Chicken Pot Pie (Dad's favorite)

In honor of Father's Day coming up, I'm posting what I made for dinner tonight and will be making two more of this weekend for my Dad and Grandpa. My favorite thing about this dish is the leftovers- oh the leftovers! This recipe came from my cooking Bible, "The Hillbilly Cookbook," that was handcrafted by my great grandmother, her sisters, and friends.

The Filling

Ingredients:

• 1 large chicken breast, quartered
• 1/2 an onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 3 potatoes
• 2 cups of assorted veggies (corn, green beans, carrots, asparagus, whatever)
• 1 package of chicken gravy mix (When I make a beef pot pie I make gravy from scratch, but I can't draw any drippings from boiled chicken breast- so don't judge my powdered gravy mix lol)

Directions:

1. Boil a couple quarts of water. Toss in the chicken and diced potatoes. Let the chicken cook about 10 minutes before pulling it out and let the potatoes go about 20 minutes.
2. Mix 1 c cold water and 1 package gravy mix. Add the chopped onions and garlic. Cook on medium heat until boiling, then reduce the heat and stir until it thickens.
3. Steam the veggies.
4. Once the chicken has cooled, chop it up into 1/2 inch cubes and season it with salt, pepper, garlic, house seasoning.
5. Mix all of these ingredients in a large bowl.

Grandma Diamond's Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 1 tsp salt
• 3 c flour
• 8 oz (1/2 lb) butter flavored crisco
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 c cold water
• 1 tsp white vinegar

Directions:

1. Combine flour and salt in a bowl until well mixed. 
2. Using two knives or a pastry blender, cut in Crisco until mixture resembles coarse crumbs (some chunks can remain).
3. Beat egg in a separate small bowl; add water and vinegar and stir until mixed.
4. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir all together using a large spoon or by hand.
5. Press the mixture into a ball. 
6. Cut it into two segments, 2/3 and 1/3, and roll one out on a sheet of wax paper until about 1/2-inch thick. 
7. Place another sheet of wax paper over the top and roll until 1/8-inch thickness. If dough is too sticky, dust very lightly with flour and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
8. Repeat with the other piece of the dough.
9. Gently lay the larger crust into a cast-iron dutch oven/skillet, or a pie pan.
10. Add the pie filling in a heaping pile.
11. Gently add the top crust and seal the edges. Poke a few holes into the top crust.

Baking:

1. Bake covered at 400 degrees for 45 minutes
2. Uncover and bake at 450 for 20 minutes (until golden brown)
3. Let stand uncovered for 20-30 minutes (this thing comes out of the oven filled with hot lava... you want to give it enough time to let the gravy set up or you'll have a hot mess)

Enjoy! I had seconds :) Don't forget a few dashes of Hot Sauce!