The 2 Secrets of My Easy Chicken Pot Pie Hack

My daughter Alanna loves chicken pot pie.  If it appears on a restaurant menu, you can bet she’ll order it.  However, she rarely asks me to make it for her.  Probably because she knows how time-consuming it could be, bless her heart! But over the years I’ve developed a couple of secrets that shorten the time considerably. And on a cold, wintery Sunday, nothing could be better than a Chicken Pot Pie Hack!

Oddly enough, chicken soup is in my culinary rotation at Shangri-La, making regular appearances and encores.

Last Saturday,  in the midst of preparing said chicken soup, Alanna waltzes into the kitchen, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, looked at me with her sweet, doe eyes and asked, “Mom, can you make me chicken pot pie?”

How could I say no to that face!  Besides, I was already chicken-neck deep into the process of soup, so truthfully, it wasn’t going to add all that much time. What’s another couple of steps for the ones we love?

I had puff pastry in the fridge and a massive pot of soup, but I have to be honest, the thought of beginning a roux from scratch left me a bit uneasy.  I’d been in the kitchen for quite a while and was feeling, dare I say…lazy.  MOM SACRILEGE !!

So I cheated.  Yes I did.  And, Guess what?  It came out fantastic!  Take That Bembridge Scholars !

HERE’S HOW I DID IT

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Side Note:  I make chicken soup all sorts of ways with whatever I have handy and although the purist in me agrees that a homemade stock is best, I simply don’t have time to make it on the regular.  Instead, I Modify on the Fly and move on!  That’s The 385 Way!

** Update: I never begin a soup or any recipe that calls for chicken, beef or vegetable stock without Better Than Bouillon stock base. It’s the absolute best!

That being said…I threw 3 large chicken breasts in a pot filled with water immersing the chicken by an inch and a half at least (I eyeball it); brought it to a boil then simmered for an hour.

As they simmered, I chopped up carrots, onions and celery.  I then diced up some red potatoes, skin on because…that’s how we like it! But feel free to peel them if you so desire, Seize YOUR Day.

I had some broccoli (not pictured) that needed to get used up before going bad, so I cut the florets off the stem, setting them aside along with the rest of the veggies (I placed the potatoes in some salted water so they won’t brown, that just looks nasty). 

If I happen to have them on hand, I may also add the following ingredients:  corn, green beans, peas, cauliflower, you get the picture.

By this time the chicken breasts have simmered for the requisite hour.  I removed them from the pot, carefully shredding them using two forks because those suckers are hot!  All shredded, I set it aside as well.

Back at the stove…I checked the water level.  At this stage, sometimes you have to add a cup or so of water depending on how much has evaporated during the simmering process.

I then added the carrots, onions and celery into the pot, letting them cook for approximately 10 minutes.  After that I taste it, and according to the Flavors of the House, aka, my family, I add the following to taste, in no particular order:  chicken bouillon cubes, Adobo, minced garlic cloves, thyme, salt, pepper, cumin, vinegar or capers with some it’s pickling juice for punch.

Because I love heat, I also add something spicy.   Although I don’t care for the name, my favorite is Slap Ya Mama Cajun Seasoning, but I’ll add whatever is handy, such as, Tabasco sauce. 

Remember, if you don’t like heat, leave it out.

ALWAYS SEASON TO TASTE

Start off conservatively, less than you think you may need.  You can always add more, but if you overshoot, you can’t take it out!  After the seasoning process is over, I add the potatoes.

While the potatoes are cooking I make a pot of rice.  I’ve heard people say rice is difficult to cook.  I suppose growing up with a Puerto Rican grandmother who killed at making rice, I don’t really have that problem and I’ll gladly give you my recipe here (coming soon).

Once the potatoes are just about fork tender, I throw in the shredded chicken and any veggie that doesn’t need a lot of time to cook, so in went the broccoli.  I always top that off with cilantro stems, a bunch of whole stems, leaves included, because I am a certified cilantro junkie. 

If you aren’t a fan of cilantro, top it with whatever herbs you prefer, or omit entirely.

ENTER THE CHICKEN POT PIE

I had all of the soup in the bowl, the puff pastry thawed and at the ready.  I opened two cans, yes cans, of cream of chicken soup and put it in a separate pot, #Shortcuts.  You can use any canned soup you like.  I happen to have good ol’ Campbell’s soup in the pantry so I used it.

As we all know with Campbell’s, you have to add one can of water per can of soup.  Instead of adding water, I added 2 – 3 heaping spoonfuls of my own soup, making sure to pick up lots of veggies and chicken for my Baby Girl.

I stirred and checked for consistency – if it was too think, I added a spoonful of soup at a time until I achieved the consistency I was aiming for. 

Then I checked for taste again since canned soup is preseasoned, but that was perfect also so no adjustment was needed.

I poured the Hacked Chicken Pot Pie Mixture into an oven proof ramekin, topped it with the rolled out puff pastry (pinched in place), cut the excess off and brushed on a simple egg wash for color (one egg, 1/3 cup of water, stir, brush on).

Luckily, I didn’t forget to cut a slit in the middle of the pie for steaming purposes, otherwise I would’ve had boiled-over chicken pot pie in my oven. Certainly not something I was in the mood for.

Kitchen Tip: line a baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil (must be heavy duty or it won't hold up), and place the ramekin or cooking vessel on top of that. Click To Tweet

If there is a mess, the foil will catch it and can be discarded:  Viola!  Easy Clean Up!

In the end, like I said, it turned out fantastic and my baby girl loved it.  As a matter of fact, I didn’t have a portion controlled ramekin, so I prepared an approximate 2-person portion. 

This worked perfectly because when The Hubster finished his bowl of chicken soup and rice, he promptly finished the pot pie Alanna had left over.

Dabbing his face afterward he said, “that was delicious, you need to add that to the rotation.”

Boo-Yah Baby!

The 385 Life message is not to be afraid of the kitchen, never strive to be June Cleaver (unless that brings you ultimate joy, #Authenticity) remember to Modify on the Fly, and above all, Seize YOUR Day!  That’s The 385 Way!

Be Well!

Cynthia
385Life
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