Part 2: Frugal Chicken Series- Chicken Pot Pie with a Biscuit Crust

Part 2 of my Frugal Chicken Series is the second meal I made with the leftover chicken from my crockpot chicken....Chicken Pot Pie with a Biscuit Crust! A healthier twist to an all time favorite comfort food. It's been pretty cold and snowy for the last day here in Illinois so this recipe is a perfect end to a blustery day!

Filling

· 1 cup onion, chopped

· 1 clove garlic, minced

· 1 cup reduced-fat chicken broth

· 1 1/2 cups diced potatoes, peeled

· 1 1/2 cups chopped carrots

· 1 cup green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces

· 1 (10 ounce) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup (or cream

of mushroom)

· 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

· 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts

· 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

· 1/4 teaspoon dried basil

· 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

· 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Biscuit Crust

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 1/2 teaspoon ground sage

· 1/4 teaspoon salt

· 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons margarine

· 1/3 cup skim milk

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes (use oil or cooking spray).

This is a really important step. I've learned from my chef husband that

being patient with sauteing onions is seriously so important! Be patient...wait for them to be translucent and golden brown like this:

If your hubby is anything like mine....properly sauteed onions are the way to his heart :)

2. Add broth, potatoes, carrots and beans (you can actually cheat with this...I throw in whatever I have...carrots, potatoes, celery....anything that you want in that is a raw veggie)

3. Bring to a boil.

4. Reduce heat to medium-low.

5. Simmer for 12 minutes, partially covered.

6. Potatoes should be a bit undercooked.

7. Remove from heat.

8. Combine condensed soup and flour in a small bowl.

I skip this step and instead of using the creamy soups make my own thickener. For this particular recipe use 1 cup cold water to1/4 cup milk and add corn starch to thicken...about 1 1/2- 2TBSP, mix with the liquid first until dissolved and then add to mixture on stovetop. Always use COLD water for this!!

9. Add to vegetables, along with cooked chicken, parsley, basil, thyme and pepper (at this step I sometimes throw in some frozen veggies like peas, and corn just to bulk it up).

10. Stir well.

This is what the mixture will look like:

11. Pour into a casserole dish (I actually just use a 9 inch pyrex pie pan so it actually looks like a pie J)

12. Prepare biscuit crust. (You could easily just make drop biscuits to drop in it or biscuits by themselves instead...but I wanted a pie look. Also keep in mind this won't have a bottom crust, just the biscuit that covers the top....this helps keep it healthy :)

13. Combine flour, baking powder, sage and salt.

14. Cut in butter or margarine with a pastry blender until it looks like coarse crumbs.

15. Stir in milk.

16. Form the dough into a ball, adding a bit more flour if its too sticky.

17. On a floured surface, roll out dough to the size where it will fit the top of

your casserole dish. (basically like if you were making a pie crust).

18. Place dough on top of chicken mixture.

19. Prick dough with a fork several times.

20. Bake at 400 F for 25 minutes, until crust is golden brown.

21. Let stand for 5 minutes.

22. Serve.

Nutritional Information

Serving Size: 1 (304 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 4

Per Serving:

Calories 407.9, Calories from Fat 106, Total Fat 11.8 g, Saturated Fat 5.3 g, Cholesterol 74.4 mg, Sodium 294.7 mg, Total Carbohydrate 46.9 g, Dietary Fiber 4.8 g, Sugars 5.0 g, Protein 27.8 g

This recipe has become a favorite in our house. It makes great leftovers to take in lunches or something for lunch on days I am at home with Abbie to easily reheat. It's healthy, and easy....doesn't take long at all! This is Part 2 of my frugal whole chicken series. Stay tuned next week for part 3, my final recipe of the series.

And just in case you were wondering what my little helper was up to? Well she was making her own chicken pot pie in the cupboard!