Pot Pie Recipe

This is Alton Brown's recipe with my comments and changes. Modified 12Oct15. 6Feb19.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/curry-checken-pot-pie/index.html
Alton's Link

4 cups frozen vegetable mix, peas, carrots
1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil for cooking the onions and celery
3 tablespoons butter (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth (or one can plus milk to make two cups)
1/2 cup milk (see above comment)
2 tablespoons flour - makes the gravy
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or one pound of cooked hamburger
1 package puff pastry or pre-made pie crust (not needed. Use the Bisquick method)

This is totally the basic pot pie recipe. It's very easy. It can be assembled in a single four quart pan.
 
4 cups of frozen peas and carrots is one 16 oz package.
You don't really need to warm up the broth and milk. Microwave it if you like.
The chopped celery is important, the onion goes without saying.
I suggest you sweat the celery and onions in a four quart pan.
Add other items - frozen peas, broth, milk, spices, etc.

If you are doing chicken add that too.
If hamburger then cook one pound of hamburger in a frying pan, drain and add.

A 9x9 inch pan works best.
Use the alternative crust. Too much fussing around with puff pastry. Or a pre-made pie crust.

To prepare chicken breast meat broil about a pound or less of breast for five minutes on a side. It should look white and barely done. Allow it to cool so you can handle it, then chop it into 1/2 inch cubes.

I didn't use the Puff Pastry rounds. I just cut the pastry into squares. A sheet makes 9 squares. You only need like 6 squares. I suspect 9 would be good in a 9x9 pan.

An alternative crust that worked is stolen from another recipe - 
Whisk together 1 1/2 cups of Bisquick with 1 cup of milk and pour it on top. Spread it pretty thin because it puffs up a lot. Bake at 350+ until golden brown. More milk might make it a bit easier to spread.

Directions -
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Or 350 if you use the Bisquick method (which I recommend)

In a four quart pan heat butter (or canola oil) and sweat the onion and celery. About 8 minutes.
Microwave the broth and milk. Or not.
Add the flour and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
Whisk in the milk/broth mixture and cook until thickened, stirring constantly.
Add the salt and pepper and any flavoring like 1 tsp curry or rosemary.
Toss in the vegetables and the chicken and stir.
Pour into a shallow baking pan.
Pour on the Bisquick or place the puff pastries or pre-made pie crust.
Put into the oven and cook until crust has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly, about 25 minutes or more.

You can make this a beef pot pie by substituting beef broth and some broken up cooked hamburger (drain the grease).

A teaspoon of curry is good. Experiment. I used chopped fresh rosemary and it was great.

Deb prefers the beef version.

When doing the beef version I cook the hamburger in a frying pan and drain the grease.
I cook everything else in a 4quart pan.
Dump the hamburger into the sauce pan, mix it all up, dump it all into the 9x9" pan. Add the crust and bake.

Modified - 22Jul17
Tweak - 8Aug18
Big tweak 6Feb19