Chicken Pot Pie

Thanksgiving has passed and we are now in the mad dash towards Christmas.  We hope you had a nice holiday celebrating with friends or family.  After cooking several turkeys, hams, holiday side dishes, as well as pies and cheesecakes, for clients and our own families we were ready for a quiet weekend after Thanksgiving.  We are now gearing up for round two!  In the several days leading up to Thanksgiving we didn't have time to post much on the blog.  We have a lot of ideas and recipes and hopefully we will be able to get these to you during this Christmas season.  


Today I'm going to post my recipe for Chicken Pot Pie.  I had hoped to get it posted a couple of days ago because it is a great recipe to help use up leftover turkey in place of the chicken.  I made it using puff pastry that you can purchase in the freezer section of the grocery store.  It is also great topped with biscuits if you don't want to mess with rolling out the puff pastry.

Chicken Pot Pie


3  cups chicken broth, divided
2  russet potatoes-peeled and diced into ½ inch pieces (about 2 cups)
4  tablespoons butter
1  onion, chopped
¼ cup celery, finely chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms, optional (I LOVE them, my family not so much! )
½  teaspoon dried thyme
½  teaspoon dried tarragon
1  teaspoon salt
1  teaspoon pepper
1  teaspoon minced garlic
¼  cup flour
2 ½  cups chicken broth (reserved from boiling the potatoes)
½  cup heavy cream
2  tablespoons dry white wine

5 to 6 cups cooked chicken, shredded

12 ounce bag frozen peas and carrots, thawed

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

Egg wash (1 beaten egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water)

Bring chicken broth to a boil in a saucepan.  Add the diced potatoes and cook for 5 minutes until they begin to soften.  Drain and reserve the chicken broth for your cream sauce.

Melt the 4 tablespoons butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, mushrooms (if using), thyme, tarragon, salt & pepper.  If using mushrooms sauté  for about 8-10 minutes until the mushrooms have released their liquid and the vegetables are soft, if not sauté the onion and spices for about 5 minutes until onion is soft.  Add the garlic and continue to sauté until fragrant.  Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes to blend.  Gradually add 2 ½ cups of reserved broth and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add the cream and white wine and simmer for a few more minutes until thick and bubbly.  If your sauce is too thick you can add a little more of your reserved broth or some milk to thin it out.

Add the potatoes, peas & carrots and cook about 5 minute until heated thru.  Stir in your cooked chicken and remove from the heat, pour into a 9 X 13 inch casserole dish and let cool for a few minutes.

Meanwhile on a lightly floured surface roll the sheet of puff pastry to an 11 X 15 inch rectangle.  Carefully place the pastry on the dish and roll the edges under and seal edges with a fork.  Brush top with egg wash.  Cut a few slits in the top of the pie to allow steam to escape.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 25-30 minutes until pastry is golden.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Kim

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