Chicken Pot Pie

A while ago, I talked about splurging on a $50 Emile Henry pie dish. I didn't get what all the hype was about and had to see for myself. Utterly amazed by its magical pie baking qualities, I was instantly won over by Emile Henry's line of bake ware. I mean, c'mon, if you had a magical pie dish that gave you a perfectly even & golden bottom crust every single time, wouldn't you splurge for one too?? A domestic goddess wouldn't be caught dead without one of these in her kitchen...or five, in my case.


My large dish was such a hit that I couldn't resist when I saw these individual 5 inch ones! They're just so beautiful. I saw them and thought: this would be an awesome way to serve individual chicken pot pies!

I love pies. I love to bake them, I love to eat them. But I've only ever made fruit pies and have always wanted to find a good chicken pot pie recipe. I was browsing the internet for one when I stumbled upon this- a recipe that got rated 5 stars by 2,140 reviewers! I need to try this recipe immediately to see what all of these people were raving about. (Please see below for modified recipe.)

Start by using this crust recipe that I swear by. Trust me, it's the best and the only one you'll ever need. I didn't lay out the steps of making the pie dough in this blog entry because I've already featured it before in a Blueberry Pie posting. Please refer to it to see how the crust was made. One thing that I did differently, though, is to divide the pie dough into 8 pieces (instead of two) before putting it into the fridge (four top crusts, and four bottom ones).

Start the filling by chopping up chicken, carrots, celery, and carrots. Add peas.

Boil the chicken and veggies in chicken stock. The original recipe said to boil all of it at once for 15 minutes, which is what I did. However, I found some of the chicken pieces to be a bit tough and chewy, so I modified the recipe slightly. Boil the veggies first, then put the chicken in at the last minute. Keep an eye on it. Remove from heat and drain as soon as the chicken turns white.


Now make the sauce. It's basically sauteed onions, with seasoning, milk, and chicken stock. Super quick and easy to make.


Roll out the bottom crusts, press them into the mini pie plates, and brush with egg whites. This makes it so that the crust doesn't turn soggy from the filling.

First, scoop your chicken and veggie mixture into the pies.

Cover the chicken and veggies with sauce. Make sure to spoon in a generous amount, and that it seeps all the way to the bottom. You don't want your pie to come out dry.

Put the top pie crust on.


Make slits to allow steam to escape.


Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown.

They turned out really well! It was delicious! Although, I have a suspicion that they turned out great because I had to modify the recipe quite a bit from the original. lol. So I'm not entirely sure if the recipe ratings were accurate. Anyway, most importantly, my pie dishes were amazing! They were not only beautiful to serve, but the crust turned out perfectly, as usual: golden and flaky! And we all know that the crust is the best part of any pie, regardless of whether it's sweet or savory. Mmmm...carbs. =)


Here is my modified recipe:

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 cup frozen green peas
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 ¼ cups chicken broth
• 1 ¼ cup milk
• Crust recipe

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. In a saucepan, combine carrots, peas, and celery. Add chicken stock to cover and boil for 10 minutes. Add chicken and boil for another 5 minutes, or until the chicken turns white. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, pepper, and garlic salt. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Brush egg white on bottom crust.
5. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
6. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Fennel Meatballs

My friends, who have been over for dinner, know that I thoroughly enjoy throwing elaborate dinner parties. Although you wouldn't know it by reading my blog, I do have a lot of great savory recipes in my repertoire. I try to cook dinner for Hubby everyday, or as often as I can.

Thus, a lot of my friends have been asking why I haven't posted many recipes for dinner-type foods. I think it's because I've perfected a lot of those dishes and they're no longer exciting to me. And in the past, I've never been much of a baker. So recently, when I've had more free time to experiment in the kitchen, I tend to go for the sweet recipes.

Anyway, this past weekend, while having brunch with Kevin and Josh, I found myself being questioned yet again about why I had so many sweet entries. So I reluctantly made a promise to Kevin that I would post savory recipes this week. =)

Ok, here goes: Chicken Fennel Meatballs! These were inspired by one of Rachael Ray's recipes (I DVR shows on the Food Network and then watch them religiously). I tweaked it to better fit my tastes/needs. These are super easy to make and are perfect for those days when you don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.

Fennel is strange, but awesome! You can use it fresh or in dried seed form. It's unique in flavor- some might describe it as tasting like licorice. I've never liked licorice and refuse to go near it. I personally don't see the connection between fennel and licorice, and absolutely love it in this recipe. To me, it has a deep, earthy, and savory flavor that gives the meatballs something extra.

If you're not sure whether or not you'd like it, I'd suggest giving this recipe a try.. but instead of using the fennel seeds whole, crush them up into a power form by running your rolling pin over it. This makes the fennel flavor less intense. If you know for sure that you don't like it, replace the fennel with Italian seasoning, and you'll have a great chicken Italian meatball, which is also pretty yummy!


Combine ground chicken, ricotta, egg, cheese, breadcrumbs, fennel, and seasonings.


It should look like this when it's well mixed. It will be a tad bit sticky, but will hold a good enough form so that you can grab it with your fingers and shape them into 1-2 inch rounds, using the palm of your hands.


Coat the bottom of a cookie sheet generously with olive oil. Roll each meatball in olive oil, making sure all sides are coated.



Bake in the 450 degree oven for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown (depends on how big you made the meatballs).


Then boil some spaghetti, warm up some Prego, and serve with the meatballs and a sprinkle of cheese! This is one of Hubby's favorite meals. =)

These make for a good appetizer also! Roll them into small bite sized pieces, about 1/2 inch around. Serve with toothpicks and a bowl of marinara sauce for dipping! They will definitely be a big crowd pleaser!


Recipe

1 lb Ground Chicken
1 1/2 Cups Ricotta
3 Eggs
1/2 Cup Italian Bread Crumbs
1 1/2 Tbsp Fennel Seeds
1 Cup Italian Blend Cheese
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 Tbsp Garlic Salt

Combine ingredients well.

Coat the bottom of a cookie sheet generously with olive oil. Roll each meatball in olive oil, making sure all sides are coated.

Bake at 450 degrees for 18-20 minutes, or until golden brown.