although, it's not really my recipe; it's from Tom's mom who is world renown for her apple pie (or, at the very least, a family legacy).

So, crust: check. Filling...let's see...with spring asparagus coming in and not wanting to go to the grocery store for additional produce, I decided to use what I had on hand. I had though of doing bacon wrapped asparagus to use some of it up, but then I thought: why not throw both of those in the chicken pot pie? It was a good idea. I actually prefer the asparagus to whatever vegetables I used last time. And bacon? Can't go wrong there. The one thing I couldn't figure out was the liquid gravy/soup/sauce to mix in with the filling. I could not for the life of me recall what I used last time. I had some condensed cream of chicken soup in the pantry so I decided to use that. Next time, I'll look at some other options. Something about canned soup grosses me out, too. Especially when there are chunks of canned meat in there. I have texture and canned food issues, okay. Leave me alone. Anywho, canned soup or not, it tasted good, and if I don't come up with a better filling solution, I will use it again.


Springtime Chicken Pot Pie with Asparagus and Bacon




Ingredients:

For the Crust:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2/3 cups softened butter or shortening
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp salt

For the Filling:

  • 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, grilled until just done
  • 5 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 10 asparagus spears, chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1/3 cup onion, diced
  • 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
  • 12oz water
  • Salt, pepper and garlic to taste

Directions:
For the crust, combine flour and salt in a medium sized bowl. Cut in butter or shortening with a pastry cutter (note to self: I need to get one of those) or use your fingers to work in until crumbly. Add water and mix with your hands until well combined. Divide dough in half and roll out into ~10" circles. I like to roll it out on parchment paper and simply pick up the parchment paper and flip over on top of a pie pan. Set one circle of crust dough in the bottom of a pie pan and press up against the sides. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a bowl and mix well. Add filling mixture to the pie pan. Set the second circle of crust dough on top and press the edges to seal everything in! Make several slits in the top crust to allow steam to escape. Bake at 375 degrees for one hour. Easy as pie!

I actually cooked the chicken the night before and had leftover bacon the night before. I think that's best, as it would be time consuming to do it all in one day. A rotisserie chicken would work well, too. Okay, so meat pies aren't as bad as they sound. I think I'll do some experimenting on some other variants this year, too! Just don't get too excited and start talking to me about meatloaf. I still stand by the idea that meat should not come in loaf form. End of story.

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ABOUTME

Hi there! My name is Dana and I live in West Michigan with my husband, Tom and our dog Copernicus. I created this space as a place to share the things I learn along this journey I call life. I work in marketing and I'm a sort of Jane of All Trades, interested in all things nature, gardening, cooking, exploring and learning new things. This blog is a conglomeration of my interests, hobbies, life and life lessons. Thanks for stopping by!

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