Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pot Pie

I have never been a huge fan of chicken pot pie, but lately I'm more willing to try some not so favorite recipes in order to have a variety of meals. I was pleasantly surprised by how good this dish is. I had to keep Walter from eating the whole thing since I had planned to get two meals out of it. This is a simple recipe that is ridiculously good and I highly recommend you try it. I found the recipe on a blog called Casual Cuisine and she found it on the Pioneer Woman's site.

Ingredients:

• 3 celery stalks
• 3 medium carrots, peeled (I only had baby carrots, so we just chopped up several of those)
• 1 large yellow onion
• 4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) butter
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 cup white wine (optional) (I have left this out both times and the dish tastes good without it)
• 1 cup heavy cream (I've been using half and half)
• 1 tsp. ground thyme
• 1 tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 pie crust (I cheated and used store bought)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Pre-cook the chicken. I usually just cook it in a saute pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Once the chicken is thoroughly cooked, chop it into cubes and set aside.
   
3. Begin by finely dicing the vegetables. Slice the celery stalks into narrow strips, then slice in the other direction to create a fine dice.
4. Repeat this process with the carrots and onion.
5. Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery and peas. Saute until the vegetables start to turn translucent, a couple of minutes.
6. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring gently.
7. Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir in the bouillon cube and wine, if using. The flour will combine with the chicken to create a delicious gravy.
8. Pour in the cream and stir. Allow the mixture to cook over low heat, thickening gradually, about 4 minutes. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper. Remove from heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed.
   
9. Pour the chicken mixture into a deep pie pan or small casserole dish.
10. Roll out the crust so that it's 1 inch larger than the pan. Place the crust on top of the chicken mixture and cut small slits in the top. Press the crust gently into the sides of the dish to seal.
    
11. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.