Chicken pot pie

Chicken pot pie

Budget-friendly freezer meal with tons of veggies from a whole rotisserie chicken

This can be baked right away (working hot) or refrigerated or frozen for later (working cold). The directions diverge a bit based on this for food safety.

Ingredients

For the broth

  • 1 rotisserie chicken carcass
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 carrot
  • 2 stalks of celery
  • 1 or 2 bay leaves
  • Some freshly ground black pepper
  • Couple stalks of fresh thyme, marjoram, or savory (or about 1 tsp of any of these dried)

For the pie filling

  • 1 batch of chicken broth, about 6-ish cups
  • 1 rotisserie chicken’s worth of pulled chicken
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 1 large-ish onion, finely chopped
  • 4 celery stalks, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp minced garlic
  • 0.25 cups all-purpose flour
  • Some freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 2-3 Tbsp butter

For assembly

  • Several loaf pans, to fill with pie (notes)
  • Aluminum foil
  • Plastic wrap
  • Homemade pie crust or premade roll-out pie crusts
  • Egg, for brushing on top

Directions

For the broth

  1. Place all ingredients for broth in a pot. Bring to a boil.
  2. Skim off any foam. Lower heat to a simmer.
  3. Simmer for an hour or three.
  4. Strain. Pick the carcass clean of any small bits of meat still on the bone. Add back to the broth and otherwise discard the solids.
  5. (optionally) Remove fat from the broth with a fat separator. Fat is a critical part of the pie filling, but some carcasses render too much. You’ll use some in the pie filling.
  6. If working hot, set aside.
  7. If working cold, refrigerate.

For the pie filling

  1. Put butter, celery, onions, and carrots into a pot. Cook until onions are starting to brown.
  2. Add garlic, parsley, and thyme. Cook until garlic is done, about 1 minutes.
  3. Add flour and stir to coat evenly.
  4. If working hot, add the other ingredients and cook together until assembly.
  5. If working cold, chill this thoroughly, then add the other ingredients that are also cold. Stir together well.

Assembly

  1. Spoon filling into loaf pans until they’re a little over half full. Leave room for the filling to bubble a bit.
  2. Place pie crust over the top and cut to fit, more or less.
  3. If freezing, wrap in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Label with contents and date. Freeze upright for up to 6 months. Remove plastic wrap before baking!!
  4. If refrigerating, wrap in aluminum foil. Refrigerate upright for up to a couple days.
  5. If baking immediately, brush with egg and wrap with aluminum foil. Bake at 350°F until the center reaches 165°F, which depends on loaf shape and oven.

Notes

  • This is a very flexible recipe to get creative with seasonings and veggies. More or less any sturdy veggie will hold up well here.
  • I usually have 3.5x6” or 5x9” loaf pans. The same general pattern of freezing, thawing, and baking should hold for larger and smaller loaf pans - just adjust the bake time.
  • Since rotisserie chicken salt content varies a lot, I don’t add any until assembling the final pies.
  • For small humans that pick out the veggies, chopping them in the food processor works well.
  • For a golden-brown top, bake uncovered for the last 10 minutes.

Make sure the center of the pie reaches 165°F (74°C)!