Gemma of Sweet Life

Chicken Pot Pies (yes multiple pies!)

Well hello there everyone! I’m Gemma from Sweet Life where I share all my favorite recipes and the occasional picture of my baby (you know, because I think he’s pretty fabulously cute). I’m so excited to be posting on Ali’s blog while she’s enjoying all those new baby cuddles (sigh).

So Ali, I hope you are enjoying the heck out of it, even though it’s hard and downright exhausting. And eating, DON’T FORGET TO EAT!

Which brings me to the subject of this post. When I had Lucas, I was really bad about taking care of myself those first few months. Showers were few and far between (shaving my legs, forget about it, thank God it was winter) and despite my excitement to jump back into the kitchen without getting nauseous, it didn’t happen for a while. I spent a lot of time eating microwaveable cheeseburgers and burritos my mother-in-law brought me from Costco. For the record, I owe her my life since I would have otherwise starved.

If I had been smart about it, I would have stocked my freezer with meals in advance. Having something you can simply pop in the oven is a godsend when you have a wee one in the house (and most likely in your arms just about every second of every day). These pot pies are fabulous, you can cook them straight from the freezer, they don’t require you to chop and peel an obscene amount of vegetables or even cook your own chicken, and the recipe is well worth the effort considering the number of meals you get out of it.

And did I mention they’re just about the most delicious thing in the universe? Because, they are. 

Chicken Pot Pies
adapted from Annie's Eats
makes 6-8 individual pies
For the Filling:
3 Tbs. unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion chopped
1 large russet potato, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz. sliced button mushrooms
½ tsp. red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly gournd black pepper
1 purchased rotisserie chicken
2 cups frozen peas and carrots

For the Sauce:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream
Dash of hot sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Crust:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled
3 cups all-purpose flour
10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. white pepper
1 large egg

Directions:
To make the filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the onion and potato to the pan, and sauté for about 5 minutes.  Mix in the garlic, and cook for about 15 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender.  While the vegetables are cooking, remove the skin from the chicken, pull the meat off the bones and shred or chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.  Once the vegetables are finished cooking, turn off the heat and mix in the frozen peas and carrots.  Stir in the red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
To make the sauce, melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan.  Add the flour and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the chicken broth and cook over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of a cream soup.  Mix in the cream and hot sauce, and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Off the heat, add the chicken and the vegetable mixture to the pot and stir until well combined.  Spoon the mixture into 6-8 individual oven-safe dishes (such as ramekins).
Preheat the oven to 375°.  To make the crust, cut the butter into 16 pieces.  In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse the butter and flour until crumbly.  Add the cream cheese, salt and pepper.  Continue pulsing just until the dough forms a ball (Note: if you don’t have a food processor, a pastry cutter will work just fine, you’ll just need to put some elbow grease into it).
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface.  Use a floured rolling pin to roll the dough out to about ¼-inch thickness.  Cut out dough rounds to be about 1½ inches larger than the diameter of your pot pie dishes.  Lay the dough rounds on top of the individual dishes. Beat the egg with a whisk, and brush the tops of the dough rounds lightly with the beaten egg. (At this point, freeze whichever ones you don’t plan on eating right away. To heat from frozen bake at 400° for 50-60 minutes)
Place the pot pie dishes on a baking sheet for easy transfer in and out of the oven.  Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.  Serve immediately.