Skip to main content

Chicken Pot Pie

I love comfort food.  

With some caution, I'm going a little comfort food-crazy in the kitchen this weekend.  I feel the desire to prep some freezer meals and do some cooking, so I need to take advantage of that feeling, as it has become more rare recently.  I'm making 2 chicken pot pies a la my friend Amy, some skinny chicken parm, some more apple sauce, some cranberry sauce, some soup(s), and maybe a loaf or two of bread.  Then I want to try to find some dessert recipes to use up some of those trick or treat remains - not too much traffic at the door this year, so we had a big stash leftover.

I'll be balancing the heavier meals with some lighter fare, so I'm prepping veggies and ingredients for stir fry, some light broth-based soups, and some open-faced sandwiches and things.  I'm going to attempt a meal plan for TWO weeks, and see what happens.  I'm not a fan of planning out the whole month, but I'll see if 2 weeks is the happy medium.

Here's the pot pie recipe I really like - we don't like too much sauce - they can get soupy and soggy - and I really like making the sauce and chopping the veggies myself - it just FEELS more comforting!   I did these for a freezer meal swap once, and honestly, this is the first time in over a year I've been able to face it - I made 16 pot pies that time, and it did me in.    Just 2 this time, thank you very much.

Amy's Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe makes 2 pies.  Make one for dinner and freeze the other, or invite some friends over for a comfort food feast!

• 2 cups diced peeled potatoes (or use red potatoes, skin on)
• 2/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup butter (2 sticks)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 3/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth (Swanson Natural Goodness works great)
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4 cups cubed cooked chicken (leftover rotisserie chicken or Thanksgiving turkey works great)
• 3-4 cups frozen mixed veggies (we like corn, peas & carrots for this)
• 2 double pastry for 2 (two) 9 inch double crust pie (try Pillsbury)
• 1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)

Place potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended and flour taste is cooked out, about 2 minutes. Gradually stir in broth and milk. bring to a simmer; mixture will thicken. remove from heat. Add the chicken, potatoes and frozen veggies.

Line two 9-in. pie plates with bottom pastry. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Fit remaining pastry to top of pies. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry (to release steam). Brush top crust with egg wash for a golden finish when baked (optional). Trim, seal and flute edges. Wrap in foil, and place in freezer bag.

To prepare, thaw in fridge. Bake potpies at 425 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting (so the slices will hold their shape).
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Layered Mexican Trifle Salad

So this is awesome.  It's a lot of work, but it is awesome.  Feeds a crowd, looks cool, tastes great.  What more can you ask for?  I first had this at a party, and then tracked down the recipe - I believe it was originally from Pampered Chef.  You can mix it up, but I really like this combo.  It's easy to double or whatever is needed, based on the serving dish.  The one pictured was MASSIVE, and was basically a triple batch - so much work, and at the last minute! Layered Mexican Trifle Salad I ngredients: Beans: drain, rinse and mix together 1 15 oz. can pinto beans and 1 15 oz. can black beans 1 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, drained (I've also used fresh) 1 large tomato, diced (I usually use several Roma tomatoes) 2 green bell peppers, diced 3 ripe avocadoes, diced and mashed with the juice of 1 lime and salt and pepper to taste 1 large onion, diced (red or white) 2 cups cooked chicken, diced or shredded 2 cups cheddar or...
Read more

Skillet Chicken, Broccoli, Ziti & Asiago Cheese

We ALL really love this recipe. This is based on a recipe from the good people at Cooks Illustrated - I am grateful to them for getting my kids to happily eat sundried tomatoes and broccoli!  I've also made this in a huge batch and served it family-style for a dinner party (and got to use my giant Pampered Chef Simple Additions square pasta bowl (it's really big), and it was AWESOME).  If people could have licked the bowl clean, they might have - there was NOTHING left. Try this, and love it: Chicken, Broccoli, Penne and Asiago Cheese  Skillet 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch squares 2 tbsp. vegetable oil (or olive oil - just don't heat that to smoking) 1 medium onion, minced (about 1 cup) 3 medium cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.) 1/4 tsp. dried oregano 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes 8 oz. ziti or penne (2 /12 cups) 3 c. water 2 c. low-sodium chicken broth 3-4 c. broccoli florets 1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, rinsed and chop...
Read more

Another Take on Comfort Food

Sometimes there's nothing you can do but cook. I've had the displeasure of seeing 2 young moms in our school community recieve cancer diagnoses in the last 18 months.  If you're like me, when someone you know is hurting, you want to help, but lots of times, there's not much you can do. If you can cook, you can take away some of the stress of getting the family fed and bring a meal or two. In fact, even if you can't cook, you can pick up a meal at a restaurant or a bag of groceries, or even a gift card for a local restaurant. I think it comes naturally to some - the church and school communities I grew up in always loved with food - church potlucks, school spaghetti dinners, and of course lots of meals for people who needed them.  But not everyone has done this before, so it might be overwhelming.  As in my "feeding a crowd" blurb, there are a few things to keep in mind.   Don't try to impress - don't try new recipes.  Find out if you'r...
Read more