Chicken Pot Pie

Baked meat pies were a tradition in England, our Pilgrim ancestors continued baking various types of meat pies after surviving the brutal, long journey across the Atlantic.  Meat baked into pastries have been around ever since.  You can recreate a very popular American comfort food in a low-carb version with this recipe!

This one will amaze you!  I’ve made it numerous times now and it’s consistently reminiscent of my mother’s homemade pot pies and even the little convenience one-crust frozen pies we often had when my parents were eating out (us not included) at someone else’s house.   My brother and I loved them!  The crust is fantastic on this meat pie.  Added note:  this crust is also good for sweet applications like empanadas with fruit or traditional sweet potato fillings.  Makes a great pie crust, too!

This recipe is not suitable for Induction and should not be eaten until the grains rung of the Phase 2 OWL carb re-introduction ladder.  Substituting daikon white radish for the rutabaga will cut the carbs a bit on this dish.  You can also substitute a half recipe of my homemade low-carb Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup in place of the broth, cream and xanthan gum listed if you prefer to make that before starting your pies.

VARIATIONS:  Instead of chicken, use turkey or 6 oz. pouch tuna for a change of pace.   All are good!

CRUST:

2/3 c. CarbQuik bake mix (use Jennifer Eloff’s Gluten-Free Bake Mix for gluten-free)

1/3 c. golden flax meal

1/3 c. oat fiber (or 1/3 c. more Jennifer’s mix)

Pinch salt

2 T. cold butter

1 egg

3 T. cream

FILLING:

12 oz. cooked chicken meat, chopped

6 oz. rutabaga, diced (use daikon radish or turnips for lower carbs)

3 oz. carrot, diced

1 oz. chopped leeks (or 1 green onion)

3 oz. frozen green peas (use chopped green beans for lower carbs)

1 c. cream

1½ c. homemade or low sodium chicken broth

1/2 tsp. xanthan gum

1-3 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

pinch salt and black pepper

DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350º. In a small saucepan, boil diced rutabaga, carrot, leeks and peas (beans) in water until just tender.  Drain and pour into large bowl and set aside.  In another bowl, mix all dry crust ingredients together.  Using a pastry cutter or fork, cut in cold butter until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Add beaten egg and cream and mix well.  Using hand, knead into a ball of dough and place on plastic wrap.  Place another piece of plastic on top and with a rolling pin, roll dough to slightly larger than the size of pan you are using.  I use an 8″ square Pyrex glass dish that is greased with butter. Let rolled dough set while you mix the filling.

Placed chopped chicken meat into the large bowl where you placed the veggies. Stir in chicken broth, cream, xanthan gum,  food coloring, and salt and pepper.  Pour filling into butter-greased pan.  Now pull the top plastic off the rolled crust.  Grabbing the bottom plastic, pick up the crust at the midpoint (plastic and all), let it fold gently in the middle and place the fold at the pan midpoint.  Gently lift the other half of the dough over onto the pie and remove the plastic wrap slowly & carefully so dough doesn’t tear.  Finish by folding the excess crust edges inside the pan rim and crimp decoratively if you wish.  Poke 3-4 holes in the top of the crust with a fork and bake in a 350º oven for about 35 minutes or until crust is nicely browned.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: Makes 4 servings, each contains:

442 cals, 28.2g fat, 30.2g carbs, 19.55g fiber, 10.65g NET CARBS (less if using green beans), 36g protein, 510 mg sodium