Winter is here!
Actually, winter has been here for a while but I haven’t posted a really comforting winter recipe yet. Today though, that changes.
We’ve had a weird winter here in Portland. There have been three “storms” that have kind of shut down the city (we don’t deal with much snow in Portland so we’re never, ever prepared for it). During one of the storms, I left work early (2pm) because I live about an hour away and the snow was busily accumulating. It took me 6 1/2 hours to get home. I’ve never been so happy to walk through the front door in my life.
Our biggest problem though, is ice. We don’t get many inches of snow at any given time, but with any snow event we always get freezing rain which settles on top of the pretty snow, turning everything into an ice rink. It isn’t pretty.
On a bitterly cold, maybe snowy or icy winter day, what sounds better than a comforting winter vegetable pot pie?
Nothing.
This pie has everything you could possibly want. Winter vegetables, chicken thighs, a cheesy sauce and puff pastry. If I wasn’t doing whole30 right now I’d pull this out of my freezer for dinner. This recipe makes enough for two pies, one for now, one that you can freeze and cook later. See how I take care of you? Two meals in one!
Do yourselves a favour. Grab some winter vegetables, chicken thighs and some really good extra-sharp cheddar cheese (I’m partial to Tillamook. Because, Oregon). Pair it with some roasted asparagus because vegetables are good for you and roasted asparagus is damn delicious.
Happy pie eating! And stay warm out there!
Cheesy Chicken Winter Vegetable Pot Pie
Ingredients
- 1/2 butternut squash, cubed
- 2 russet potatoes, cubed
- 2 tbsp. EVOO
- 3 leeks, sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, diced
- 3 celery sticks, diced
- 1 lb. chicken thighs, diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 box frozen puff pastry, thawed
- Cheese Sauce:
- 4 tbsp. butter
- 4 tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 cups milk
- 2 - 2 1/2 cups shredded cheese
Directions
- Step 1 Place butternut squash and potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until tender. Drain and set aside.
- Step 2 In a large pot, heat your EVOO. Once hot, add the onion, leeks, carrots and celery with some salt and pepper, to taste. Add the diced chicken Cook until all of the vegetables are tender and chicken has browned.
- Step 3 While vegetables are cooking, make your cheese sauce. In a pot, melt the butter. Once melted whisk in the cornstarch until smooth. Pour in the milk and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens. Once thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the cheese.
- Step 4 Add the butternut squash and potato to the cooked vegetables and chicken. Pour cheese sauce over the vegetables/chicken and stir to combine. Divide mixture between two pie pans.
- Step 5 Roll out the thawed puff pastry. You’ll use one sheet for each pie. Cover pies with the dough, rolling the excess dough hanging off the sides back into the pie pan. Cut four slits on top of the dough and brush with a beaten egg.
- Step 6 Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Step 7 Once oven has preheated, bake pies for 10 minutes, then cover with foil and cook for a further 20 minutes.
