Healthy Chicken Pot Pie

Dear Readers,

Chicken pot pie is an American classic recipe. It's known as a comfort food especially during the winter season. Do not let the vegetables and chicken trick you into thinking that the traditional recipe is healthy. The sauce it highly caloric due to the high fat content from the butter and full fat milk. According to the website www.caloriecount.com, chicken pot pie is given a rating of C because 50% of the calories comes from fat. According to the website traditional chicken pot pie has 484 calories per serving.
For many lactose intolerant eaters..this food can be a complete nightmare. So I made it my mission to revamp this recipe to be competely dairy free (no butter...no milk) and make it healthy. So lets make the vegetables take center stage in this recipe. Remember I still want to maintain a great flavor that the entire family will enjoy.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed
14 oz chicken broth, no MSG, organic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 small onion chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
5 oz frozen green peas, thawed
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
4 tablespoons flour
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a saucepan, pour in the broth and bring it to a simmer. Put in chicken pieces and cook for about 6-8 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Transfer the chicken to another bowl and reserve the broth.
3. In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and asparagus with the olive oil. Cook until tender. At the last minute add the peas, parsley, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Place the cooked vegetables into a baking dish.
4. You can add your cooked chicken on top of the cooked vegetables.
5. In small saucepan on medium low heat place the flour. Cook this flour for about 10 minutes or until golden brown. You will want to stir frequently to prevent any burning. When the flour is golden add the canola oil and wisk together. It should look like sand granules. Now slowly pour in the chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Continuously wisk and bring to a boil. When it reaches a boil your sauce will begin to thicken. When your sauce is thick take the saucepan off the heat and pour it over the vegetables and chicken.
6. Roll out pastry until it is slightly larger than the baking dish and place on top. I use my fork and poke a few holes on top. Bake 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve.