Pot Pie

The weather turned for the worse last week, and while Sandy did not do too much damage in the area, it did end up producing a decent storm.  However, it did really drop the temperature, and we had our first little flurries today.  Major snow is expected on Thursday, but for now, I'm just getting into a nice, cozy, late fall routine.

Yesterday, I roasted a chicken with some mashed potatoes, then made some gravy from the pan drippings.  This means... LEFTOVERS!

Behold, my chicken pot pie...

1) Get a really deep dish.  I have an Anchor Hocking round glass bowl that fits in a carrying case, which ends up being perfect.  It's the diameter of a pie plate, but a couple inches high.  

2) Unroll one premade pie crust into your bowl/dish/pie plate.  I am not gifted in the world of pie crusts.  Or, rather, I really can't tell the difference between my best pie crust and a refrigerated store bought crust.  Also, moving to New York, I have no counter space to roll out a crust.  

3) This is why you want a deep dish: Add 1 cup leftover chicken, 1 cup thawed frozen peas, a cup of diced carrots, a finely diced onions, maybe a cup of diced celery, and a cup of leftover gravy.  Gravy should be such that it's practically solid coming out of the fridge.  This is not a low-fat recipe.  Basic rule is at least two cups of veggies for your cup of chicken.  Combine all of this together, and throw this into your pie crust.

4) Grab the other crust.  Lay it over the top, crimp, and make the edge look pretty.  If you have no idea how to accomplish this, just roll the one crust into the other.  Pierce the crust to allow the steam to escape... 8 times should do it, making sure to space them evenly.  

5) Bake.  This is where it really depends on your brand of dough.  General rule would be to see what temperature the package recommends, then bake until the top is browned and flaky.  Otherwise, 375 for 30 minutes, check it, then adjust the time.  Because everything is pre-cooked, your main concern is cooking the crust through.