Chicken Pot Pie

This dish is amazing on a cold and rainy night, just like the one we are having here in L.A. It is comfort food at its finest! You can make homemade crust ( I usually do) but if you are under the gun, a little help from the Pillsbury Dough Boy is a perfect substitute, just make sure it is the buttery pie crust!
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
2 carrots peeled and cubed
1 thinly sliced leek
2 parsnips peeled and cubed
1 cup  frozen or fresh blanched peas
10 1/2 oz. heavy cream
1 3/4 oz. flour
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

First of all, get your pie crusts in the individual sized pie tins. I feel the individual pie tins make this meal particularly special, like you made them just for that person! Put the crust in the fridge while you are preparing the filling. Keeping the crust cooled is extremely important when baking!

Now it's time to get the veggies peeled and cubed. I love parsnips, they are my favorite of the root vegetables and they go perfectly with this creamy and hearty dish!

You can blanche the peas on the stovetop or just heat them a bit in the microwave, they will be baking in the pie so not too much, you don't want mushy peas!

Heat up the butter in a nice sized saucepan and then get the leeks sauteing, making sure they are limp, about 5 minutes.

I like to cube the chicken and add it in, just make sure to wash your hands thoroughly afterward, no one wants to serve food poising with their dinner! 

Once the chicken is pretty well cooked through, about 10 minutes because it is in such small pieces, get those root veggies in there, so they can begin to soften.

Add in the flour and let it bubble while you keep stirring it. Then you can toss in the chicken broth and herbs and cook until it starts to thicken.

Get that heavy cream in once the chicken mixture has thickened, reserving 1 tablespoon for glazing the top of the pie. Then get those delicious peas in there and let it cook for a minute.

Pre heat the oven 400 and pull the pies out of the fridge. Make sure to put a baking sheet in as well so the heat is distributed evenly and your pies will bake properly! Top off the pies with the remaining crust, pinching the edges, brushing the top with cream and then cutting slits in the top so the pies have a heat vent! Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is nice and golden!

Let them cool and enjoy!!!!