DH has asked me recently if I could make him chicken potpie, so I made this for dinner tonight.
I used 2 frozen deep dish pie crusts simply because that's the only thing Target had and I didn't feel like going to another store after shopping with Mom all day. DH had two chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper, cooked for me when I got home. For veggies I used frozen onions, corn, carrots, and peas. I also nuked a small potato after DH looked in the pan and said sadly, "No potato?" and added that to the mix. I cooked it for 23 minutes at 350 and then broiled it for a couple minutes to brown the top.
DH thought it could have been a bit thicker and I agreed. I think had I cooked the potato in with the rest of the veggies it would have made a difference starch-wise to thicken it a bit more.
When I asked DH to give me his review so I could type it, he said, "It was good. I had seconds." It was pretty good and I think a lot healthier than what you could buy premade. The exception was the crust, which was 90 calories per 1/8 of a piece, and it was a double crust. I also used low-sodium chicken broth.
I would definitely make this again. It was very filling. I was going to make biscuits to go with it but I think the double crust was plenty. DH asked that this be added to the rotation.

_________________
~Erin~

Erin,
I appreciate the review, since I think that's what I'm making for dinner tomorrow night! It's been a busy weekend, and I am getting tired of chicken nuggets and french fries (from the freezer!) I'll be sure to add some potatoes. I will either do bisquick or stuffing on top instead of the pie crust, since one of my kids doesn't like pie crust. Strange child...she doesn't like chocolate and mint together, either! The recipe isn't that different from what I usually make off the cuff, but it is nice to have a recipe to go by, especially when it comes to teaching kids to cook!
Diane

Well, with my DH, he grew up in potato country in Northern Maine. They start school up there in early August, then have three weeks off in late September/early October for the Potato Harvest. Kids from 12 up earn their spending money picking potatoes. I know mine did until he was 19. So for him, no meal is complete without potatoes. Rice or french fries are okay sometimes though.
On the plus side, we come back from visiting my in-laws with 50 pound bags of taters for $9 each, and you just can't beat that deal. We split them up among my family and still have a few left over by the time we go back up to The County.

_________________
~Erin~

Erin,
I was born in NY state, but moved to SC when I was 10. We had always had a large garden up north, and my dad had a much smaller one here. Because the cold weather held off so long, dad didn't even have to bury the potatoes. He just planted them on top of tilled soil and covered them well with pine straw. Of course, he convinced me that if the added a layer of broken glass under the pine straw, he would uncover peeled potatoes! I was gullible as a child!
Diane

PS Adding potates is such a great way to stretch a recipe like this, especially when you have a couple garbage-disposals as kids!

Sometimes when I do pot pie I skip the bottom crust and then use chopped up and twisted chunks of phyllo (from a frozen package) scattered liberally over the top. It is very light and crispy and makes a beautiful presentation - elevating the whole thing to "company food".
KathyB

I see some of our members (Kathy and Mary) didn't do much sleeping last night! Kathy, I really like the idea of the phyllo dough on top. That would be much lighter. I love pot pie, but never have it anymore because of the calories. I'm going to have to try this one with some "lite" touches.

My family really liked it. In order to please the picky child, I used stuffing mix on top instead of using pie crusts. I used frozen mixed veggies and added some finely diced potatoes, thanks to Erin's tip. I quadrupled the gravy, tripled the veggies and meat, and used two boxes of stuffing. For the broth, I used two cans of regular broth, and then added the water from poaching the chicken breasts. I had added celery, onion, a bay leaf, parsley, and some fresh rosemary from my neighbor's bush. When I made a variation of this before, I over-spiced it. I was really pleased with how flavorful this was, without being too salty and overdone. My teenage son had eaten at his Bible study group last night, yet still managed to sock away 3 full plates of this! (Now you know why I cook in huge quantities!) This is definately a keeper!
Diane

Thanks for posting this. I had missed it in DD book. I made this tonight and DH really liked it. I did individual pies, with lattice crust on top. I couldn't find the puff pastry at my local Walmart neighborhood grocery today and it was raining too hard to go shopping around. Thought it would be nice comfort food after a cold, wet day. DH doesn't like peas, which are always in pot pies; so I made this with the veggies he likes and he was a happy camper.

My father always liked a beef pot pie. That would be good too! Maybe cook a bit of sirloin and add the veggies you want. I bet DH would like that one! Yes, I love the versatility of this. This is a good "clean out the refrigerator" dish.