Recipe - Hugging Chicken Pot Pie

Hi everyone!
No I don't mean you should hug a pot pie! Although please send pictures if you do try! ;) Do you ever have the feeling that some dishes make you feel like you've just been given a great big hug? I just made the BEST comfort food ever that really made me feel hugged. I've tried this before and it came out sort of ok except for the top and I really wanted to make this again. So this time I tweaked it a bit and oh my word was it wonderful! I'm all excited about it :) The original recipe came from here so make sure you click there too to see the original idea. I only made some small adjustments anyway and I just had to share this with you :)

You need:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 4 leeks, chopped
• 4 regular sized potatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
• 2/3 cup single cream
• 4 chicken fillets (either leftover or fresh)
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 puff pastry sheet
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 1 tablespoon water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. If you are using fresh chicken fillets (or any other chicken), cut in small pieces and fry until done. Then take the chicken out of the pan and put aside. If you are using leftover chicken, continue to step 3.
3. Melt butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, and cook the onion, celery, carrots, leeks, and potatoes until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in parsley, thyme and flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the flour coats the vegetables and begins to fry, about 5 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth and single cream, and cook until the sauce is thick and bubbling. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and mix in the chicken meat.
4. Transfer the chicken, vegetables, and sauce into a 2-quart baking dish. Cover your dish with the puff pastry, making sure to leave holes to let the air out. Decorate as required with leftover pastry.
5. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with water; brush egg yolk on the biscuits.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until the pastry is golden brown and the pie filling is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

And when it comes out of the oven, it should look something like this! 

The bf actually stopped what he was doing and 'wow!-ed' when he saw me taking this out of the oven :) *proud smile*

Close up of the decorations. The heart shape was the only cutter handy at the moment LOL

It was so yummy! Am still feeling all cuddled :) I dont have any pics of the inside though as photographing food with lots of green in it and carrots and making it looks appetizing is not my specialty really... But take my word for it: it was delicious!

Small tip for everyone who is just as silly as me with regard to puff pasty (this was my first time using the pastry as a cover rather than a bottom of the dish): make large slits in the pastry. I made several smaller slits in it but as the pastry cooked, the dough expanded and the holes were no more. This caused the heat to build inside the dish and suddenly it heard a boom-like noise and some of the dish had exploded on the side of the dish. Nothing major, the sound was worse than anything else, but I wont do that again! Maybe I should get one of those birdies to put inside the pie? Anyway, wanted to share this tip with you.

AND we ate this while watching the Great British Bakeoff on telly which made it all the more fun :) It was a 'good bake' *proud smile*