Old-Fashioned Chicken Potpie

So I made this. It was time-consuming but good.

I didn't make chicken stock, I used chicken broth.

Also, I used 2 chicken breasts, cut them up and cooked them in a pan with Pam and Herbes de Provence.

The crust was a bit hard. Also the final wasn't the prettiest (didn't look like the picture) and it didn't come out of the casserole pan cleanly (so the crust ended up on the bottom of the plate). Still it was good. I made a spinach salad as the side.

Old-Fashioned Chicken Potpie

Homemade stock adds a depth of flavor to this comfort classic.

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour, divided

3 tablespoons ice water

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

Filling:

3 cups Chicken Stock, divided

2 1/3 cups cubed red potato (about 1 pound)

1 cup (1/4-inch-thick) sliced carrot

2 teaspoons butter or stick margarine

1/2 cup chopped shallots or onions (I used onion)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups diced cooked chicken (I cooked some with herbes de provence)

1 cup frozen petite green peas

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Dash of black pepper

Cooking spray

2 teaspoons 1% low-fat milk

To prepare crust, lightly spoon 1 cup flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1/4 cup flour, ice water, and vinegar in a small bowl. Combine 3/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; cut in shortening with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add vinegar mixture; stir just until moist. Press mixture gently into a 5-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap; cover with additional plastic wrap. Chill for 15 minutes. Roll dough, still covered, into a 13 x 10-inch oval. Place dough in freezer 5 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed.

Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare filling, bring 2 1/2 cups Chicken Stock to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add potato and carrot; cook 2 minutes. Drain mixture in a colander over a bowl, reserving cooking liquid.
(I didn't do this because I didn't see the points since the mixture and the liquid are used later).

Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; cook 3 minutes. Lightly spoon 1/2 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1/2 cup flour and 1/2 cup Chicken Stock; stir with a whisk. Add to skillet. Stir in potato mixture, reserved cooking liquid, chicken, peas, 3/4 teaspoon salt, thyme, and pepper. Cook 10 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Spoon chicken mixture into a 1 1/2-quart casserole dish coated with cooking spray. Remove 1 sheet of plastic wrap from dough. Place dough on top of chicken mixture, pressing to edge of dish. Remove top sheet of plastic wrap. Cut 5 slits in top of crust to allow steam to escape. Gently brush crust with milk. Bake at 400° for 45 minutes or until golden (I cooked 35 minutes and then let sit in a turned-off oven for 10 minutes). Let stand 10 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings

CALORIES 366 (30% from fat); FAT 12.4g (sat 3.6g,mono 4g,poly 3.1g); IRON 3.5mg; CHOLESTEROL 46mg; CALCIUM 40mg; CARBOHYDRATE 42.5g; SODIUM 698mg; PROTEIN 20.2g; FIBER 2.8g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 1999