By Beth V
Chicken Pot Pie ranks pretty high on my list of ultimate comfort foods. It is chicken, carrots, onion, celery and peas in a creamy, dill-infused sauce nestled under a blanket of crisp, cracker-like crust. It is warm and cozy and full of flavor. This version is also a one-pot meal that takes advantage of some super-market hacks that help get the chicken pot pie on the table in a jiffy.
First, chop some carrots, celery and onion. Then melt two tablespoons of butter in the skillet, sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until the onions are tender and the carrots are starting to soften. Add in chopped garlic and sauté until you can just start to smell its fragrance.
The next step is to make a roux. Dictionary.com defines a roux as “a cooked mixture of butter and flour used to thicken sauces, soups, etc.” It’s a fancy word for a very simple and easy process. The butter half of the roux is already in the pan, now it’s time to add the flour. Sprinkle two tablespoons flour over the vegetables and stir to evenly coat them. Allow this to cook for a minute or so to brown the flour a bit. Add in two cups of chicken broth and a bit of cream and stir or whisk the mixture together until the flour is integrated into the sauce and no lumps remain.
Now, we are ready for the first short-cut. Add four cups of cooked chicken to this delicious creamy mixture. One of our local grocery stores has rotisserie chickens on sale every Friday, so I picked one up, separated 
the meat from the bones and shredded it as I added it to the pan. This is the quick and easy version. The more frugal version would involve leftover chicken or roasting a chicken at home in my own oven. Shortcuts are good and necessary sometimes, though, and sometimes buying a rotisserie chicken makes the difference between gathering around a warm, home-prepared meal and a hastily-eaten dash through the drive through lane.
After adding the chicken, stir in the peas and the dill and allow to come to a bubbly simmer. Set this aside to prepare the crust. Enter the second short-cut: store-bought, refrigerated pie crust. These are sold in a rectangular box near the tubes of biscuit dough. Before using one of these, you want allow it to come to room temperature in its plastic sleeve for about twenty minutes. This makes the dough more pliable and easy to handle. Unroll the crust and lay it on a lightly-floured surface. You want to make it just a little larger by gently rolling or patting it from the center toward the outside until it is about twelve inches in diameter. Place the dough over the chicken mixture and just sort of pinch it down a little around the edges to seal against the edge of the pan.
Cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape as it cooks, then brush the crust with a beaten egg. Place the pie in a 400 degree oven for about 35 minutes until it is browned and flaky.
Mine appears to be very brown in this photo, but it was not burned at all. It tasted great. I think I brushed my egg-coating on a little more thickly than necessary so it got quite brown before it was cooked all the way through. If you prefer yours to be a little less brown then aim for a thin coating of the beaten egg.
Look at the inside now. Yum. Enjoy!
Chicken Pot Pie in a Cast Iron Skillet*
Slightly adapted from Country Living
Serves 62 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
4 medium carrots, sliced into ¼ inch-thick coins
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves, or 1 teaspoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons heavy cream (could substitute half and half or evaporated milk here if desired)
2 cups chicken broth
4 cups shredded, cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 ½ teaspoons dried dill
1 store-bought, refrigerated pie crust
1 egg, beaten
1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove pie crust from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature on the counter as you prepare the recipe.
2. Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast-iron pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Season with salt and pepper. When the onion is translucent and the carrot is beginning to soften, stir in the garlic and allow to cook for about 30 seconds or until fragrant.
3. Reduce heat to low, sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir to evenly coat. Cook for one minute. Pour the broth and cream into the skillet, cooking and stirring until the mixture is thick and creamy. Bring to a boil and set aside.
4. Place crust on a lightly-floured surface and gently roll or press it out to expand it to 12-inches. Place the pastry over the chicken mixture. Cut slits to allow steam to escape and brush with beaten egg. Place in oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until browned and flaky.
*If you do not have a cast-iron or other oven-safe skillet, simply prepare the chicken mixture in a skillet, then transfer to a 2-quart baking pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and continue with the recipe.
Beth is a stay-at-home mom of three wonderfully active children ages 6, 3 and almost 1. She is married to Jason (who also writes for us here at MAD21) and spends her days teaching, changing diapers, sweeping up Cheerios, keeping peace among the kids, and whipping out gourmet meals on the side.