Not just any old chicken pot pie, this one's about to be repeated several times over the next couple of days as we have leftovers of leftovers. There's not likely to be any complaints about it because last night's effort was pretty darn tasty.
Purely made up as I went along, the main deal's about the leftover lemon rosemary rotisserie roasted chicken courtesy of Big Guy about 10 days ago and recovered from the freezer. Feel free to use a store bought pre-cooked bird but for heaven's sake hit the link and you may be enticed to make one all by your lonesome.
Joined by sauteed carrots, celery, garlic and onion, along with a touch of fresh tarragon and a dash of poultry seasoning, the sauce is fashioned from white wine, concentrated chicken stock like Swanson's flavor boost (I used Trader Joe's version) as well as a can of cream of mushroom soup. Hey I didn't say it was gourmet, now did I? All mixed up together, I'd have added some frozen peas but didn't want to hear the reaction from you know who.
The cruncher occurred when I realized I only had enough pastry dough for a single nine inch pie and since I was looking at 4 rather significant ramekins, I figured my goose was cooked. That's when a foraging trip into the pantry resulted in a package of Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix and a new idea was born.
I mixed some dry stuffing mix with a little melted butter and a splash of white wine, then topped each ramekin with stuffing and pastry. Baked in a 400 oven for 40 minutes, the pot pies came out bubbling and looking right handsome, if I do say so myself.
It kind of left me wondering what other brilliant ideas are hiding in this brain of mine. As you can see we had our individual pot pies with a side of creamy slaw with chunks of green apple and dried cranberries. Perfect!
Chicken ‘n Stuffing Pot Pies (an
original from JBug’s Kitchen)
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup finely chopped onion (about half a large yellow onion)
1 cup chopped celery (about 3 stalks)
1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 large)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon, chopped
1 teaspoon dried poultry seasoning
2 tablespoons instant blending flour (Wondra)
2 packages chicken broth concentrate (like Stouffer’s Flavor Boost)
1/2 cup water
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 – 10 ounce can cream of mushroom soup
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
3 cups leftover roast chicken, cut into bite size pieces
Pastry for a single crust pie
2 cups dried stuffing mix
2 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons dry white wine
Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and garlic and cook until vegetables soften and onion turns transparent – about 5 to 8 minutes. Add tarragon, poultry seasoning and instant blending flour. Cook stirring for 1 minute, then add white wine. Cook for 30 seconds until wine has partially reduced and mixture is thickening. In a small bowl, stir together water and chicken broth concentrate, and then add to sauté pan. Cook until mixture comes to a boil then remove from heat. Cool slightly.
Meanwhile spray 4 ramekins or 1 medium sized casserole with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl mix together cream of mushroom soup, peas (if using) and roast chicken pieces. Fold in cooled vegetable/sauce mixture. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as required. Transfer mixture to ramekins. Toss together stuffing mix, butter and white wine. Place lightly on half of each ramekin, covering the remaining half with pastry. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until filling is bubbling and topping is browned. Serves 4 to 6.
A year ago - Deviled Chicken
Two year's ago - Vietnamese Rice Noodle Salad (Bo Bun)
Brilliant! Darn - I just got back from the grocery - I guess I'll have to go back for some stuffing mix and a chicken! But me - I'm gonna use the peas! I love how you even decorated the pie crust side - you are my idol!
Posted by: Lea | 08/24/2012 at 08:59 AM
Ah Lea - why did I know you'd be using the peas. I'm thinking about adding them to my lunch portion today. LOL PS - you're sweet to notice the crust decorations. It took all of 30 seconds to do, and if I'd really been smart I would have given the crust an egg wash to make it shinier. Oh well, next time!
Posted by: June | 08/24/2012 at 09:04 AM
I bet that brain is filled with brilliant ideas!
Posted by: pam | 08/24/2012 at 09:27 AM
Pam - it's has its moments. I've been taking more vitamin B-12 to fight brain fog. :-)
Posted by: June | 08/24/2012 at 10:22 AM
Tasted pretty close to gourmet to me last night and was confirmed today at lunch. Just wondering how come it took this long to come out of your noggin. Maybe the B-12 is working; if so, I'm going to be getting fat. LOL
LU
Posted by: Big guy | 08/24/2012 at 01:17 PM
Awww, thanks honey! You might want to take back the B-12 comment because I've been spending less time on cookin' and more time pondering our next renovation project :-) LU2
Posted by: June | 08/24/2012 at 01:24 PM
Ha, watch out big guy there might be walls coming down next. :) This pie looks yummy and I notice the decoration too. Some peas would make it just that much better.
Posted by: Lorraine | 08/25/2012 at 07:55 AM
Lorraine - I just read your comment to Big Guy and I can't print what he said.
Posted by: June | 08/25/2012 at 10:40 AM
You know June it's just too dang easy, he he.
Posted by: Lorraine | 08/26/2012 at 09:05 AM