Cream City Casseroles’ Chicken Puff Pastry Pot Pie
Makes 8 servings
Jess Williamson of Cream City Casseroles delivers love to your door in a homemade casserole. But you can make your own with this simple recipe for chicken pot pie that uses convenient ingredients like puff pastry and frozen vegetables. 1 3⁄4 cups chicken broth 2/3 cup milk 1⁄2 teaspoon salt 1⁄4 teaspoon black pepper 1⁄4 teaspoon celery seed
1 pound cubed, cooked chicken
15 ounces frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1⁄2 cup small-diced carrots, fresh or frozen 1⁄2 cup frozen green peas 1⁄2 cup frozen corn 1⁄2 cup frozen green beans
1⁄2 cup frozen lima beans (see note)
5 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup diced onion 1⁄2 cup flour
Preheat oven to 400 degrees (if baking immediately). Lightly grease a 13-by-9-inch casserole dish.
In a saucepan, combine carrots, peas, corn, green beans and lima beans with just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a separate skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Continue whisking while slowly adding chicken broth and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Reduce heat and stir in salt, black pepper and celery seed.
Stir in cooked chicken and vegetables. If too thick, add a little additional milk. Pour into prepared casserole dish.
Unroll or unfold thawed puff pastry on a floured cutting board. Use a small star-shaped cookie cutter to punch out 3 to 4 stars in the pastry to allow steam to vent while baking (or alternatively, use a sharp knife to cut 3 to 5 slits for venting). Lay pastry over top of casserole — it’s OK if it hangs over the edge a bit.
At this point, either wrap casserole tightly and freeze, or brush pastry with egg wash and bake uncovered 35 to 45 minutes until filling is bubbling and pastry is golden-brown. Check near end of baking; if pastry is getting too brown, set a piece of aluminum foil over the top.
Remove from oven and let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Note: You can replace vegetables with a 12-ounce bag of frozen mixed vegetables that can be steamed in the bag; follow package instructions for cooking in the microwave.