FOOD: Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie. I love turkey pot pies also. One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving is when you have leftover turkey and turn it into turkey sandwiches and potpies...
BUT those days are behind me and I no longer eat poultry. I've been missing some of the great recipes I used to love and I've been desperately looking for a vegetarian friendly alternative.
So here it is! Vegetarian Chicken Pot Pie.

Vegetarian?!

No! WAIT!
Don't walk away because it says "vegetarian"!!!
This pot pie is so good, even my meat-eating friends went back for seconds. You can't even tell the difference!

See, the trick is to find the right vegetarian alternative.

--I realize now I have started to get a teensy bit sidetracked after this break.--

Over the years I have found that I despise anything by Lightlife (which I refer to as "Smart Food" because all their foods say "smart" in front of them.) I've tried really hard to like Smart foods but they always disappoint me. Their bacon doesn't peel off in strips (it flakes), their chicken tastes like really bad sausage, and their hot dogs go bad super quickly. But I am not here to bash Lightlife, so I will end this rant with a note that their Smart Ground beef crumbles are okay.

Smart Tenders: Savory Chik'n.

It even looks gross and fake.

If ever I am looking for a veggie alternative I usually turn to MorningStar Farms. I mean, their Buffalo chicken wings are to DIE for! (Seriously. Ask anyone. Ever.) Even my meat loving friends don't mind munching on them with me, although I'm sure they don't compare to the real thing, but they are still delicious! And I have not found a better veg alternative to bacon than MorningStar's.

These and ranch dressing? Hells yes.

ANYWHO... Now that I've gotten almost completely sidetracked, I will conclude with why I started talking about this stuff in the first place. The "Chicken" I used in the pot pie.

The greatest chicken-free chicken strips in the world.

My favorite part about Quorn cutlets is the "naked" part. There is no seasoning so you can cook them however you'd like and they cook up rather quickly too. They actually taste and feel like chicken and don't taste like sausage! Yummm...

Unfortunately if I am going to rave over them, I should tell you about the potential negatives.

Most vegetarian substitutes are made from soy protein, rice, beans, potatoes, etc. What are Quorn products made from? Mycoprotein. Which essentially is a fungus grown in some sort of fermentation process. 

Gross right?! Mushrooms are a fungus and I hate mushrooms! 

So why do I love Quorn so much? It doesn't taste like mushrooms. It tastes like skinless, not deep fried chicken. Healthy chicken. It's yummy, so don't let the Myco scare you away!

My other problem with the cutlets is cooking them, but now that I've learned the best way to do so, no worries! When you pull them out of the box they appear very dry. You can cook them in an oven, microwave, stove top, or grill. My favorite way of cooking them is on the stove. To help counteract the dryness, add a bit of olive oil in the pan or steam them first before putting them in the over or grill.

--So that should be the end of my veggie alternative rant.--

Let's get back to pot pie, shall we?

Here's what you need:

• 5 Tbsp butter
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2 cups mixed veggies
• 2-3 cups Quorn chik'n cut into pieces (about 5 cutlets)
• Salt, pepper, onion powder

Pie crust:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup Lard (I recommend Crisco)
• 3 Tbsp cold water

So let's start with the pie crust. You have to make it twice, but I don't recommend doubling it, because I've had trouble multiple times for some reason when I double it. So take that extra time and make it twice. Just trust me on this one.

1. Cut the shortening into the butter using a fork or two knives.
2. Once evenly combined, add the water and mix. You may have to get your hands dirty and knead it a bit. If it feels too dry, add more water, too wet add more flour.
3. Roll it out on a floured surface about 1/8 inch thick. 
4. Loosely roll the crust around your rolling pin and carefully transfer it into a 9" pie pan. Let the excess hang over the edge, you'll use it later.

Here you can make your second crust, but don't roll it out yet.
Let's make the insides of the pie.

PIE GUTS!

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. In a large saucepan melt butter.
3. Add garlic and cook over low heat for 5 minutes.
4. Add flour and stir until blended
5. Slowly add veggie broth and cook over low heat until thick and smooth.
6. Season to taste. I usually only add a tiny bit of both salt, pepper, and onion powder here. I allow most of the seasoning to be done by whoever is eating it. (Otherwise all my foods would be spicy and not everyone would enjoy it.)
7. Cook veggies according to direction on package. Add to sauce pan.
8. Cook Quorn according to directions and cut into bite sized pieces. Add to pan.
9. Slowly pour contents of pan into prepared pie pan.
10. Roll out your other crust and lay on top of all the pie guts.
11. Fold the edges of the bottom and top crusts and pinch together.
12. Stab the top crust with a knife. Yep stab that mofo. But gently, we don't want to completely mutilate it. Just poke it a few times so that the steam from cooking can escape. I like to draw pictures like hearts or monogram the pie.
13. THIS IS IMPORTANT: Wrap aluminum foil around the edges of the pie so that you don't burn the crust.
14. Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Serve warm. Nom nom nom.

I apologize, this has got to be my longest post so far. But it's totally worth it, really. Ask the meat eaters!