Chicken Pot Pie

How is everyone doing today?!

We've had a crazy busy weekend!  I was off of work, but we had tons of fun activities to do.  Saturday, we participated in the March of Dimes Mud Volleyball Tournament.  We didn't win the tournament, but we got plenty dirty and had so much fun!  Hey... it's for a good cause, so really, everybody wins!

Anyway, Sunday we ended up going to the KY State Fair.  I had free tickets for admission from a friend, so we figured why not stop by and get some lunch and walk around.  In all my years living in the Kentucky area, I've never been to the fair!  It was actually pretty fun - nothing too crazy, but we ended up getting a deep-fried Twinkie (don't hate! it was delicious!) and a Greek gyro (I love those things!). 

After the fair we did some errands and then cleaned up the house.  We felt like being lazy, so I knew I wasn't going to cook anything too crazy - chicken pot pie it was!

There's always the big debate of whether to put a pie crust over your pie, or use biscuits.  Personally, I love the ease of the biscuit topping for a pot pie.  Just mix, drop, and go.  My kind of simple!  I also like the biscuits because they help to soak up the liquid/gravy of the pie!  Mmmm.

And of course, it's got to be LOADED with veggies!  Doesn't really matter what kind, just whatever is in season!  So we ended up with a colorful assortment of corn, carrots, onions, and peas.  Throw in some fresh herbs, a nice gravy (I chose a veloute - which is basically roux-thickened chicken stock - E.A.S.Y.) - and you've got yourself a dang good chicken pot pie.

How do you like your chicken pot pie?

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 crimini mushrooms, sliced
salt and pepper, to taste
1 russet potato, peeled and diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 cup pearl onions
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup sweet corn
2 cups chicken veloute (roux + chicken stock)
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 skinless and boneless chicken breasts, diced and cooked
your favorite biscuit dough (enough to top a 9x9 pan)
egg wash, as needed

Preheat oven to 400 F.

In a small saute pan, melt the butter under medium high heat.  Add garlic and mushrooms and saute for about 2-3 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a medium pot of water to a steady boil.  Blanch the potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, and corn separately until tender.  Place in shock water (ice + water) to stop the cooking process.  Drain.

Bring your chicken veloute to a simmer.  Add cream and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Grease a 9x9 baking dish.  Add the chicken, potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, and corn to the sauce.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.  Pour mixture into greased baking dish.

Drop biscuit dough on top of mixture to cover.  Egg wash the top of the dough.  Bake until the biscuits are cooked through and golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

This meal was absolutely delicious!  Tons of vegetables, creamy sauce, hearty biscuit.  What more do you need in a comfort meal? 

Hope you all have a great start to your week!