Mini Chicken Pocket Pies
Want a terrific way to introduce chicken pot pie to the little ones? Make it fun. Make it mini. This recipe calls for fresh chicken but you could certainly use left-over chicken. These make a great snack for after school too. At least you know your kids are getting something healthy and delicious and be proud that it didn't come from a box.
I suggest you make these on the weekend when you have a bit more time to devote to cooking in the kitchen. Make lots of them and freeze them or decide to refrigerate them and use them for a dinner during the week. These were incredibly good.
- 1 1/2 lbs. chicken tenders
- 2 sheets frozen pie crust
- 2 medium carrots - peeled and very small dice
- 1 stalk celery - very small dice
- 3 tbsp. onion - very small dice
- 1 medium or large clove garlic - minced
- 1 1/3 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp. half and half or cream
- 1 tsp. fresh rosemary - finely minced
- 1 tsp. fresh thyme - finely minced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 egg - lightly beaten
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch (for thickening gravy)
- 2 tbsp. water
- olive or canola oil
- 1 tbsp. butter
- Wash the chicken tenders, remove the yellow tender with a sharp filet knife. Thoroughly dry the chicken. Liberally salt and pepper both sides of the chicken.
- In a skillet over medium high heat, melt the butter with a little bit of oil. When that is heated up, lay in the whole chicken tenders and brown each side. About 2 minutes per side. The chicken will let you know when it's seared enough when it lifts easily with a pair of tongs.
- When the chicken is cooked remove it to a waiting plate. Turn the heat under the same skillet down to medium low and toss in the diced onion, celery and carrot. Sweat the vegetables down, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.
- De-glaze the pan with the chicken broth, scrapping all the good bits and let the chicken and vegetables cook together over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste along with the fresh herbs. You want to let this mixture reduce down and concentrate in flavor. This takes about 5 minutes.
- While that is happening, cut your chicken into very small pieces.
- When the mixture is ready add in the half and half and stir to incorporate.
- Make a slurry with the cornstarch and water. Add the slurry to the pan and over medium to medium high heat, keep stirring until you achieve a thick gravy. Then, TURN THE HEAT OFF and remove the pan from the heat. Add the diced chicken to the pan and stir.
- Beat one egg with a splash of water for a binder.
- Lay your defrosted pie dough out on your board and use a 3" cutter to make circles. I got nine complete out of the dough with some left over to re-roll.*
- Egg wash the edges of the circles and put just a little bit of mixture to one side. Fold over and press the edges together to seal. Place them on a baking sheet. Repeat for the remainder.
- Egg wash the top of each one when completed.
- Bake in a 375° preheated oven for about 40 - 60 minutes until golden brown and the crust is thoroughly cooked.
oh my they look delicious!!!! My son bought a frozen chicken pot pie today for .75. It looked as big as yours. It had 600 calories in it and about 600 ingredients listed! I make a variation of this recipe but have never made individual ones. will be very fun to make!
ReplyDeleteI like small things to pick up and eat. Just make sure you chop everything really small. They would make a great appetizer as well.
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