Being a New England girl at heart I am ready for fall. Football has started and my northern friends are all posting pictures of themselves drinking Pumpkin Spice Lattes and sitting outside wearing cute boots and a light jacket. I hate them.
On a good day it's 85 and partly cloudy here. I've resorted to lighting pumpkin candles and putting the AC on high so I can wrap myself up in blankets. I want to make an apple pie and walk the dog when it's cool out and the leaves have begun to turn. Instead I get muggy evening walks with a dog who chases toads and cockroaches.
In my effort to push myself further into denial that I live in what feels like a year round summer (I know it will get cooler one day...but right now, I don't believe it), I decided to make something fall-ish and yummy. So I pulled out my recipe book that my grandparents gave each of the grandkids and flipped to entrees. There it was...chicken pot pie.
My grandmothers recipe (from an old Good Housekeeping cookbook if we must be specific) jumped off the page and I was hooked. According to her notes she made this meal when my mother's parents came to visit them in Cherry Hill, NJ so it's an in-law approved meal!!! Approved since the 70's! (and I will definitely be making it for my in-laws now)
After sending the husband to the grocery store and a few quick phone calls to my mom, I was off. Now...I didn't take a single in progress photo because I was too worried it was going to completely fail and while that would have been a funny story after we ordered Thai food for dinner...I wasn't in the mood to document said potential failure.
The recipe and my notes are below and I am happy to say...it was a smashing success. Not only did Elijah call it "the best meal he's ever had", he had seconds! We even reheated it in the oven tonight for a quick dinner after Taekwondo.
On a good day it's 85 and partly cloudy here. I've resorted to lighting pumpkin candles and putting the AC on high so I can wrap myself up in blankets. I want to make an apple pie and walk the dog when it's cool out and the leaves have begun to turn. Instead I get muggy evening walks with a dog who chases toads and cockroaches.
In my effort to push myself further into denial that I live in what feels like a year round summer (I know it will get cooler one day...but right now, I don't believe it), I decided to make something fall-ish and yummy. So I pulled out my recipe book that my grandparents gave each of the grandkids and flipped to entrees. There it was...chicken pot pie.
My grandmothers recipe (from an old Good Housekeeping cookbook if we must be specific) jumped off the page and I was hooked. According to her notes she made this meal when my mother's parents came to visit them in Cherry Hill, NJ so it's an in-law approved meal!!! Approved since the 70's! (and I will definitely be making it for my in-laws now)
After sending the husband to the grocery store and a few quick phone calls to my mom, I was off. Now...I didn't take a single in progress photo because I was too worried it was going to completely fail and while that would have been a funny story after we ordered Thai food for dinner...I wasn't in the mood to document said potential failure.
The recipe and my notes are below and I am happy to say...it was a smashing success. Not only did Elijah call it "the best meal he's ever had", he had seconds! We even reheated it in the oven tonight for a quick dinner after Taekwondo.
Cobbie's Chicken Pot Pie 4lbs chicken (cut up) 1 T salt 2 stalks of celery 2 bay leaves Small white onions Sliced carrots, slightly cooked Baby peas, slightly cooked 7 T butter 7 T flour 1 C light cream 2 C chicken broth salt to taste Dash pepper Dash mace 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 1 T sherry (optional) Baking powder biscuits or pie crust for top | What I used 7lbs raw skin on bone in chicken breasts 2 T salt 4 stalks of celery (cut up) Almost a whole bag of frozen pearl onions 20 baby carrots, sliced up small Almost a whole bag of frozen Baby peas 7 T butter 7 T flour 1 C regular whipping cream 2 C chicken broth salt to taste lots of pepper to taste 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce 2 Pillsbury recipe creation seamless dough sheets |
Boil water and add salt, celery and chicken. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for an hour. Do not overcook. (keep an eye on it...I thought it would take less time and it really did take an hour)
While the chicken is cooking, cut up the carrots and add to a pan with peas and onions and almost cover with water. Simmer while covered until they are slightly cooked. note: I don't suggest using normal onions if you can't find pearl onions...they have a very different flavor
Remove chicken from water and take off skin. Remove meat from bone and cut up. I stuck the chicken with a fork and used tongs to pull the skin and meat off. That sped the process up a bit. I only used white meat and cut it up into good bite size portions. note: you could use no skin no bone chicken breast and bake it or poach it quickly. I'm glad I did the bone in skin on (which is very out of the ordinary for me) because I think it enhanced the flavor a bit.
Arrange the chicken in your dish with carrots, onions, and peas. I used a large pyrex casserole dish and ended up using 6 out of 8 pieces. I saved the others for salads and sandwiches. If you have smaller dishes make two pies! Freeze one and you'll have a great ready to go meal on a busy night.
Sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy bottom sauce pan (or double boiler). Add flour and stir until smooth. I stirred long after it was smooth until it just started to change color a bit (barely noticeable). You don't want it to turn brown so be careful. I probably stirred it for 5 minutes.
Add cream and chicken broth (use low sodium if you have it) while stirring and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Taste it and add what you want for your taste buds.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables. I was using a pretty big dish and had filled it all the way to the top with the chicken and veggies so I was worried the sauce wouldn't be enough but it was plenty. Just pour it all around. Then I pressed the filling down into the sauce a bit to get it all covered.
Cover with pie crust. Okay - so I used the seamless dough sheets. I put two of them together and painfully rolled them out (note: pillsbury dough sheets do NOT like to be rolled out). I had to really stretch the dough to fit it across the dish. I pulled it to the edges and the pushed the dough down the sides of the dish and made a little ridge all the way around (you can see it in the picture).
Sprinkle a bit of flour on the crust and brush with some cream (not too heavy - just enough to cover it). You are supposed to make slashes to vent the steam and I totally forgot! Probably why it cooked so fast....
I had to put a little smiley face on there...my mom always did so it felt right :)
Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes (I checked mine at 15 and the sauce was boiling over!)
Cook for a bit and then cut and serve. I suggest having a spatula and a spoon handy so you can serve it without too many dribbles.
If you're going to eat it in the next two days (like we are!) you can cover it in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. If not, cover in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and put in the freezer.
I have to admit...I was shocked that it came out as well as it did and that except for it being time consuming...it really wasn't hard. And now I know to start the chicken WAY in advance :)
While the chicken is cooking, cut up the carrots and add to a pan with peas and onions and almost cover with water. Simmer while covered until they are slightly cooked. note: I don't suggest using normal onions if you can't find pearl onions...they have a very different flavor
Remove chicken from water and take off skin. Remove meat from bone and cut up. I stuck the chicken with a fork and used tongs to pull the skin and meat off. That sped the process up a bit. I only used white meat and cut it up into good bite size portions. note: you could use no skin no bone chicken breast and bake it or poach it quickly. I'm glad I did the bone in skin on (which is very out of the ordinary for me) because I think it enhanced the flavor a bit.
Arrange the chicken in your dish with carrots, onions, and peas. I used a large pyrex casserole dish and ended up using 6 out of 8 pieces. I saved the others for salads and sandwiches. If you have smaller dishes make two pies! Freeze one and you'll have a great ready to go meal on a busy night.
Sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy bottom sauce pan (or double boiler). Add flour and stir until smooth. I stirred long after it was smooth until it just started to change color a bit (barely noticeable). You don't want it to turn brown so be careful. I probably stirred it for 5 minutes.
Add cream and chicken broth (use low sodium if you have it) while stirring and cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Season with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Taste it and add what you want for your taste buds.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and vegetables. I was using a pretty big dish and had filled it all the way to the top with the chicken and veggies so I was worried the sauce wouldn't be enough but it was plenty. Just pour it all around. Then I pressed the filling down into the sauce a bit to get it all covered.
Cover with pie crust. Okay - so I used the seamless dough sheets. I put two of them together and painfully rolled them out (note: pillsbury dough sheets do NOT like to be rolled out). I had to really stretch the dough to fit it across the dish. I pulled it to the edges and the pushed the dough down the sides of the dish and made a little ridge all the way around (you can see it in the picture).
Sprinkle a bit of flour on the crust and brush with some cream (not too heavy - just enough to cover it). You are supposed to make slashes to vent the steam and I totally forgot! Probably why it cooked so fast....
I had to put a little smiley face on there...my mom always did so it felt right :)
Bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes (I checked mine at 15 and the sauce was boiling over!)
Cook for a bit and then cut and serve. I suggest having a spatula and a spoon handy so you can serve it without too many dribbles.
If you're going to eat it in the next two days (like we are!) you can cover it in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge. If not, cover in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and put in the freezer.
I have to admit...I was shocked that it came out as well as it did and that except for it being time consuming...it really wasn't hard. And now I know to start the chicken WAY in advance :)