How to Make Chicken Pot Pie in the CrockPot

Day 249.

Chicken pot pies are a staple in a lot of homes---it started as a way to use up all the leftovers from the fridge, but now has changed into a meal made all on it's own.

I haven't had very many pot pies. I've never ordered one at a restaurant, and am only really familiar with the frozen ones put out by Marie Callender's. I figured that since the tamale pie and the bbq chicken topped with cornbread transferred so nicely to crockpot cooking, a chicken pot pie would too.

Adam thought it tasted like stuffing. It kind of did. My taste buds are all out-of-whack from a funky cold. Everything kind of tastes like metal.

The Ingredients.

Filling:
--2 chopped up skinless chicken thighs or breast halves (raw, but chopped up)
--1/2 cup chopped carrots (these were fresh, but frozen would work)
--1/2 cup frozen corn
--1/2 cup frozen peas
--1/2 t marjoram
--1/2 t thyme
--1/2 t celery seed
--1 t onion powder
--canned cream-of-something soup (or see homemade alternative down below)
--2 T low fat milk

Homemade Soup Alternative:
make a roux on the stove top with the butter and flour, then whisk in the other ingredients.

--1 T butter
--3 T flour (Pamela's or other GF baking flour)
--1/2 cup low fat milk (I used soy)
--1/2 cup chicken broth
--1/4 t salt
--1/4 t black pepper

Biscuit Topping:

--2 cups biscuit mix (I used Bob's Red Mill biscuit mix. I much prefer Pamela's but my favorite store has been out of it for a few weeks)
--1/2 T white sugar
--1/2 cup melted butter (that's a whole stick)
--3/4 cup low fat milk (stick with 2% or lower; I used soy)

The Directions.

I'm already tired of typing. This is a long one. Sorry.

I used a 4 quart crockpot for this recipe. There really wasn't too awful much filling---I used what I had on hand, but if you have a large family or would like leftovers, I'd double the filling.

Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Chop up the chicken and put it into the crockpot. Dump in the vegetables. Add all of the spices. Stir in the cream-of-something soup and add 2T of milk to the can, squish it around to get all the good stuff out of the can, and pour in the rest. Stir well.

In a mixing bowl, make up the biscuit topping. The dough will be pretty playdoughy, and I pretty much mixed it with my hands. Spread the dough on top of the chicken and veggie mixture.

Cover and cook on high for 3-5 hours, or on low for 6-7. This is done when the biscuit topping is golden brown, and is hard to the touch in the middle. I cooked ours on high for 4 1/2 hours, and it got a bit too crunchy on the very edges.

If you find that your crockpot seals really well and you have a bunch of condensation building up, you can prop open the lid with a wooden spoon or chopstick. I tried the paper towel trick with this dish, and wasn't impressed. I laid a double-layer of paper towels over the top of the crock, then put the lid back on. The condensation made the paper towels really wet, and they drooped into the food. Also, when I took off the lid and then removed the towels (they were very wet and very hot) I got a blast of steam on my hand that hurt. I'm going to stick with venting with a chopstick.

The Verdict.

This was neat to try, and I'm glad that I did, but I don't see making it again unless someone specifically requests it. We're just not huge chicken pot pie people. My brother really likes chicken pot pie though. I should make it for him. I love it that with stuff like this you can play around and use whatever meat and veggies you have in the house.

The filling was good. Adam's right, it tastes like stuffing. Is that the marjoram?