Nana B’s Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
Making this dish brought back the wonderful memories of going to my grandparents house after school. As a kid, I loved all the creamy dishes: mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, fettuccine alfredo… and of course Nana B’s creamy chicken. I would like to think that my childhood preferences helped inspire the creation of this dish, but I know that my Nana was always cooking up tasty meals before my time.
I still remember doing homework at my grandparents kitchen table. Nana would be prepping dinner, and I knew it would be ready when I would smell the cardamom coming from the oven. Nana tended to use cardamom in many of her dishes, so it was always a delight when her signature creamy chicken came out, my favorite! At the time, I didn’t like adding mushrooms, but now I think the texture and taste adds so much to the dish. I hope you and your kiddos enjoy the dish as much as I did!
Nana B’s Deconstructed Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1 1/4 cup carrots cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
- 2 russet potatoes
- 1 1/2 cups thickly chopped cremini mushrooms
- 3/4 cups frozen peas
Chicken Breading
- 3/4 cups flour
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- milk
Creamy Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup flour
- 2 1/2 tbsp heavy cream
- 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/4 tsp bahar
- 3/4 tsp ground cardamom*
- cooking oil
Instructions
Prepare and Bread Chicken
- Remove moisture from chicken breast by padding with a paper towel
- Tenderize the chicken breasts
- Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl
- Coat chicken breasts with milk and then dip in the flour mixture to lightly bread chicken
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Once heated, add prepared chicken breasts. Once the breading turns to a golden brown color, remove the chicken breasts. The chicken does not need to be cooked through as they will be going in the oven to cook with the sauce
- Place chicken in cast iron braising pan with lid. If you do not have a braising pan, then use a large baking pan (about 13x9x2). Add carrots, mushrooms, and peas on top of the chicken
- Peel and cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes
- Microwave potatoes for 3 minutes to help soften. Potatoes will still be firm, but this helps soften potatoes while in the oven
- Add potatoes to chicken and other vegetables. Set aside to prepare the sauce
Prepare the Creamy Sauce
- Heat oven to 400F
- In a saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Once butter is melted, whisk heavy cream and milk into the saucepan
- Slowly add flour and swiftly whisk into the cream mixture
- Immediately after flour is combined into mixture, add the chicken broth and continue to whisk sauce
- Add bahar and cardamom. Continue to whisk mixture until sauce thickens
- Once sauce has thickened, pour over chicken in the braising pan. Make sure all carrots and potatoes are submerged in sauce. This will help them fully soften when they are in the oven
- Cover braising pan with its lid. If you are using a baking pan, cover dish with aluminum foil
- Place covered dish in oven for 15 minutes
- Remove foil and bake uncovered in oven for another 15-30 minutes
Notes
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