This is Rachel today, and I make a sweet pot pie if I do say so myself, and since September 23rd is National Great American Pot Pie Day, I am sharing my recipe with you.
First of all, I use a real pie crust. On the top AND the bottom. I know, that seems so over the top, but that is the reason we love pot pies at our house so much! Its all about the crust.
This recipe was given to me about 20 years ago by a sweet lady named Ellen. She is a pie Goddess. This is her dessert pie crust recipe so it must be good for a main course!
Ellen's Pie Crust
In a tea cup mix really well:
1 tbsp vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 egg
In a medium bowl mix with a pastry blender:
2 1/2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup shortening
When I first started making this pie crust, I tried to just blend it all with a fork. That pastry blender really is the kicker here. It cuts the shortening into the flour so much easier and faster!
After your egg solution is mixed well and your shortening is also mixed well, pour the contents of the tea cup into the larger bowl. Now use your pastry blender to mix this portion up. Here is your glorious pie crusts!
This recipe makes 2 crusts, one for the bottom of the pot pie and one for the top. So separate your bowl of crust into two even balls. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
Roll out one of the pie crust dough balls on a floured surface (I use a thin kitchen towel because it makes it easier in the long run) with a floured rolling pin. My mistake when I first started making crusts was not enough flour. Then it sticks to everything, then you get mad.
Once your dough is rolled out on your towel, flip it over, be an acrobat and balance that baby on your forearm and flop it in a pie plate, trying your best to center it. This is a practiced skill, I promise you will get better.
Pat the crust down into the pie plate and fix any cracks if you have them. I use a knife to cut off the extra flopping over the sides. But save the crust and just set it aside - pie crust cookies are the best!
If you are like me, you have a few pie plates that are just a little different in size. Use your biggest one. You are going to want the extra space for this yummy recipe!
If you want to go buy a pie crust at the grocery store, that sounds awesome too. Don't sweat it. It will still taste great.
So here is the fun part.
I have made chicken filling, ground beef filling, beef steak filling (before Heath showed me what steaks should be cooked like!), and even ground deer meat filling.
They all consist of the same basic ingredients:
2 cans of veggies (drained)
1 jar of gravy
1 1/2ish pounds of meat (more if you like it meatier and thicker)
salt and pepper or other seasonings
That is it, really. I have used frozen veggies before but I prefer these canned veggies the best. The veggie-texture turns out the best, as well as the crust surrounding the veggies. Nobody likes a soggy pie crust, and that seems to happen when I used frozen veggies.
Use the kind of gravy that fits your meat - chicken for chicken and beef for beef. I'm not picky about brand, I just buy whatever gravy is on sale. You can make your own gravy of course, but most days I try to keep it simple.
Heath has turned me into a chicken griller. I love chicken on the grill, in this recipe especially. For the ground beef pie, just brown it and drain. Whatever kind of meat you decide to use, precook it.
Mix all your pot pie ingredients together in a large bowl and then pour into the crust you have placed in your pie plate.
Smooth the filling out and then put the 2nd pie crust on the top after you have rolled it out as well.
You will have floppy crust hanging over and this is when you take a knife and just trim off all the excess crust that extends over the edge.
Your pie crusts need to be be sealed together. I used to be really self conscious about my pie sealing job, but I kind of don't care anymore. It's all good. The traditional way is to use your thumb and forefinger of your right hand and smoosh the crust into them with the forefinger of your left hand. It creates the traditional crimped pie look. Whatever you do is groovy.
Your pie is going to be chucker-block full, so it must be vented. Cut some kind of pattern into the top crust, and when you bake it, save yourself some tears and place a cookie sheet on the rack below the pie to catch the hot pie slobbers.
Bake your pot pie at 375 degrees for an hour. You can brown the top crust for just a minute or two if you need to at the end of your cooking. It all depends on your oven.
Now for Ellen's famous Pie Crust Cookies!
Put the extra pieces of crust you cut off onto an ungreased cookie sheet, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar, bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees and your kids will love you!
Remove your pies from the oven and let them rest and cool for at least an hour before eating. They need a little time to set up.
I didn't do the usual egg wash on the top of the crust because I forgot. It gives the pie a nice golden color but I was just so excited to get them in the oven, it slipped my mind.
So there you have it - delicious homemade pot pie. Not very spendy, full of goodness, easy to make, and a family pleaser. However, our 6 year old is NOT happy with this for dinner. The poor girl doesn't know what is good for her!
This pie filling is grilled chicken, chicken gravy, 2 cans of veggies, salt and pepper.
This pie filing is ground beef, beef gravy, 2 cans of veggies, salt and pepper.
Happy National Pot Pie Day
to you from us here in Heath's kitchen!
Brought to you by Heath @ HeathsHomes.com
