Chicken Pot Pies... O.C. Style!

For the crust:
2 cups of flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of crisco, chilled (In Korea, I use the block of shortening labeled margarine in Hangul... about 1,000 won)(Baking aisle)
1/4 cup of cold water

For Filling:
1/2 stick butter or... 1/4 C Oil
2 cloves garlic finely shredded or minced
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup diced mushrooms
2 cups chicken shredded... or cubed if you prefer
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth or 3 1/2 Cups water w/ 4 bouillon cubes
1 cup Whole milk or heavy cream
Frozen peas (optional)
Thyme and parsley to taste... fresh if available!
salt and pepper to taste... TASTE FIRST, especially if you do not used reduced salt ingredients. I used bouillon cubes, and you DO NOT need anymore salt.
*Also, one large diced potato is a nice addition to this filling...


Starting with the crust...
1. Mix together the flour and salt.
2. Add the crisco, either with a fork, your hands or a pastry cutter.
3. When the flour is clumped together, slowly add the cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is moist enough to come together.
4. Form the dough into ball.
5. Wrap and place the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour.

On to the filling....
6. Melt butter/oil in a medium pot. Add garlic, onion, carrots, and mushrooms, and cook until translucent (a couple of minutes.)
7. Add chicken and stir. (add potato here) Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir. Cook over medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
8. Pour in chicken broth, stirring constantly.
9. Pour in milk or cream. (May add frozen peas at this point if you’d like.)
10. Bring to a slow boil and allow mixture to cook and thicken for a few minutes.
11. Add salt and pepper to taste, add parsley and thyme to taste. Do one final taste at the end and add what it needs

Putting it all together!...
12. To make the fried pies, roll out the chilled pie crust until it’s no more than a 1/4 of an inch thick. (I like to roll it out into a rectangle-type shape.)
13. Cut out 12 five-inch diameter circles (I use a saucer as a guide). Any scraps that are left over you can roll out again and cut out more circles.
14. To make each pie, place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center of each crust. Moisten the edges and fold the crust over, sealing the edges with your fingers and then by pressing down on the edge with a fork.
15. In a cast-iron skillet, heat an inch of oil (or lard or shortening) to 350 degrees.
16. With a spatula, gently place each pie into the hot oil, and turn over after a minute. Cook on the other side for another minute, and then drain on a rack or paper-towel lined plate.

You will not regret the time and effort put into this meal! Both raw crust and finished filling can be frozen. Roll out pie crust to half inch thickness and wrap with multiple layers of clear plastic wrap. Pull out about 20-30 minutes before use to thaw, roll out as directed above. Filling can go in a labeled ziplock baggie!
Enjoy... but be careful, these are addictive!
(Crust recipe courtesy homesicktexan.blogspot.com and pot pie filling courtesy Lindsey Lett)