Comfort Food V.1

The other day, Cory and I were chatting back and forth via email and discussing "what to do" with the pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs I had lying about. We had discussed many options, including marinating them in the Jerk seasonings I returned from Jamaica with, creating some sort of Italian chicken type dish or possibly turning them into some form of fashion of stir-fry. The stir-fry option got me thinking about another chicken and vegetable combination. The pot pie. That pot pie got me thinking about other pot pie options, so, you get a two-fer today.

I never used to like the pot pie, maybe because I wasn't really all that into vegetables when I was a kid or maybe it was the "gravy-esque" sauce inside. I don't really know, but I do know that my tastes have changed and I now love me some pot pie. The below recipe could be adapted to any cut of chicken, or even leftover chicken. Also, it could be seasoned and flavored however you like. It's your call. Do what you will. Pot pies are also an excellent way to get rid of vegetables that are nearing the end of their usefulness.

Chicken Pot Pie (Italian, in this case)
1 lb Chicken -- cooked
1 sheet frozen puff pastry
1 onion diced
3 ribs of celery diced
3 zucchini diced
2 squash diced
2 random colored bell peppers diced
3 tbsp fat (oil, butter, bacon grease)
3-4 tbsp flour
Chicken stock
seasonings of your choice -- I used garlic powder, some chicken bouillon, salt, pepper and basil.

Chop up your onion and place it in a sauté pan over medium heat with a touch of olive oil. While the onion softens, chop the rest of your vegetables (3-4 minutes). When the onion has become somewhat translucent, add the celery and the bell peppers. Cook all of this till the onion begins to turn golden, and the celery and peppers are beginning to soften, and then add the zucchini and squash. Now is the time to hit all this veggie mess with some salt and pepper (and in my case, some basil and Italian seasoning).

Once your veggies have obtained a nice golden hue, add a couple of tablespoons of butter drop the heat and stir in 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir this in and make a nice roux, and cook this roux for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. You want to cook the rawness out of the flour. If your roux looks to thin, add more flour. To thick? Is there really such a thing? You could add more butter, I suppose. Now, whisk in some chicken stock. I used about a half a cup of stock and a little bit of milk, for some added creaminess. You're going to want to make enough sauce to lube up all your veggies, and all the chicken you're about to add. While your gravy/sauce thickens, shred your chicken and add it to the pan.

Once you've achieved the desired viscosity of your chicken/veggie/sauce mix, pour it into a casserole and top with the puff pastry. Trim the edges and crimp them so you get a nice seal around your casserole. Brush the top with egg wash and jam it in the oven @ 400 degrees till the top is golden. Mine took about 25 minutes.

You'd be wise to place a sheet pan under your pot pie in the oven. Mine boiled over. It makes what some might call "a mess".

My wife really, really likes the crust, so, next time I'll likely make a bottom crust also, or use a store bought pie shell. Or, as Cory suggested, crescent roll dough. That suggestion made me think of a pocket pie made with crescent roll dough. Yum.


I was on a bit of a pot pie kick, and wanted some Mexican food. I found this recipe for Tamale Pot Pie on Texas Monthly and decided I'd give it a shot. With a few minor adjustments, of course.

Things I changed --
I used ground chicken, instead of pork
I added a diced chipotle or two, and discarded the Tabasco
I added some zucchini and squash (surprised? I didn't think so)
2 tsp of Cumin instead of a whole tablespoon, no allspice
For the topping, I used a packaged cornbread mix to which I added Velveeta, a can of green chili peppers and chili powder. I would have used another cheese, but, all I had was the Velveeta.

All in all, it turned out pretty nice. I'll probably use a mix of ground meats next time, as all chicken was just a little dry.

So, there you have two tasty pot pie type meals for your weeknight consumption. Go forth, experiment, and if you have any questions, let me know.

By the way, there are no pictures of these meals for a number of reasons. One, cause a forgot to take a pretty picture before service and two, because after service it's really hard to take a picture of a pot pie and have it come out looking like anything other than vomit.

--Brad