Potato-Topped Chicken Pie

You know those days when you just NEED to eat some form of chicken pie for dinner? 

Yesterday was one of those days.

AND I had a bunch of precooked chicken in the fridge waiting to be used up! It was meant to be. 

This is not, however, a quick and easy dinner recipe. This was long and involved (kind of) and helped me really grab my procrastination needs by the horns and...follow willingly. 

Recipe: Potato-Topped Chicken Pie

Time: 30 minutes prep (more or less?) & 30 minutes in the oven

• Peel and chop about 4 small-medium potatoes and start them boiling. You're going to make these into mashed potatoes for the topping. Just use your favorite method when the potatoes are done. I probably don't need to hold your hand through this one.

For the pie filling:

• In a pot, cook 1/2 a medium onion (diced) in 2 tsp butter and 2 tsp vegetable oil
• When the onions are good and soft, add in 1/2 tsp minced garlic, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground thyme, and 1/8 tsp pepper. You'll probably want more salt than that, but my husband accuses me of making everything too salty, so I tried to tone it down. I actually only put in 1/4 tsp and just had the salt shaker next to me at the dinner table. 
• Only wait about 30 seconds or so before adding in 2 tbsp flour, and whisking it around for a good 2 minutes.
• Then slowly pour in (while whisking) 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups chicken broth or stock (I can't say I really know the difference). 
• Let it cook for about 5 minutes; it should thicken quite a bit.
• Dump in about 2 cups precooked chicken, cut into little pieces, along with about a cup of frozen veggies. I was pathetically unprepared and literally only had corn. Somehow it still tasted awesome, but I would recommend something like peas and carrots. 
• Remove from heat and stir in 2 tsp parsley.
• Dump it into a pie plate (don't be like me and overfill the thing. When I plopped the mashed potatoes on top they made filling jump up and ooze like crazy all over the counter. mmm).
• Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the filling. If the potatoes are too thick you'll have a really hard time doing this without pushing the potatoes to the bottom of the pie plate.
• Oh, and at some point you should have preheated your oven. And since I have no idea what I'm doing (and casseroles tend to be pretty forgiving) I think I cooked it at about 375 for half an hour. It worked! 

Let it sit for a few minutes to cool off before scooping it onto your plate. It will help it thicken up a little bit and rescue the inside of your mouth from being burnt and then not being able to taste the meal at all.

I'm so unbelievably helpful.