Introduction: Granny's Mini Chicken Pot Pie

In this Instructable, I will show you how to make amazing mini homemade chicken pot pies that will be perfect for those cool crisp fall nights & cold winter evenings. This is a comfort food recipe that was passed down from my great grandmother and is one of my all time FAVORITE winter dishes to make and sink my teeth into!

Supplies

For this recipe, you will need the following utensils / equipment and ingredients.

Utensils / Equipment (not shown)

  • Measuring spoons
  • Measuring cups
  • Knife
  • 8-10 Quart Stock Pot
  • 3-4 Mini Pie Plates (4.75 inches in diameter) / ramekins
  • Saran Wrap
  • 2 small-medium size bowls
  • 1 large sauce pan
  • 13 X 9 cookie sheet
  • Small kitchen brush

Ingredients for the Homemade Chicken Broth

  • 1 package of boneless/skinless chicken breast ( only need 2 breast) but I like to use 3
  • 1 package of wingetts
  • 1 bundle of celery
  • 3 green onion stalks
  • 10 baby carrots
  • 1 onion
  • 2 Knorr Chicken Bouillon Cubes
  • 1-2 Tbsp of Better Than Bouillon Base ( Roasted Chicken Flavor)
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp salt

Ingredients for the filling

  • 6 Tbsp of softened butter
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup of milk
  • 1 small onion Finley chopped
  • 12-15 baby carrots diced ( or 1 medium carrot peeled & dices)
  • 1 celery stalk diced
  • 1 cup of homemade chicken broth ( directions below) ( or you can use store bought chicken broth but broth made from scratch is more flavorful)
  • 2 medium sized red potatoes or 1/2 medium size russet potato peeled & diced
  • 2 medium size chicken breast diced or shredded chunks
  • 1/2 cup of frozen peas ( optional)
  • 1/4 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 Tbsp of each ( Cream of Chicken soup, Cream of Celery Soup, Cream of Mushroom Soup)
  • 1 tsp of garlic powder
  • 1 tsp of garlic salt
  • 1tsp of black pepper ( or to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp of Lawry's Seasoned Salt

Ingredients for the pie pastry

  • 2 cups of all purpose flower
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 cup (227 grams) of COLDbutter, cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup of ICE water
  • 1 Tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 egg yolk + 2 tsp of milk mixed well, for brushing

Step 1: Homemade Chicken Broth

To make the homemade chicken broth, add the following ingredients to a 8-10 quart stock pot:

  1. Wash wingetts & chicken breast .Add wingetts and 3 chicken breast
  2. Wash 1 bundle of celery & cut stalks in half
  3. Wash and add 10 baby carrots
  4. Quarter 1 larger onion & seperate layers
  5. 3 green onion stalks
  6. 2 Knorr Chicken Bouillon Cubes
  7. 1-2 Tbsp of Better Than Bouillon Base ( Roasted Chicken Flavor)
  8. 1 tsp black pepper
  9. 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  10. 1/4 tsp salt


Step 2: Making the Filling

  1. Measure out 4 tablespoons of the softened butter & combine it with the flour in a small bowl. Set aside.
  2. Use a separate bowl & dissolve the cornstarch into the milk. Set aside.
  3. Using a large saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of butter and saute the onion, carrot, and celery over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes
  4. Add the chicken broth and the potatoes and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  5. Add the butter & flour mixture. Bring this to a gentle boil while constantly stirring.
  6. Pour in the milk and cornstarch mixture and bring this to a boil. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Stir in cubed/shredded chicken and peas. Cover and let cool.

Step 3: Making the Pie Pastry

  1. In a food processor, combine the flour and salt. Add the butter and pulse a few times until the butter resembles small peas. Add the water and vinegar and pulse a few more times. DO NOT allow it to form into a ball. It should look like crumbs-this is normal.
  2. Remove the dough from the food processor and place it on a large piece of saran wrap. Twist the plastic in opposite directions to tighten the dough into a ball. Cut the dough into 3 equal parts. Then split EACH part of the dough in to HALF. You should end up with 6 small pieces of dough (see image above). This will make 3 mini pot pies. If you want to make 4 mini pot pies, split the dough into 4 sections and then split each sectioned piece of dough in half.This will yield 8 small pieces of dough.
  3. Flatten each piece of dough ( you should be flattening 6 small pieces of dough as shown above) into a disk. Cover each disk with plastic wrap and refigerate for 1 hour.
  4. Preheat oven to 400F
  5. Roll out the mini dough disks onto a lightly floured surface. There will be 2 dough disks per potpie ramekin ( one for the bottom & one for the top). Roll 3 dough disks to about 8 inches in diameter and then roll 3 dough disks to about 5 inches in diameter. The 5 inch dough disk will be for the top and the 8 in dough disk will be for the bottom layer that will sit in the bowl.
  6. With a sharp knife, make a few slits in the dough disks that are 5 inches in diameter. Pictured above.
  7. Line each of the 3 pot pie bowls with a 8 inch dough disk. Pictured above.

Step 4: Adding the Filling & Egg Wash Brushing

  1. Add the chicken filling to the pot pie bowl until each bowl is nearly full. Pictured above.
  2. Cover each pie bowl with the second dough disks that has the knife slits in it.
  3. Pinch the edges of the pie crust and then tuck them under.
  4. Brush the top with the egg yolk wash.

Step 5: Baking and Final Product

  1. Place pot pies on 13 X 9 cook sheet to catch any over spills.
  2. Bake on 400 for about 40-45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown
  3. Let rest/cool for 20 minutes before serving
  4. ENJOY!!