chicken pot pie

The basic yet delicious recipe derives it's hearty flavor from the flavored roux. Bringing the flavor out of the onions and the addition of the garlic, thyme and secret ingredient - old bay - make just the "gravy" itself smell like a French roasted chicken without the addition of any meat yet. It's wonderful. And the best part is that it's quick, easy and uses up all your leftovers!

Just don't forget to cover the edges of the crust like I did. Whoops!



Ingredients:
1 batch basic pie dough
1 large sweet onion, diced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp old bay
1/8 tsp ground pepper
4 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
4 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 c. chicken broth
2 c. milk
1 lb. cooked chicken breast, cubed
1 large package frozen mixed veggies of choice, steamed (I love steamfresh veggies with sweet corn, white corn, carrots, green beans, and asparagus but leftovers are great too)
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees and prepare a deep 10-in pie plate.
-Roll out 1/2 of pie dough and line bottom of pie plate.
-Return all dough to fridge.
-In a large, deep skillet heat oil over medium high heat.
-Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent and starting to brown, about 10 minutes.
-Add garlic, thyme, old bay and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
-Reduce heat to medium low and add butter, stirring until melted.
-Add flour and stir to combine.
-Cook, stirring frequently, until roux starts to darken, about 3-5 minutes.
-Deglaze pan with chicken broth, stirring and scraping browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
-Add milk and stir to combine (Mixture should be quite thick. You can add more milk if needed.)
-Remove from heat and stir in chicken and then vegetables.
-Remove pie plate and remaining dough from fridge and pour filling into dough-lined pie plate.
-Roll out remaining pie dough as desired and top the pie, making sure to have at least one large hole for steam to escape. (I find all the holes in a lattice top works best to avoid bubble-overs in the oven)
-Brush the top with beaten egg.
-Line the edges of the pie plate with heavy duty foil to protect them from burning (something I obviously forgot to do here).
-Place in oven and bake until dough is golden brown and filling is heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
-Remove, let cool slightly and serve.