crock-pot roasted chicken & chicken pot pie

I am headed to LA on Friday to visit my older brother and sister in law. I haven't been to California since I was about 9 years old and I got one of those shirts from the San Diego zoo that changes colors in the sun (can't believe that is the first thing that comes to mind). Lucky for me, my older brother shares the same passion for food and travel as I do so I am doing no research on the who, what, when, where because I know he will already have the best spots picked out. Any Los Angeles restaurant suggestions? One of my guilty pleasures is celebrity gossip so I am trying to decide which celebrities I am hoping to see. I don't want to get my hopes up but worst (maybe best depending on the celeb) case scenario I can go watch Mario Lopez from Saved by the Bell interview celebs at the Grove Mall. 

So this chicken pot pie is absolutely delicious. This past Sunday I decided to roast my own chicken for the first time. I usually buy rotisserie chickens from the grocery store on Sundays because they are only $5 that day (saving me $2 whole dollars). I happily realized that roasting your own chicken results in a much moister, flavorful chicken than the store bought version and it's about the same price. All I did was clean the chicken, cut up some veggies, rub the chicken in garlic and spices and threw it in a covered crock-pot on high for 6 hours. Easy enough. I had all intentions of taking pictures of the finished chicken but it was so tender that it fell apart when I went to pick it up from the crock-pot. Not the worst problem to have. The chicken was juicy, tender and flavorful...perfect to use in a chicken pot pie or eat alone with some BBQ sauce. 

If you wanted to throw these chicken pot pies together quickly then you could use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or boil some chicken and then shred it to replace the crock-pot roasted chicken in this recipe. These individual chicken pot pies are a great way to serve and store this dish because everyone gets the same amount of crust (my favorite part) and the crust doesn't get soggy if you decide to cover them and reheat them as leftovers. I have always been intimidated by chicken pot pie because it has a wrap for being very unhealthy and time-consuming but this chicken pot pie comes together in about an hour and is filled with lots of chicken and veggies. 

Chicken Pot Pie
Serves 6

for the crock-pot whole roasted chicken:
3 1/2- 4 1/2 pound chicken
2 onions, diced
4 c. baby carrots
4 celery stalks, cut into 3 inch pieces
4 garlic gloves; minced
1 lemon, quartered

4 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp black pepper

To make the crock-pot roasted chicken, pull guts out of the middle of the chicken and rinse chicken with water and dry with paper towels. Combine salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, thyme and black pepper together in a bowl. Rub the minced garlic onto the outside and inside of the chicken. Then evenly rub the chicken with the spice mix. Lay the carrots, celery and onions in the bottom of the crockpot and place chicken on top of the veggies. Cover the crock-pot and cook chicken on high for about 6 hours.

for the chicken pot pie:

pie dough
1/2 c. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
12 tsp unsalted cold butter; cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3 tbsp ice cold water

filling
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped fine
10 baby carrots cut into 1/4 inch pieces
2 celery ribs cut into 1/4 inch pieces
4 tbsp butter
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c. milk

2 lbs of chicken meat, shredded

2 c. chicken broth (you can use the broth from the crockpot roasted chicken)

1/2 tsp thyme
2 tbsp white wine
1/2 c. peas
3 tbsp minced fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400°F. 


To make the chicken pot pie start with the pie dough. Add the cold butter and flour to a food processor and combine until the butter pieces are the size of peas. Put the butter/flour mixture into a separate bowl and add the 3 tbsp of water until the dough begins to stick together. Shape the dough into a 4 inch wide disk, cover the disk in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Over medium-high heat, heat oil in an medium pot. Add onions, carrots and celery and saute in the oil for 10 minutes or until tender. Set veggies aside in a bowl. Heat the butter over medium-high heat in the now empty pot on the stove. When the foaming subsides; add flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the chicken broth, milk and thyme. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer until sauce fully thickens; about 1 minute. Stir in the wine.

Shred the chicken and add it to the bowl with the tender veggies. Pour the butter/flour/chicken broth mixture over the shredded chicken and veggie mixture. Stir this mixture together, add parsley, salt and pepper to taste and pour into serving bowls.

Remove the pie dough from the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface until 1/8 inch thick. Place your serving dish on the dough upside down and cut dough 1/2 inches larger than the size of the ramekins.

Press the dough onto the top of the ramekins and seal the edges. Cut vents in the pie dough and bake until the pie dough is golden brown and the filling is bubbly, about 20-30 minutes for ramekin sized pot pies.