Make Ahead Chicken Pot Pie Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• Place potatoes and carrots into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
• Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat; stir in onion. Cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Slowly stir in flour and thyme. Slowly stir in broth and milk; bring to a boil. Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Add chicken, peas, corn, and potato-carrot mixture.
• Place a pie crust in the bottom of 2 pie plates. Fill each with 1/2 of the pot pie mixture and cover with the remaining pie crusts. Cut slits in the top of each crust, and press a fork around the edges to seal. Freeze one pie.
• Bake one pot pie in the preheated oven until hot and bubbly, 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 425°. Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cook, covered, 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. , In a large skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until tender. Stir in flour and seasonings until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken, peas, corn and potato mixture; remove from heat., Unroll a pie crust into each of two 9-in. pie plates; trim even with rims. Add chicken mixture. Unroll remaining crusts; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in tops. , Bake 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting. Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked pies. To use, remove from freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Preheat oven to 425°. Place pies on baking sheets; cover edges loosely with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Reduce oven setting to 350°; bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°.

Steps:

• In a deep skillet, melt the butter and cook celery, carrots, and onion until tender.
• Pour in the flour, and mix in well.
• Stirring constantly, add in the milk and chicken broth a little at a time, alternating between the two. Bring to a boil and continue stirring until thickened.
• Add chicken, peas, salt, and pepper, and stir until combined. Remove from heat and cool.
• Roll out pie crust and use the foil pot pie dish as a template. Cut a piece of dough for the bottom of the dish that is about an inch (²¹⁄₂ cm) thicker than the widest rim of the dish, and a piece that is the same size as the rim. (Roll dough back out and repeat to make more pieces.)
• Place the larger piece of crust in the bottom of the foil dish, fill with the cooled pot pie filling, and top with the smaller crust piece.
• Pinch together, then seal together with a fork. Cut 4 small slits in the middle of the crust.
• Cover each pot pie with foil and freeze for up to 2 months.
• To bake from frozen, preheat oven to 400˚F (200˚C), and bake for 30 minutes with the foil on top. Remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Place the chicken breasts on a baking sheet and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into large dice. You will have 4 to 6 cups of cubed chicken.
• In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and heavy cream. Add the cubed chicken, carrots, peas, onions and parsley. Mix well.
• For the pastry, mix the flour, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Add the shortening and butter and mix quickly with your fingers until each piece is coated with flour. Pulse 10 times, or until the fat is the size of peas. With the motor running, add the ice water; process only enough to moisten the dough and have it just come together. Dump the dough out onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap the dough in plastic and allow it to rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Divide the filling equally among 4 ovenproof bowls. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each piece into an 8-inch circle. Brush the outside edges of each bowl with the egg wash, then place the dough on top. Trim the circle to 1/2-inch larger than the top of the bowl. Crimp the dough to fold over the side, pressing it to make it stick. Brush the dough with egg wash and make 3 slits in the top. Sprinkle with sea salt and cracked pepper. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, or until the top is golden brown and the filling is bubbling hot.

Steps:

• For the chicken: Start by putting the chicken in a pot and covering it with water. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes, and then remove the chicken from the pot. Set the chicken aside to cool briefly.
• Shred the chicken with 2 forks, reserving the bones. For the stock, return the bones to the pot and boil for 20 minutes. Remove the bones from the pot and discard.
• For the pot pie: When you're ready to use the Thyme Pastry, remove from the freezer and allow it to sit on the counter to thaw slightly, about 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Begin by finely dicing the vegetables. Slice the celery stalks into narrow strips, then slice in the other direction to create a fine dice. Repeat this process with the carrots, and the onion.
• Melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery. Saute until the vegetables start to turn translucent, a couple of minutes.
• Add 2 cups of the shredded chicken and stir to combine. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the vegetables and chicken, and stir to combine. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring gently.
• Pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly. Stir in the bouillon cube and wine if using. The flour will combine with the chicken to create a delicious gravy. Next, add the peas.
• Pour in the cream and stir. Allow the mixture to cook over low heat, thickening gradually, about 4 minutes. Season with the thyme, salt and pepper, and remove from the heat. Taste and adjust the seasonings as needed. Be sure it's adequately salted!
• Pour the chicken mixture into a deep pie pan or small casserole dish.
• Roll out the pastry so that it's 1 inch larger than the pan. Place the crust on top of the chicken mixture and cut small slits in the top. Press the crust gently into the sides of the dish to seal. I don't worry about making a perfect edge on my chicken pot pie because a) it looks more rustic and b) I'm lazy, hungry and I want to eat.
• Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.
• To freeze: Allow the filling to cool completely then top with the crust. Cover with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and place in the freezer.
• To cook from frozen: Remove the pot pie from the freezer, brush with egg wash (1 egg mixed with 2 tablespoons water or cream) and place directly in a 375-degree F oven and bake until lightly browned and bubbly, 30 to 45 minutes.
• For the thyme pastry: Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl. Using pastry cutter, gradually work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. This step should take 3 or 4 minutes.
• Lightly beat the egg with a fork, and then add it to the mixture. Next, add in the cold water and vinegar. Stir the mixture together until it's just combined, and then remove half the dough from the bowl. (Dividing the dough in half results in two pretty generous pie crusts. If you desire a thinner crust, you may divide the dough into three crusts.)
• Place in a large plastic bag (do not seal) and slightly flatten with a rolling pin. This makes it much easier to roll out the crust later. After flattening, seal the bag tightly.
• Repeat with the other half of the dough and place the plastic bags in the freezer. I like to make several batches of pie crust at a time so I always have a crust ready to go.
• For recipes other than this pot pie, remove from the bag and place on a lightly floured surface. With a rolling pin, begin rolling the dough from the center, outward. Be gentle and patient; it'll take a little time to get the dough completely rolled out.
• If you think the bottom is really sticking to the surface below, use a nice, sharp spatula to loosen it and sprinkle some extra flour on top. Then flip it over to finish rolling. Remember to roll from the center in single, outward strokes; no back-and-forth rolling.
• Again with a spatula, loosen and lift the pie crust and carefully lay it over a pie pan. Using your hand, lightly form the crust so that it fits inside the pan and overlaps the edges.
• Because it's quick and easy, I just tuck the excess dough under itself above the rim. Then you can apply whatever decorative effects that you like to the edge. Or you can leave it plain if you'd like! Just tell yourself it's more rustic that way!
• Fill the pie crust with filling and bake according to the pie recipe's directions. Or, for a pre-baked crust, fill with pie weights (or pinto beans placed on aluminum foil) and bake at 400 degrees F until golden, about 10 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°. Combine the first 11 ingredients. Divide between two 9-in. deep-dish pie plates., Roll out crusts to fit top of each pie. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top. Bake until golden brown, 35-40 minutes., Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked pies up to 3 months. To use, remove from freezer 30 minutes before baking (do not thaw). Preheat oven to 425°. Place pie on a baking sheet; cover edges loosely with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°. Remove foil and bake until golden brown or until heated through and a thermometer inserted in center reads 165°, 50-55 minutes longer.