There are new babies around these parts! I forget how small and cuddly newborns are, and honestly, it makes me want one for about 10 seconds. Don't let the husband hear me saying that, he might cry.
We've been signing up for our fair share of
Meal Baby dates, and this chicken pot pie - actually, it's more of a cobbler, but the words
chicken and
cobbler in the same sentence remind me of the episode of
Friends when Rachel makes the trifle with whipping cream and ground beef because her recipe pages were stuck together...
Anyways, this pie has become my staple recipe for my new mama friends. I've made it three times, tonight will be the fourth, and it differs every time depending on what vegetables I have on hand, but it has always been delicious.
I take the pie, a bag of organic salad mix, and some lactation cookies or macaroons (both recipes in my
eBook) and it is some serious nourishment. The perfect postpartum meal!
For our friends tonight, I made a dairy-free version with sweet potatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, and chicken; and for us, I used chicken, onions, and a frozen blend of organic veggies and heavy cream.
So. Good.
Mama's Chicken Pot Pie
There is no condensed soup in this recipe. Have you read the ingredients in those cans? MSG, modified corn starch, soybean oil, dried milk, and high fructose corn syrup, etc. Scary! I also used chicken thighs to up the nutrition, as dark poultry meat has lactogenic - milk makin' properties. You can find out about more lactogenic foods in my eBook,
More Milk, Naturally.
Filling:
3 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. of boneless chicken thighs, cubed
1/2 cup onion
2 cups of chopped vegetables - whatever you have on hand (carrots, peas, green beans, spinach, zucchini, mushrooms, sweet potatoes - seriously, whatever you have.)
OR
1 16 oz. package of frozen organic veggie medley
1/2 cup flour or flour substitute
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream, whole milk or milk substitute, or chicken stock (or to taste)
1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. pepper (or to taste)
Preheat the oven to 400F. Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan or cast iron skillet and saute the onions on medium heat until transparent, about 10 minutes. You can add in the chicken if not yet cooked and brown along with onions. Add the flour and stir well. Combine the stock and cream, gradually stir into pan, along with the veggies. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper. Turn down to low while you prepare the crust.
Crust:
I originally turned this into a "dump" crust because I'm lazy, so it's more of a chicken cobbler, styled after Mark Bittman's "
How to Top Chicken Pot Pie" video in the
NY Times. I make the dough, then immediately spoon it over the top of the filling and bake, with no bottom crust. You can double the recipe below, divide it into two balls and chill them in the fridge, then roll them out into a top and bottom crust if you want to make it more pie-like (and more work).
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter or refined coconut oil
1/2 cup heavy cream, milk or milk substitute
Mix the dry ingredients together. Cut the butter up into small
cubes, work into the dry flour mixture with a pastry blender or your
fingers, until the dough resembles pea or cherry-sized pieces. Slowly
add the milk until a dough forms. Spoon it over the filling, bake for
40-45 minutes.
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