Cheesy Chicken Pot Pie for the Freezer

Oh I love Friday! You know that means a freezer meal recipe here on my blog. What's not to love about saving time and money? At any rate, if this is your first time joining us on Freezer meal Friday, I have to say hello. This recipe will add to our ever growing frozen casserole section. It's a good one to do if you are planning a Freezer Meal Baby Shower, or just a regular make ahead meal for your family. It's been a couple of weeks since I posted a freezer meal due to some fun out of town cooking classes I taught. Welcome back freezer meal enthusiasts! Hooray!

This is one of those down home classic dinners that we enjoy here. Mind you, my husband, Ace is vegetarian most of the time so we use the Meatless Wonders in our pot pie most often. However, it can also be made with real chicken if you aren't opposed to some yard bird now and then. Using a roasted chicken will add an extra depth of smoky goodness to your finished pot pie. You can use a variety of veggies, but I tend to stay clear of potatoes in my pot pie, only because the crust is already starchy and we use a lot of veggies. Asparagus is one of my all time favorite veggies in homemade pot pie. Use it in place of green beans or broccoli if desired. You'll find what you like best in your family.

CHEESY CHICKEN POT PIE
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie crust
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves pressed garlic

1 carrot, chopped
1 head fresh broccoli, chopped or 1 1/2 cup chopped green beans
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked & chopped (or 3 cups cubed vegetarian Meatless Wonders)
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup (or Homemade cream of condensed soup replacement )
2/3 c milk
1 c shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (or 1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles)
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion in 1T olive oil until tender add the pressed garlic and cook a 2-3 minutes more. In the meantime, steam carrots and broccoli in a covered pot for 3 minutes, until slightly tender but still firm (you can avoid this whole step if you use frozen veggies). In a large bowl, mix together onion, carrots, broccoli, chicken, soup, milk, cheese and seasoning. Spoon mixture into pastry-lined 8 inch pie pan and cover with top crust. Seal edges. I tend to make the crust gather just inside the pan instead of up on the edge. This allows me to stack the frozen pies with less crust edges cracking. Do what you want. I just like it that way. Next, cut small steam vents in top. Place in freezer and freeze solid, uncovered, about 1 hour. Place frozen pie in a gallon size freezer bag and label with cooking directions:
Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour, until golden brown. Excellent baked in a solar oven.



There you go. Make some pot pie.