Meals Under $1: Chicken Pot Pie - How Good Does Homemade Country-Style Chicken Pot Pie Taste? You Be the Judge!

I'm going to share something with you. I think there is only one other person in the whole wide world that knows this story. It is one of those moments that I can laugh about now, but at the time . . .

I grew up on my grandparents' farm. My grandmother was considered to be one of the better cooks in our community, and I inherited that talent. In fact, my husband thinks my grandmother's cooking paled in comparison to mine. Over the years I have had many people tell me that I could have been a chef.

I took pride in the fact that I was able to create really good meals and enjoyed inviting people over for meals.

So I developed a reputation ... and I kinda liked it! So in our first year of marriage, when we had gone to pick blackberries, I thought a blackberry cobbler sounded really good. Somehow, I'm really not sure how it happened, but I had never made a pie or cobbler. I guess that Grandma had always done it. But it didn't look hard, so I made my crust, added the filling and popped it into the oven. It really looked appetizing. When our meal was over, I went to cut the pie ... I went to cut the pie .... like I said, I went to cut the pie but the knife wouldn't cut the crust.

The crust was rock hard! Maybe even harder! We held forks in our fists and tried to jab ... make that stab ... them into the crust. As I remember, we did not even chip it! We may have even had to throw that pie plate away. I really don't remember because that was almost 30 years ago.

I know I'm really instilling a desire in you to make my chicken pot PIE recipe, aren't I? It's okay ... trust me. After about 29 years I made another pie crust last year and it turned out really good! After using store bought pie crusts for 29 years, I now make them. And I'm going to share the recipe with you. So now you know my deep dark secret ... the rock-hard pie crust that humbled me.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. shortening, chilled

3 T. ice water

Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl. With a pastry cutter, cut in the shortening with the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Drizzle 2 to 3 T. ice water over the mixture. Toss mixturee with a fork to moisten, adding more water a few drops at a time until the dough comes together.

Gently gather dough particles together into a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes before rolling out.

Roll out dough, and put in a pie plate.

If you want to double the recipe, use 2 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 t. salt, 1 cup chilled shortening and 1/4 cup plus 2 T. ice water.

I made the single portion of dough for the pie pictured above.

Chef Note: You can also use 2 cups chopped Cloverleaf's Rotisserie Chicken.

This recipe will easily serve 4 people, and could serve 6. The price per serving is based on 4.

• 2 cups chopped chicken, or one portion created from hub, Building Meals Under $1.25: Using 10 Pounds Chicken in 5 Recipes to Make 26 Servings
• 2 T. oil
• 1 onion
• 2 large carrots
• 2 potatoes
• 1 can peas (I forgot to add this), drained
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup or 1 can of cream of chicken soup
• 2 bouillon cubes, or equivalent in granules
• salt and pepper to taste

Chop onion and celery, and slice carrots. Dice potatoes. I rarely peel potatoes, but do cut out any bad spots.

Heat oil in skillet.

Saute carrots, onions and celery until onion is transluscent and slightly brown around the edges.

Boil potatoes and bouillon cubes or granules in a separate saucepan until done.

Drain potatoes, reserving 1 1/2 cups of potato water.

Add potatoes, potato water, cream of mushroom soup and diced chicken to mixture in skillet.

Cook until heated through.

Remove from heat.

Stir in peas. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Choose dish that you will cook chicken pie in. You can use a 2 quart casserole dish, a large pie plate or a 9 x 13 pan, or anything in between.

Roll out pie crust. Place over baking dish. Pour filling into crust folding crust over edges. Bake for 45 minutes.

When done, your country-style chicken pot pie will look similar to this. It tastes even better than it looks.

• 2 cups chopped chicken = .30 / serving
• 2 T. oil = .05 / serving
• 1 onion = .10 / serving
• 2 large carrots = .05 / serving
• 2 large potatoes = .07 / serving
• 1 can peas = .13 / serving
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup = .22 / serving
• 2 bouillon cubes, or equivalent inn granules = .05 / serving
• salt and pepper to taste
• Total cost per serving is: $.97

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Copyright © 2011 Cindy Murdoch (homesteadbound)

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