Chicken Pot pie is a yummy dish to make. The recipe I like to use is simple and straight forward. I made this recipe a few years ago and my picky eater did not care for it. However, when I made it more recently, he was excited to try it again. The comforting smell caught his attention. The texture could have been the previous cause for him to turn away from this meal. Or, an equal possibility, it could have been the onions.

Chicken in the pot

Growing up in central Pennsylvania the term chicken pot pie could mean two different meals. The Pennsylvania Dutch make a dish that is more of a soup, or chicken and dumplings. That meal includes chicken broth, some vegetables, spices, chicken pieces and from scratch pie dough cooked in a large stock pot until the chicken is cooked through. When it is cooked thoroughly, the dough has the consistency similar to a thick cooked noodle. This is called ‘chicken pot pie’ for the literal words. For instance, the meat is the ‘chicken,’ which is cooked in a large pot with the pie dough. For that meal, I have two recipes I have yet to try. One is from my husband’s grandmother. The other recipe is from my dad’s grandmother, my great-grandmother. The two recipes I have are similar, but I want to try them both or a mixture of the two at some point.

Meat pie

Classic chicken pot pie, the other way to make it, is the meal I am describing in this post. Some people know this meal as a meat pie. This meal is an actual pie. It is cooked in a pie plate with crust on the top and bottom. Between the crust layers is a mixture of meat, vegetables, spices and thick gravy. This version of chicken pot pie can be found in many grocery stores and at restaurants.

A Thoughtful friend

I was first introduced to this meal when a friend gave my family a meal. My church community, mothers groups and some friends would bless each other with meals on occasion. Those occasions included moving, adding a family member, a medical issue, a death or other life change. Generously, one of the moms in a mother’s group I was in brought me a chicken pot pie after I had my second baby. She had made it previously and put it in the freezer. The pie was frozen when she gave it to me, so we could thaw it out and bake it immediately or put it in our own freezer for later. That was helpful, as we were receiving a lot of food, sometimes more than what we could eat before it started to go bad.

Asking for the Recipe

After we ate it, my husband and I enjoyed this meal and wanted to get the recipe. The next time I saw this friend was at a family event. I asked her husband about the recipe and he agreed that the meal was very tasty. He told me it was an old family recipe that her grandma used to make. Uncertain if she would give up her family’s recipe, I asked if she would be willing to share it with me. She laughed a little and said she would message me the link for the recipe. It was not an old family secret, rather a recipe she found online and enjoyed making.

My Thoughts on this Chicken pot pie

When I make this version of chicken pot pie, I usually make at least 3 pies. They seem to freeze well as long as they are wrapped very well. We can either eat one at a later date or gift one to someone in need. When a friend needs a meal we like to get them pizza, subs or something similar from their favorite local shop. In addition to that, we like to give a previously made frozen meal so they can eat it at a later date. This recipe makes for an excellent option for a frozen meal, of course thawing and baking instructions are included with the gifted pie.

I have found that I must take care when I triple this recipe. The meat and vegetables can all be cooked together. However, I must make the gravy part one batch at a time. Otherwise, the gravy will be too runny and there will be a superfluous amount of it. It does not seem to thicken up well when I triple that part of the recipe.

Let me know how you like this meal and how you made it differently.

Find the recipe at Allrecipes.com, by Robbie Rice.