Chicken Pot Pie

For most of my life I thought pot pies only came in the frozen food section of my grocery store. I guess it never occurred to me that at some point, someone had to make them!

Well… I did some digging around and found several different recipes for pot pies. I played around with the ingredients and came up with a version that tickles my taste buds.

Now I admit that this is a little labor intensive and that may be why we are so quick to grab the frozen variety. However, when you make these yourself you can add any combination of ingredients to suite your own taste. And, the result of this homemade version is beyond anything in the frozen food section! You can also make this over a couple of days. You can boil your chicken a day or two before making these pot pies so you aren’t doing everything the night you want to serve them.

And, while I am not a fan of cooked peas (I do like them raw), I added them anyway because everyone else seems to like them in their pot pie. Feel free to leave them out if you dislike the little green orbs as much as I do. They are just odd little things. Slick on the outside and mushy on the inside. Ewwwww!

For all you pea lovers… I apologize. You can’t make me eat ‘em, but I apologize if I have offended your lack of taste in any way.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

To stew the chicken:

• one whole chicken
• 4 ribs celery with leaves, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, cut into large chunks
• handful of fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Remove from heat. Remove chicken and set aside to cool. Strain broth into a large bowl and set aside to use later in the recipe. Discard solids.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, remove skin and bones and discard. Cut chicken into bite-size pieces. Set aside.

To prepare vegetables:

• 1 cup 3/4-inch diced peeled sweet potatoes
• 1 cup 1-inch diced small red potatoes with skin on
• 2/3 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen pearl onions

Place vegetables in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Drain. Add drained vegetables to the cut up chicken.

To make the sauce:

• 1 stick butter
• 4 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3 cups reserved chicken broth
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup dry sherry
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons dried
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

In the same stockpot that you cooked the chicken in, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the celery and mushrooms and saute 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle with flour. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Slowly stir in the broth. Add the cream and sherry and then stir in the remaining ingredients. Remove from heat.

To assemble:

• 1/2 cup canned green beans, drained
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 package (2 sheets) puff pastry

Add the chicken and vegetables to the sauce. Stir in the green beans and peas.

Open puff pastry and lay both sheets on the counter to thaw for 30 minutes. Spray ramekins or pot pie dishes (they have disposable ones at the grocery store) with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon mixture into pot pies (depending on size of containers, you will have 8-10 pot pies).

Note: You can make to this point a day or two in advance. Cover dishes and refrigerate.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Open sheets of puff pastry and unfold. Lightly roll with rolling pin to smooth out creases. Cut squares to fit over each pot pie so they hang over a bit.

Bake for 20 minutes or until pastry is puffed and golden. Serve.

Take your fork and stab the puff pastry. The steamy goodness will drift up to your nostrils and you will fall in love with your homemade chicken pot pie. I’m not fooling ya!

If you added peas to yours, feel free to shove them aside or hide them in your napkin

Sweetest Blessings,
LeAnn