Chicken pot pie is one of those simple, wholesome foods that I remember from my childhood. Like may of my generation, I thought all pot pies came in boxes that were plucked ripe off the vine in the valley of the jovial chartreuse midget. (Or something like that.) They were heated, served and devoured, usually two or three to a person and with gusto on cold, damp San Francisco Bay Area weekends when the fog rolled in over the vineyards and the wind touched little cheeks with fingers of ice.

They were heaven. We didn’t care that they came from a package, just that it meant laughter and a warm belly after venturing out in the chill. (Today the temperatures we called cold in the Sonoma valley seem kind of foolish, but as children that had never known a truly cold climate, 30 degrees was freezing!) My mother, my sister and I would stand in the kitchen, soaking up the warmth of the oven and a cup of cocoa (coffee in my mother’s case), just waiting for the golden brown treasures to be done. We’d all sit together and talk about whatever was on our respective minds at the time and share that most precious of bonds, Family.

I call these the cheater’s version of a chicken pot pie simply because the only real effort in making them was reheating some leftovers and finding a suitable pastry to cover a few of my large ramekins, but I think that my mother would have agreed that they were some of the best we’d ever eaten, if she could be her to share them with my family and I today.

Yield: 8 servings

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe, the Cheater's Version

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

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Ingredients

• Approximately 4 cups leftover Chicken Stew
• 1 package store-bought canned biscuits of any variety that you like
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp milk

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
2. Reheat chicken stew in a sauce pot or soup pot over low heat until just simmering and heated through. (You may of course make the stew in preparation for the pot pies, I just happened to have it left over from the day before.)
3. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Ladle stew into ramekins or other oven safe bowls, distributing evenly. Fill to top of bowls or ramekins.
4. Whisk egg and milk together, set aside.
5. Roll out biscuits (you may need to double them up, depending on the size of your serving dishes). brush rim of bowl or ramekin with egg mixture and lay biscuit dough over containers, pressing gently at the edges to seal the dough in place. cut four small slits in the top of each top to allow steam to escape. (careful, the stew is HOT)
6. Brush tops of biscuits with egg mixture. Place sheet pan in oven and bake for approximately 15 minutes or until tops are a deep golden brown.
7. Remove from oven and allow to rest approximately 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 253Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 144mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 25g

I’m really not sure. I wouldn’t have thought this combination would taste so much like the pot pies I remember from childhood (albeit a lot healthier). I do plan on making this again with turkey and beef, simply to round out the store choices. I also plan to make a few full pot pies with actual pie crust in the future, but I’ve got to tell you, this dish is nothing to sneeze at.

Links to other pot pie recipes:

• Chicken Pot Pie from Simply Recipes
• $12 dollar wines and chicken pot pie – SlashFood
• Sweet Potato Pot Pie from 101 Cookbooks