Individual Chicken “Pot Pies”

The usual lard- or butter-laden crusts of this classic comfort dish are far from comforting. We’ve topped our “pies” with tasty whole-wheat biscuits, slimming the eats without forgoing flavor

Photo: Jodi Pudge

By Jeanette Hurt

Serves: 4
Hands-on time: 30 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

FILLING

• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 tsp fresh thyme, minced
• 2 tbsp whole-wheat flour
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

BISCUITS

• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 2 1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups plus 2 tbsp whole-wheat pastry flour, divided
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp sea salt (optional)
• 1 tbsp safflower or olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Prepare filling: Heat a large cast iron or ovenproof nonstick pan over medium-high for 1 minute. Mist with cooking spray. Sauté chicken until no longer pink, 3 minutes.
3. Add onion and carrots. Sauté until onion is slightly browned, about 5 minutes. Add peas and sauté for another minute or until thawed.
4. Stir in broth and thyme and cook until broth is warmed, about 2 minutes. Stir in 2 tbsp whole-wheat flour and reduce heat to medium. Stir constantly until broth is thickened, about 2 minutes. Season with pepper and turn off heat, but do not remove pan from element.
5. Begin preparing biscuits: Pour milk in a cup, then add vinegar to milk. Let stand for 2 minutes.
6. In a large mixing bowl, blend 2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, if desired. Stir in milk-vinegar mixture, a 1/4 cup at a time, add oil, and then add remaining 2 tbsp whole-wheat pastry flour. (NOTE: The dough will be slightly sticky. If it is too sticky, add another tbsp of flour.)
7. Using your hands, form 12 small biscuits, about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. (TIP: If the biscuits are exceptionally sticky, dust your hands with a little bit of flour to make it easier to form them.) Ladle chicken-vegetable mixture into 4 large ramekins, individual casserole dishes or soup tureens, about 3/4 cup per serving. Place 3 biscuits on top of each ramekin and place all ramekins into a cookie sheet or baking pan lined with aluminum foil. (NOTE: The biscuits will bake on top of chicken-vegetable mixture.) Place pan on rack in middle of oven. Bake for 10 minutes or until chicken-vegetable mixture is bubbling and biscuits are slightly browned on top. To serve, place ramekins on individual plates, as they will be too hot to handle.

Nutrients per individual pot pie (3/4 cup chicken-vegetable mixture and 3 small biscuits): Calories: 565, Total Fat: 10 g, Sat. Fat: 2 g, Carbs: 70 g, Fiber: 13 g, Sugars: 8 g, Protein: 49 g, Sodium: 518 mg, Cholesterol: 97 mg

NOTE:
Adding apple cider vinegar to the skim milk slightly curdles it, which will give the biscuits a buttermilk flavor. Instead of using your hands to form the biscuits, you can also roll out dough and use a small cookie cutter to cut out 12 biscuits
.