Pennsylvania Dutch Style
Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

1 Large Frying Chicken
3 Quarts water
Onion flakes or one large onion
10 peppercorns
4 cloves garlic
Bay Leaf
2 cloves

2 cups carrots chopped in 1 inch chunks
2 cups onions chopped 1 inch dice
2 cups celery chopped 1 inch pieces
4 cups loosely packed potato in 2 inch chunks
(about 4 medium potatoes, I used peeled russets)
a pinch of saffron (or soaked annato seeds for color)

Noodles
5 eggs
5 half egg shells of water or 1/2 cup
about 2 to 3 cups flour to thicken.
1 teaspoon salt

Optional
tomato powder , spinach powder to color noodles

Directions:
Cooking the Chicken
1. This can be done a day ahead. Simmer the chicken in the Dutch oven with 3 to 4 quarts of water, the onion, bay leaf , peppercorns, garlic and cloves for 45 minutes until tender. Strain and reserve the stock. On a note, I added some seasoning salt to pat the chicken with before I added the stock, I didn't put this in the ingredients because it is not traditional. I then browned the chicken just slightly to give the stock more color.

2 .Pull the chicken off the bones and reserve to a bowl.

Make the noodles and keep close to the pot. Assemble the Chicken, the chopped vegetables, potatoes and have handy ready to go.

The potatoes are chopped larger than the carrots so they will take approximately the same time to cook. It is ok for the potatoes to break down a bit as that helps thicken the stock.

Directions for the Noodles

1. Break the eggs into the bowl

2. Add the water and salt. This was my grandma's trick to fill the half egg shell with water. so her rule of thumb was to add a half egg shell of water per egg. Add the flour a half cup at a time and mix it in.If you are going to add your tomato or spinach powder you can add 1/2 cup of the powder. Keep adding a little at a time until the dough starts to get stiff and pull away from the bowl.

3. Now put out on the board and add a little extra flour and work it in till it is stiff enough to roll out. Roll out dough to a sheet about 1/4 inch thick. This is easiest to do when the dough is room temperature. Cut the noodles into squares or strips. these are about 2 inches by 4 inches. Sprinkle some flour over these noodles until ready to use. You can also lay them on sheets and dry them.

.Putting Together the Pot Pie

1. Bring the stock to a simmer and add the carrots, onions, celery and potatoes.
Drizzle in a tablespoon or 2 of annato oil that you get from soaking the seeds in oil. The Penn Dutch like Saffron but I didn't have any. This is mainly for coloring the broth a nice yellow. The Saffron however adds a nice flavor. Cover and simmer the stew for 30 to 45 minutes.

2. Take a potato and carrot out and check for tenderness. When they are starting to get tender add the noodles. a little of the flour that clings to the noodles is fine. Stir the noodles as they fall in so they don't stick together. After they have been exposed to the heat for a 15 seconds they will be fine. Now simmer for another 15 minutes until noodles are done and the stock has thickened.

3. You can thicken the stock more if you like by using a slurry of
2 tablespoons flour and 1/ 2 cup water, and pour in while stirring gently with a spoon, as it is simmering.

4. Chop a small handful of parsley. Add half of it to the Pot Pie and gently stir in. Top the Pot Pie with some of the chopped parsley for garnish.

Warm your bowls in the oven and Ladel some of the Pot Pie filling in the bowl distributing the vegetables and noodles evenly. Then ladle some of the sauce over the top. I like the sauce not too thick, about the same as cream.