Saturday, October 3, 2009

a new take on chicken pot pie


While watching the chicken pot pie episode of Throwdown with Bobby Flay, his challengers said the magic words...puff pastry. I was instantly inspired to write my own recipe, void of carrots and peas (two veggies I don't enjoy eating when cooked). Here's what I came up with:

Mama Anderson's Pot Pie Extravaganza (until I come up with a better name)
Note: This is made for a smaller audience. It wouldn't be enough to fill a 13x9 pan. Since there's only 3 of us, I made it to fit a smaller dish. If you want to make a 13x9 size pie, I'd double the recipe.

1 pound chicken breast, cut into small cubes
1 cup diced potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
3 chicken bouillon cubes
1/2 cup onions, finely chopped
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg, plus one tablespoon water, whisked to combine
grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 11x8 dish (you could probably fit it in an 8x8 pan too).
2. In a large saucepan, combine chicken, potatoes, celery and mushrooms. Add water to cover and the bouillon cubes and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. While that is cooking, in a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until translucent. Stir in flour, salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Continually stir while it cooks for a minute then slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Pour chicken mixture in pan. Pour sauce over the top and mix gently. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Roll out puff pastry to make sure it will fit over dish. Cover dish with puff pastry. Brush pastry with egg wash and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

We all loved it and we'll definitely be having this one again. My husband even said this would be great to serve at our restaurant. (Yes, we dream of maybe opening a restaurant someday.)


I served it with the Taste of Fall salad from the latest issue of Taste of Home magazine and it went very well with the chicken pot pie. If anyone would like the recipe, I'd be happy to post that one too.

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