Do y’all have Ree Drummond’s cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, yet? If not, you’re missing out on some yummy, comfort food. I can’t say I endorse her recipes for daily use because honestly most of them will make your arteries groan due to the sheer amount of butter and cream used. However, sometimes a family needs a little comfort food on a rainy Sunday evening so I decided to make PW’s Chicken Pot Pie last weekend. Butter, heavy cream, dough….OH MY!
Wait a minute, dough? You mean…GLUTEN?! I hoped we wouldn’t melt after this dairy and gluten-filled treat but decided to forge ahead because the photos in PW’s cookbook are too pretty to pass up.
I was very excited until I read the part about using homemade pie crust.
Did I mention it was Sunday? And it was raining? And I was tired from stomping through countless puddles with Kula Baby and his new rain boots that day?
Sorry, no can do Pioneer Woman. No homemade pie crust for Kula Mama on Sunday so I headed to Trader Joes. TJ always saves me in a pinch.
But TJ was fresh out of pie crust.
Huh?
In an act of pure desperation I pulled out a box of pastry dough from the freezer section and decided to make a go of it. Suddenly I was making pastry pockets instead of a pie.
My husband’s eyes literally bulged out of his head when he came upstairs for dinner. Chicken pot pie wrapped in a pastry? His idea of heaven. Kula Baby was certain it was his birthday or something. He was giddy with visions of simple carbs dancing through his head for the rest of the evening.
Chicken Pot Pie Pockets (Adapted from PW’s Chicken Pot Pie recipe)
This recipe makes two HUGE pockets. We split one for dinner and saved the other for next day leftovers.
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
3 medium carrots, finely chopped
1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1/2 stick butter
2 cups cooked chicken breast, chopped (sprinkle breasts with salt, pepper, thyme and grapeseed oil and bake in oven at 400 degrees for 45 minutes)
1/4 cup Pamela’s gluten-free baking and pancake mix
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon ground thyme
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
Trader Joe’s pastry dough, 2 squares
Directions:
Pre-heat oven 400 degrees.
Melt butter in a large saute pan and add onion, carrot, celery. Saute for a few minutes until translucent. Add chopped chicken. Stir. Sprinkle Pamela’s baking mix and stir to combine. Pour in chicken broth, wine and cream. Turn heat to low and let mixture thicken for about 5 minutes. Add salt, thyme, pepper.
Taste and adjust seasonings until you want to eat the entire pan of filling right there on the spot.
Place a sheet of parchment paper on a cookie sheet. Lay the 2 squares of pre-made pastry dough side by side on the parchment paper. Spoon in half of the mixture on one square and then fold the dough over to create a little chicken pot pie pocket. Pinch the sides of the dough to seal the chicken mixture inside the pocket. Repeat process to make the second pocket.
I brushed the pockets with a little oil before popping them into the oven but I’m sure you could skip this step.
Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
