Easy Chicken Pot Pie

A few Fridays ago the boy had a hankering for Chicken Pot Pie, something I had been promising to make for awhile and just never got around to. This is not normally something I would ever do during the week as it take the planning to get the crust made and chicken roasted and just is more of a weekend comfort food type of thing. That being said after he mentioned it and I thought about it, I realized that if he picked up the ingredients on the way home I could pull it off as a late Friday night dinner in a Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade kind of way. Now let me first say that I'm not the biggest fan of many of Miss Sandra's recipes, but I do like how she tries to make things quick and easy by using some help from the grocery store. My favorite way to do this is to buy the roasted chickens (or bubble chickens as the boy calls them due to the plastic bubble they are sold in) from the Deli department. They are a quick and healthy alternative to fast food and became the cornerstone of this tasty pie.


Easy Chicken Pot Pie

1/2 roasted chicken - meat picked from the bones (store bought or fresh)
1 cup carrots - peeled and diced
1 cup pearl onions - frozen are a great short cut here or fresh just make sure to peel them
1 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp whole wheat flour
4-6 cups low sodium chicken broth (or a fab homemade Chicken Stock)
1 bay leaf
Puff pastry - thawed according to package directions
1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese
1 egg
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400F. In a large pot combine the olive oil and flour to make a roux over medium heat. When it's nice and golden, stream in the chicken broth, whisking the whole time to avoid lumps and let simmer for a few minutes to thicken.
2. Add in the carrots, pearl onions (if fresh), chicken, bay leaf, salt & pepper. Let simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add in the peas (and onions if using frozen) stir to combine.
3. Take your 9-inch deep dish pie plate (I love my Emile Henry plate) and turn it over onto the thawed puff pastry. Cut a circle to cover the top of the plate. Pour the Chicken Stew into the pie plate leaving about 1/2 in of room, if you don't use all the stew just save to eat as leftovers, it's quite tasty on it's own.
4. Cover pie plate with puff pastry, pressing to the edges of the pie plate. Make an egg wash with a beaten egg and some milk, brush over the puff pastry and toss with grated cheese. Place on a cookie sheet and bake at 400F for 30 minutes or until pastry puff and becomes golden brown.

This got major thumbs up from the boy, who LOVES any kind of meat pie and it got thumbs up from me for the complete ease of preparation. I also love that if you want to take the time to roast a chicken and make a crust and get all fresh veggies it can also be a totally homemade dish. Either way it's a winner and the perfect thing for a cold winter night. Enjoy!