Chicken Pot Pie for PI Day

I hate to admit it but I am not a pie maker. I like cookies and brownies. Years ago hubby asked me when I was going to be old enough to make pies. My response was always, 'In ten years'. When you say that in your mid 20's you think you will have plenty of time to learn to make pies. I have given him the answer over and over.
Well the time has come, I think I am finally old enough to make pies! I remember all the fun pies that were posted last year on PI Day. This year I would have a pie for PI Day. Thanks to Barbara Bakes and Dorie I finally felt that I could tackle a pie. I started out easy with a Chicken Pot Pie. I opted for just a top crust--baby steps. I made a quick crust in my food processor--nothing difficult about that. The filling was a delicious sauce full of veggies and meat. I used 6 inch pie pans (they are just so cute) because there are just two of us. One pie was plenty for dinner and enough for a hubby's lunch tomorrow. I also have enough filling for a mini pie to take to Mom tomorrow. Life is good now that I am a Pie Maker!

Chicken Pot Pies
 Pastry
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons butter, chilled
2/3 cup shortening, chilled
Ice water--about 5 tablespoons
Pulse flour and salt in food processor. Drop in diced cold butter and cold shortening and pulse just till they are cut in. Dorie says you should have pieces the size of fat green peas and others the size of barley. Add the ice water and pulse off and on until you have a mixture that sticks together when pinched. Dump the mixture on a Roll'pat and gather together and form into 4 discs. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least an hour.
This whole process really only takes a few minutes.

Filling
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup diced onion
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup milk
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups diced cooked chicken (Rotisserie works great)
1 1/4 cups diced cooked potato
1/2 cup diced cooked carrots (you could use frozen)
1/2 cup frozen peas
Melt butter in pan, saute celery and onions about 5 minutes or until tender, add flour and seasonings. Whisk and bring to a bubble, cook for a minute. Add milk and chicken broth, heat and stir until mixture becomes quite thick, cook for a minute. Remove from heat and add chicken and veggies. Put in individual ovenproof dishes. Don't overfill. Roll out pastry on a lightly floured Roll'Pat, make sure you roll it out an inch bigger than your dish. Put pastry on top of pie, crimp if using a pie plate. Cut a slit in the top to let steam escape. If using a dish with straight sides just let pastry hang down and lightly press to sides of dish (check out Barbara's post to see this method). Bake at 425 for 30-35 minutes till light brown.

Will I make this again??? YES! It is comfort food at it's finest. It's not a 30 minute meal but with some planning it can be a weeknight meal. Dorie says that well wrapped the pastry can be kept in the fridge for 5 days or the freezer for 2 months. How nice would it be to always have some pastry in your freezer. The filling came together quickly. I diced my potato and cooked it in salted water for about 8 minutes, I took the potato out and then added the diced carrots to the boiling water for a few minutes till they were crisp tender. The chicken was left over from a roasted chicken earlier in the week. You could make the filling earlier in the day but I would heat it up before it goes in the tin.
I used the leftover filling and filled a small dish, I love the rustic look and how the pastry is draped over the dish. More crust per bite--that's a good thing! 
[Printable Recipe]