CHICKEN & BROCCOLI POT PIE with a BISCUIT TOPPING

We have been having record breaking rain fall for this time of year in Florida, which means lots of gray, dark, and gloomy days.  When the days are gray, dark, gloomy comforting food keeps my mood from being gray, dark, and gloomy too.

Pot pie falls into the comfort food category and this pot pie is loaded with veggies, and chicken swimming in creamy gravy and topped with fluffy biscuits.

I could have scratch made biscuits for the topping, but sometimes I'm a lazy daisy and a canned refrigerated biscuit makes the assembly of the pot pie super simple.  I also love opening the can of biscuits; waiting in anticipation for that "pop", and giggling after the "pop" because I'm glad that it's over with.

While I used fresh broccoli and carrots, which need to be blanched; you may use frozen veggies to make your life even easier.  There also are instructions at the end of the recipe to make this vegetarian.

Chicken & Broccoli Pot Pie with a Biscuit Topping...It'll take the gloom out of your day!

Does that sound like an infomercial?

Any hoo, here’s what you do.

Blanch the carrots and the broccoli in boiling salted water.

I blanch the carrots for 2 minutes and the broccoli for 1 minute.

I plunge the blanched veggies immediately into a bowl of ice water.

This keeps them bright and crisp.

When I'm a lazy daisy I skip this step, the veggies still taste good but the color isn't as pretty.

Alternatively, you may substitute frozen broccoli and carrots.  But don't cook them, just put them in a strainer and thaw them under cold running water.

Saute the mushrooms in olive oil over medium high heat until they have a pretty golden color.

Mushrooms are thirsty little suckers, so they've drank up all the olive oil; go ahead and add a little more, as well as the shallots, garlic, Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning), and a pinch of salt and pepper.

Cook while stirring, until the shallots are translucent.

Add the drained carrots and broccoli along with the cooked mushrooms to a large bowl.

Missing from this picture is the rotisserie chicken that I shredded into bite sized pieces, add that too please.

In the same skillet melt some butter over medium heat, and add some flour.  Cook that for about 2 minutes.  The addition of cream cheese was an after thought, so I added it later; you go ahead and whisk it in now so that you will have a smooth consistency.  You'll see what happened to me in a couple of frames.

Whisk 3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock.

Also add some Worcestershire sauce, freshly grated nutmeg, and salt &pepper to taste.  Bring this to a low boil.  Cook and stir frequently for 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce has thickened.

At this point that I added the cream cheese and you can see that it didn't blend into the sauce well; though it did smooth out when the casserole baked.

This is where the photo would go, if I had one, of the sauce being poured and mixed with the bowl of veggies and chicken; which would be followed with a photo of the filling being poured into a baking dish.

I used these biscuits; only six are needed, but go ahead and bake the two remaining biscuits for tomorrow's breakfast.

Nestle the biscuits into the filling, so that the sides are submerged about half way.  Brush the tops of the biscuits with olive oil, sprinkle a little Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning) and salt & pepper.

Cover the dish with a tent of aluminum foil.  Don't allow the foil to touch the biscuits.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, then remove the foil and baked for another 12 to 15 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and the biscuits are cooked through.

You can tell they're cooked through when you lift up a biscuit to peek at the bottom; if it looks doughy they're not done, if it looks like bread that's soaked in gravy they're cooked.

The sauce is creamy, the mushrooms bring richness, the chicken and the veggies are wholesome and the biscuit topping makes for a comforting dish!

 CHICKEN & BROCCOLI POT PIE with a BISCUIT TOPPING

Serves 4

2                             Medium carrots; cut into about 1 inch pieces

5              cups         Broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces (about 1 bunch)

8              oz.           Mushroom, quartered

2 ½          Tbsp.         Olive oil, divided use

1                             Shallot, minced

1              clove        Garlic, minced

1 ¼          tsp.           Herbs de Provence or Italian seasoning, divided use

                               Salt and pepper to taste

3              Tbsp.         Butter

4              Tbsp.         Flour

2              oz.           Cream cheese, regular or reduced fat (about ¼ cup)

3              cups         Chicken or vegetable stock, low or no sodium

1              tsp.          Worcestershire sauce

1/8           tsp.          Nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

4              cups         Cooked chicken, shredded into bite sized pieces

1-16.3        oz. can      Canned refrigerator biscuits, such as Pillsbury Grands (Only 6 biscuits will be used in this recipe, bake the other 2 for breakfast tomorrow)

   1.       Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

   2.       Put a large pot of water on to boil.  When it comes to a boil add some salt to the water, toss the carrots in for about 1 minute, then add the broccoli and blanch for another 1 minute.  Remove the veggies from the boiling water and plunge them in a bowl of ice water, this shocks them to keep the bright color of the veggies.  If you don’t mind the veggies not being bright in color, then skip the shocking and just remove them to a bowl.

   3.       Heat 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, add the mushrooms cook and stir occasionally.  When the mushrooms are a golden color add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil, the shallots, garlic, Herbs de Provence (or Italian seasoning), a pinch each of salt and pepper.  Cook while stirring frequently until the shallots are translucent.

   4.       In a large bowl add the drained, blanched carrots and broccoli along with the cooked mushrooms and the cooked chicken. Set to the side.

   5.       In the same skillet that the mushrooms cooked in; melt the butter over medium heat, stir in the flour and cook for about 2 minutes.  Stir in the cream cheese.  Once the cream cheese is smooth, whisk in the chicken (or vegetable) stock, Worcestershire sauce, nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a low boil.  Once the liquid comes to a boil, cook for 3 to 5 more minutes whisking frequently, until the sauce is slightly thicken.  (The sauce will thicken more as the casserole bakes.)  Add the sauce to the bowl with the veggies and chicken; gently stir to mix with a spoon.

   6.       Pour the filling into a baking dish, (mine measures 11 x 8 x 2 inches).  Nestle 6 of the biscuits into the casserole so that they are submerged about half way.  Brush the tops of the biscuits with the remaining ½ Tbsp. olive oil, ¼ tsp. Herbs de Provence and sprinkle just a little salt and pepper.  Tent a piece of aluminum foil over the dish so that it doesn’t touch the tops of the biscuits, and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake for another 12 to 15 minutes until the tops of the biscuits are golden and they are cooked through.  You can tell the biscuits are cooked through by lifting one to peek at the bottom, if it looks like raw dough it’s not done, if it looks more bread like it’s done.

Notes:  

*You may substitute frozen broccoli and carrots for fresh; but don't cook them just thaw them by adding them to a strainer, and running cold water over them.

**This dish can be made vegetarian by omitting the chicken and increasing the amount of vegetables; and of course by using vegetable stock.