Really Easy Chicken Pot Pie

Guess what we had for dinner last night?  Yup, Chicken Pot Pie.   I bet you guessed from the title of this post, didn't ya?
And of course I did it the easy way, used all kinds of shortcuts.   Well, except for poaching the chicken, but I needed to make some for the freezer anyway.  So I threw a few chicken breasts into the pot, added celery, carrots, onion, black pepper and other seasonings and let them simmer til done.    

Awhile back I watched an episode of Paula Dean.  This particular day she had a guest on who apparently makes pies, savoury, sweet, he makes pies, lots and lots of pies, every single day.  Pies are his thing.   What am I leading up to?  He made a chicken pot pie from scratch, roasting the chicken, roasting the vegetables, and putting it all together in such a way that made my mouth water.   And for some reason I keep thinking about Chicken Pot Pie.

But let's face it, most of us just don't have either the time or the inclination to do it all that way.   In fact, if you're like me, a lot of the time, you just want to get dinner on the table, cause you're hungry and it's getting late and...   

So here's my Chicken Pot Pie, the really easy way.

 And you can have this in the oven in minutes, and relax while it bakes.   Gives you time to have a nice glass of wine, a nap, bath or just chill out in the back yard while the squirrels yell at you.

Oh wait, that's my life.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie.  

For this recipe you need a few things, all easy, I promise you.

2 cups, cooked, cut up chicken

1 can Progresso Chicken Pot Pie soup, undiluted

1 can mixed vegetables, drained

1  8 oz can mushrooms
or

8 oz mushrooms, sauteed

3/4 cup chicken broth mixed with a 2 tablespoons Cornstarch 
or

1 package chicken gravy mix, prepared with ¾ cup water.

1 package prepared pie crust, Pillsbury or your favorite brand.

1 deep dish pie pan

Place one of the prepared pie crusts in a pie plate, set aside.

I actually made this one from scratch cause I only had one piece of prepared pie crust in the freezer.

Mix the chicken, soup, vegetables, mushrooms and chicken broth together. I usually cook it for a few minutes and set aside, let cool or not.

  Pour into pie plate on top of the pie crust. Take the other pie crust and place on top, crimping the edges together. Cut a hole in the middle of the pie to vent the steam or make a pretty pattern cutting through the pie crust in a couple of places. Place in a preheated 325 deg. Oven and bake for 50 minutes or until crust is browned and the filling is bubbling.  This makes lots of filling,  you will have enough for the pie and some left over.   And if you're like my DH, he loves to ladle some more filling in on top of his slice of pie.  Just saying.... 

*** Or if you're really in a hurry, fake the pie. Take your pie crusts, roll them out, place on a baking sheet.  Both sheets.

Cut it with a pizza cutter in fourths, then bake it. Both the 'top' and the 'bottom', in other words, both sheets. While they are  baking, which will take about ten minutes, prepare the filling, cook it on top of the stove til it's hot, and the sauce is thickened, the same recipe as above, and set aside. To serve, place one of the cooked pie crust slices on a plate, scoop some filling on top, then place the other slice on top of that. Voila, Chicken Pot Pie! And best of all, the bottom crust isn't soggy.

Or you can bake a sheet of puff pastry, scoring it before you bake it, and do the same thing.   

See, told you it was easy.   And better yet, it just plain tastes good. 

 Now if you will excuse me, it's time for breakfast lunch and leftover Chicken Pot Pie.