Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite things to eat.  I would look around for a really good pie and have a hard time find it.  I've tried some of the frozen versions you can either bake or stick in the micro, but those are just not as good and are usually too salty.  I had a sample of the one from Trader Joes the other day and although it was delicious, it was over priced and not as meaty as I'd like.  So, I decided to try making it myself.  I like using puff pastry for the dough, but more traditional pot pies use regular pie crust.  Choose as you please!  I also like making smaller individual pies rather than a large one so each person can have their own pie.


Ingredients:

1 whole roasted chicken, shredded (I just mainly used the breasts)
1 package frozen puff pastry sheets
1 large shallot, chopped
2 sprigs of thyme
1 package frozen mixed vegetables (with carrots, peas, green beans, corn)
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cups milk
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup chicken stock
3 tbs butter
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Tabasco Sauce
salt and pepper
1/4 cup white wine
1 egg, beaten for egg wash
6 small aluminum pie tins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 F
1.  On a baking sheet, scatter frozen vegetables and bake at 400 F for until the vegetables are roasted and golden brown.  Boil diced potatoes until almost fork tender.
2.  In dutch oven, melt 1 tbs butter and cook shallots for a few minutes until they've sweat, then add celery.  Cook few minutes until water has cooked out.
3.  Move celery and shallot mix to one side of pan and melt 2 tbs butter and add 3 tbs flour.  Stir around then mix entirely with celery and shallot.
4.  In a small pot, heat milk and chicken broth with sprigs of thyme until a slight boil.
5.  Add wine and milk mixture to dutch oven and mix well with a whisk.  If the sauce is not thick enough, add 2 more tbs flour and whisk vigorously until thickened.
6.  Stir in browned vegetables, potatoes, shredded chicken and cheese.
7.  Add tabasco sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste.
8.  I whisked in a bit more flour because I like my pies with a thicker sauce.
9.  Discard thyme sprigs.
10. Let mixture cool completely and scoop some in each pie tin until almost full.
11.  Top with a cut square or circle of puff pastry cut to fit the tin size.  I cut the puff pastry into 1/2 inch strips and crossed them to make a lattice.  Brush with egg wash and bake until sauce is bubbly and puff pastry is golden brown, about 25 minutes.