Chicken Pot Pie Goodness

I made one of our all time favorite dinners on Friday night - yummy chicken pot pie. My mom gave me the recipe a few years ago and since then it has been tweaked and played with until it was just right. I still alter it every time I make it because I don't follow the exact recipe. And I alter it based on the ingredients we have in the house. If you're interested, here goes:

Preheat oven at 375 degrees.

Start by chopping up two yellow onions and saute in two tablespoons of butter to get them nice and caramelized.

Chop up 6 stalks of celery around the same size as the onions and add to the pan. Make sure to salt the onion and celery mixture. It helps them soften as well as add's flavor. I always cook with kosher salt.

I also had one fresh carrot left from the farmers market last weekend so I chopped that up and threw it in along with some fennel we had on hand that I chopped up and added.

While this is cooking, rinse and pat dry chicken breast tenders (or you can use chicken breasts, etc). I seasoned mine with salt, pepper and a zesty seasoning blend I had on hand, but you can use your favorite seasonings and cook on medium heat in a little oil until golden brown on the outside. Don't worry about cooking it all the way through because it'll cook more in the oven later on.

Chop a few sprigs of fresh thyme (or use dried thyme) and add it to your veggie mixture. The add 2 can's of cream of potato soup and 1 can of cream of chicken soup along with 1.5 cups of chicken broth. Feel free to add more chicken broth if the mixture is too thick for you. Mix well and let simmer.

When chicken is done cooking, chop up in little chunks and then add to the pie mixture. Mix well, and season your mixture with a little salt, pepper, and Lawry's season salt to taste. I also added the juice of half a lemon to really bring out the flavors.

The add 0ne medium-sized bag of frozen pea's and carrots. Cheap and easy. Mix everything well and then transfer to your pot pie dish. The mixture will be enough for two pot pies. I didn't have two pot pie dishes handy so I put it in casserole dish. It all works the same.

Cover the mixture with your pre-made pie crusts. I always use Pillsbury, the other brands don't taste as good.

I then cut small slits into the pie crust to vent and brushed an egg wash over the crust.

Pop into the oven and bake at 375 for about 30-40 minutes or until a perfect golden brown (or until you are so hungry you can't wait another minute like we did).

(It was a lazy paper plate night, k?)

Pair this with a good movie (Grown-Ups) and an even better dessert (Peach Cranberry Cobbler) and you've got yourself an amazing Friday night. Does it get any better than this??

Hope you're having a good weekend!! Tonight I'm making Pot Roast for the family (even thought I don't eat meat, I'm gonna give it a whirl). I think I'm going to try this Food Network Recipe from Ina Garten: Company Pot Roast and pair it with these: Sweet Onion Potatoes Au Gratin from Rachel Ray. I always like to start with someone else's recipe and make it my own. I'll let you know how they turn out! Off to the Sunday Farmer's Market with the little one to get our fruits and veggies for the week. (And maybe some delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies that we never can resist). :) Happy Sunday!