Every year about this time, I get a hankering to make Chicken Pot Pie. My recipe is not for the faint hearted—not that it’s difficult—just a bit time consuming. For some people, this is the ultimate comfort food. I think that’s because it’s a labor of love! It’s worth the work though, because after a few hours in the kitchen you’ll have several meals in the freezer for your family to enjoy all winter. I devoted some time to this very project last weekend, mixing up my crust and cooking my chicken Friday night, then chopping veggies and making sauce on Saturday morning. By noon I had Saturday’s dinner for my family of three plus two guests in the fridge ready to bake and 5 more pies in the freezer.
Note that Boneless Chicken Breasts and Thighs are available this week at Smith’s for $1.89/lb—perfect for your Pot Pie!
See my recipe and photos below.
I decided to start a new feature each week called “Tip of the Week” (I know, such a creative name!) Without further ado, here’s my shopping tip for this week:
Treasure Hunting
When
you are shopping, make it a habit to scan the shelves for rock bottom clearance items.
These are usually slashed in price just because the store has decided
not to carry the product anymore OR because it is approaching its expiration
date. For example, last week I was
shopping in the frozen foods aisle at Maceys and happened to notice that boxes
of Farm Rich Jalapeno Appetizer Bites had been marked down to .49 a box! I think the regular price was close to
$3.00/box. Now this isn’t an item
I would normally buy, but at that price I can grab a few and let my teenage son throw some
in the oven for an after school snack or even add them to my holiday party
fare, as they don’t even expire until the end of December. Another day I
noticed that 2-liter bottles of soda were absolutely free with the coupons they had hung
around the necks of each bottle, on a display that no one paid attention to as
they selected full-priced bottles nearby. So always keep your beady little eyes peeled for great finds
to stretch your food buying power!
Mom’s top picks for the week of November 4, 2013:
My favorite
deals are highlighted in green:
Maceys
Hershey’s Baking Chips - $1.88Swanson 14-14.5 oz Broth $.50
Western Family 32 oz Yogurt $1.25
Western Family 16 oz Sour Cream $.79
Western Family 18 pk Large Eggs $1.67
Pepsi, 7-Up or A&W 2 liter Bottle Products $.99
Shasta 3 Liter Bottle Soda $1.25
3 lb pkg Satsuma Mandarin Oranges - $3.88
Western Family Sweetened Condensed Milk - $1.25
Pineapple $.79 a lb
London Broil Boneless Steaks $2.49 a lb
Fritos or Cheetos 8.75-10.25 oz $1.88
Pillsbury 19.5 oz Brownie Mixes $.88
Pillsbury 15.25 oz Cake Mixes $.88
Western Family 10.5 oz Chicken, Mushroom or Celery Cream Soup $.50
Banquet 4.66-10.25 oz Frozen Dinners $.88
Banquet 6.4 oz Brown & Serve Sausage $1.00
Western Family 8 oz Shredded Cheese $1.49
Aim or Pepsodent 6 oz Toothpaste $.50
Bounty 6-8 ct Paper Towels $4.99
50 oz Liquid Tide - $4.99
This week, Macey’s is having their “Fill it Fresh” Mix or Match Produce Sale. Fill the bag provided to the top with specially marked produce for $10.00 Produce included listed below…
-Texas Pink Grapefruit
– Choice Navel Oranges
– Small Gala or Red Delicious Apples
– Fresh Crisp Cucumbers
– New Crop Jumbo Yellow Onions
– Fresh Red or Baker Potatoes
– D’Anjou, Bosc or Bartlett Pears
– Fresh Crisp Jicama
– Butternut, Buttercup, Acorn or Spaghetti Squash
– Green or Red Leaf Lettuce
– 2 lb pk Carrots
Weekend Specials
- Langers 64 oz 2 pk Apple Juice $1.99 (Friday & Saturday Only) -Limit 4
- Purchase a 4 pk Easy Mac, Get a 10 ct Capri Sun Drink Pouch FREE -Total cost $2.49 for both Easy Mac and Capri Sun (Friday & Saturday Only)
- Kelloggs 2-Pack 18 oz. Mini Wheats Cereal $3.99 (Friday and Saturday) – Limit 4
- Kraft 30 oz Miracle Whip - Use the on-pack $1 off Coupon (Friday & Saturday) Total cost $2.49 – Limit 4
Lee’s
Wednesday
ONLY Traffic Stopper - Shur Saving Milk - $1.98
Choice California Navel Oranges - $.77/lbPork Shoulder Picnic Roast - $.99/lb
Texas Grapefruit – 3 lb/$1.00
Libby’s 29 oz Pumpkin - $2.50 (Or for an even lower price at Walgreen's on 15 oz. cans, check out this post.)
Crisco Shortening - $4.89
Wilderness 20 oz. Pie Filling - $2.99
Pillsbury Grand Biscuits - $1.67 (And you can get a coupon for an extra $0.40 off three at coupons.com)
Dole 9 oz. Fresh Spinach - $1.49
Jumbo Yellow Onions - $.39/lb
New Crop Red Potatoes - $.49/lb
Baby Carrots – 2 lb. bag - $2.00
Green Giant Canned Vegetables - $.50
Western Family Evaporated Milk - $.59
Smith’s
Mountain Dairy Milk - $1.94 when you buy 2 gallons
Jimmy Dean Sausage - $2.50
Kroger or Green Giant Frozen
Vegetables - $.99
Kroger half gallon Egg Nog - $2.99
Smith’s Bread or Buns - $.99
Large Avocados - $1.00
Smith’s Boneless Chicken Breasts
or Thighs - $1.89
Atlantic Salmon Fillets - $5.99/lb
Save $5.00
when you buy 10 of the following items (mix and match) – You can buy as many groupings of 10
as you want, but count carefully, because if it comes out wrong you will be
charged the regular price. Make
the cashier check to see all your $5.00 discounts have been applied before
paying. Note that the prices
listed below reflect the $5.00 discount.
Kelloggs 17-24 oz. Cereals - $1.99 (coupons.com has a number of Kellogg's coupons this week---check it out to see if there are coupons for your favorites; the Kellogg's website also has coupons available)
Green Giant Vegetables - $.49
Land O Lakes Butter - $1.99
Capri Sun Drinks - $1.49 (coupons.com has a $1 off 1 capri sun coupon you can combine with this one)
Marie Callender or Healthy Choice Frozen Entrees - $1.78
Doritos 10-11 oz. Chips - $1.99
Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce - $.99
Ocean Spray Juice Cocktail - $1.99
Ocean Spray Craisins - $1.99
Heinz Bottled Gravy - $.79
American Beauty Pasta - $.49 (Awesome stock-up
price—why settle for the store brands when American Beauty is this cheap?)
Stove Top Stuffing - $.99
French’s French Fried Onions - $2.49 (Think ahead for
your Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole!)
Hillshire Farm Lunch Meat - $2.49
Oscar Mayer Bacon - $4.49
Hot Pockets - $1.49
Birds Eye Vegetables - $1.49
DiGiorno Pizza - $4.49
Ore-Ida Frozen Potatoes - $2.49 (Use the $1 off 1 Ore-Ida coupon available here or the $1 off 2 coupons available at coupons.com or as a Smith's ecoupon)
Oroweat Bread or Thomas Bagels - $2.49
Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate packets
- $.99
Betty Crocker Cake Mix - $.99 (Use the $0.85 off 2 coupon available here or the $0.75 off 2 coupon available at coupons.com or as a Smith's ecoupon) (U
Marie Callender’s Fruit or Cream Pie - $4.49
Oreos - $2.49
Pepsi or 7-up 2 liter bottles - $1.00
Silk Soymilk or Pure Almond - $2.49
Nabisco Snack Crackers - $1.79
Breyers Ice Cream - $2.79
Sun Laundry Detergent - $1.29
Colgate Total Advanced Toothpaste - $2.49
Sprouts
Red Potatoes - $0.48/lb.
Italian Squash (Zuchinni) $0.48/lb.
Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts $1.88/lb.
Boneless Rump Roast $2.99/lb.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday only: 12 oz. bag Cranberries $1.00
And if you're there for double-ad Wednesday, be sure to check out these deals from last week:
5.6 oz. blackberries $0.99
Pineapple $0.49/lb.
Center-cut Wild Ahi Tuna steaks $6.99/lb.
Ground meat (beef, turkey, pork, lamb, or chicken) 40% off
Chicken Pot
Pie
(This is a big
recipe with quite a few ingredients, so if you’re going to make it, you want
enough to eat once then freeze a few extra pies. This is enough for approximately 25 good servings).
Note: I usually make up my pie crust the
night before, wrap in plastic wrap and place in fridge so it will be
ready. I get it out to bring to
room temperature while I’m working on the filling. Use your favorite pie crust recipe or see my favorite crust recipe below. You could also use store bought crust
or top with homemade or prepared canned biscuits instead of the crust.
Ingredients:
-12
large boneless Chicken Breast halves (or substitute some of the chicken with
boneless thighs, which is really tasty), cooked in a cup or two of water in
large oblong glass casserole (use two if needed, arranging the pieces in a
single layer). Sprinkle with salt
and cover with foil, cooking in oven until done (about an hour at 350—longer if
still partially frozen). Drain
broth and save in fridge. Cool
chicken slightly, cut off and discard any little pieces of fat you may see,
then dice quite large (I use my electric knife). Put in fridge.
Start making the
sauce . . .
-3
finely chopped onions
-1
½ lbs. fresh mushrooms, washed and sliced
-4
or so stalks celery with leaves, diced
-2
cubes of butter (1 cup)
-1
1/3 cup flour
-3
teas. ground Sage
-3/4
teas Black Pepper
-2
teas. salt
-8
cups chicken broth mixture (part of this is your reserved chicken broth (skim and discard any fat off that
has hardened on top) plus 5 chicken bouillon cubes
dissolved in microwave into ½ cup water, 1 can chicken broth, 1 large or 2
regular sized cans cream of chicken soup,
all whisked together. This should
all total out to 8 cups of liquid.
Add extra water to bring it to the 8 cups if needed).
-3
cups milk (If you have it, use 2% for this. If not, 1% is OK too).
-2
lbs (two 16 oz. bags) of Western Family Frozen Petite Peas, uncooked
-4
lbs. carrots, peeled, sliced, and cooked in salted water, (simmer in water
about a third a way up the pan until just tender but don’t overcook. Drain and set aside.)
-1
large bunch fresh parsley leaves, minced
-2
batches pie crust (See recipe below)
In
large heavy bottomed pot, saute onions and celery in the two cubes butter until
tender. Add salt, pepper, and sage. Whisk in flour gradually and cook
stirring about 3 minutes. This
will be very thick. Then start to
add broth and milk slowly until it’s all in. Bring to a simmer, stirring
constantly over medium heat just until thickened. Add parsley. Pour
this hot mixture over mushrooms in a very large bowl and let cool a few minutes
stirring once or twice. The heat will cook the mushrooms enough. Then add chicken, frozen peas, and
carrots. Mix well.
Divide
into casseroles or pie tins and top with pie crust that has been rolled out and
had some steam holes cut in. Brush
lightly with beaten egg if desired to help make a golden brown crust. This
should make about 6 medium sized pies of 4 servings each OR 3 large casseroles
which feed about 8 people each. I
use a variety of disposable pie/cake tins or different sizes of glass
casseroles or pans. This time I
used Café Rio tins. Most anything
will work fine.
Now
either cook right away or refrigerate
(no more than 24 hours) . . . or cover well and freeze. If frozen, thaw in fridge 24 hours
before cooking.
Bake
at 375 to 400 until it’s bubbling up out of the crust holes and crust is
browned. How long depends on if
it’s just been made and is still warm, or whether it’s been in the fridge or
freezer. If thawed well, it takes
about 45 minutes or more, depending on size. Cover loosely with foil if crust gets too brown before the filling
is done.
Favorite
Flaky Pie Crust
Put
3 cups flour in mixing bowl. Do
not sift—shake off gently to level.
Mix
in ¼ teas. salt and 2 Tablespoons sugar
Measure
out 1 ¼ cups Crisco Shortening
Cut
the shortening into flour mixture with a pastry cutter/blender until part is
like cornmeal and part is like peas.
Beat
a large egg in a small bowl with a dinner fork. Whisk in (with fork) 1 Tablespoon of vinegar and 5 nice full
Tablespoons of cold water.
Dump
this mixture all at once into the flour/shortening mixture. Using the fork, quickly stir this
together until it starts to glump together in the bowl. Reach your hands in and shape into a
ball, making sure to pick up any loose bits of flour, until the bowl is cleaned
out. Shape gently into a ball,
then roll out on a lightly floured surface (flipping over gently and reflouring
the counter to keep from sticking) OR wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate
until ready to use.
Note: The Pot Pie recipe above will take two batches of crust to
cover. Do not double the
batch—make it twice and form into two balls.
This
recipe can also be used for any kind of pie. For double crusted fruit pies, sprinkle the top of crust
with sugar before baking.
Questions? Leave a comment and Mom will answer!
I want a chicken pot pie. Could you mail me one on ice?
ReplyDelete