Recipe(tried): Biscuit Topped Chicken Pie and Flaky Biscuits

This is a delicious pie and well worth the time involved in making it. Plan to start it a day before you are planning on serving it.

Biscuit Topped Chicken Pie

1 (3 1/2 pound) chicken
4 chicken breasts (optional... Cook these as well if you really like having a lot of chicken in your pot pie)
Water to cover chicken
2 or 3 stalks of celery and leaves, cut in chunks
2 or 3 slices of onion
A few peppercorns
1 Tbl. salt
1 bay leaf
1/2 - 3/4 c. chopped onion
1 c. all purpose flour
6 c. chicken stock
Salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. thyme(optional)(I ususally use just the
thyme)
1/8 tsp. marjoram (optional)
1/8 tsp. savory (optional)
(Or you may use 1/8 tsp. poultry seasonig instead of any of the other seasonings)
1 (10 oz.) package frozen peas or petite peas
1 c. sliced carrots, par cooked, about 4 min.
1 baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks, par cooked, about 4 min.
Flaky biscuits (recipe follows)
2 Tbl. chopped parsley (for the biscuits)

Place chicken in a deep pot, covered with water. Add the celery, onion, peppercorns, salt and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered about 45 min. Turn off heat and cool chicken in broth. When chicken is cool, remove it from the broth and skin and debone it. Put the skin and bones back in the broth and simmer another hour to 1 1/2 hours.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces; cover and refrigerate until ready to use. After the broth is finished simmering, strain it through a seive, into a bowl that will hold it and chill in the refrigerator.

Remove the chicken fat that rises to the top of the stock and SAVE. This can be done the day before serving, if desired.

Melt chicken fat, about 1/2 cup, in a large skillet. (This is what gives the pie a wonderful chicken flavor. Don't substitute.) Saute chopped onion in chicken fat until translucent. Add flour and mix well, cooking for a min or 2 to get rid of the floury taste. Gradually add about 6 cups of chicken stock. Season with salt, pepper and optional seasonings, if desired. Heat and taste for seasoning and stir until thickened.

Arrange bite sized pieces of chicken in the bottom of a 9 X 13 X 2 inch casserole. Sprinkle uncooked peas,and par cooked carrots and potatoes over chicken. Pour sauce over all. With a fork, move the chicken around to allow sauce to get to the bottom of pan. This will appear to be a lot of sauce but it cooks down and the biscuits absorb a lot.

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake at 375 degrees F for about 1 hour. Uncover dish and place uncooked biscuits, touching each other, over surface of the pie. Bake at 425 degrees F until biscuits are cooked through and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Serves 8 or 10

FLAKY BISCUITS

4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 c. crisco shortening (vegetable shortening)
1 1/2 c. milk
2 Tbl. chopped parsley

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt Add chopped parsley. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add milk and work dough just until dry ingredients are well moistened and dough forms a ball. Roll out, not too thick, and cut biscuits. If not using for pot pie, omit parsley if you like.

If not using for pot pie, bake on ungreased baking sheet at 400 degrees F for about 15 min. or until brown. These biscuits may be frozen by using the following method: Bake for only 10 min. or until they are slightly brown on the bottom, but not browned on the top. Remove from pan, cool and freeze in plastic bags.

When ready to use, they may be baked frozen at 400 degrees F for about 10 min. or until golden brown on top.