Recipe: Classic Chicken Pot Pie with Variations

CLASSIC CHICKEN POT PIE

"Pot pie for dinner is possible even if you're busy. Just pick up refrigerated pie crusts instead of making them yourself. You'll cut your preparation time in half."



1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
13/4 cups chicken broth)
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups cut-up cooked chicken or turkey
1 (10 oz) box frozen peas and carrots*
Two-crust pastry, unbaked

1. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken and peas and carrots; remove from heat.

2. Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Roll two-thirds of pastry into 13-inch square. Ease into ungreased 9-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish. Pour chicken mixture into pastry-lined dish.

3. Roll remaining pastry into 11-inch square. Cut out designs with 1-inch cookie cutter. Place square over chicken mixture. Arrange cutouts on pastry. Turn edges of pastry under and flute.

4. Bake about 35 minutes or until golden brown.

*About 1 1/2 cups of any frozen vegetable combination can be substituted. (Smaller vegetable pieces will be distributed more evenly throughout the filling.)

Makes 6 servings

1 Serving: Calories 670; Total Fat 43g (Saturated Fat 14g; Trans Fat 5g); Cholesterol 80mg; Sodium 1050mg; Total Carbohydrate 44g (Dietary Fiber 3g); Protein 25g exchanges: 3 Starch, 21/2 Lean Meat, 61/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 3

LIGHTER DIRECTIONS:
For 22 grams of fat and 425 calories per serving, decrease butter to 2 tablespoons, increase flour to 1/2 cup, decrease broth to 11/2 cups and use fat-free (skim) milk. After melting butter in Step 1, stir in milk, onion, salt and pepper; stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in broth. Continue as directed-except use One-Crust Pastry for top crust in Step 3. Spray 9-inch square baking dish or pan with cooking spray. Pour chicken mixture into dish (not pastry-lined). Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until golden brown.

VARIATIONS:

TUNA POT PIE:
Substitute 1 can (12 oz) tuna in water, drained, for the chicken.

CHICKEN DIVAN POT PIE:
Substitute 1 box (9 oz) broccoli cuts for the frozen sweet peas and carrots. Stir 1 teaspoon curry powder and a few drops hot pepper sauce into flour mixture before cooking. Continue as directed.

PORTABELLA CHICKEN POT PIE:
Add 1 1/2 cups sliced baby portabella mushrooms to flour mixture before cooking in Step 1. Spoon cranberry sauce into small bowl; stir well. Continue as directed

Source: Betty Crocker Cookbook, 11th edition, September 27, 2011