My mother in law gave me a book called Best Recipes from Time-Life Books. There was a recipe called Vermont Chicken Pie. Instead of pie crusts, you just place homemade biscuits on top. There were instructions on poaching a whole chicken, but I didn't follow that portion of the recipe. Instead, I had left overs from a turkey I roasted not too long ago. We froze some of the drippings and the left-over turkey for a few weeks. Eventually, I defrosted everything and used both the turkey and the drippings for the Turkey Pot Pie. Biscuit Recipe also included below!. I have to admit, hubby and I are trying to cut down on grains, so I probably should of left the biscuits out. I would make this in a heart beat with out the biscuits or crust.
Assuming you have fat from the bird, the recipe actually states to drop the reserved chicken fat into a heavy 10 to 12 inch skillet, add 2 tablespoons water, and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently. When the bits render all there fat, remove the residue with a slotted spoon and discard it. This was another STEP I didn't do, since I never saved the reserved chicken fat. I just added olive oil to the pan and a little of the fat that rises to the top from the drippings we saved. The rest of the instructions are taking exactly from the recipe in the book.
To this 2 tablespoons of butter is added and melted over moderate heat. When foam subsides, stir in 6 tablespoons of flour and mix to a smooth paste with a whisk.
Pour in 2 1/2 cups of turkey or chicken stock, stir constantly - until it comes to a boil. You can use chicken broth from the can of course if you don't have stock. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Salt and Pepper it.
Mix in 1 inch turkey or chicken pieces. I also added frozen peas and corn. Pour all into a baking dish.
The original Vermont Chicken Pie recipe is ONLY the meat. I think it's better to add things though. You could add anything, potatoes, carrots etc. However, since the pie is only cooked in the oven for 1/2 hour, you might want to pre cook your carrots and potatoes. One idea is to saute carrots, potatoes, celery, onions etc. on the stove and add that to the mixture.
BISCUITS:
2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt. sift all three ingredients into a large chilled bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons of butter, cut into bits and 2 tablespoons of lard, cut into bits. I used crisco instead of lard. With your finger tips, rub the flour mixture and fat together until they look like flakes of coarse meal.
Pour in 1/2 cup cold milk and beat with a wooden spoon until the dough is smooth and can be gathered into a fairly dry, compact ball. If the dough is moist and sticky - add flour one tablespoon at a time.
roll dough, cut dough into 2 inch rounds. You can use the bottom of a glass to make the rounds if you want.
Brush tops with butter. Place them all on top of the chicken pot pie mixture. Bake for 25 minutes 400 degrees.
It was very yummy. I used individual crocks.
If your looking for a VERY easy and yummy pot pie recipe - this is great. It's not exactly homemade though. Take 2 cups of cooked chicken, 1 can of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup of frozen veggies and 1/2 cup of milk. Mix all together and pour into pre-made pie crusts. Cook until done. Not exactly homemade - but I have to admit, it's always a winner in my house.
