Chicken Pot Pie with a Side of Girl Scout Cookies

(Photo by HouseLewis )

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday, and to celebrate my sister, dad and I combined efforts to make dinner. My contribution was homemade chicken pot pies. They were D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! The recipe I used is below. The original recipe is intended for making a large pie in a 9x13 dish. However, I wanted to serve mine as individual servings in ramekin dishes so I made some alterations. To see the original recipe check it out here.

Tonight I made 4 more pot pies with the leftover filling. I made a 1/4 of the crust recipe and decided to only make crust for the tops of the pies. I also used whole wheat flour. It was a healthier option and tasted really good.

The next time I make this dinner I'll probably make only 1/2 of the recipe. The full recipe made enough for about 13-14 ramekin size pot pies! My sister had the great idea of using the extra filling for a soup...yum! (Note: 1/2 of the crust recipe was enough for 7 ramekins with crust covering the inside and the top of the pies.)

Ingredients

Crust:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 sticks frozen unsalted butter, cut into small bits
• 1/2 cup ice water mixed with 2 tablespoons white vinegar

Sauce:

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour (plus a little extra)
  
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
  
• 1 tablespoon ground sage
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Filling:

• 1 (8-ounce) box frozen green peas
• 1 1/2 cups sauteed button mushrooms
• 2 cups cooked, diced carrots
• 3/4 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup diced celery
  
• 4 medium potatoes, parboiled and diced, with the skin on
• 1 (8-ounce) box frozen pearl onions
• About 7-ounces chicken pulled off a cooked rotisserie chicken
  
• Nonstick cooking spray

Glaze:

• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons cream
• 1 teaspoon water

Directions

To make the crust: Mix flour, salt and butter together until well combined. Slowly add in water/vinegar mixture until dough comes together. Dump out onto saran wrap, mold into two balls, cover and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

Dump out the dough and form 2 balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large saucepan, heat the butter until foamy. Add the flour, whisking constantly until blended. Remove from the heat and whisk in the stock, cream and milk.

Put the pan back on low heat until the mixture has thickened. Add more flour as needed, but you don't want the sauce to be too thick. Taste for saltiness. Whisk in sage, nutmeg, salt (if necessary), and pepper. Remove from the heat, and in a large bowl, combine with the vegetables and chicken. Set aside.

Fill oven-safe ramekins with the chicken and sauce mixture.

Roll out the crust and cut a circle slightly larger than the ramekin. Place on top of the chicken mix. Crimp the edges with your fingers.

Mix the egg yolks, cream and water to form a glaze and brush on the top of the pies.

Place in the oven and cook for about 30 minutes (If needed, increase oven temp to 400 degrees F). Cook until the crust is golden and slightly crunchy. The filling should be bubbly.

Let pie rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Oh yeah...The side of girl scout cookies! My mom gave me some girl scout cookies and I put them in the freezer to try and stop myself from eating them. This was not a good idea because the darn cookies just taste even better when their frozen!