Chicken Pot Pie - Oh My!

So good and relatively fast if you prep the chicken ahead of time. This recipe is from my sister, which is funny because she's on the no food diet so I doubt she has even tried it.

1 c. potatoes, peeled and diced (basically one small-medium potato)
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. celery, diced
1 c. carrots, diced
1/2 c. peas (optional, but I love them)
1/3 c. melted butter (for sauteing)
1/2 c. flour
2 c. chicken broth
1 c. half and half
salt and pepper to taste
4 c. chicken, cooked and chopped/shredded
2 ready pie crusts

To prep the chicken: Boil three skinless breasts with ribs for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat, pull the breasts out and let them cool (I usually set them in a strainer). Once they are cool enough to touch, pull all the meat off. This will give you about 4 cups of chicken. Reserve two cups of liquid for the required broth. You can strain it through a fine sieve if you want. (You will still have a lot of extra broth, so if you are feeling industrious you can also make soup.)

Preheat oven to 400.

Saute onion, celery, carrots, potatoes in butter for about 10 minutes on medium low heat. If you are using frozen peas, which I do, take them out and let them thaw a little while you are preparing the other vegetables. Add them when you have about 3-4 minutes left on the sauteing.

Sift the flour into the vegetable mixture a little at a time and stir well. Let this cook for about a minute, stirring constantly.

Combine the broth and half and half. Gradually stir it into the vegetable mixture. Increase the heat to medium and stir constantly until thick and bubbly. Stir in the salt and pepper. Add the chicken and stir well.

Pour the mixture into a 2 quart casserole/pie dish. Cover with both, yes both, pie crusts. I don't have a 2 quart circular dish, so I have to do some slicing and dicing to make them rectangular. Cut slits in the crusts to allow steam to escape.

Bake for 40-50 minutes. I usually put a cookie sheet underneath, just in case it boils over. I hate cleaning ovens.

This will serve at least 8 people. It reheats really well, too.