Chicken pot pie
In search of the best packed lunch, I made the filling for chicken pot pie. Another nice find from America’s test kitchen, it is fast and rewarding.
I started by browning about 2 lbs chicken breast in 3 tbl butter. Once browned on both sides but not cooked through, I removed the chicken and added 3 tbl butter to the pot. Then I sauteed 2 onions and 4 celery ribs until they softened, about 5 minutes. I stirred in 1/2 cup unbleached flour for a minute, then added 1/2 cup dry vermouth. This ingredient gave a wonderful aroma and tang to the whole pot of food and cooked off in under a minute. I added 4 cups low-salt chicken broth, 1 cup heavy cream, and 3 tsp dried thyme, which gave just the right flavor. I placed the chicken breasts back into the pot to poach in the liquid. When finished, removed the chicken to a plate and added 4 cups frozen vegetables (peas and carrots or such– i used peas, carrots, corn and lima beans) and simmer 2 mins. Cut up chicken and stir into sauce.
serve with biscuits or over egg noodles. Very healthy, especially if you skip the biscuits and opt for noodles. I used frozen biscuits for this dinner. As a lunch, the dish works especially well over noodles. It is quite healthy and eats like a meal.