What’s Cookin’, Good Lookin’?

Comfort in a casserole dish!  Oh how I love me some homemade Chicken Pot Pie!  Ankle Biter #1 could eat his weight, his brother’s weight, his daddy’s weight and mine in Chicken Pot Pie!  It’s one of his very favorite foods!  I don’t make it often because it’s a tad labor intensive.  Not hard, mind you!  Just a little more work than I normally have on a work night.

He and I would like to share it with you today.  Here’s what you’ll need to make the pastry for it:

All-Purpose Flour (also sometimes referred to as “Plain” flour), cream cheese and butter.  You’ll want to let the cream cheese and butter soften to room temperature before making this pastry dough.  It’s super simple!  And if you want, you can add some spices to the pastry dough.  I usually add some fresh-cracked pepper and some of the seasoning I’m using in the pot pie or quiche or whatever I’m making with the dough.

Unwrap the butter and add it to your mixer bowl.

Now unwrap the cream cheese.  You’ll need 1 and 1/2 bars for this recipe so cut one bar in half.  Add it to the mixer bowl.

You’ll need 4 cups of All Purpose Flour.  Set it aside after you measure it.

Cream the butter and cream cheese together before adding the flour.

Add about half the flour and begin slowly mixing it into the cream cheese and butter mixture.

Add the rest of the flour and any spices you wish to incorporate into the pastry dough.  Mix until the dough forms into a ball.

When the dough is ready, it should look like this.  Divide the dough in half then flatten it into a disc.

Now wrap the dough in plastic wrap or wax paper and slide it into a ziplock bag and refrigerate it until you’re ready to roll it out.

While the dough is chilling, let’s make the “pot” part of the pie.  Here’s what you’ll need:

Frozen mixed vegetables, a couple potatoes, an onion, garlic, sage, fresh-cracked pepper, other spices or spice blend of choice, boneless/skinless chicken breasts or tenders, butter, flour and milk.

Put the chicken on to boil in a stockpot.

Add sage to the pot of chicken.

In another stockpot or Dutch oven, put the mixed vegetables and chunks of peeled potatoes on to boil.

Let’s dice an onion up for the sauce now.  Peel the onion and cut off the root and tip.

Cut it in half root to tip and lay it face down on the cut-side.

Slice each half into thin half-rings like this.  Then cut across them to finely dice the onion.

You’ll want it diced fairly fine like this.  Set the onion aside while we roll out the pastry dough.

If you have a pastry mat, use that to roll out the dough.  If you don’t, use wax paper.  Sprinkle some flour onto the pastry mat or wax paper like this.

Place one of the discs of dough on the floured wax paper.  Leave the other one in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.

Now sprinkle the top of the dough with a little flour.

Now begin to roll out the dough.  Roll it to whatever size and shape the baking dish is you’ll be using.

I’m using a 9″ x 13″ baking dish so I’ll roll this out into a rectangular shape.

It doesn’t have to be “perfect.”  Just get it roughly into the shape you want.

Fold the dough in half.  That will make it easier to put into the baking dish without tearing.

Make sure you spray your baking dish with non-stick cooking spray before adding the dough in.  Lay the dough across half the pan and then unfold it.

Now begin gently and neatly tucking the overhanging dough under around the edges.

As you can tell, mine could be a little neater, but it will work!  My dough had gotten a little too warm and it was beginning to misbehave.  Due to the amount of butter in this dough, you’ll have to work fairly quickly because it will get warm and hard to work with if it becomes too warm.

Place some wax paper into the pan over the dough.

Fill the wax paper with dried beans or rice to help the dough keep it’s shape while you pre-bake the dough before adding the filling.  Now place into a pre-heated 350° oven.  Bake approximately 30 minutes or until the dough is cooked completely through.

Drain the chicken and allow it to cool until it can be handled to cut up.

While the chicken is cooling, let’s make the sauce for the pot pie.  Melt the butter in a skillet or sauteuse pan.

The butter is about ready to add the onions.

Begin sauteing the onions in the butter.  When the onions are almost translucent, we will add the flour to begin the white sauce, but we’re not quite there yet.

Now add some seasoning of your choice.  I chose a no-salt, no-MSG chicken seasoning I got at Sam’s some time ago.  Since I developed this recipe, I have discovered Wildtree all-natural products.  If I were making it now, I would use one of the many seasoning blends available from Wildtree such as:  Lemon Rosemary Seasoning Blend, California Garlic Pepper Blend, or Rotisserie Chicken Blend.  Also add some fresh-cracked pepper and minced garlic.

Now add some sage to the onions.

Add the flour to the onions to begin the white sauce.

Stir the flour around into the onions until all the flour is well incorporated into the butter and onions.

Add the milk and stir.  Keep stirring until the sauce thickens up.  Turn the sauce off and set aside while you prepare the chicken to add to the sauce.

Lay the cooled chicken out onto a cutting board.

Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Cut the chicken as small or as large as you like.

Drain the mixed vegetables well.

Return them to the pot.

Add the chicken to the vegetables.

Now pour the white sauce into the veggies and chicken.

Stir the sauce into the veggies and chicken until it’s all well-combined.

YUM!!!!!!!!!!  And if I’d left it just like THIS, Ankle Biter #2 would’ve eaten HIS weight in it because it resembles soup or a very thick stew.  But see, we’re about to put it into a casserole dish and by nature of being in a casserole dish, Ankle Biter #2 thinks this isn’t fit to feed to the dogs!  ***rolling eyes***  Now just leave it on the stove for a few minutes and let’s roll out that other disc of dough.

You’ll want to roll it out just like you did the other piece.

Now using a pastry cutter or a paring knife, cut the dough into strips about 1/2″-3/4″ wide.

The strips will look like this when you’re done.  You’ll need about 12-15 strips for a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.

Pour the “pot” part of the “pot pie” into the already baked crust.  See how the dough shrunk, even though we added the dried beans?  If we hadn’t put the dried beans in, it would’ve shrunk all the way down into the bottom of the pan and there would’ve been no crust up the sides at all.

Spread the veggie and chicken mixture out evenly inside the crust.

We’re ready to begin laying the strips of dough on the top in a lattice work design.

Begin by laying strips horizontally.  Place them as close or as far apart as you like.

Now go across vertically until the pot pie is completely covered with strips of pastry dough.  Return to the oven approximately 25 minutes or until the crust is brown and cooked completely through.

And in a few minutes, this is what you’ll have!  YUMMMMMMMMMMMM!

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Chicken Pot Pie

*  1-1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast or tenders

*  5 sticks butter, softened

*  1 1/2 bars cream cheese, softened

*  4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup for white sauce

*  ground sage, chicken seasoning blend of choice, garlic and fresh-cracked black pepper to taste

*  3 cups milk

*  1 lg. onion or 2 medium onions, diced

*  1 lg. pkg. frozen mixed vegetables

*  2-3 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

In a mixer bowl, combine 4 sticks butter and 1 1/2 bars cream cheese.  Cream butter and cream cheese together until well combined.  Add half the flour and mix into butter mixture.  Add remaining flour and any spices you want.  Turn mixer back on until the dough forms a ball.  Remove dough ball and divide into two equal portions.  Flatten each ball into a disc and place in plastic wrap or wax paper inside a large ziplock bag.  Refrigerate until well-chilled.

Boil chicken with sage.  Boil until chicken is tender.  Remove from broth and allow to cool.  When chicken is cooled, cut into bite-sized pieces.

Boil mixed vegetables and potatoes until tender.  Drain and set aside.

Roll out 1 piece of dough on a floured surface.  Roll to fit the size casserole dish you plan to use.  This recipe will fill 1-9″ x 13″ pan or 2-8″ square pans.  Spray dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Fold dough in half and lay across baking dish.  Unfold to cover entire dish.  Tuck the edges of the dough under around the pan.  Place wax paper or foil inside dough and fill with dried beans.  Baked in a pre-heated 350° oven approximately 30 minutes or until the dough is cooked through.  Set aside while preparing the remainder of the dish.

Melt remaining stick of butter over medium heat.  Add onions and cook until nearly translucent.  Add additional sage, spice blend of choice, garlic and fresh-cracked black pepper.  Stir to combine.  Add 1/4 cup of flour to onions and butter.  Stir until well-combined.  Cook about 2 minutes before adding milk.  Stir or whisk milk in and cook until sauce is thickened.

Pour sauce into drained mixed vegetables.  Add diced chicken and stir to combine.  Pour into baked crust.  Set aside.

Roll out second disc of dough.  Cut into 1/2″-3/4″ strips with pastry roller or paring knife.  Lay pieces horizontally across the pan, then lay them vertically in a lattice work-style.  Return to oven and bake approximately 25 additional minutes or until top crust is done.  Serve hot.

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This morning, it is WICKED cold here in my little part of the world.  It’s all of about 9°!  If there’s any weather that screams for……….BEGS for comfort food, it’s this weather!  This is the kind of food that will warm the bones!  Perfect food for a cold (and possibly snowy!!!!) day at home.

Enjoy!  And I hope you’re warm wherever you are!

Filed under: Ankle Biters, Casseroles, Main Dishes, Meal Ideas, Menus, Poultry, Recipes