Tasty Tuesday: Chicken Pot Pie from Scratch

This recipe comes from Prevention magazine by way of my mom, and it is one of my new favorites.  The kids balked at it at first and now won't eat chicken pot pie, so we call this one "chicken casserole" at home.  Either way, it's delicious!

Chicken Pot Pie
serves 6 (according to the recipe ...)

4 oz. butter
1 onion, finely chopped (we use a white one)
1 1/2 cups flour, divided
2 cups chicken broth (I used unsalted chicken stock, and it worked out just fine.)
2 1/2 cups milk, divided
salt and pepper (We didn't add any salt but made sure to use a hearty sprinkling of pepper.)
3 cups chopped roasted chicken (Rotisserie chicken is perfect for this!)
2 cups thawed frozen veggies (I cut up almost a cup of raw carrots and put them in water with a heaping cup of frozen corn and peas and boiled them all until nearly cooked.)
thyme, sprinkle (I would use a pretty heavy "sprinkle".)
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs (if you want to do an egg wash)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  In a medium pan, melt 4 Tbsp. butter over medium heat.  Add the onion; cook until clear, about 5 minutes.  Whisk in 1/2 cup flour; cook for 1 to 2 minutes.  Whisk in broth until smooth, then add 2 cups milk. Bring to a rapid simmer, whisking, then cook for 5 minutes; season.  (I have found that, after 5 minutes, the roux is never very thick at this point, so I often add some more flour and cook it down a bit until it's more creamy and less runny.  But that's just how I roll.)  Stir in chicken, veggies, and thyme.  Divide into six 8-oz. ramekins or spoon into a 2-qt. baking dish.  (We have also used Fiestaware individual casserole dishes for this with great success.  For our little family, we fill two of the aforementioned dishes and then as many ramekins as possible; we cook two of the ramekins and put the rest in the fridge, uncooked, to have as leftovers.  So far this has worked very well.)

In a bowl, whisk remaining 1 cup flour, baking powder, and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Cut remaining 4 Tbsp. butter into flour mixture until crumbly.  Add remaining 1/2 cup milk; stir to combine.  Spoon batter onto filling; egg wash if desired.  (This amount of topping will really only cover the 2-qt. baking dish or the four dishes we usually use; it gets a bit thin if you do much more than that.)

Bake until tops are golden, 20 to 25 minutes.  (Though, if you don't do the egg wash - which I don't - they won't ever get really golden ... just a little browning here and there will tell you it's done.)   Let rest 5 minutes before eating.

For the leftovers, I have cooked up a crescent roll and a Parkerhouse roll and have eaten it with that.  Both were delicious.

Enjoy!