Homemade (easy) Chicken Pot Pie

CHICKEN POT PIE w biscuit topping

This recipe has always been a big favorite at my house, mostly because it has a "biscuit" topping unlike traditional pie crust pot pies.  Sometimes I make 1 1/2 times the topping since I know everyone will try to steal it off someone else's serving.  It's incredibly good but also incredibly easy to make.  Plus, you can use almost anything in your cabinets to make it.  Well, not almost anything, but plenty of variations of the ingredients.  If you want to impress your family or date with your cooking skills, try this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

Preheat your oven to 425*F

2 Cups chopped or shredded, cooked chicken

2 Cups mixed vegetables, cooked (broccoli, cauliflower & carrot mixture is always my favorite)

1 Can cream of celery

1 Cup chicken broth 

1 Cup self-rising flour

1 Cup milk

1/4 Cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, cold

salt & pepper

DIRECTIONS

• In a casserole dish (preferably a deep, round 8 or 9" or foil lasagna pan), mix chicken and vegetables together.
• In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together cream of celery, chicken broth and salt & pepper to taste.
• Pour soup mixture in with chicken mixture.  Stir.
• Rinse the mixing bowl to use again
• In the mixing bowl, cut butter into flour until small crumbs.  It's okay if it's a little lumpy.
• Stir in milk.  It will be lumpy and liquidy...that's okay.
• Pour over the mixture in the casserole dish, trying to cover the whole top.
• Bake for 30 minutes or until you insert a knife or toothpick carefully into the topping only and it comes out clean.  Below the topping it will be wet for sure.

Serve hot.  4 generous servings or 6 stingy servings.

This recipe costs about $15 to make.

TIPS:

• You can use turkey instead of chicken.
• You can use 2 cans of chicken if that's what you have.
• If you cook your chicken from raw, save a cup of the broth for the recipe.
• For the veggies, you can use one vegetable or any mixed vegetable you like.  You can substitute the 2 cups for 1 or 2 cans drained veggies.
• You can substitute the cream of celery for cream of potato, mushroom or chicken.
• If you don't have either of the casserole dishes I mentioned, you can use a 9x13" pan, just know your pot pie won't be thick.
• Give a little kick when you eating it by adding hot sauce and/or sprinkle on some cheese.

This recipe is from my old cookbook, Southern Cooking, but slightly altered.