Chicken Pot Pie - THE best Chicken Pot Pie recipe you'll ever make...seriously

I love Chicken Pot Pie. I have printed out or bookmarked several recipes but never made it myself. I was afraid of the roux so I never tried. I have created this lovely menu planner (I'll post about that after the wedding, when I'm more organized) and I planned to make Chicken Pot Pie today. I'm a little confused how a dish that I've never made before made it on my menu board (it's supposed to be common recipes or family favorites) since I've given space for new recipes under a card labeled, Wildcard. I guess I must have known I was going to make something amazing...and boy, did I!!!

I thought about the Chicken Pot Pies that I've eaten before: frozen, restaurant and my Mom's. I tried to think of what was in it: veggies, sauce, chicken and doughy crust. I imagined what kinds of wonderful flavors would be in the sauce: Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, sage, garlic, hot peppers... It was kind of fun to imagine it all and then, the kids got home from school. Imagination over, it was time to create the real thing. Oddly enough, I went to work as though it was a recipe I'd made a hundred times; I answered questions from the kids, looked over assignment notebooks and watched A dance for a bit, too! Oh, and I made it a double batch so I could freeze one while we're on our honeymoon and Bill's Mom is watching the kids. If this had sucked, I would have been the dumbest chick around...good thing it turned out great (I hate being a dummy)!

Anyway, this stuff is amazing...I'm not kidding, I could have just sat there with a spoon and dipped stuff in it like a fondue...which is not a bad idea, now that I think of it! I cooked the chicken in the pan first and then removed it; made my cream sauce in the same sauce pan, scraping up the cooked chicken bits in the process and then added the cheeses and herbs. When it was all combined I folded in the veggies, then chicken. Once it was all coated and delicious, I scooped it into my stoneware(casserole pan) and covered it with the lid (No lid? Cover it with aluminum foil).

The making of a cream sauce or roux is kind of colorless so this is all I'm giving you to look at. I do have to say though, what it lacks in color it makes up in magic - it's so wonderful to watch it thicken and come together! At this point, it's just a cream base (1 sick of butter, 1 cup of AP flour and 8 cups of broth)...still magical!

Disclaimer / reminder: I made a double batch so all my information in the images below is twice what it would be if you're not crazy (I froze the second batch - the kids are happy).

I dumped in the herbs: Dried Basil, Granulated Garlic, Italian Seasoning and Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning which is a spicy salty addition (note about the Creole Seasoning - EVERY time I use it, I sneeze - maybe it's just me, I don't know...it's weird). I don't measure and I spaced out and didn't write it down so I'm guessing I added in 2-3 Tablespoons of the basil, garlic and Italian seasoning but only 1 Tablespoon of the creole seasoning (that's 1-2 Tbl of the spices and a 1/2 Tbl of the creole seasoning if you're doing a single batch) 

ooh...mix it in, mix it in...it tastes so good!!!

At this point, you have an incredibly tasteful cream sauce - this would probably be fine (and I'm noting, as I look at these pictures, that this looks nothing like the weird clear-ish sauce I've had in some Chicken Pot Pie)

Adding in the 4 cups of Pecorino Romano - add this in batches, 1-2 cups at a time...

This is more a process of dunking the cheese until it's fully encompassed rather than stirring.
At this point, you'll also add in the 8 ounces (one box) of Cream Cheese / Neufchatel Cheese, diced - it doesn't melt really well into this at first, it kind of separates and looks funky but it melts down completely once you bake it.

Still mixing...4 cups of grated pecorino romano is a LOT of cheese (remember, that's 2 cups for a single batch)

8 Cups, mixed veggies - I used three bags of the frozen stuff - one mixed veggies, one peas and one french cut green beans (4 cups for single batch)

Adding in teh veggies a little at a time - seriously, this got a little sploshy if you got too excited and dumped it all in...

Fold in in, fold it in, fold it in...

Adding the cooked, diced, chicken. This is a 5 quart saucepan - it's huge (almost doesn't fit on my burner but brings me such joy)  but even so, I'm nearly overflowing this baby as I add in the chicken and combine. Please use your judgement and don't try to fit too much in your pan - it's a mess and no one wants to clean that up!

I forgot to add the Worcestershire Sauce and  Sriracha with the herbs...silly me...it doesn't really matter, as long as they're in there! We like the flavor that the spicy pepper sauce and briny anchovy sauce bring out so I added about 3 Tablespoons of both - I can't tell you how much it changed the direction of this dish. If you don't like those things though, leave them out...

I forgot to take a picture of the dish before I put the crust on it and threw it in the oven - I was REALLY excited to eat it, I guess! This is my freezer dish, we reuse them over and over and I really like it...
I have fresh Oregano growing in the house so I grabbed several sprigs and added the leaves to the mixture (if you look closely, you can see their bright green color at the front of the image above) - I think it made a difference!

I covered the dish with a roll / container of uncooked crescent rolls (roll your edges under) 

I let the connections open a little so they allow the steam to escape, and it overlaps a little in the middle. Now, since this is my freezer pan, I just set this baby in the freezer, FLAT and allow it to freeze through. I leave it uncovered so I don't have any problems with anything sticking. After it's frozen (I forgot about it, so mine sat overnight), you cover it with plastic wrap (I wrap it both directions) and then cover it with aluminum foil - I write the directions directly onto the foil.

Here she is, my beautiful baby...straight out of the oven ( you can see that I didn't allow the connections on the rolls to separate well enough; I guess it was an afterthought for the second one!) I cooked it LID ON for 15-20 minutes (checking after 10 minutes) - this allows it to heat all the way through and the dough cooks fully. After the 15-20 minutes (time really depends on if you have an incredibly erratic oven like I do) you remove the lid and allow the dough to brown and puff...another 5-10 minutes. PERFECT...

I cut up the breading so it will be like a pop of flavor with the bites where it surfaces. It is heavenly...I'm in love.
I think next time, I'm going to make it with the peel apart biscuits instead and see if that changes anything (of if it just ups the amount of carbs I'm inhaling!?!)

Recipe


Chicken Pot Pie - Single Family Serving (6 people)

Ingredients

• 1/2  Stick, Butter
• 1/2  Cup, Flour
• 4 Cups, Stock
• 4 Ounces, Cream Cheese /  Neufchatel Cheese
• 2 Cups, Pecorino Romano - shredded 
• 4 Cups, Mixed Veggies
• 3 Cups, Diced Cooked Chicken Breasts (3-4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts)
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 1 1/2 Tbl., Sriracha
• 1 1/2 Tbl., Worcestershire Sauce 
• 1 1/2 Tbl., Dried Basil
• 1 1/2 Tbl., Granulated Garlic
• 1 1/2 Tbl., Italian Seasoning
• 2 Sprigs, Fresh Oregano
• 1 Container, Crescent Rolls

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 Degrees
2. Cook chicken through with salt and pepper
3. Remove from pan, allow to cool for a few minutes and dice (1/2 in cubes) - set aside
4. If using frozen veggies, thaw veggies in colander under cool water - set aside
5. Create roux: with the stove top on medium-high, melt butter in sauce pan, scraping up chicken bits with the whisk as you go - as soon as the butter is completely melted, add flour and combine
6. Continue to whisk until the mixture changes textures (it goes from grainy and dull to liquid and shiny); this takes a few minutes (DO NOT over cook as you can burn this and then you have to start over)
7. Add half of the stock and whisk together - as soon as this begins thickening, add remaining stock - Keep whisking!
8. Add the Cream Cheese, whisk in until melted
9. Add half of the shredded Pecorino Romano, whisk in until incorporated 
10. Mix in Sriracha, Worcestershire Sauce, Basil, Garlic and Italian Seasoning
11. Slowly incorporate the mixed veggies and chicken into the sauce, folding the ingredients until completely mixed.
12. Scoop mixture into casserole dish
13. Open Crescent Rolls and place on top of mixture, curling edges under for a smooth finish. Allow partial connections in dough to vent. Cover.
14. Cook for 15-20 minutes with LID ON. Remove lid and cook for another 5-10 minutes to brown crescent roll dough.
15. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Chicken Pot Pie - Double Family Serving (12 people or two batches - one for freezer)

Ingredients

• 1  Stick, Butter
• 1  Cup, Flour
• 8 Cups, Stock
• 8 Ounces, Cream Cheese /  Neufchatel Cheese
• 4 Cups, Pecorino Romano - shredded 
• 8 Cups, Mixed Veggies
• 6 Cups, Diced Cooked Chicken Breasts (6-8 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts)
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 3Tbl., Sriracha
• 3 Tbl., Worcestershire Sauce 
• 3 Tbl., Dried Basil
• 3 Tbl., Granulated Garlic
• 3 Tbl., Italian Seasoning
• 4 Sprigs, Fresh Oregano
• 2 Container, Crescent Rolls

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 Degrees
2. Cook chicken through with salt and pepper
3. Remove from pan, allow to cool for a few minutes and dice (1/2 in cubes) - set aside
4. If using frozen veggies, thaw veggies in colander under cool water - set aside
5. Create roux: with the stove top on medium-high, melt butter in sauce pan, scraping up chicken bits with the whisk as you go - as soon as the butter is completely melted, add flour and combine
6. Continue to whisk until the mixture changes textures (it goes from grainy and dull to liquid and shiny); this takes a few minutes (DO NOT over cook as you can burn this and then you have to start over)
7. Add half of the stock and whisk together - as soon as this begins thickening, add remaining stock - Keep whisking!
8. Add the Cream Cheese, whisk in until melted
9. Add half of the shredded Pecorino Romano, whisk in until incorporated 
10. Mix in Sriracha, Worcestershire Sauce, Basil, Garlic and Italian Seasoning
11. Slowly incorporate the mixed veggies and chicken into the sauce, folding the ingredients until completely mixed.
12. Split mixture into two different containers
13. Open Crescent Roll packages, one at a time, and place on top of mixture, curling edges under for a smooth finish. Allow partial connections in dough to vent. 
14. Freezing?
1. Place in freezer, uncovered - allow to freeze for several hours (up to overnight)
2. Once frozen, cover (seal) with plastic wrap to seal out as much air as possible
3. Cover with aluminum foil, tightly
4. Label with title and instructions for cooking night
5. When you're ready to eat, pull out of freezer at least 24 hours ahead to allow to thaw in refrigerator, follow the "Serving tonight?" instructions. 
15. Serving tonight?
1. Cover.
2. Cook for 15-20 minutes with LID ON. Remove lid and cook for another 5-10 minutes to brown crescent roll dough.
3. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.