Chicken Pie

An old-school recipe for chicken pie, complete with a biscuit topping, that's perfect to make on a leisurely weekend afternoon.

This book right here is my favorite kitchen necessity. I am obsessed with my copy of Recipe Jubilee, an old Junior League of Mobile cookbook compiled in the 60's - 1964 to be exact.

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My grandmother Nan, who I talk about quite often, is actually one of the wonderful ladies who put it together 50 years ago.

And I've talked about the Recipe Jubilee before too.

The recipes range from super easy to detailed & a bit time-consuming.

Some of them are hilarious and outrageous, calling for multiple sticks of butter per casserole.

Aspic or congealed salads are common, and some recipes don't even include an ingredients list.

My favorite quality about the recipes, though, is their relaxed attitude. Just throw in about a handful of this. Cover the chicken with enough water. Keep adding ice cream salt until water is almost briny. 

Some of these recipes are not for the inexperienced and/or insecure cook. In fact, before I started really cooking, these recipes gave me anxiety...

Wait, I really need a whole stick of butter just to sauté an onion?! What do you mean a handful or a can of? I don't know how much that is!

Naturally, I would call Nan to get her opinion which is always right when it comes to these recipes since she's cooked every single recipe from that cookbook.

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When this month's theme came around for Recipe ReDux to turn to page 42 or 142 (to celebrate the 42 months of recipes since the Recipe ReDux has been around) of your nearest cookbook, I knew exactly the recipes I'd be working with.

I knew that page 42 has split pea soup from one of my friend's grandmothers that I've actually made a version of before.

And page 142 has a recipe for a chicken pie with a biscuit topping.

Like I said, this cookbook is a staple in my kitchen. If it's not in my kitchen, it's on my bedside table because I read cookbooks before bed [don't tell me that's weird, please!]

So I decided to make Chicken Pie; it seemed like it would be easy to makeover this recipe, seeing as the biscuits were made with shortening and there were no vegetables in the recipe. I also happened to have all the ingredients needed in my kitchen -- love when that happens!

This is serious comfort food right here friends, and it's the perfect Sunday afternoon activity. It's not a quick dish to make but it sure is worth it!

You start by cooking the chicken in a pot of water. I cut up the chicken so it would fit in my french oven.

If you don't have a french oven or dutch oven, feel free to boil the chicken in a pot and transfer everything to a 3 quart baking dish. I just wanted it to be made in one dish so I only had to wash one thing [less washing dishes = yay]

While that's simmering, you'll dice some carrots, celery, and onions and mince the garlic. Then take the cooked chicken out of the pot and let cool.

Strain the chicken broth; sit one cup of broth to the side to let cool {stick in the fridge to cool faster}, and pour 3 cups of chicken broth into the pot and add the veggies. Let that simmer for about 20 minutes until the veggies are tender.

When the chicken is cool enough to take the meat off the bone, remove meat from the bone and set aside.

Whisk together cold, reserved chicken broth and cornstarch -- make sure it is cold! Don't stir together hot liquid with cornstarch or it could get lumpy -- and stir into pot with veggies. Let cook about 5 minutes until thickened. Stir in chicken.

Put the dish into a preheated oven, and make the biscuit topping (be sure not to over mix).

Turn the oven heat up and take out the casserole. Top the bubbly chicken mixture with the biscuits and bake until the biscuits are browned.

Comfort food perfection right here.

Plus, it has veggies and is made with oil (I like using avocado oil or olive oil) instead of shortening and whole grain flour instead of refined white flour.

Most importantly, this cookbook is such a treasure to me that any recipe I cook from it makes me happy.

It's been autographed by Nan and some of her lovely friends, and it is such a wonderful thing to have in my kitchen and gives me endless inspiration.

Chicken Pie

An old-school recipe for chicken pie, complete with a biscuit topping, that's perfect to make on a leisurely weekend afternoon.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Servings: 6

Author: Meme Inge

Ingredients

For the chicken:

• ▢ 1 chicken 3-4 lb, cut up
• ▢ about 6 cups water
• ▢ 4-5 carrots diced {about 2 cups}
• ▢ 1 large onion diced {about 2 cups}
• ▢ 4-5 stalks celery diced {about 2 cups}
• ▢ 3 cloves garlic minced {about 1 TBSP}
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 3 tablespoon cornstarch

For the biscuits:

• ▢ 1 ½ cups whole white wheat flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon paprika
• ▢ ¼ cup avocado oil or canola oil
• ▢ ½ cup milk 2%, whole, or unsweetened almond, rice or coconut milk

Instructions

To make the chicken:

• Add the chicken to a french or dutch oven and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 25 minutes until cooked through.
• Meanwhile, diced the carrots, onions, and celery. Mince the garlic.
• When the chicken is cooked, remove from cooking liquid {broth} and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve 1 cup {put in the fridge to cool} and return 3 cups to the french oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes until veggies are tender and broth has reduced.
• Meanwhile, take chicken meat off the bone and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350*F.
• Whisk together the cornstarch and cold reserved cup of broth until no lumps remain. Stir into the veggie-broth mixture. Cook about 5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the chicken. Transfer to preheated oven and cook while you make the biscuits.

For the biscuits:

• Sift together the whole white wheat flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, and paprika. Stir in oil and milk until just combined. Shape into 6 biscuit like shapes. 
• Turn the oven to 425*F. Carefully take casserole out of oven and top with the biscuits. 
• Bake in 425*F oven for 12 minutes until biscuits are browned. Let cool about 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

Save the additional leftover chicken broth for another use. Homemade chicken broth is the best stuff ever so definitely don't waste it! It freezes well

Recipe adapted from Recipe Jubilee.

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

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Meme

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Be sure to check out the other recipes from pages 42 or 142 🙂