Poultry Seasoning Recipe

Cooking is no 'chore' for first-time contestant

For crust:
4 sticks real butter, chilled and cubed
4-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
10-12 tablespoons ice water

For filling:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen sliced carrots
1 cup frozen corn
3 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
2/3 cup milk
1-1/4 cups chicken broth
1 (10-3/4-ounce) can chicken gravy
1/4 cup whipping cream
3 chicken breasts, cooked and cut into small chunks
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare crusts by processing butter, flour and salt in a food processor. Pulse lightly until mixture resembles wet sand.
Add water one tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful. Add until dough begins to gather into large clumps.
Divide dough into two halves. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Roll pastry to approximately 1/4 inch in thickness.
Cut out bottom pastry and fit into two pie pans. Using a fork, make several pricks in the bottom crust. Bake bottom crust for five minutes. Roll remaining dough the same way for the two tops.
To prepare chicken filling, in a large skillet, melt butter and sauté onions until they begin to become translucent; add carrots, corn and potatoes, and cook until slightly softened, about six to eight minutes.
Sprinkle on flour, add in salt, pepper, garlic powder and poultry seasoning, and stir well.
Add in crumbled bacon.
Slowly stir in milk and chicken broth, and mix thoroughly.
Add chicken gravy and whipping cream, and stir until well incorporated. Allow to simmer about five minutes.
Add chicken to sauce mixture and stir well; cook about five to eight minutes more. Remove from heat; spoon half mixture into each pie crust.
Place remaining rolled pie crust on top of each pie, sealing edges well. Using a serrated knife, make three to four slits on top of pie to allow steam to escape.
Beat egg yolk with water and brush on top of each pie crust.
Bake for 45 minutes.
Allow to cool slightly before serving.
Makes two pies with eight servings per pie.

The first-time participant hit a homer when she earned a first-place finish in the Meat, Poultry and Game division of The Courier and Daily Comet's 36th-annual Bayou Gourmet Cook-Off with her Hearty Chicken Pie in French Pastry Crust.

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Ingredients:

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For me making do is not about deprivation, it is about doing more with less. It is about prioritizing my resources so my belongings improve the quality of my life, rather than become a drain on my time and energy. Doing without is not about denial, it is about choosing to use our income to reflect our passions and values. I don’t make do just because I am frugal, though admittedly I am, I do it because leading a “simpler life” allows me to live a fuller, more purposeful life.