Chicken Pot Pie (with another meal added in!)

SkillScale: 2
It's nearly winter time and I am ready to fill the house with smells of hot comfort food! Get ready to curl up on the couch and snuggle in to the familiar tastes of a hearty chicken pot pie.

Roasted chicken (already cooked and near deli area of grocery store)
1 bag frozen vegetables (carrots, peas, green beans, onions, etc.)
1 can cream of ? soup (your choice! cream of celery is my fav because it has more flavor)
8 oz sour cream
Pie crust (homemade or two frozen crusts)
Salt and pepper to taste, 1 t. celery salt (optional)
Milk to brush the top of the crust

First, remove the pie crusts from frozen bag to allow to thaw or make your pie crusts.

Then, I sneak in another meal during prep. I take the choicest pieces of chicken off of the bird and use those to make a chicken breast meal (boil some veggies, bake some biscuits or make a Lipton pasta side, add slices of cheese or a glass of milk and you've got a whole, easy meal). Enjoy this meal tonight and bake your pot pies for lunch or dinner tomorrow. If you're pre-baking pies for dinner tomorrow, you can undercook the pie a bit tonight, refrigerate and pop it in the oven for a quick meal tomorrow night.

Then, I take the remaining parts of the chicken (thich, legs, etc.) and add that to a bowl for the ingredients of a chicken pot pie.

Add cream soup, sour cream and frozen vegetables to a large bowl (the veggies will cook in the oven so no need to boil them first). Stir in chicken, salt and pepper and celery salt.

Presentation choices: select the dish for your pot pie (my fav is mini cheesecake pans because they make individual servings of pot pies great for packing for lunches, but you can choose a traditional pie pan. I add pie crust to the bottom of the pie container and leave enough crust to also top the pie with crust. You can also make mini pot pies in glass pyrex dishes being sure not to overfill so the rubber lid still fits on the dish when cool. It's a perfect solution for homemade lunch-to-go).

Prepare the pie crusts by lightly flouring a counter surface, rolling out the dough so it's even in thickness and it will fit your pot pie container. Place dough in bottom of pie pan (This pie is very forgiving so there is no need to be too neat with the crust. Feel free to tear off edges or place an edge of pie crust in where needed. Don't worry- it will all be covered up soon and noone will know and it will still taste great!)

Pour pot pie contents into pan with prepared crust(s) until heaping (make a nice bed for the top crust to lay on). Add top layer of crust; allow crust to fit over the edge and then tuck the crust in the pan around the crust in the pan. Shape the edges if desired, cut three vent holes/slits in the top crust and brush the crust with a light layer of milk to add sheen to the final pie.

Place pies on a jelly roll pan/cookie sheet to catch any boil over mess. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Note, smaller pies will bake faster, so keep an eye on your pie! Let cool slightly before serving and enjoy!