"Ooh, what kind of pies?"
"Apple."
"My favorite!"
My favorite of few funny scenes from the long forgotten 2000 claymation spectacular "Chicken Run". And surprisingly appropriate for this post, for today, dear friends, we are diving headlong into bulk freezer-cooking: I am making 8 chicken pot pies/shepherd pies for a Freezer Meal exchange coming up next week.
It will be my second freezer meal exchange, and I really enjoyed it last time, having 6 meals that I didn't cook at my disposal. I've heard it said, and I fully agree, food usually tastes better when you're not the one who cooked it [providing it's a tasty dish to begin with].
This recipe was adapted from my neighbor Rebecca's Chicken Pot Pie recipe, of which she brought me 2 pies after our 3rd child was born last summer. Simple to make and very tasty, it is a great standby to have in your supper repertoire.
Rebecca's Chicken Pot Pie -- Original Recipe
1 lb chicken, cubed 1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c. Italian drsg 10 oz mixed veggies
8 oz cream cheese 2 pie crusts (thawed, if frozen)
2 Tbsp AP flour
Cook chicken in Italian drsg in a skillet.
Add cream cheese, stir until melted.
Add flour, mix well.
Add broth and veggies, simmer 5 min.
Roll out pie crust for 9" pie pan.
Pour into crust.
Put other crust on top, cut 4 slits.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min.
Over time Brett decided that Italian dressing is "wiggy" when not on salad, so I started working on alternative seasonings. Then lately I've been becoming sensitive to dairy again, so I worked on reducing the cream cheese and trying the roux (flour/broth) approach, seeing if I could keep the richness without missing the cream cheese.
So.
Let's do this.
Instead of 1/2 c Italian drsg I used:
- 0.5-1 Tbsp of McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Thyme
- And Sir-Not-Pictured-In-This-Blog: Rosemary
I was reminded the hard way, as usual, of how chicken broth is saltier than veggie broth.
In the first 2 batches I used 1 Tbsp McCormick's chicken seasoning and veggie broth, and the final dish was a little bland. In the following 2 batches I used 1 Tbsp McCormick's, a good dash of salt and then chicken broth, and they were too salty to eat!
So in batches #5 and #6 I used no McCormick's, no salt and did use Thyme, Rosemary and chicken broth, and then stirred them into batches #3 and #4, and I think they turned out well!
[Batches #7 and #8 were just right]
Trim and cut chicken into small pieces.
(2 piles for 2 batches)
Add chicken and seasonings to skillet and sautee.
*You're going to see pictures of different skillets throughout, because I was making 2 at a time.
Please ignore the messy stove!
Instead of 8oz cream cheese, I reduced to 4oz and increased the broth later on. I also found that substituting my old friend Neufchatel cheese worked well--1/3 less fat than cream cheese and I didn't miss the richness, because the chicken broth and flour make for a nice, thick sauce.
Add cream cheese to skillet and melt over low heat
(In this picture I added some broth early on, but decided against that after batch 5, so hold the broth til later)
Mmm, melty
Add 2 Tbsp flour
This will be thick and pasty, and you'll worry about it being too dry,
but keep calm and carry on.
We, my friend, are making a roux.
From having less cream cheese, I increase the broth to 1 cup.
Add to skillet, increase to med heat and keep stirring.
It doesn't look like much at first, but it will turn into a thick, creamy sauce, like this:
Add 10 oz mixed veggies.
Or if you're using a big bag, I did 2 cups.
Stir in veggies, and if the sauce is very thin, simmer until thickened.
And, done!
Batch #1 I made into a pot pie, with just a crust on top instead of both top and bottom, to see if I would miss it, and I didn't.
Pappy's brand pie crusts are made with lard and taste like a rich, buttery home-made crust. They come in 4 packs, and I'm a big fan.
Roll out crust to about-ish the size and place over pie, then crumple down the edges in no particular fashion,
You can call it *rustic*.
Chicken dish variety, FTW!
And I can't say "mashed potatoes" anymore without thinking "mershed perderders"
I love memes.
And this turtle:
By the way, simple, best-ever mashed potatoes, adapted from The Pioneer Woman's recipe:
.........................................................................................................................................................Katie's Mershed Perderders
5 lb potatoes, peeled, boiled
2 sticks butter
1 block cream cheese
1/2-1 tsp Lowry's Season Salt
Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in the oven at 350 until toasty, about 20 min.
........................................................................................................................................................
So this recipe goes quickly--I made 6 batches in 2 or so hours. Or rather it took 1 glass of wine and 2 1/2 BBC's Blue Planet episodes over the course of an evening. But its a good recipe for bulk cooking, because its straightforward without a lot of steps.
I froze these individually in gallon bags, but they could've fit fine in quart ones, I believe. The 4c mashed potatoes fit fine in quart freezer bags.
...and did I mention I don't want to see or smell a chicken pot pie/shepherd's pie for at least a month now, after all that cooking, I'm definitely tired of the flavor, ha!
And to make a 9x13 for a bigger family, I would at minimum double this--the filling does not overflow my 8x8 pan as it is.
Chicken Pot Pie/Shepherd's Pie
by Katie Stime
Ingredients:
- 1lb chicken, cubed
- 0.5-1 Tbsp McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning (or comparable chicken seasoning)
- 1/2 tsp Thyme, dried
- 1/4 tsp Rosemary, dried
- 4 oz Neufchatel cheese (1/2 block)
- 2 Tbsp AP flour
- 1 c chicken broth
- 10 oz or 2 cups frozen mixed veggies
- 2 pie crusts or 4 cups mashed potatoes
Heat skillet with about 1 Tbsp oil and cook chicken, McCormick's, thyme and rosemary.
Add neufchatel cheese and melt over low heat.
Add flour and stir in until thick and pasty.
Whisk in broth and bring to a simmer until thickened.
Stir in mixed veggies.
Salt and pepper to taste.
For pot pie:
Roll out pie crust for 9" pie pan.
Pour in filling and top with additional pie crust.
Cut 4 slits in top crust.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30" or until heated through and crust is browned.
For shepherd's pie:
Pour into 9x9 or comparable dish.
Top with 4 cups mashed potatoes
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 min, or until heated through.
No comments:
Post a Comment