Chicken and Broccoli Pot Pie

I don't think you can delve farther into the comfort food category than with pot pie. I think the only thing that beats chicken pot pie is macaroni and cheese. On that note, I must confess I didn't follow my own rules. See, I have this little problem about following recipes. To be honest I have a problem with following directions of most kinds, it just happens to be that recipes are generally the only directions I come across. Whoo...Nobody's the boss of me!



So, I posted earlier that you can do a boatload of things with a single fryer chicken. This is my second meal out of the same chicken, utilizing the remainder of the shredded chicken meat from our Roast Chicken Dinner on Sunday, and the chicken stock I made with the leftover carcass. In my earlier post I detailed a recipe for chicken pot pie that I've made several times. This time however I had some leftover bacon from Sunday morning's Cinnamon French Toast breakfast. And who knows what happens when there's left over bacon in the refrigerator? That's right. It makes it's happy way into as many dishes as is humanly possible. Husband was rummaging through the fridge on Monday looking for food and asked about the bacon, then insisted it must go in the pot pie. So was born the Chicken, Broccoli, and Bacon Pot Pie. Feel free to salivate at will.



Chicken, Broccoli, and Bacon Pot Pie
Serves 4

1/4 yellow onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 very small, or 1 medium, leek, white part only, halved lengthwise and sliced
2 small yukon gold potatoes, small diced
1 broccoli crown, chopped into small florets, stalk included
10 oz. shredded roast chicken
4 strips bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
olive oil
sea salt
cracked pepper
prepared pie crust/puff pastry for two crusts
1 egg, beaten

In a large skillet (4 1/2 quart) or soup pot over medium heat cook the garlic in a drizzle of olive oil until fragrant, about thirty seconds. Add the leek and onion, cooking until softened and nearly translucent. Add the potato and broccoli, allowing the broccoli to turn bright green and potato to start to soften, about 4 minutes. Add in the cooked, shredded chicken and the crumbled bacon and stir well. Chop the butter into tablespoon size pieces and add to the pan, allowing to melt completely. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture evenly, and then mix well. Fold into the mixture until dry flour is no longer perceptible. Slowly stir in one cup of the chicken stock, mixing very well. When stock is fully incorporated with the flour and beginning to thicken add the remaining stock and the heavy cream. Mix well. Reduce heat to med-low and simmer for 4-5 minutes or until as thick as desired. Line the bottom of an 8 in. deep dish pie plate with one crust, top with filling. Place second crust over the top and seal edges by pressing together. Brush top with beaten egg and pierce crust to allow for steam ventilation. Bake in a 400 F oven for 15-18 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Allow to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.