Almost Completely Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I like rotisserie chicken. I wish I had a rotisserie so I could rotisserie my own chicken. (One of RonCo's latest inventions is the household rotisserie. WANT!) But since I don’t have one, once every couple of months I’ll grab a chicken from Top Foods. Their rotisserie chicken is locally raised and antibiotic free, so it’s worth the little extra drive up the hill.

I like CHICKEN!

Whenever we get one, I try to make two or three meals out of it. The first meal is always rotisserie chicken. I’ll just sauté up some veggies and make a salad and tah-dah, dinner is on the table.

The second meal is usually some form of chicken soup. Chicken and noodles, chicken and dumplings; all with big chunks of leftover rotisserie chicken and vegetables. I like onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in my chicken soup! And black pepper.

Well, last night was rotisserie chicken day 2, and I decided I felt frisky. So instead of putting my biscuits on the side or on top of my chicken soup, I decided to encase chicken soup in biscuits. And thus, pot pie.

I’ve always loved pot pie. I don’t know why I’ve never made it before. I made it really fresh with veggies from my local farmer’s market and my own broth. But you could definitely ease the operation by grabbing some organic frozen veggies and some packaged broth at the store. I just tossed the rest of the chicken carcass (after I had pulled the meat) in the crock pot with some water in the morning, so I had a nice bone broth to use in this recipe.

Fresh and hot from the oven!

Chicken Pot Pie (Almost Completely Homemade)

Preheat your oven to 375°

Crust:

2 c. whole-wheat flour

1 tsp organic sugar

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 stick of butter, cubed

¾ c milk

Mix together dry ingredients, cut in (with a pastry cutter, or I use a fork) butter until the mixture begins to look like coarse cornmeal. Make a well, pour in milk. If the mixture is too dry, you might need just a splash more milk. You want a soft dough to form.

Since this is basically a biscuit, you want to be sure not to over-mix the dough. Once it pulls together, dump it out on a floured surface and knead 3 or 4 times. Roll out flat according to your casserole dish. You’ll want enough to cover the bottom, sides, and top.

Now the tricky part is getting it off the surface and into the pan. I find it’s easiest to fold it up gently and move it into the pan. Unfold (gently) and pat it onto the sides. Set aside a small amount of dough for the top of the pie.

Filling:

Absolutely crammed full of farm-fresh veggies!

1 c. Chopped, cooked chicken

1 c. Chicken Stock

1 c. Grated Cheddar Cheese (completely optional)

(Veggies of Choice, I use lots, use the size of your dish as a guide!)

Corn (I used the kernels from 2 cobs)

Carrots (A hearty handful of organic carrot chips)

Onion (1 small one, sliced thin)

Broccoli (1 head, chopped)

Celery (about a handful, chopped)

Not perfect, but it doesn't matter. It's going to be delicious!

Chop all the veggies into bite-sized pieces. Mix the chicken, stock, veggies, and cheese in a bowl. Spoon into crust. Roll out the top crust and gently place on top, pinching together with crust. Make sure to cut some vents.

You could thicken the chicken broth with a roux, a flour slurry, or even some arrowroot powder or (ick) cornstarch if you wanted to. I didn't. I might next time, there was a lot of juice at the bottom of mine, but I just poured it over the top of my bowl and it was delicious. 

I baked mine for a total of 55 minutes. This will depend on a few factors, such as the size of your casserole dish and your oven. I started by checking it at 30 minutes, and then just added time 10-15 minutes at a time. I stuck a meat thermometer in to make sure it was nice and hot inside. If you are concerned about food safety you might want to cook it a little longer, mine was only 145° inside when I decided I was hungry and it was time to eat.

This is my first attempt at this recipe, so check back, I’ll polish it. I also will get pictures of how I got the crust from countertop to dish.

Thanks for stopping by!

Yum! Thanks for dinner.