Individual Chicken Pot Pies

My family loves this recipe for individual chicken pot pies. It's my husband's favorite football or weekend sports meal. On cold or rainy days, this recipe is hearty, satisfying and makes the entire house smell delicious. Simple and tasty, chicken pot pies will feed the bellies and the souls of your family.

I don't know what I like best - the ease of preparing this meal, or the smiles on my family and friends' faces when I make this hearty dish.

Shopping List:

1-2 boneless chicken breasts

1 medium yellow or white onion

1 bag frozen veggies

1-2 can cream of chicken (low sodium)

1-2 cans chicken stock (low sodium)

1-2 tsp chopped garlic

a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

a few dashes of salt and pepper

a dash of garlic salt

a dash of nutmeg

a few dashes of hot sauce (if you like it spicy).

1 can Pillsbury grands biscuits.

You could also try using puff pastries, as shown in this Expert Village video, but I prefer the biscuit topping:



Directions:

Place chicken in an oven safe dish, salt and pepper on one side and cook for 1/2 hour at 350 degrees. While the chicken is cooking. Saute your onions in 1/2 Tbs. olive oil. While you dice up your onions, get your saute pan sizzling hot (when the oil shimmers). I usually drop one little piece of onion in to see that it sizzles. If it doesn't, then wait for the pan to get hot. Once hot, put your diced onions in and reduce to medium-low heat and let the onions wilt until they become translucent.

Once the chicken is done, remove and let cool for about 10 minutes. I take this time to open up my cans of soup and get out all my spices so they are ready.

After it has cooled, cut up the chicken into cubes. As an aside, I normally will bake 4-5 chicken breasts at once and use the leftovers in another recipe (like my BBQ Chicken Pizza). Put the chicken in with the onions and the garlic.

To that add one can of chicken stock/broth. Next, add in one can of cream of chicken and whisk together to get out all the lumps. Add in your frozen vegetables and check the consistency. If it is too soupy or runny, add in another can of cream of chicken (cream of broccoli would be nice too). If it is too thick -- add a bit more chicken stock/broth. Once you've reached your desired consistency (should be thick like a stew), then add in the salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg and hot sauce (Tabasco, or your choice). Nutmeg gives this dish the "homemade" feel.

Let the chicken mixture combine for 1/2 hour on low heat. You want to give time for the flavors to incorporate together and "marry". While you are waiting, open your Biscuits can and follow the instructions for baking. I normally place my biscuits on a non-stick silpat liner. Before placing in the oven, I like to sprinkle just a bit of garlic salt and nutmeg over the top of the biscuits.

Once the biscuits are done, spoon the mixture into large mugs (I personally love the Starbucks Mugs -- perfect for this recipe and for collecting. I have a mug from every city I've ever visited!) Place a biscuit on top of each mug and serve!


Using a spoon, dig through the biscuit to the filling. Enjoy the delicious home-baked goodness of your own individual chicken pot pie!