Chicken Pot Pie with whole wheat crust

This is one of those recipes I switch to as soon as the weather starts to cool and when we are deep into the cold winter as we are now I still haven't tired of it.  It is the time of year where I try to have a soup meal as often as possible.  I have switched whenever possible to using whole wheat or whole grain flours and this is so tasty with the King Arthur Whole Wheat flour, you can definitely taste the difference with their products.  http://www.kingarthurflour.com/  Some day I plan to go there and take one of their education classes, what a treat that would be.

Chicken Pot Pie


Saute in olive oil:  1 large onion chopped
                            3 med-large carrots chopped
                            1 bunch of celery chopped
                            ------till vegies are translucent, I actually like the onions to begin to carmelize.  Add black pepper, thyme, red pepper flakes to taste.  When vegies are ready add about a tablespoon of flour and stir for about 1 minute to slightly cook flour blending with the vegies.  Pour in chicken broth to cover and allow to simmer so flavors will meld together, add more chicken broth if needed keeping vegies covered.

Meanwhile:  you will need cooked chicken any will do but I prefer to sear chicken breasts (I used 3 in this recipe) in olive oil, black pepper, and thyme and then place in oven till cooked.  Cut up chicken into bite size pieces and add to broth vegetable mixture.  Allow this to simmer until you are ready to use.
                          

Crust top:

1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c white flour
1/2 c cold butter
pinch salt
5-6 T milk
(I like to add a couple Tablespoons of ground flax seed if you like a little crunch, grainier consistancy and it ups the fiber content)

I mix in food processor pulse the flours & salt with the butter till crumble forms then add milk through tube till moist crumble and then form into ball.

Roll out dough to form crust for top.  This is a very delicate crust and will break up easily, but does cook up nicely.
Ladle soup mixture into heat proof ramekins, a large is fine but individual dishes work best.  I place them on a cookie sheet for easy handling and bake till crust is cooked about 15 min at 350. Top of crust is sprinkled with parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of the same spices.  I did not have my dish full with soup mixture so crust sunk into dish.......smaller dishes would have helped the crust stay up higher.  These were from a regular weeknight dinner so I didn't go all out making them pretty.  It is fun to make the crust pretty especially if it is a holiday and you put some cut outs to decorate the top.

on cookie sheet for easy handling