Chicken Pot Pie

 Tonight I truly wished I was a cow.

Yes, that is what I said, a cow...
So I could consume more of this...

...using my multiple stomachs. 

Oh well, I guess I will just have to settle on making these more often. :-)
I don't think I need to say much more about this recipe; the picture says it all.

Chicken Pot Pie

Pastry Crust
2 cups flour

1/2 Tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup COLD butter

1/2 cup ice water

Filling

1/2 cup butter

1 white onion, chopped

3/4 cup flour

5 tsp. low sodium chicken bullion

salt and pepper to taste

1 1/4 cup milk

3 cups water

1/4 tsp ground sage

2 cups carrots, sliced

3/4 cup frozen peas

2 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

For Pastry

Start this at least 2 1/2 hours before you want to eat. Add flour, salt, and sugar to large bowl. Mix a little. Remove butter from fridge and directly cut into flour mixture using two butter knives, a pastry cutter, or you can do this in a food processor by pulsing 10-12 times. Move quickly because you don't want your butter to warm up*. Stir until dough forms. Using your hands, lightly form a ball (again don't touch it too much or it will warm your butter). Wrap with plastic wrap and allow to chill in refrigerator for 1 hour.

Filling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter over medium heat in large saucepan. Saute onions until opaque. Add flour and mix well. Add bullion, milk and water. Stirring constantly, cook until sauce thickens. Mix in sage. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add carrots, peas, and chicken. Mix well. 

Pour filling evenly into 5 (9 oz.) ramekins (or any small oven safe dishes).

Remove pastry dough from refrigerator and roll out on floured surface (about 1/2 inch thick). Using the ramekins as a guide, cut out 5 even squares making sure the tips of your squares will reach beyond the edges of the ramekins. Cut an X in the middle of each square and place each on top of filling/ramekins. Place ramekins on a baking sheet (as you can see from the pictures, they bubble over just a tad). Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Bake in oven for 1 hour or until crusts are golden brown and cooked through. 

Allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. They pack a lot of heat and for a long time.

Enjoy!

*When making pastries, it is important to keep your butter as cold as possible. The more butter holds its shape, the better your pastry will form flaky layers in the oven.

Recipe inspired by Ina Garten