Chicken Pot Pie- Buffalo Style

When I was growing up, I was not a fan of chicken pot pie. I didn’t like the super dry crusts filled with blandly seasoned meat and vegetables. Plus the peas… I was not a fan of peas. Oh how the times change. I’ve come to like peas (although they are still not a go-to vegetable for me; I prefer them when mixed with other vegetables). As for the pot pie situation, they have really grown on me as well. However, the pie MUST be homemade; you know, with a homemade crust and everything. They are just SOOO much better than the ones you find in the frozen section of the grocery store. I’ve made a few different pot pies- normal chicken, bbq chicken, biscuit crusted, etc. By far my favorite has been this buffalo chicken pot pie. I simply LOVE anything buffalo flavored so I was on board as soon as I saw the idea on Rachael Ray’s website. I changed the recipe up a bit using a more traditional crust in place of the cornbread. Plus, I took inspiration from my favorite sandwich at Devine’s bar in Durham, NC (the Immaculate Reception--grilled chicken with buffalo sauce and American cheese) by adding American cheese into the mix. Certainly not necessary but I had it and I thought, why not? Turned out AMAZING!! If you don’t like bleu cheese, you could certainly replace it with more American or add something with a little more flavor like gouda or pepper jack. Hmmm... I may need to try that out next time.

Just FYI, I made this into 4 individual pies and froze the extra for another time. To be completely honest, they may even be better after allowing extra time to soak up all the juicy flava-flav in the freezer. Because I was freezing them, I didn’t put any crust on the bottom of the pie in case it would get soggy (and truthfully, this usually ends up being too much crust for me), but if you like a crusty pot pie, you’ll have to double the crust recipe. 

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients:

For crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 dashes salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 stick butter, cut into 1″ pieces
1/4 cup ice water

For filling:
1 lb chicken, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles
1/2 cup American cheese, shredded or torn
1/2 cup Buffalo sauce
1 tbsp flour

Directions:
To make crust, combine flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cut in butter and shortening using a pastry cutter or forks. Add ice water (you may need more than indicated above) and form into a ball with your hands. Cover with saran wrap and chill in fridge for at least 30 min.

Preheat oven to 425 F.

Cook chicken in a skillet until no longer pink. Remove chicken from heat and put into a large bowl. Add veggies to skillet and cook until tender, about 5 min. Add veggies to chicken. Add cheeses to chicken and veggies in bowl. Combine the buffalo sauce and flour in the skillet and mix until thickened. Add sauce to bowl and mix everything thoroughly. Spoon into pot pie pans (either 4 small pans or 1 large one).

Roll out dough and cut into appropriate sizes to fit over pie tin. Cover pie tin and cut a few slits in the dough. Bake for 25-30 min.

To freeze: Cover with foil and place in freezer. Either thaw during the day and bake 350 for 35-40 min, or from frozen bake 425 for 45-60 min.