Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Dumplings

I managed to pick up a rotisserie chicken at the shops today that was marked half price. Did you know that they are only allowed to keep them in the cabinet for a certain amount of time and after that they have to mark them down and get rid of them? I discovered this little bit of information a while back and haven't paid full price for one since.



There is nothing wrong with them. They are still perfectly good. I just bring them home, strip them and then use the meat for casseroles or sandwiches.



Today I wanted to treat Todd to a Chicken Pot Pie . . . sort of as an apology for having fed him pasta that I tried to pass off as flat potatoes yesterday, he he he. I may torture him from time to time with things he is not overly fond of, but I always more than make up for it.



This recipe is quite simple and easy to do. It makes a nice sized casserole pot pie that is very family friendly. I used carrots and peas today, but you can also add some corn if you want to. You can also very easily double the recipe to feed more than four.



Instead of a traditional crust, I made some cheddar dumplings to drop on top . . . I was feeling rather lazy and didn't want to go to all the faff of rolling out a dough. Todd didn't mind. He loves dumplings even more than pie crust.



Stogged full of cheddar cheese and all crispy on the outsides they were just beautiful with that delicious filling. You could use cream, but I always just use skim evaporated milk. It saves somewhat on the calories and fat, and you can't really taste that it is tinned milk. The sauce is luxuriously rich tasting and lucious indeed!



We had it with a salad. Rabbit food as Todd calls it. He wasn't too happy about that. He doesn't like salad and I had given him some salad along side of his sandwich at lunch time. He figured once a day was enough, without me trying to palm it off on him twice in one day! Men!!



*Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Dumplings*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

A delicious pot pie which makes good use of leftover chicken, or you can pick up a small rotisserie bird at the shops and use the meat from that. Scrumdiddlyumptious!

250ml of chicken broth (1 cup)
250ml of tinned evaporated milk (1 cup)
3 TBS butter
1 large leek, dark green leaves trimmed away, washed and then the light green and white parts chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stick of celery, trimmed and chopped
1 mug full of frozen petit pois
1 small rotisserie chicken, shredded ( 2 1/2 to 3 cups of meat)
2 heaped dessertspoons of flour
1 fluid ounces of cream sherry (1/8 cup)
1 tsp dried sage
a handful of fresh parsley, chopped

For the dumplings:
4 1/4 ounces plain flour (1 cup)
1 tsp baking powder
generous pinch of baking soda
generous pinch of salt
2 ounces grated strong cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
4 TBS cold butter, cut into bits
125ml of buttermilk (1/2 cup)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Have ready a shallow baking dish.

Strip all the chicken from it's bones, discarding any skin or bones. Cut into small bits or shred. Place in a bowl.

Heat 1 TBS of butter in a skillet. Add the leeks, celery and carrots. Cook and stir over medium low heat until tender, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the sage. Add the remaining butter and then sprinkle the flour over top and give it good stir to coat everything. Pour in the chicken stock, milk and sherry. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about a minute. Stir in the parsley, frozen peas, chicken and season to taste with some salt and pepper. Pour this mixture into the baking dish.

Sift the flour into a bowl. Whisk in the baking powder, soda and salt. Drop in the butter and rub it into the flour mixture with your fingertips until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Stir in the cheese and then enough of the buttermilk to make a soft dough. Drop by tablespoons onto the hot chicken mixture.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbling and the dumplings are crusty. Serve hot.



Our little princess celebrated her Birthday today with a tasty Beef Cake. She wasn't too happy about the party hat, but she sure enjoyed her cake! She wasn't bothered about the balloons either. I thought she might be afraid of them . . . but one whiff of the beef and she could think of nothing else! (That would be like me and good chocolate. You could sit anything on my head and cover me with balloons, just so long as I got the chocolate in the end!) Happy Birthday Mitzie!