Individual Chicken Pot Pies

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie- It's thick, creamy, delicious, and I bet it's a lot easier to make than you think! This is a fun entertaining dish too. It's old fashioned & comforting, sure to make your guests feel right at home. Plus, it's easy to prepare ahead of time so you can focus on your guests instead of the food. I love to personalize them by cutting out the person's first initial in the pastry & placing it on top! Monogramming with food! I love it! Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts

1 pkg Puff Pastry (2 sheets)

1 medium Yellow Onion

1 small Carrot, chopped

3 medium White Potatoes, peeled & chopped 1/4-1/2" cubes

1 cup frozen peas

4 cups Chicken Broth

8 tbsp Butter (1 stick)

1/4 cup Heavy Cream

1/3 cup Flour

1 tsp Chicken Bouillon Granules (or 1 cube)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Roast the chicken breasts (drizzled with olive oil & seasoned with salt & pepper) on a sheet pan for 30-35 minutes. Set aside to cool. Pull the puff pastry out of the freezer & allow to thaw on the counter. In a large pot or dutch oven (I used a 5.5 quart dutch oven) melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onions & carrots. Cook until the onions are translucent & carrots are tender. Lower the heat & add the flour. Cook until it's golden, about 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth & bouillon granules, salt & pepper; increase the heat to medium/high. Stir to combine well. Add the chopped potatoes. You don't want to have the potatoes any larger than 1/2" or they might not cook through. Cover the pan & reduce heat to low. When the chicken is out of the oven, heat the oven to 375 degrees. Chop (or shred) the chicken when it is cool enough to touch. Turn the heat off the pot & add the chicken, peas, & heavy cream. Stir well to incorporate. Check Seasoning & adjust to taste. Lay the thawed puff pasty on a lightly floured counter. Trace your bowls (empty) to see how they will fit, you may need to roll out the pastry some to stretch it. Cut your pastry for the topping. Divide the filling among 4 individual, oven proof dishes. Don't fill them to the top, your sauce will thicken while it bakes & it needs room to steam. Place them on a sheet pan.

Brush the egg wash on the rims of the baking dishes & place the puff pastry pieces on top. Pinch around the edges to seal it to the dish. (If there is excess pastry on the edges, tuck it into the filling.) Then brush the top with egg wash. Cut little slits into the top of the dough, like you would a pie, for steam to escape. I like to sprinkle some kosher salt & pepper on the tops for texture, and it looks good. (I'm not a huge pepper fan, so I only salt mine.) Be careful not to add a lot of salt though, it will easier make the whole thing too salty!!

Bake at 375 degrees, for 30-40 minutes or until the top is dark golden. Don't worry, some of the filling always bubbles out- that's what the sheet pan is for.

Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serve this with a simple salad, but these are large portions so keep that in mind. Just look how thick the filling is!!

The best part about making homemade food is you can customize it to fit your family's preferences. Switch up the vegetables to your favorites, use green beans instead of peas, add corn. Use a mixture of white meat & dark meat chicken, or make turkey pot pies! This is a good recipe to keep in mind for Thanksgiving left overs too!

Note: This is another slight adapted version of Ina Garten's (the Barefoot Contessa) Chicken Pot Pie.