Well, the rains have come.  Actually it has been more like Monsoons!  And dark and cloudy out too.  Just the right kind of cool weather for comfort food....Gluten Free Chicken Pot Pie.  This was a huge pie - we will be having leftovers tomorrow, so you can always scale down to make a smaller pie.  Tasty, yummy, comfort food, good the next day too.

4 Free Range Chicken Breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces - or chicken tenders
olive oil, butter
8-9 crimini mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 large chopped onion
4 minced garlic cloves
4 small carrots chopped
2 celery stalks diced
about 1/2 cup diced rutabaga
2/3 cup peas
handful of chopped green beans
3-4 cooked medium new potatoes - cut into 1-2 inch pieces - cooked
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup white wine
2 big tsp. Sage
1 tsp. Thyme
2 Bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 Tblsp. fresh minced flat leaf Parsley
cornstarch
1 pie crust - for a large deep dish pie plate

Begin by making your pie crust.  I used this yummy pie crust recipe from Helen of TARTELETTE, with a few changes - you can find the recipe here.

Put the potatoes on to cook, and then heat up a frying pan with the Olive Oil and Butter on medium high heat.  Add the chicken pieces - cook about 6-7 minutes, stirring until cooked through.  Transfer to a plate, add in another drizzle of olive oil to the pan, and saute the mushrooms until golden.  Add the chopped onion and saute another 5 minutes or until the onion begins to caramelize.  Turn the heat to medium low and add the celery, carrots, rutabaga, garlic, and seasonings. 

Continue to saute, about another 8 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add in the white wine, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom, then add in the chicken stock.  Bring to a good simmer - if there is too much liquid, cook to reduce a bit, as well as to finish cooking the vegetables.

When the potatoes are cooked, drain and set aside.  Adjust the chicken vegetable mixture for seasonings, add in the green beans and peas.  Simmer another 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, make up a cornstarch slurry, adding to the chicken and veggie mixture stirring to reach a good consistency. 

Remove from heat, add in the potatoes,  and pour the mixture into a deep dish pie pan, removing the Bay leaves.

Roll out the pastry between two sheets of parchment paper - transfer to cover the top of the chicken stew.  I rolled mine out quite large, so I could crimp the top edges.

Cut an X in the center, place the dish onto a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven, for about 45 - 60 minutes, until the crust is golden, and the chicken stew is bubbling.