Chicken Pot Pie

 I used to hate pot pie as a kid. I think the creme sauce and flaky buttery crust was too rich for my little underdeveloped palate to take. Nowadays, I adore it. I like to sub pizza dough for pie crust on occasion; it's slightly less decadent and slightly more like bread (and bread and I have an ongoing love-affair). I hope you enjoy the change-up!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup frozen peas

2 cups chicken broth

2 cloves garlic

2 large carrots

1 onion

1/2 pound chicken 

1 russet potato

1 lb pizza dough

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 egg

olive oil

salt and pepper

Method:

Place pizza dough in a lightly oiled bowl and set aside to come to room temperature.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lightly grease a medium baking dish. Trim ends from carrots and cut into ¼-inch pieces. Cut potato into ½-inch pieces. Dice onion. Finely chop 2 teaspoons garlic. Pat chicken dry and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chicken, salt and pepper; cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer chicken to a bowl. To the now-empty skillet, add potatoes, onion, carrots, thyme and a pinch of salt. Cook veggies until slightly tender and golden, 8–10 minutes.

Add chopped garlic and 3 tablespoons flour to same skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant and flour is toasted, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken stock; bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of skillet. Remove from heat, then stir in chicken and peas; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer pot pie filling to prepared baking dish. On a floured surface, roll pizza dough into roughly the size and shape of baking dish. Using a fork, pierce dough all over on both sides. Nestle dough over pot pie filling. 

In a small bowl, beat 1 large egg. Lightly brush top of dough with egg wash. Cut a large "X" in center of dough to allow steam to escape; season all over with salt and pepper. Bake on upper oven rack until filling is bubbling and crust is golden brown, 20–25 minutes. Let chicken pot pie stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!