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
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. While that is happening, cut your chicken into very small pieces.
  6. When the mixture is ready add in the half and half and stir to incorporate.
  7. 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.
  8. Beat one egg with a splash of water for a binder.
  9. 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.*
  10. 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.
  11. Egg wash the top of each one when completed.
  12. Bake in a 375° preheated oven for about 40 - 60 minutes until golden brown and the crust is thoroughly cooked.





*Due to my husband's appetite I made one large pie for him. I still had left over dough and filling which proves this makes quite a few mini pies.

Comments

  1. 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!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I 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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