I will not call it chicken pot pie because it has puff pastry on top! I love puff pastry. And because of that I love pepperidge farm because they make a puff pastry and it saves me every time.

So, because I did not have to worry about the pastry, I could dedicate myself to my knife cuts and vegetables:

Thanks Chef Pepin for the tips!

I cooked the vegetables in chicken stock. I melted butter in my Le Creuset dutch oven, and added an onion.

I cooked it for five minutes, and then I added flour and made a roux.

Then I added the stock again, stirred for three more minutes. Took the dutch oven off the heat, added an 1/8 of a cup of 1% milk. Finally, I added the vegetables and the left over free range chicken from Whole Foods… stirred everything together.

I took a taste – it was lovely. I added a bit of freshly ground pepper to the mix and for everyone else, I added a smidge of salt. I tasted again. The seasoning (and yes, the small amount of salt) made a difference. I poured it into my pretty LC casserole.

I put the puff pastry on it, and popped it into the oven. It was super pretty when it came out:

The one flaw of my dish? My puff pastry did not puff as much as I wanted it to. Next time I will adjust to make it better. My plate was chicken and puff pastry, and red pepper sticks:

When my mom came in from running errands she told me how amazing our home smelled. She looked at the casserole and was so excited for dinner! She had two helpings… so did I.

So, the original recipe is from Jenna @ Eat Live Run. Click here to see her original recipe. Here is what I did tonight (I wanted to make a smaller serving because I knew my mom and I would be the only one eating it):

*Defrost one puff pastry

Ingredients:

* two carrots, chopped

* one stalk celery, chopped

* one small yellow onion, diced

* two small red potatoes, diced

* 2 cups chicken stalk

* 1 cup water

* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

* 3 tablespoons all purpose flour

* 1 1/2 cups diced chicken (already cooked mostly light meat, but some dark meat in there too)

* 1/8 cup 1% milk

* smidge salt

* freshly ground pepper to taste

Jenna’s original recipe served 6 – 8 people. I think my recipe would serve about 4 servings.

Instructions:

In a medium sized pot bring two cups of chicken stock and 1 cup water to a boil. Add chopped carrots, celery and potato. Cook at a simmer for 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Once cooked, remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and put in a medium size bowl. Pour chicken stock / water combo into a glass measuring cup, you will use it again. Set aside.

Melt butter in a dutch oven or a heavy bottomed pot. Add diced onion, cook for five minutes stirring constantly. Mixture will be bubbling. Keep it moving around while you’re cooking so you do not burn it. After five minutes, add flour to make a roux. Cook for another 4 minutes, or until mixture starts to turn slightly brown and smells toasty.

Slowly stream in a cup and a half (approximately) of the chicken stock water mixture, stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken. Cook and stir for three minutes.

Turn off heat (if you are using an electric range I recommend removing your vessel from the burner you are using) and slowly stream in the milk, stirring constantly.

Add the cooked vegetables and chicken back into the mixture, stir to incorporate. Taste the mixture. Add the salt and pepper to taste. Pour filling into a casserole dish – my filling filled a small casserole.

Unfold defrosted puff pastry, gently lay on top, layering pieces if you need to. Brush the top with a beaten egg mixture (original recipe) or milk (that’s what I did). Cut small slices into the pastry to let steam escape while it bakes.

The original recipe says bake for ten minutes and then cover with foil and bake for another 25 minutes. For the next time I make this recipe, I’ll bake it for more than ten minutes in hopes that my puff pastry will puff up a bit more. I might put foil around the edges of the casserole if it is browning quicker than the rest of the dish.

This is an amazing meal – I highly recommend giving it a try. Hopefully your puff pastry will be puffier than mine was! 🙂

I am going to really try and not cook or bake anything tomorrow. At least I know I won’t have to go to the market!

My meal plan for tomorrow:

Breakfast: coffee with milk, scone

Mid morning snack if needed: Yogurt

Lunch: chicken pot pie with puff pastry or salad

Dinner: which ever I did not have for lunch 🙂

I really want to make muffins soon. Or oatmeal popovers…?