Chicken Pot Pies

 

I really hit a writer’s block with this one… I’ve been sitting for two days, trying to come up with something really wise, witty…and mind-blowing to say about my pot pies… but honestly, what can be said about chicken pot pie that hasn’t already been said?

I looked for a cute chicken story… Chicken Little…The Little Red Hen… but came up short. Honestly, how could I compare the sky falling to chicken pot pie?

You just can’t.

We all know that it’s the perfect comfort food, because that’s been said a gazillion times…and I’m sure that everyone is pretty much sick of hearing how they’re perfect for cold weather…but seriously…in my mind? Chicken pot pie is perfect year round, especially on cool summer nights… or cool spring nights for that matter. Imagine sitting around a bonfire with your friends and family, and someone handing you a little pot pie in a cup like this to snack on.. I certainly wouldn’t pass it up..

I even found a quote from Shannen Doherty saying how everyone thinks she leads a glamorous life, but there are so many times she spends her evenings alone with her dogs, eating a chicken pot pie! But I didn’t feel as though that would really go with what I wanted to say either…although it was nice to know that actors and actresses are real people too..

Truth be told, I would much rather be eating a chicken pot pie with my family and friends around a bonfire…or with Sophie..watching a movie.

And then, while I was trying to come up with something to say about these pot pies… I started thinking about how there are different pot pie people in this word:

There are the “eat it right out of the tin” pot pie-er…(that’s me)
There are the “plop it upside down on a plate” pot pie-er

When I was younger..I always felt as though eating it out of the tin was THE right way to eat a pot pie. I would eat it in three parts… First there is the crispy top crust…and I’d use that as a spoon of sorts.. to scoop out the creamy, chickeny, vegetabley goodness… and then the pleasure of the soft and moist bottom crust, which was my most favorite part of the whole pot pie. It was like coming upon a buried treasure!

But that’s really not what I wanted to say either…

And that is pretty much it. I didn’t have anything funny to say today. I didn’t have any words of wisdom for you.. I just had to let the pot pies speak for themselves… and sometimes that’s okay too.. because they’re just that good…

In keeping with my childhood beliefs, I made these pot pies so that you have to eat them out of the cups. These are on the smaller side…so there is no crust on the bottom because I wanted everyone to enjoy the creamy goodness that was inside. Now, don’t worry, there is plenty of crust because I rolled it out on the thicker side!

 

Life is good… it’s a “thinking you can’t come up with anything to say, but when you look back you realize that you’ve rambled on for a million paragraphs” kind of good…

Chicken Pot Pies
This recipe will make six pot pies in 16 oz ramekins

The beauty of these pot pies is that you can make them however you want! Change the chicken to beef, shrimp, lobster…or leave it purely vegetable! You can add whatever types of vegetables you like! For this one, I went traditional…but that’s not to say that I’d never change it myself!  Lobster is sounding mighty good…

Make it fun… use whatever type of container you want for your pot pies…like these cups that I found on Etsy from a girl named Sandy..and her wonderful shop called P.S. Simply Vintage!  You should check her shop out, Sandy has some pretty cool stuff!

Roast the Chicken and Vegetables:
3 large boneless chicken breasts
32 oz container chicken stock (1 cup for roasting, the rest for the gravy)
24 oz yellow baby Dutch potatoes, skins on and sliced into quarters
1 cup diced baby carrots
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp butter
6 fresh sage leaves
salt and pepper to taste

Spray a 9 x 12” baking pan with cooking spray. Arrange the vegetables and chicken in the bottom… placing two sage leaves and one tablespoon of butter on each chicken breast. Pour one cup of chicken stock (saving the remainder of the carton for the gravy) over the chicken and vegetables. Generously season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 375 degree oven for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken reaches 165 degrees F. Remove from oven, drain the juices into the pan for the gravy. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces, and set both the chicken and vegetables aside.

Prepare the Gravy:
Leftover chicken broth from above
Pan drippings from the roasted chicken and vegetables
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups fresh peas, (or frozen)
2 tsp poultry seasoning
1 tbsp white pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp butter, room temperature
salt and pepper to taste

Bring the pan drippings, chicken stock, heavy cream, poultry seasoning, white pepper, cayenne pepper, to a simmer in a large frying pan. Add the peas, and let simmer for about 15 minutes. In a small bowl mix the butter and cornstarch to a paste consistency. Add to the gravy and pea mixture in the pan, and whisk until completely blended. Continue to let simmer until thickened. Remove from heat…Add the chicken and vegetables to the gravy mixture.

Aunt Linda’s Pie Crust:
2 cups flour
1 cup shortening
½ tsp salt
½ cup milk
1 tbsp vinegar
In a small bowl, mix the milk and vinegar together.  Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, blend the flour, shortening, and salt together until mixture is in pea size crumbles. Pour the milk and vinegar mixture into the flour mixture and stir.   The dough will be sticky.

Roll out on a generously floured surface, kind of on the thicker side. Lay your pot pie container on the dough, and cut around the container about an inch larger (to roll the crust into the pot pie).   Using a knife, cut a heart shape into the crust..to let the steam out…and because every pie should have a heart.

Assemble the Pot Pie:
Measure as much of the chicken and gravy mixture as you want into each of your containers. Place a round of the rolled out pie dough on top, and roll the edges in to create a crust around the pot pie container.
Bake at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour, or until the crust is golden brown, and the pot pie goodness is bubbling.

Serve hot, and Enjoy!!