Chicken Pot Pie

I told you I’m a meat and potatoes girl. I wasn’t lying.  I’d be willing to bet when most of you think of chicken pot pie you’d probably think of a Banquet chicken pot pie that your Mother (or Father) popped in the oven for you back in the day. Not that there is anything wrong with that.  Heck, I loved many a Banquet chicken pot pies back in the day!  Before the microwave that is.

Is chicken pot pie supposed to be microwaveable? No. The answer is no!  Which would you rather eat?

Now that that debate is over. Let’s get to the meat and potatoes of this post.  Here’s what you will need.

Marinate your chicken breast in 1/2 bottle of garlic and herb dressing/marinade for at least a couple of hours.  Salt & pepper and grill on both sides but don’t cook all the way through.  Cube chicken same size as potatoes and carrots. This helps everything to cook evenly.  Set chicken cubes aside.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In large pot on stove mix together chicken stock, heavy whipping cream, white cooking wine, and chicken bouillon. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil briefly. Then turn back to medium heat.  Add flour and whisk, turn up heat and continue whisking until mixture thickens. If you think it needs more flour add a little at a time. Or conversely, if it becomes too thick add more chicken broth. Remember you are adding starch from the potatoes and this will also thicken the mixture. Once mixture thickens add in onion, celery, carrots, potatoes, corn (or veggies of your choice) Rosemary, and Thyme and cook on medium heat until potatoes are almost done.  You should be able to spear them with a fork.  Now add chicken and turn down to low heat to  let the potatoes to let the flavors marry.

I used individual Ramekins. I just love the rustic look and individual servings. Cut your puff pastry into even slices. I had enough for 4 pot pies but only made 3. I also like crust on the bottom and top of my pot pie.

Put a little flour on your counter and roll out your puff pastry.  If you are using puff pastry on the bottom of your pies, butter your Ramekins and then press in the puff pastry dough until it even coats the sides.  I didn’t bake my bottom crust the first time I made this. Now I bake it for 10 minutes on 425 before putting in the filling. Make sure your pastry is rolled out thin for your bottom layers as it puffs up 3x its size and can tend to slide down to bottom of Ramekin. Keep an eye on it.   Take my advice and precook your bottom crust for about 10-12 minutes or until it lightly browns.

Before you fill them like I did, remember I said you might want to bake your bottom layer until lightly brown.  Then fill your Ramekins with the mixture.

Cut a small hole in center of top of puff pastry to vent heat. Then press around top of Ramekin. Trim off any excess pastry dough.  Then brush with whipped egg mixture.

Place on foil covered cookie sheet and bake on 425 until top of crust browns. 10 to 12 minutes.  Then lightly cover with foil and turn oven down to 400 degrees and cook additional 20-25 minutes.  Cool at least 10 minutes before serving. It will still be pipping hot. I promise.

So… do you still want the microwaveable version, or this hardly any work homemade version oozing with creamy goodness and comfy mouth watering taste?

I thought so.

Recipe Type: Dinner

Author: Sherri @ The Kitchen Prescription (dot) com

Prep time: 30 mins

Cook time: 35 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: 4

Comfy and delicious

Ingredients

• 3 large chicken boneless breasts
• 1/2 bottle garlic and herb marinade
• 3 large potatoes cut, peeled and cubed into small even pieces
• 2 boxes Peppridge Farm Puff Pastry (found in your grocer’s freezer section w desserts)
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon fresh Rosemary (or dried)
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon Thyme (depending on your taste)
• 3/4 teaspoon powdered chicken bouillon
• 2 cups low salt chicken broth/stock (you may need to add more if your cream mixture is too thick so keep some extra on hand. I always seem to add a little more.)
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup white cooking wine
• 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
• small chopped red onion
• 2 small chopped celery stalks
• 3 peeled and chopped carrots
• 1/2 can super sweet corn (or whatever vegetables you prefer)
• salt & pepper
• 1 beaten egg for brushing pastry dough

Instructions

1. See picture tutorial below