Pot Pie

The Story: 

I love pot pie.  It sort of seems weird when I think about it because it's really just a bunch of foods that should be separate tossed together and baked--and what's so awesome about that?  Maybe the crust.  Yeah, I'll go with that.

Anyway, what makes a better comfort food than homemade pot pie?  I sure don't know.  Unless it's ice cream.  But that should go without saying.



The Recipe:

Low-Fat Chicken Pot Pie (modified from http://www.livestrong.com/recipes/low-fat-turkey-pot-pie/)
2 1/4 cups chicken broth, divided
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped fine
1 cup carrot, chopped
2-3 red potatoes, cubed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 cup light vanilla soymilk
1/2 cup 2% (or lower-fat) milk
3 cups cooked chicken breast or fat-trimmed thigh (or turkey), cubed
handful peas, fresh or frozen
1-2 tablespoons dried parsley
1-2 teaspoons sage
salt and pepper
5 sheets filo dough

In medium saucepan, combine 2 cups broth, celery, onion, carrot, and potato.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. 

Mix remaining 1/4 cup broth with cornstarch until smooth.  If needed, add more broth or water.  Add cornstarch mixture and both kinds of milk to broth and veggies.  It sounds strange to add vanilla soymilk, but trust me, it actually adds a nice sweet flavor that really enhances the gravy.  Bring mixture to a low boil, stirring until thickened.  If it doesn't get thick enough for you, mix up more cornstarch-broth/water mixture and stir in--it should get thick fast when you've got enough cornstarch.

Add meat, peas, parsley, sage, and salt and pepper to gravy mixture.  Stir until hot, then remove from heat.  Pour into 8"x8" baking dish, and top with sheets of filo dough, tucking edges down into dish. 

Bake at 350° F 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 



The Verdict:

When I made this, there was no measurement for cornstarch, so I had to keep adding and adding--ultimately I didn't know how much I ended up with so I estimated.  Also, there wasn't as much flavor as I would have liked so I increased/estimated the parsley and sage measurements--start small and play with those until you like it.  Also, could have used more crust--either on top or on bottom, but I like a little more crust involved. 

Other than that, this was a really great dish.  I can't believe I made a real (and low-fat, at that) pot pie!  It was great, if not better, for leftover lunches the next day, too.  Wasn't as filling as I could have wished, but then, I'm five months pregnant and on a low-fat diet, so really, nothing is quite as filling as I could wish at this point. 

Using a low-fat star rating, I'd say this is a four-star dish.  It could use some flavor, but it was delicious, comforting, and was far from screaming "Low-Fat!"