Clean-ish Chicken Pot Pie

Happy Thursday All! I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after traveling like a mad woman over the last several weeks. I'm currently up to my ears in coral tissue paper, creating wedding decorations for my friend (more posts to come on this subject). But today, I just wanted to share a recipe I tried from Clean Eating Magazine. We don't really eat "clean," but I am all about trying to eat healthy and as close to clean as possible. So here it is...

Clean-ish Chicken Pot Pie

The recipe is for individual servings, but I don't have any of those little mini baking dishes, so I just went with a full dish. Here's the recipe straight from Clean Eating:

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING:

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced (I used baby carrots)
  
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 tsp fresh thyme, minced
• 2 tbsp whole-wheat flour
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

BISCUITS

• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 2 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp whole-wheat pastry flour, divided
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp sea salt (optional)
• 1 tbsp safflower or olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.

2. Prepare filling: Heat a large cast-iron or ovenproof nonstick pan over medium-high for 1 minute.  Mist with cooking spray.  Sauté chicken until no longer pink, 3 minutes.

3. Add onion and carrots.  Saute until onion is slightly browned, about 5 minutes.  Add peas and saute for another minute or until thawed.

4. Stir in broth and thyme and cook until broth is warmed, about 2 minutes.  Sit in 2 tbsp whole-wheat flour and reduce heat to medium.  Stir constantly until broth is thickened, about 2 minutes.  Season with pepper and turn off heat, but do not remove pan from element.

5. Begin preparing biscuits: Pour milk in a cup, then add vinegar to milk.  Let stand for 2 minutes.

6. In a large mixing bowl, blend 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, if desired.  Stir in milk-vinegar mixture, a 1/4 cup at a time, add oil, and then add remaining 2 tbsp whole-wheat pastry flour.  (The dough will be slightly sticky.  If it is too sticky, add another tbsp of flour.)

7. Using your hands, form 12 small biscuits, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter.  (If the biscuits are exceptionally sticky, dust your hands with a little bit of flour to make it easier to form them.)  Ladle chicken-vegetable mixture into 4 large ramekins, individual casserole dishes or soup tureens, about 3/4 cup per serving.  Place 3 biscuits on top of each ramekin and place all ramekins into a cookie sheet or baking pan lined with aluminum foil.  (The biscuits will bake on top of chicken-vegetable mixture.)  Place pan on rack in middle of oven.  Bake for 10 minutes or until chicken-vegetable mixture is bubbling and biscuits are slightly browned on top.  To serve, place ramekins on individual plates, as they will be too hot to handle.

I used leftover chicken I had cooked earlier in the week, which I just cut up and heated for a minute or two before adding the veggies. I also do not have wheat flour, so I used white (For shame! I know). Other than that, and adding a few extra spices, I prepared everything pretty much according to the recipe, minus the individual servings. I put the filling into a baking dish, and placed the biscuits on top. To be completely honest, I didn't love the biscuits on top because the bottoms stayed a little too mushy for my taste, but other than that this was delicious. I've actually made it twice, and the second time I made it without biscuits, kind of like chicken stew. This recipe was great, and Handy Andy approved - winner!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great weekend!