Homemade Chicken Pot Pies

Now with smiley faces for the kiddos!


Chicken Pot Pies: Just like mom made, but not store bought and cheap


I just got my oven fixed and oh how I missed baking! I decided to give these a go when I realized by some miracle I had everything in the kitchen I needed to make them. I did have to make a quick run to the community garden for some fresh herbs- thyme, parsley- but it's in the neighborhood and the weather was lovely. I came across this big fluffy mass of oregano growing in almost a globe shape and couldn't help but kneel down and rub my face in it. It was soft enough to sleep on!

The recipe for the pot pies is pretty fly by the seat of your pants. Here's a quick list of what all I used. You will either need 6 10oz ramekins, 2 pie pans, or 1 casserole dish depending on how you would like to present the meal.

Crust

3/4 cup chilled butter cubes
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3-4 tbsp ice water

1 egg whisked with 1 tbsp water for later

Throw the flour and salt and butter in a food processor. Pulse 5 times then add the water 1 tbsp at a time pulsing once after each tbsp. Turn it out onto some saran wrap, ball it up and put in the fridge for now.

Filling

Chicken- either boil a whole chicken with carrots and onion and shred it, or dice a few breasts
4 carrots cut thin on the diagonal
3 celery stalks cut thin on the diagonal
2 cups peas or green beans (frozen is fine)
1 large onion, diced
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups of stock from boiled chicken OR store bought veggie or chicken stock
1 1/2 cups of whole milk (skim/fat free will separate and be a bit watery in the end but it's still tasty)
1/2 cup flour
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp fresh black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme and parsley each
1/4 dry sherry (or not, but it makes it extra extra)

Saute onion in butter and olive oil until translucent. Halfway through, add the carrots and celery and the salt. Add the sherry and cook for a minute, then add the chicken to this for a few minutes. Next, add the flour then stir for a minute. Then add the stock and the milk and herbs and let simmer for at least 5 minutes. Finally, add the peas or green beans and cook for one more minute.

Place the ramekins or casserole on a baking sheet to make transfer easier and safer.

Ladle the filling into the ramekins almost to the top. If you are just going make one big serving I would use a casserole dish or even a couple of pie pans.

Now, get your dough out and cut it into 6 equal pieces. On a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, roll each piece out to a circle just a bit larger than the ramekins. Lay each round over the top of a ramekin.

If you are making one large serving simply roll the dough out into one or two large pieces and lay them over the top of the container.

Tuck any hanging dough under itself and press around the edges with a fork to bind the dough with the dish. Cut a 1" slit in the center of the dough and brush with the egg/water mixture.

Oven time! Bake at 425F for about 20 or until things start looking all nice and golden brown. Remove from oven carefully and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving. The pies will be hot like lava until then. I know it's tempting to bust one open right away but if they sit for a while the filling will thicken up a little more and be even better in the end PLUS you will keep all of your pretty little taste buds intact. Patience has its perks.

Bon Grubbin!!