The Best Chicken Pot Pie- from Sunny

Top picture is just the soup, with some crackers to stir in. That's the fastest way to make this. Or you can do biscuits or dumplings. Pie crust definitely takes the longest, but it is fantastic! 

This thick, silky pot pie filling goes great topped with pie crust or biscuits and baked in the oven. 

Sunny made the best Chicken Pot Pie I've ever had in my life. This is the crust she used (though she makes it prettier and brushes it with the egg). But if you don't have time to make all this, just make your favorite biscuit recipe and drop spoonfuls of biscuit batter all over the top of the dish on the hot soup and bake for 20-30 minutes until biscuits are done. Tops will by crispy and bottoms will be moist like dumplings. 

Sunny makes this pie crust recipe and puts it on the top only of a 10x16 pan. So roll out into a rectangle to fit. Don't put it on the edges of the pan, just let it float on top.

Four & Twenty Blackbirds' All-Butter Crust- from FOOD52 

(best to make this in the morning if using for dinner that night so it can stay in the fridge all day)

(for one single crust 9-10 pie, or a double-crust pie) (double this for the top only of a 10x16 pan).

1 1/4 c. flour

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1 stick (1/4 lb) cold unsalted butter, cut up

1/2 c. cold water

2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (acv)

1/2 c. ice

Stir the flour, salt, and sugar together in a large bowl

Add the butter pieces and coat with the flour mixture using a bench scraper or spatula.

With a pastry blender, cut butter into the flour mixture, working quickly until butter is mostly pea-sized; be careful not to overblend

Combine the water, acv, and ice in a large measuring cup or small bowl.

Sprinkle 2 Tbsp of the ice water mixture over the flour mixture and mix and cut in until fully incorporated.

Add more of the ice water mixture, 1-2 Tbsp at a time, using the bench scraper or hands to mix until the dough comes together in a ball, with some dry bits remaining. 

Squeeze and pinch with your fingers to bring all the dough together, sprinkling dry bits with more drops of the ice water mixture if necessary to combine. 

***Shape dough into a flat disc, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight to give the crust time to mellow.

If making the double-crust version, divide the dough in half before shaping each portion into flat discs.

Wrapped tightly, the dough can be refrigerated for 3 days or frozen for 1 month

Filling Part: from Two Peas & Their Pod (double this for a 10x16 pan)

•  1/4 cup unsalted butter
•  1/3 cup diced onion
•  2 medium carrots sliced (about 1 cup)
•  1 stalk celery sliced (about 1/2 cup)
•  2 cloves garlic minced
•  1/3  cup all-purpose flour
•  1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
•  1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley
•  1 teaspoon salt
•  1/2  teaspoon black pepper
•  1 3/4 cups chicken broth
•  1/2 cup heavy cream
•  3 cups shredded chicken or turkey
•  1 cup frozen peas
• 
  

1. To make the filling, heat the butter over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook until tender, stirring occasionally.Whisk in the flour, salt, black pepper, thyme, parsley, chicken broth, and heavy cream. Whisk until there are no flour lumps and then simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Stir in the shredded chicken or turkey and frozen peas. Remove from heat and set aside while you roll out the pie dough.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Remove the pie dough from the refrigerator. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle. Dough should be about 1/4 inch thick. Transfer dough to a 9-inch pie pan. Pat with your fingers, making sure it is smooth. Trim the extra overhang of dough with a knife and discard. Fill pie with filling. Roll out the second disk of dough and carefully cover the pie. Trim the extra overhang off the sides. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork or your fingers. With sharp knife, slice a few small slits in the center of the top crust. Using a pastry brush, brush crust and edges with beaten egg.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. I use a pie crust shield to protect the edges from browning too much too soon. Cool for 10 minutes, cut into slices and serve.
5. Note-we love making this recipe when we have leftover rotisserie chicken or turkey. This pot pie freezes well. Cool completely and freeze for up to 1 month. You can freeze the whole pie or slices.