Sunday, November 21, 2010

Cooking a chicken pot pie

Today is Sunday. In my head, Sunday is cooking day. I usually wake up, spend sometime in front of the TV, hunting down some recipes. Once I have set my mind on something delicious, I go to the store and spend at least an hour picking out the best and cheapest ingredients.
Today was Chicken Pot Pie day. My room mate is sick, and it is grey outside, evoking a sense of darkness. It was time to eat some "comfort food". Chicken Pot Pies are nutritional if done right, and they are warm enough to keep us happy for a couple of hours.

So off I went to make 4 chicken pot pies with my small college budget.
I went to buy the ingredients, and in total, it comes down to 15$. For 4 chicken pot pies. I was worried I didn't have enough ingredients, but I had the perfect amount, expect for the chicken. Good thing we have a vegetarian in the house.

So here is how I made them.

1 cup [200 grams] of small onions (cut)
1 cup [200 grams] of carrots (diced)
1 cup [200 grams] of celery (diced)
1 cup [200 grams] of potatoes (diced)
1 cup [200 grams] of peas
4 slices of chicken (diced)
1 can of chicken broth
Salt and Pepper
1 cup [200 grams] of heavy cream
1 cup [200 grams] of milk
1 Tbsp [13 grams] of butter
2 Tbsp [13 grams] of flour
4 Pre-made crust in a bowl

Preparation:
First I cut all of the vegetables, and chicken. I opened the cans and checked that I had enough pans. (It requires two pans or one).

Cooking:
Saute the vegetables. (Which means to add the vegetables to oil and a pan. The oil must be hot.)
Add the chicken. Once the chicken is white, or brownish (to your preference, add the butter. Mix well. After the butter is melted, add the flour. Season with salt and pepper (as much as you want) It should look a little bready. After the flour is mixed in (you shouldn't see the flour anymore), you want to add the broth. The whole can will be fine. Let it simmer until it is a bit thicker. Then when the liquid is reduced of half of the amount that it was, you just need to add the milk and the heavy cream. Then let it simmer for a little bit, and when it looks a little thicker take the pan off the fire.
Preheat the oven for 400F [200C].
Once it is pre-heated, you can put the mix you just prepared in your bowls and put the crust on top, or not. Your choice on that one. Then put it in the bowls for 10 mns in the oven.

Enjoy!

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