Chicken Pot Pie

When you ask Joseph what his favorite lunchtime meal is it would probably be one of three things... hot dogs, mac and cheese (out of a box.. yuck!) and Marie Callendar's chicken pot pie. They amount of calories in one frozen pie made my jaw drop so after watching Tyler's Ultimate on the food network I decided to try and make a chicken pot pie myself. I followed Tyler's recipe for the filling but made the whole chicken in a crock pot (see my crock pot chicken/stock post) and used the chicken and stock in Tyler's recipe.

The end product turned out OK but it wasn't what I was expecting. The "sauce" wasn't thick enough for Joseph and it wasn't flavorful enough for me so I might try mrspresley's recipe next time.

Source: Tyler's Ultimate

Chicken Pot Pie

1 cup shredded chicken
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 stick (4 tbsp) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 carrots, cut in 1/2-inch circles
1 bag frozen peas & pearl onions, see note
Leaves from 4 fresh parsley sprigs
2 frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 tbsp eggbeaters mixed with 1 tsp water
2 tbsp shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano

Melt the butter in a large sauce pot and then whisk in the flour to form a paste. This is a roux, which will act as a thickener. Now, gradually pour in 4 cups of the chicken broth, whisking the entire time to prevent lumps. Whisk and simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the starchy taste of the flour and thicken the broth; it should look like cream of chicken soup. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the shredded chicken, carrots, peas & pearl onions, and parsley. Stir to combine and turn off the heat.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lay the thawed puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured, cool surface. Invert individual crocks on the pastry sheet and, using a sharp knife, cut circles around the outside of the bowls, slightly larger than the bowl itself. Fill the crocks 3/4 of the way with the chicken mixture, making sure each serving has a nice amount of chicken, vegetables, and broth. Carefully cap each crock with a pastry circle, pressing the dough around the rim to form a seal. Lightly beat the eggbeaters with 1 tsp of water to make an egg wash and brush some on the pastry. Sprinkle the pastry with the Parmigiano. Set the crocks on a cookie sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and golden.

Notes: If using fresh pearl onions, blanch for 2 minutes in salted boiling water; then pinch the skins off -- if using frozen, run under cool water for 2 minutes to thaw.

If using fresh peas, blanch for 2 minutes in salted boiling water--if using frozen, run under cool water for 2 minutes to thaw.

6 servings (I froze four of the six servings for next time)

4 WW points per serving