Chicken Potpie

Hubs and I just finished a hectic week. We performed Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2, arguably one of the greatest works in the repertoire. It's a very theatrical piece - chorus of over 200, vocal soloists, and a slew of off-stage brass and percussion. It's subtitle is, "The Resurrection," and we were all thoroughly uplifted by the performance.


We had rehearsals every night leading up to the concert. Knowing we wouldn't have time to cook dinner, I made these chicken potpies in advance. Hubs is trying to reduce his carb intake, so I left out potatoes. The extra veggies more than made up for the lack of potatoes. And the individual pies upped the pastry/filling ratio, which was just fine with me!



Chicken Potpie
Original recipe

update: I've received a lot of questions about freezing and reheating the pot pies.  Once the pot pies have been filled and covered with the pastry dough, cover with foil and freeze.  To reheat: thaw ahead of time and bake, uncovered, according to the directions below. 


2 c low sodium chicken stock
1 c whole milk
2 Tbs butter
2 onions, finely chopped
2 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper
1 c frozen peas
1 c frozen corn kernels
2 c cooked chicken, cut into small chunks
¼ c plus 1 Tbs all-purpose flour
Fresh thyme leaves
Single crust pastry dough
1 egg


Pour the chicken stock and milk into a saucepan. Simmer over medium-low heat. Cover and keep warm.

Melt butter in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and sauté until vegetables are soft. Season with salt and pepper. Add the peas and corn and cook another 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken.
Sprinkle the flour over the chicken mixture and stir until combined. Pour in the chicken stock mixture and keep stirring until the flour has dissolved. Place the mixture into a 2 quart casserole or individual casseroles. Sprinkle thyme leaves over the top. Roll out pastry dough and cover the casserole dish(es). Crimp to seal the edges.

Beat the egg with a little bit of water in a small bowl. Brush the egg wash over the pastry dough. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown. Garnish with some thyme sprigs. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.