"Skinny" Pot Pie

So last night was a great night because my husband was actually home! No work, no school, no homework, no studying, just a night to hang with me!! I looked at the night as the possibility of what could be when this journey called Law School ends in May...oh and when the BAR is over July...(I have a feeling May to July will be worse than the three years of school combined).  So to celebrate the togetherness, we decided to have a meal together and thankfully Ben really loves to help me cook, he is definitely the best Sous Chef a gal could ask for.  We could not let the night go by with the usual "I'm eating by myself" can of soup (which I eat in front of the TV and he eats at his desk), so I went to the store and decided to make what I am affectionately calling "Skinny Pot Pie".  It is a revamped version of Chicken Pot Pie (I looked up alot of pot pie recipes and decided to make my own using a few measurement cues from allrecipes.com), minus the chicken and heavy on the veggies, I promise you won't miss the meat!  Let me just tell you, it was delicious!! It still had the same savory chickeny taste but minus the calories, and I actually made my own Pie crust with whole wheat flour (word to the wise, it is harder to tell when the crust is done because the Wheat crust is already "browned").  If I can roll out home-made pie crust in my tiny kitchen, any one can (although I did roll it out on my dining room table which isn't technically "in" my kitchen, but you get the idea...) So here you have it, "Skinny Pot Pie".


Get all of your ingredients together...
                                     

 Mix your dough in a food processor and roll into a ball...let chill for 30 minutes and then roll out to fit your pie dish....

Saute garlic, onion, and mushroom until clear....

 Add your carrots, celery, potato, and whatever combination of veggies you like, I added green lentils (because I already had them) and canned corn...peas would also be a nice addition...

 Combine 1TBS corn starch with 1/4c water to let it dissolve.....

 Add 3c vegetable broth along with your mixed corn starch, then add your spices....Salt, Pepper, ground thyme, and two bay leaves...

 Pour your thickened mixture into your pie pan and cover with crust....YES I I KNOW...mine isn't very pretty but practice makes perfect right??...

 Bake at 425 for 30-40 minutes or until crust is sufficiently browned.....

 There you have it!! "Skinny Pot Pie"

 Although, I'm not sure how skinny it is if you and the person you eat it  with finish off the entire pie....OOPS!

Whole Wheat Pie Crust

2c Whole Wheat Flour

2/3c Vegetable Shortening

1tsp salt

7-8TBS ICE COLD water

In a food processor or mixer, blend together the flour, salt and shotening.  Add 7TBS of water and if you feel the mixture is too dry, add another tablespoon.  Once combined, pour out onto a floured surface and make into a ball. Cover in wrap and let chill for 30 minutes.  After chilled, roll out onto a floured surface until it is about 1/4in thick and will cover your baking dish.  Bake over your dish for about 30-40 minutes or until crust is "browned" (IE more brown than it started :) )

Skinny Pot Pie Mixture (remember you can use whatever veggies you prefer)

3TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/2 Large White onion diced

10 large Mushrooms diced (I used whole white mushrooms)

3 garlic cloves minced

2 Carrot sticks diced

2 Celery Sticks diced

1 russet potato diced

1/2c Green Lentils (or peas or whatever)

1/2c golden corn kernels

3c vegetable stock

1TBS corn starch

1/4c water

2tsp ground Thyme

2tsp salt

1tsp pepper

2 Bay Leaves

Preheat large skillet to medium High heat.  Add oil to pan.  Add onion, mushrooms, and garlic and let saute about 3-5 minutes until clear.  Add carrots, celery, potato, lentils, and corn and saute for about 5 minutes or until barely softened.  Add vegetable broth and let mixture come to a boil. In a separate containe add cornstarch to water and mix together so the corn starch does not have clumps.  Add cornstarch/water to the vegetable/broth mixture.  Turn mixture down to a simmer and add thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaves.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until the mixture has begun to thicken.  Add to your pie dish and cover dish with pie crust.  Cook in preheated oven at 425 for 30-40 minutes and serve!