Skip to main content

Individual Chicken Pot Pies for the Freezer


Like everyone, my schedule can get a bit busy. And I find myself in that all-too-familiar situation of being tired from work, uninspired to cook anything, but too hungry to wait for food to be delivered.

This is the time to remember that I have individual meals waiting for me in the freezer. And, one of the best ones -- especially in wintertime -- are these individual chicken pot pies.

While I am lucky enough to have individual casseroles by Staub that makes these dishes both convenient and cute, you can make the same in any small casserole, or, by using those smaller loaf tins (disposible or not), you'll have enough for 2-3 servings in each pot pie.

Also, since these are going into the freezer, I tend to cheat and just use boxed pie dough as my crust. Homemade crust is obviously better, but it does lose some of its charm from having been in the freezer.



While this recipe comes from Cook's Country, I have often found that it produces a watery roux that I'm not pleased with. So, use some common sense when assembling this and add flour as necessary to get a thick enough consistency; basically, you are aiming for the consistency you would want if you were eating it -- the consistency won't change much from stovetop to placemat, so aim for what it is you'd want to be enjoying.


Freezer Chicken Pot Pies
From Cook's Country


1 1/2 lb chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
2 T vegetable oil
5 1/2 c stock
2 T unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped (original recipe calls for 1 stalk, but I really like celery and tend to use a whole bunch)
1/2 c flour (as mentioned above, be prepared to use more)
1/4 c milk
2 tsp thyme, fresh, minced
1 1/2 c peas, frozen
2 15-oz boxes Pillsbury Pie Crust


Rinse chicken and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat 1 T oil in a large pot over high until smoking. Cook chicken until well browned, about 2 1/2 minutes per side. Add stock and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low until cooked through, 6-12 minutes, depending on thickness. Use a thermometer to ensure that the thickest part gets to 165 degrees.

Transfer chicken to a large plate and let cool. Leave stock on burner over low.

Melt butter with remaining 1 T oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion, carrots, celery, and 1/4 tsp salt until lightly browned and softened, 8-10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add flour and cook 1 minute.

Sieve the broth from the first pot into the new pot, separating out and discarding the solids.

Add milk and thyme. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. (Again, feel free to add some more flour if necesasry - I usually add about 1/4 c more.)

Meanwhile, cube chicken into small bite-sized pieces. Add chicken and frozen peas. Season all with salt and pepper.

Let cool until just warm.

Unwrap and unroll the prepared pie dough. Invert your freezer containers on top of the dough and cut out pieces that are about 1/2" wider than the dish itself. The scraps can be wadded together and re-rolled once to make another piece, if necessary.

Prepare your freezer tins with cooking spray (only necessary if using pans without a nonstick surface).

Spoon cooled pot pie filling into the containers. Layer dough on top, and crimp to seal. Poke holes on top to let steam out when they are eventually baked.

Tightly wrap each pan with two layers of plastic wrap, and one layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months.

To serve, preheat oven to 400. Unwrap pie and place on a baking sheet. I place mine on a cast iron skillet. Cover top with foil and bake 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 35 minutes, until crusts are golden brown. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa

  This dish is delicious! Easy! And, beautiful to look at! The original recipe calls for you to process all the cooked vegetables together into a chunky salsa, but I recommend serving it as is so you have an automatic side dish. The original also calls for cooking chicken bone-in, but, the more I cook traybakes, the more I advocate for slicing chicken into tenders and cooking boneless. Just a safer bake that way because everything comes to the same temperature at the same time. Chicken Traybake with Roasted Poblano and Tomato Salsa  Milk Street 1 T chili powder 2 poblano, stemmed, seeded, chopped 1 yellow onion, root end intact, in 8 wedges 1 pint cherry tomatoes 1/4 c olive oil 1 T brown sugar 1 T oregano, dried 3 lb chicken, bone-in, skin-on, trimmed 10 cloves garlic, peeled 1 T vinegar 1/4 c cilantro, chopped Heat oven to 450. In small bowl, stir together chili powder and 2 tsp salt. In large bowl, toss together pobloanos, onion wedges, tomatoes, and 1 T of the chili-power...
Post a Comment
Read more

Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles

I love this dish so much that I can barely stand it. Delicious the night it was made, and fantastic as leftovers throughout the week. Mayocoba beans are easily replaced -- try pintos, if you can't find mayocobas. Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles Baptism of Fire 3-4 green chiles, roasted and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 T lard or olive oil 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin pepper 1 c mayocoba beans, dry 3 c water 1 tsp salt Cook the green chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and black pepper in the fat until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour. You may drain the water to remove some of the slightly indigestible sugars that cause gassiness. If you decide to drain them, add enough water back into the pot to cover the beans with about 2" of water above the beans for cooking.  Bring the beans back to a boil and cook, until tender. This will take...
1 comment
Read more

Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche

This "quiche" is so simple to make - you can prepare everything the night before, assemble it in the morning, and have it ready to go soon after waking up. An ideal dish to serve company, too. Crustless Couscous and Spinach Quiche The Garden of Earthly Delights 1 1/2 c water 3/4 c couscous, uncooked 3 eggs, beaten 1 bunch spinach 3/4 c cottage cheese 2 c cheddar cheese, shredded 3 T salsa 1 tsp chile powder 1 clove garlic, crushed 1/2 tsp oregano, dried 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1/2 tsp pepper Preheat oven to 375. Lightly coat a 9" pie plate with vegetable oil and set aside. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil. Add couscous. Stir once, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to a large bowl and add remaining ingredients. Spread couscous evenly in the bottom of the pie plate. Placein oven and bake until a knife comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Remove quiche from oven and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
2 comments
Read more