Chicken Pot Pie With Baking Powder Biscuits

One of my father’s favorite meals was chicken pot pie…with baking powder biscuits.   Chicken and dumplings was a very close second.   What’s not to love?  Honestly, the aroma of home cooking is probably one of the most heartwarming, soul healing scents for mankind.  Smells are undeniable triggers for memory.  And if we have been blessed with wonderfully scented memories we have been given a gift that is beyond priceless.

My father grew up during the depression.  His formative years were spent living with family, but apart from his mother and his younger brother.  His father abandoned the family when my dad was four.  Consequently, to support herself and her family, my grandmother worked as a live in cook for a wealthy family in CT.  I cannot imagine having to come up with meals during the depression when rationing and doing without were the way of life.

My grandmother was a fantastic cook.  I like to think I have a few of her culinary genes (and cooking genius) in me.  Part of the magic of cooking is in the “secret ingredient”.  The love of what you do and the love that goes into it as you do it. My grandmother had an endless supply of that secret ingredient and she generously employed it.  Her name was Orrilla Mary Barnes.  And I adored her.  I loved to watch her cook.  She loved to cook. Chicken pot pie was one of her specialties.  And, my father loved it.  I loved it. We all did.

I still have a few of my grandmother’s cooking utensils in my kitchen.  When I use them, and I do frequently,  they induce so many wonderful memories of her.  But, even better than that, I have her cookbooks.  Timeworn and falling apart but tangible nonetheless.  Her recipes, penned in her handwriting, from her years spent as a cook so long ago, when the depression raged and ravaged and inspired the world to pull together and find ways to make things work.  To propel people into imaginative creation. To stretch the limits of possibility and ingenuity.  To appreciate what was and take nothing for granted. To find the good in life no matter how small a needle it was in the haystack of hard times.  It was then, and still is, always there.

Now, chicken soup is renowned for its healing properties.  The common cold, the blues, the soul.  Turn the broth into gravy, top it with biscuits and you have the cure for whatever life has thrown your way…at least while you sit and enjoy it.  Enjoy it fully.  There is no other way.

Like my grandmother, I have an affinity for using up leftovers.  Typically, I make this recipe with leftover chicken.  As I did for the pie in the photos here.  I intentionally bake extra chicken for dinner and a day or two later make this easy one pot culinary delight.  A completely new meal from leftovers…again.  This method saves a lot of time too since the chicken is already cooked and ready to add to the pot.

As with most of my cooking, there is no set measure here for the ingredients.  Thinking ahead, when I baked the chicken for dinner, I saved the pan drippings when putting the leftover chicken away. To get the full benefit of those drippings, I add a bit of water to the pan and scrape all the luscious brown bits into a flavorful, rich broth and pour it into the same container I use to store the leftover chicken.  I use this as the liquid base for the pot pie instead of store bought chicken stock.  I personally think it tastes better.  A plus to that is; it doesn’t contain the mass amount of sodium that even low sodium store bought broth contains.

Pull the leftover baked, skinless, bone in chicken breasts and thighs (or what ever leftover chicken parts you have…bone in, boneless, skin or not) out of the fridge and take the meat off the bones.  Put it off to one side.  Along with, but separate from the leftover broth in the container.

Get out your favorite large dutch oven.  Mine happens to be an enamel coated cast iron one.  It doesn’t matter if yours is not.  Cast iron, stainless steel…what ever you have is fine.  Over medium/low heat, melt 2 or 3 TB of butter in your dutch oven.  Add a TB or two of extra virgin olive oil (evoo).

Dice a medium (1 cup) sweet onion and add it to the butter and evoo.  Slice about a 1/2 cup of fresh leek and add to the mix.  Saute this for about 5 minutes or until the onion becomes a bit translucent.

Dice into 1/2 ” chunks:  2 medium carrots, one large potato (peeled or not, your call, or two medium sized potatos) and add them to the mix.  Then add a few fresh grinds of salt and pepper.  Saute this on medium heat, uncovered, for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally.  If it appears too dry, add two or three TB of water.

Now, add the chicken pieces you have waiting on the side.  Stir them into the mix and let them cook until they are heated.  Maybe 5 to 7  minutes. Then, add 2 teas of dried thyme leaves.  Stir the thyme into the mixture well then add 2 TB of flour.  Stir the flour into the mix so the chicken is well coated.

Here is the really important part.  Let the mixture continue to cook and brown (but not burn) over medium heat.  You WANT brown bits to stick to the sides and bottom of the dutch oven or pot you are using.  It will be dry. Let the mixture of chicken and veggies and onion cook for about 15 to 20 minutes to get this wonderful brown crust on the pan.  Stir it up occasionally. This browning of the ingredients is what adds the most wonderful flavor to your chicken pot pie.  Trust me.

Once those brown bits are well done (as in very brown and noticeably stuck to the pot), add 2 cups of boiling water to the pot (you can do this in your microwave). to the pot.  Stir it in and then let it all sit there for a minute or two.  This will help release the brown, crusty bits from the sides and bottom Gently, scrape the sides and bottom of the pot to release all that wonderful, dark brown, flavor filled, gravy forming goodness.

Now, add another tablespoon of flour and stir it in well.  Get that leftover juice from the storage container you set off to one side and pour it into the pot.  A thick, irresistible gravy should be forming.  Turn the burner to low and let this magnificent mixture simmer while you make the baking powder biscuits to top it with before putting it into a 350 degree oven.

Pre heat you oven to 350 degrees.

To a mixing bowl add 2 cups of all purpose flour, 4 teas of baking powder, a dash of salt and pepper, and 6 TB of cold butter diced into small chunks. Blend this mixture until the butter has mixed into the dry ingredients enough to form small crumbly chunks.

Gradually add cold milk or ice water (approximately 1/2 cup) until a nice pliable dough has formed.  You do not want the dough to be sticky, but make sure all the dry ingredients are mixed in well and form into a ball.

Remove the dough ball from the mixing bowl and on a floured surface, using your hands, pat the dough out to form a 1″ thick circle.  Using a biscuit cutter or a sharp knife, form the dough into biscuits and place each one on top of the pot pie mixture.  Repeat until all the biscuit dough is used up.

Place that pot of simmering deliciousness in the oven for about 30 minutes or until the biscuits are an enticing light brown color.  Remove the chicken pot pie from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before serving.

Add a side dish if you wish.  I typically serve this culinary masterpiece by itself.  It can stand up to the challenge of being a fulfilling one pot meal. Don’t plan on leftovers.

Many Blessings…