Chicken Pot Pie

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com; it's the Chicken Pot Pie IX.

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cubed (I used leftover chicken that was already cooked)
I also added 1 large potato, cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. celery seed I skipped this as I didn't have any on hand
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 9-inch unbaked pie crusts

Preheat over to 425 degrees.
In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside. Since my chicken was already cooked, I skipped this step. Instead, I boiled the potatoes and carrots together for about 15 minutes to precook them a little.
In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onion in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside. I also added the celery and peas to this mixture.
Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover the top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape. I mixed the two parts together, then poured it into the dough.
Bake in the preheated over for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Don't throw away the excess dough! Roll it out, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and bake until done. Then eat your elephant ear while you're waiting for the pot pie to finish cooking.

Cheesy Ham and Potato Soup

This is a great way to use up leftover ham after the holidays.

3 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
1/3 cup celery
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped
1-2 cups ham, diced and cooked
3 1/4 cups water
2 T. chicken bouillon granules I use a can of chicken broth instead of chicken bouillon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
5 T. butter
5 T. flour
2 cups milk
2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
I also add 2-3 carrots, sliced.
Combine potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water (I added the chicken broth here, and then enough water to cover the potatoes, etc.) in stockpot and bring to boil. Cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Salt and pepper to taste.
In separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly until thick. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form and all milk is added. Continue to stir until thick (4-5 minutes). Add in cheese and stir until melted.
Stir the cheese mixture into the stockpot and cook until heated through.