the perfect pie crust

The name of this recipe definitely does it justice because it might be the best pie crust recipe I've ever made! This week we used this recipe from Pioneer Woman to make both a flat apple pie and a chicken pot pie and both were amazing! I think the secret ingredient is the vinegar because I've never used it in a pie crust recipe before.

Perfect Pie Crust:

3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 sticks cold butter

3/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 egg

5 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

(Recipe for 2 pies)

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/flat-apple-pie-with-perfect-pie-crust-recipe.html?oc=linkback


We found a recipe on Pinterest for chicken pot pie, but tweaked it to be even better! We did have some left over veggies from the filling that we are planning to use for a soup later in the week. The amount of sauce was perfect for one pie though.

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

1⁄3 cup  butter

1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4  cup onion, chopped

1 3⁄4 cup chicken broth

2⁄3 cup milk

2 cup chicken, cooked and chopped

1/3 c. frozen corn

1/3 c. frozen peas

1/3 c. chopped carrots

1 (up to 2) potatoes, diced and cooked

1/3 c. chopped celery

1 1/2 c. fresh spinach

1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Cook potatoes, onion, celery,  garlic, and carrots in some oil.

3. Add corn, peas, and spinach after the potato mixture is slightly softened. 

4. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat. 

5. Add flour, salt, and black pepper and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly. 

6.. Remove from heat and stir in chicken broth and milk. 

7. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly, then cook while continuing to stir for about one minute or until the mixture thickens. 

8. Stir in chicken, vegetables, and potatoes.

9. Line a pie pan with the bottom crust and pour in the filling. Cover with the top crust, seal the edges, and cut away any excess dough. Cut small slits in the center to vent.

Cook for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

It wasn't the prettiest pie because we used too much of the pie crust for our apple pie earlier in the week (which I will post about later this week). So, the edges were NOT pretty, but man was it delicious.