Chicken Pot Pie with BACON

We had a nice, low-key Father's Day here. We took our nephew up to Snowbird to ride the Tram to the top, and then dropped him off at the airport. I decided to surprise Ben with one of his favorite meals, Chicken Pot Pie. 

And since it was Father's Day, I made it extra special and added bacon. OMG, it was fantastic. I don't know why every Chicken Pot Pie does not contain bacon. The delicious smokiness of the bacon fit right in with all of the rest of the flavors. I will definitely be adding bacon to all my pot pies from now on. 

For this recipe I increased the amount of pie crust and made them into four adult sized pot pies and two minis. I did take Tommy's out of the dish before serving though since the dish retained too much heat. I liked the thicker crust this time, and it stayed together better than when I make it in one casserole dish. If you don't have oven save bowls, feel free to cook this in a 9 x 13 casserole dish. I used to make pot pies with leftover rotisserie chicken and a bag of frozen veggies. Using grilled chicken and roasted veggies add a lot more flavor. I outlined the process for making the pot pie below, in case the recipe instructions seem confusing. 

Game plan for the pot pie:

1. Freeze shortening for the pie crust. 

2. Preheat oven and grill.

3. Start cooking chicken and veggies.

4. Mix the pie crust and let rest in the fridge.

5. Set cooked chicken and veggie aside.

6. Make the cream sauce and add in the chicken and veggies.

7. Pour into pans and top with pie crust.

8. Bake pot pies.

Chicken Pot Pie with Bacon

Chicken Ingredients:
2 skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp smoked paprika

Veggie Ingredients:
5 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 in cubes
1 onion, diced
3 celery ribs, sliced
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp granulated garlic

Cream Sauce Ingredients:
3 strips bacon
2 Tbsp vegan butter or bacon grease
2 Tbsp potato starch
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup canned coconut milk

Pie Crust Ingredients:

2/3 cup vegetable shortening

1 cup + 2 Tbsp potato starch

3/4 cup sorghum flour

1 1/2 Tbsp sugar

3/4 tsp guar gum

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 cup cold water

1. Measure out the shortening into small pieces and freeze for 30 min.
2. Preheat oven to 425°F. Preheat grill to approximately 450°F.
3. In a medium bowl, combine the chicken ingredients, tossing to coat well.
4. In a 9 x 13 baking dish, combine the veggie ingredients, stirring to mix thoroughly. 
5. Grill the chicken for 20-22 minutes, turning once. Remove from the grill and set aside to rest.
6. Roast the veggies for 30 minutes, stirring once. 
7. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F.
8. In a food processor, combine the starch, flour, sugar, salt, and guar gum. Scatter the shortening over the top and process until it looks like coarse crumbs. Add the cold water and process until smooth. 
9. Spread a large piece of plastic wrap or wax paper on the counter. Form the dough into a flat disk and wrap tightly. Refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. 
10. In a medium sized pot over medium heat, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon, reserving the grease. Add vegan butter to get approximately 2 Tbsp of fat. 
11. Whisk the potato starch into the fat and cook for 2 minutes. Slowly add the stock and coconut milk, whisking to break up any lump. Cook the liquid for several minutes until thickened. 
12. Chop the cooked chicken into pieces about the size of the veggies. Add the chicken, veggies and crumbled bacon into the cream sauce. Stir to combine.
13. Place 4 oven save bowls and 2 small ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet. Spray with oil or nonstick spray. Fill with the chicken mixture.
14. Divide the pie crust into 5 pieces. Divide one of the pieces into 2. Roll or form the pieces into circles and place on top of each bowl and ramekin. Gently press the dough around the edge of the bowls and cut slits in the tops. 
15. Bake for 25 minutes, until the filling is bubbly and the crusts are cooked. (Don't be alarmed when the pie crusts do not brown.) 

Roasted Chicken and Vegetable Pot Pie

We just got back from a ski vacation with friends in Steamboat Springs. One of the lodges had a tempting looking turkey pot pie as a lunch special. But then we saw that it was more like creamy turkey soup with a crust on top. So instead I said I would make chicken pot pie when we got home. I took my original chicken pot pie recipe and stepped it up a notch.

I've made The Easiest Chicken Ever multiple times, but I was looking for a change. I don't really like the process of peeling all the meat off a whole chicken, so I figured using a whole chicken that the butcher cut into pieces might be easier. I decided to roast all the parts, even the wings since I'm going to make stock out of the bones and skin. Part way through the cooking I remembered why I don't usually roast chicken in the oven. My whole kitchen pretty much filled with smoke! The chicken did turn out really moist and flavorful. So in the end it was worth the extra effort...
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Today was a home day, so I had a lot of time to roast the chicken and vegetables before adding them to the pot pie. If I were in a hurry I definitely would have skipped the roasted veggie step and just used frozen veggies like I normally do. The roasted veggies would be delicious in a soup. 

I used the crust recipe from my original chicken pot pie, except that I replaced 3 tablespoons of shortening with 3 tablespoons of Earth's Balance buttery sticks. I'm not sure that there was any noticeable difference between the crust this time and last time. It seemed a little easier to sort of roll out, but then it split more during baking. 

This pot pie had a much richer and deeper chicken flavor than usual. I think roasting the chicken in pieces was a big improvement since there were so many more surfaces for the seasoning. This version wasn't complicated, it just took a while from start to finish. Definitely worth the effort. 

Roasted Chicken and Vegetables Pot Pie

Single Pie Crust

2 Tbsp Earth's Balance Buttery Sticks

1 recipe Roasted Mixed Vegetables (see below)

1/2 recipe of Roasted Chicken Pieces (see below)

2 Tbsp potato starch

1 cup chicken stock

3/4 cup lite coconut milk

2 1/2 cup chopped or shredded cooked chicken or turkey

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Spray 9 x 13 glass baking dish with oil.

2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. 

3. Whisk in potato starch. Cook for 2 minutes stirring frequently. Add stock and coconut milk. Whisk until bubbly and thickened. Add vegetables and chicken. 

4. Pour chicken mixture into baking dish. Top with crust. Seal edge and cut slits in several places on crust. 

5. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Roasted Chicken Pieces

1 whole chicken, cut into parts
2 Tbsp oil
2 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. 
2. In a small bowl mix the oil and seasonings. 
3. Pat chicken dry. Place chicken skin side up on a large rimmed baking sheet. Rub the oil mixture over the chicken, coating evenly.
4. Bake for 15 minutes, flip chicken over. Bake for another 10 minutes, and flip again (so skin side is up again). 
5. Cook until chicken is done and juices run clear. For me that was a total baking time of 35 minutes.

Roasted Mixed Vegetables

1/2 of a head of cauliflower, chopped into small florets
6 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small onion, diced
3 celery ribs, sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 Tbsp oil
1/2 Tbsp dry minced onion
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp dried rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. 
2. Mix all ingredients together on a rimmed baking sheet.
3. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once.