You can top a Chicken Pot Pie with pie crust or biscuits or store-bought puff pastry. This was a spur of the moment choice for dinner here. Our weather can’t quite make up its mind what it’s going to be doing from one day to the next. It makes menu planning a bit of a dicey game! Am I going to make that leek and potato soup I had in mind (and in fact even picked the leeks from the garden) or should I make bacon and tomato sandwiches (with tomatoes still from the garden, of course!)? Summer or fall? Which is it?
Last weekend I made another batch of Carrot and Pasta Soup since I’d collected enough chicken bones and veggie scraps in the freezer for a fresh pot of chicken broth. I had thought it would make a nice lunch for me all week but we had a few extra for dinner and the kids ate it all up! I barely had enough broth left to freeze, although I did manage to freeze a few 1 cup portions but I had expected more. So when I was at the market and saw a whole cup-up chicken marked down $2 I snatched it up and made more broth the other day. In fact, I had gotten some little seasoning package as a sample and threw it in the broth and it came out quite good! I often make the broth from leftover bones (necks, wings, etc.) but this time I ended up with fresh chicken so had a few cups of cooked chicken to use up. Eldest requested a chicken pot pie.
Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup peas or peas with pearl onions
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 6 Tbs butter
- 6 Tbs flour
- 1 cup cream or milk if you’d rather
- 2 cups or so cooked chicken, chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp dried chives
- 1 tsp dried parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pie crust
Instructions
- Bring the stock to a simmer and add the carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the celery and peas and cook another 3-4 minutes. Drain the vegetables, reserving the broth.
- Melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour, using a whisk. Cook over low heat 2-3 minutes, then slowly whisk in the reserved broth, stirring constantly. Raise the heat a bit and bring to a simmer, stirring, and cook 4-5 minutes. Add the cream and cook another 5 minutes to thicken. Stir in the herbs and add the chicken and vegetables and mix.
- Pour the creamed chicken into a 9×13 pan (or reserve half and freeze for another day like I did). Top with a pie crust or biscuits, making sure to leave some vents. Cook at 400 for 25-30 minutes (or slightly less if using biscuits as they cook faster).
This Chicken Pot Pie is pretty basic with carrots, onions, celery and peas. You can also make it with mushrooms and leeks. Or start with raw chicken and cook it in milk like this recipe from Nigel Slater.
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