Snowman Chicken Pot Pies

It’s that time of year to make festive everything!  Just for fun, I decided to make individual chicken pot pies with a wintery twist!  I gave them little snowman faces!

This is a basic pot pie recipe (you can adjust the vegetables as you see fit).  Sometimes I add a biscuit topping, but other times I make a pie crust.  

I’ve only ever made mini pot pies with pie crust - they remind me of these frozen individual pot pies I remember from my childhood, only better!

Snowman Chicken Pot Pies

Pie crust

½ tsp salt

1 cup all purpose flour

6 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

2-3 tbsp cold water

Filling

3 tablespoons butter, divided 

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs

2 large carrots, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 medium onion, diced

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon thyme

2 tablespoon butter

½ cup flour

1 ¾ cup (15 ounce can) chicken broth

½ cup lowfat milk

½ cup frozen peas

Snowman Face

1 carrot, cut in triangles

Black olives, cut in small pieces

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

 To make the pie crust, whisk together the flour and salt in a medium sized bowl.

Using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter pieces into the flour until it forms pea sized crumbles.

Beginning with 2 tablespoons of water, sprinkle the water over the flour and butter mixture and lightly mix until it forms a ball.  Add additional water if necessary.  Set aside and cover with a towel.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the chicken and cook until browned on one side.  Add the carrots, celery, and onion, and cook until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the seasonings and flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.  Slowly whisk in the chicken stock, followed by the milk and cook for 5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.  Stir peas and cook until heated through.

Meanwhile, line 6 ramekins with pie crust (I cut rolled dough into a large circle and gently stretched it to fit the ramekins).  Spoon the thickened filling into each lined ramekin.  Cover each pie with a second crust.

Bake 30-45 minutes or until the crust is browned and the filling is bubbly.  

Remove from the oven.   Add a snowman face with the carrot and olives.  

Makes 6 pot pies