Derby Pie (w/Chocolate Chips - Pecans)

 If you like chocolate, you may 

like this a lot.  If you like pecans, 

you may like it even more!  

(Otherwise, ...not so much.)

This time, ... I made TWO of these!!!!

Today was Kentucky Derby Day.  I think that more than anything else about this day each year, I like seeing all the fancy, and sometimes "far out", HATS worn by those who attend it in person.  WOW!!!-- there are some real "WINNER HATS" in the crowd-- and it looked like it was a WINDY day there.  Windy enough that a lot of people had to literally HOLD ONTO THEIR HATS!!!!

If you want to see some of today's hats for yourself, click on this link.  It will take you to an analysis of the "best and worst" picks for today:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2048169-kentucky-derby-hats-best-and-worst-of-2014

Going along with the theme of today, I decided to make something  that is quite famous in Kentucky around this time of the year... it's a pie with "today's event" in its name.  Word has it that the original name of the well-known pie is "OWNED" and can't be used by others who try to imitate the pie in any way.  

So,..... in my opinion, I'd name this as a Chocolate Chip - Pecan Pie.   I guess it could be named "Racing Day Pie" or "Horse Race Pie" or whatever you choose to name it-- just so you don't name it in a way that the "name owner" doesn't like.

INGREDIENTS:  

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup sugar  (I am so sure this amount could be cut back to suit your liking, maybe to 3/4 cup?)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans (may use chopped walnuts)
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used half milk chocolate chips)
• 1/4" teaspoon salt
• 1 ready-made UNbaked pie crust

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325-degrees F.

Combine flour and sugar in a mixing bowl.  

Add the beaten eggs and melted butter; mix to combine.

Stir in the vanilla, chopped pecans OR walnuts, chocolate chips, and salt; mix well.

Pour mixture into the unbaked pie crust.

Bake for just under an hour.  (Check for appearance after the first 30 minutes.  This is when I usually cover the top edge of the pie crust with a strip of foil to prevent it from becoming too000000 brown.  Then, I continue baking until it is done.  I checked for doneness with a wooden toothpick.)

  Mine looked like this at 45-50 minutes:

Cool.  Then, ...serve plain... with a glass of cold milk, or ice cream, or a dollop of whipping cream.

When recipe is followed AS listed above, it is QUITE sweet!
Because of that, I keep the "serving size" quite small.

* The recipe I STARTED to follow is listed here:  http://americanfood.about.com/od/desserts/r/chocwalnutpie.htm  

Then, because a lot of the "Derby" pies call for Bourbon, 
I decided to follow the following recipe and make this one my 
KEEPER!!!...  http://cupcakesandkalechips.com/kentucky-derby-pie/

Chicken Pot Pie

 
Seeing me get a pie crust ready, "Little Girl" asked what I was going to make.  I said, "A pie!"  When I told her it would be a CHICKEN pie, she was obviously NOT thinking it would taste good.   Wow!-- I proved her to be so wrong!

She only had to take ONE forkful of this and she was really INTO it!  She ate the first serving and quickly asked for "...a little more" (what she REALLY meant was that she'd like a little MORE than just a "little more".  When we were finished,  she asked, "Will you save that last piece for when I get home from school tomorrow?"    Yes,... and that is exactly what I did!  (... and that was yesterday!)

...................................

This basic recipe submitted by Robbie Rice is on the Internet and has earned over 6,000 ratings (some cooks liked it "as is" and, as usual, others changed things up a bit).  Read through the reviews for yourself and see if you like to go with some of the readers' suggestions:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-pot-pie-ix/

For example, in regards to "changes", instead of using the separate amounts of carrots and peas called for in the recipe, I used one whole 10.8 oz. bag of Birds Eye Steamfresh brand of frozen MIXED VEGETABLES-- it included a blend of carrots, peas, green beans and corn  (all natural, no preservatives)... I just did not "steam/cook" the vegetables ahead of boiling them with the chicken and celery, and onions

I can't guarantee typo-free typing, 

so, ...

Please read through the entire 

recipe before starting out:  

Ingredients in my "slightly varied" recipe:

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  (You could also use about 4 cups of left-over rotisserie chicken, cut into cubes.)
• 1 of 10.8 oz. bag of un-cooked Birds Eye Steamfresh brand of frozen MIXED VEGETABLES-- it included a blend of carrots, peas, green beans and corn  (all natural, no preservatives)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery (1/8" thick?)
• 1/3 chopped onion

...............................

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 and 3/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth (1 of the 15 oz. cans will do)
• 2/3 cup milk (I used whole milk)

...................................

• 2 of 9-inch unbaked pie crusts.  (I used store-bought crusts this time-- the kind found in the refrigeration section with two unbaked and rolled up crusts in each box.)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425-degrees-- to save electricity expense, this can probably be done just before starting Step 5. 
2. In a saucepan, combine the raw chicken, mixed vegetables, chopped celery and chopped onion.  Add just enough water to barely cover, and bring to a boil and then "gently boil" for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat, drain, and set aside.  (In the posted recipe that I first saw, it was suggested to keep the drained liquid for in case you need it later to supplement the thickened sauce/broth mixture.)
3. Melt butter in the same-sized saucepan as above and stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed.  When evenly/smoothly mixed (without lumps), slowly stir in the chicken broth and milk.  Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring constantly (and scraping bottom of pan), until thick.  Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Roll out and place 1 prepared pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate (a 9 and 1/2-inch pie plate works even BETTER!).  
5. Spoon just the chicken/veggie mixture into the crust.  Pour the hot/thickened broth mixture over that filling.
6. Roll out the remaining crust, put some "steaming slits" in it, and THEN cover the pie filling. (If you don't cut the slits ahead of time, the heat from the filling softens the dough and the slits will look "messy".) Cut away excess dough and seal the edges very well.  Crimp around the sealed edge however you wish. 
7. Bake pie on a baking sheet for 30-35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  (By using a 9.5" pie plate, there was ample room and I did not have to bake it on a baking sheet, ...and I did NOT have any "bubbled over mess" to clean up, either.)  Check your own oven after about 20 minutes to make sure the crust is not getting too dark-- if it is, just cover the top loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.

You might like to try a "bit different" flavored sauce, or baking individual pot pies:  Another variation of a recipe similar to the one above, with its own "over 900 reviews and opinions", is from TV's Ina Garten and can be found on the following website:  http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/chicken-pot-pie-recipe.html