Chicken Pot Pie

This blog is going to have a little bit different of a focus now. It's going to focus on my discoveries. Our family is striving to live a healthier lifestyle with little to no processed foods and TONS of fresh fruits and veggies. When I find a delicious and nutritious meal that my husband loves and 2 year old will eat then I'll put it up because that means it's got to be a keeper.

I am unleashing the most popular meal item that is served at my home. My husband, Zac, told me it's his #1 meal and requested to have it once a week. My 2.5 year old, Teagan, gobbles up his whole plate. I think it's pretty darn good and I know that it's healthy so we're all happy.
Here is the basic recipe, I'll explain each step with pictures below.

Chicken Pot Pie
5 Carrots, chopped
1 head Broccoli, chopped
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1-3 Chicken Breasts, cubed

1 onion, small diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced 1/4 C of Butter
1/3 C Whole Wheat Flour (white's okay too)
1/4 tsp pepper 2 C Chicken broth
2/3 C Milk (I use 1 %)

1-2 pie crusts

1. Wash the Veggies, aren't they beautiful, I just love how bright they are. You can also use peas, zucchini, squash, and celery but we didn't have any of those on hand so this is what we had. Just remember that if you add another veggie to use a little bit less of the others. The possibilities for this one are endless.

2. Chop/dice/cube/cut all the veggies. You're going to boil them so try to make the about the same size.

2. Cut up the chicken. I use 1 chicken breast because we are poor and meat is expensive so we use it sparingly for sure! I think that 2 would be ideal and 3 chicken breasts might be a little too meaty.

3. Throw the veggies and chicken into a pot full of boiling water and cover them up. You can add salt or a bullion cube to add flavor to the veggies, I never do though because I'm trying to lower our salt intake.

4. Cut up the onions and cloves of garlic and put them in a pretty big pan.

5. Saute until the onions are transparent.

6. Add flour and pepper and mix it all up so it looks like this:

7. Add in milk and chicken broth. NOTE: For the broth I just use bullion cubes with water. Also, I didn't have any milk when I made this today so I just left it out and did extra broth, it wasn't as good and I don't recommend it.

8. Mix it together until the sauce starts thickening. Make sure you get out all the lumps. After you let it simmer for 5 minutes or so it will start thickening up.

9. When the veggies are soft, or at least pretty close, drain out the water and put them into a casserole dish or a 9X13 pan. I use a casserole dish because it comes with a lid and 1 pie crust fits perfectly. If you use a 9X13 you probably will need 2 pie crusts.

10. Pour the Sauce on top of the veggies and mix them. I personally don't like it super wet so this is what mine looks like. You can always pour a little milk on top if you don't think there is enough of the liquid part.

11. Top with your favorite pie crust and make a few slits just before popping into the oven. I used a whole wheat variety.

12. Bake at 425 for 45-50 minutes or until the pie crust is golden brown. I let mine go the full 50 minutes today and the crust was a little over done, still tasted great though.

Pros to this recipe:

1. Lots of veggies

2. VERY easy to make during nap time and just let sit until an hour before dinner. I love that all of the dishes and pans can be cleaned before dinner even starts.

3. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP
4. Guys LOVE it. We have had other couples over, Zac's friends, the missionaries. The girls all like it and say it's delicious, but the guys go crazy for some reason.

Cons:

1. half a cube of butter

2. not a super quick and easy recipe, it usually takes about an hour from start until the mess is cleaned up.

3. Chicken bullion is full of junk that I can't pronounce

We love this and I hope you will too. :)