Meal: Individual Chicken Pot Pies for the Freezer
Servings: 6
Prep Time: 240 minutes
Ingredients
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
2 TBSP olive oil
5.5 cups chicken broth
2 TBSP unsalted butter
3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 onion, chopped fine
1 celery rib, minced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole milk
2 tsps minced fresh thyme or 3/4 tsp dried
2 TBSP lemon juice
4 (9-inch) store-bought pie-dough rounds
1.5 cups frozen peas
6 2-cup disposable aluminum loaf pans
1 large egg, beaten
Directions
1. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 TBSP oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat
3. Add chicken and cook until well-browned, about 2.5 minutes per side
4. Add broth, and bring to a simmer.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until chicken registers 160 (6-8 minutes).
6. Transfer chicken to cutting board and broth to bowl.
7. Melt butter with remaining tbsp oil in now-empty dutch oven over medium-high heat.
8. Add carrots, onion, celery, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until lightly browned and softened, 8-10 minutes
9. Reduce heat to medium, add flour, and cook for 1 minute
10. Whisk in milk, thyme, and reserved broth and bring to a simmer
11. Cook, whisking often, until sauce thickens, about 10 minutes
12. Shred chicken into bite-size pieces using 2 forks, off-heat, stir in lemon juice and shredded chicken and season with salt
13. Transfer filling to bowl and let cool completely. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until well-chilled, about 1 hour
14. Place 2 dough rounds on lightly floured counter and brush each with water.
15. Place remaining 2 dough rounds on moistened rounds and press gently to adhere.
16. Position 1 pan upside down on top of dough round (as a template) and cut out dough. Get 3 rectangles from each round for a total of 6.
17. Stir still-frozen peas into chilled filling, then evenly divide the filling among the loaf pans.
18. Top each pan with 1 dough piece then use a fork to seal edges.
19. Using a paring knife, cut 3 steam vents in each pot pie.
20. Tightly wrap each pan in 2 layers of plastic wrap and 1 layer of aluminum foil and freeze pies completely
Pies can be frozen for 1 month.
21. Put rack in the middle and heat oven to 400
22. Unwrap frozen pies and arrange on a baking sheet
23. Brush each pie with egg and cover with foil
24. Bake until filling is starting to bubble, about 40 minutes
25. Uncover, pot pies and bake until crusts are golden brown, about 35 more minutes
26. Rest for 26 minutes before serving
Source
America's Test Kitchen