(Upbeat music)
- Hey there, Lacey here with A Sweet Pea Chef.
Welcome back!
So, I recently asked what Make It Healthy recipe
you want me to make that is a fall favorite comfort food
that you want me to turn into a healthy clean-eating version
And there were so many options to choose from,
because fall comfort food is just the best.
But, eventually, you know there has to be a winner
and I chose to make a healthy version of chicken pot pies,
because chicken pot pies are fabulous!
This request was submitted by Instagram user
Katroseee. I hope that's how you say it. Katroseee,
Katroseee - I'm not quite sure how you pronounce it.
So, I chose chicken pot pie as the winner
because it is so perfect for fall comfort food.
It has that buttery crust, it has that savory filling,
So congratulations to Katroseee on Instagram
for having your Make It Healthy request chosen.
We're gonna be making those chicken pot pies
in just a second, and for having your request chosen
you get one of these cool shirts, so
hang tight, I'm gonna get one in the mail to you soon!
Oh, before I forget, make sure you subscribe to my channel
so you never miss my weekly recipe videos
and healthy eating inspiration, and you get notified
of all the stuff if you click that bell, so
definitely do that as well - do it right now,
and then we're gonna get started with our recipe.
Our first step with these chicken pot pies
is to get out pie crust started.
I'm using my absolute favorite go-to pie crust
which is my butterless pie crust, which I have on the blog
and I have a video for you as well
if you want to check it out.
It is perfect for pies.
I use it in my pumpkin pie, my pecan pie,
apple pies, cherry pie, seriously, any pie
sweet or savory, it's awesome.
I'm subbing out your regular butter or Crisco or shortening
for coconut oil in this pie crust.
So just spread out some softened coconut oil
over a sheet of parchment paper,
and then we're gonna place this in the freezer
for about fifteen to twenty minutes.
I usually put it on something sturdy,
like a cutting board or a plate, as well,
before I put it into the freezer.
Once it's solid and frozen, we're going to break it
into smaller chunks, using our hands.
Then, set it aside.
In a food processor, we're gonna combine
whole wheat pastry flour, some sea salt
and a little bit of coconut sugar.
So then, just pulse the food processor a few times
to get everything evenly mixed.
You can also do all of this in a large mixing bowl
if you don't have a food processor.
If you can't find whole wheat pastry flour for this,
you can also use whole wheat flour.
It's not gonna be quite as light and it will have
a little bit more of a dense flavor,
but it's still a one-to-one ratio.
Also, if you are gluten-free, you could always
sub this out for an all-purpose, gluten-free mix,
then add in some xanthan gum if your mix
doesn't already contain it.
Now we're gonna add in those broken up pieces
of hardened coconut oil into our food processor.
We can go ahead and shut the lid,
and we're gonna process this for a few times.
What we're looking for is for those pieces
of coconut oil to kind of get broken down
ideally evenly, and the size of peas.
I should also mention that if you don't like coconut oil
you can easily sub it out for some grass-fed,
organic, no-salt-added butter in equal portions.
All right, so now that we have all of that
evenly mixed together, we're gonna add in some
ice cold water a few tablespoons at a time.
I usually start with about four to five tablespoons,
and then I process everything, and then I
take the lid off, and I add a little bit more,
tablespoon by tablespoon, and what I'm doing here
is basically trying to get the mixture to stick to itself.
Once you can actually pinch together the flour mixture
and it holds together, that's what you're looking for.
Then, transfer that flour mixture out onto
a clean, flat and dry surface.
Using your hands, we're gonna
shape this into a long, even log.
You might need to manipulate it with your hands a little bit
before it sticks together perfectly for your log.
Keep in mind that the warmth from your hands
is going to melt that coconut oil just a little bit.
That might actually help you have it all stick together.
If you notice that it's really not sticking together,
and you're kind of failing at creating this log,
you can always add in a little bit more ice water
at this time, then mix it all together again.
Then, just divide that log
into six evenly sized portions.
These are gonna be the crusts
for our individual mini pot pies.
Now we're gonna wrap each of these discs individually
with some plastic wrap or Saran Wrap,
and we're gonna transfer them into the refrigerator.
We want them to be in the refrigerator
for about ten to fifteen minutes at a minimum,
but they could stay in longer than that.
This is gonna really allow that coconut oil
to harden back up again so that when you roll it out
and you have it ready to go into the oven,
those little pockets of coconut oil will melt,
and that will make your buttery, delicious, flaky crust.
So, this is an important step.
So while we have our pie crusts in the refrigerator,
we can get started on our savory, creamy, delicious
chicken pot pie filling.
Season some boneless, skinless chicken breasts
with some sea salt, ground black pepper,
and some garlic powder, and do that
evenly on both sides.
While you're doing that, also we're gonna heat up
some olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.
Then, we're gonna transfer our seasoned chicken breasts
into the hot oil in the skillet,
and we're gonna cook them for about
four to six minutes per side,
depending on how large they are,
and what we're looking for is for the sides and edges
to become golden brown, and for the chicken to become
completely cooked all the way through.
If you wanted to put a lid over your pan
at this time, it will help expedite cooking,
but it's not necessary.
Then, once it's cooked through,
remove your chicken from the pan
and then let it set aside.
You can dice it into small,
bite-size pieces once it cools.
So, our little pot pies are already gonna be
dairy free, but if you wanted to keep these pot pies
vegan or vegetarian, you could just not cook the chicken
and instead you could replace it
with some mushrooms or potatoes.
In our same pan that we cooked our chicken in,
we're not gonna clean it at all,
we're gonna add in some diced carrots,
and we're gonna cook those over medium high heat
for about five to seven minutes
until they become a little tender.
Then, we're gonna add in some diced yellow onions,
stir that together, and cook that for about
four to six minutes, until the onion becomes tender.
Once the onion starts to release its moisture,
try to use some of that moisture
to really scrape up any of those bits and pieces
from the bottom of the pan that was left
over from the chicken.
Not only is this gonna clean your pan
and make it easier later to clean,
but you're also going to be getting all that
tasty bits of goodness into your pot pie,
rather than leaving it to be cleaned up later.
Next, add in some chickpea flour and some arrowroot starch,
and then stir all of this to combine.
You really want to get as much of that white color
gone as possible, because that's gonna show
that it's all evenly mixed together,
and everything is nicely coated.
These two ingredients are gonna serve
as our thickeners for our filling.
Now we're gonna add in our low-sodium chicken broth,
however, if you're keeping it vegan or vegetarian
you would just replace this with either water
or some vegetable broth, then we're gonna
stir all of this to combine.
Continue to cook this mixture over medium high heat
for about six to eight minutes, and you'll notice
that it starts to really thicken up as it cooks.
Once you notice that it's thickened,
go ahead and return that cubed, cooked chicken
back into the pot, followed by a little
full-fat coconut milk, some frozen peas,
some frozen pearl onions, and some chopped
fresh Italian parsley, and then mix
all of this together really well.
Seriously, these pearl onions are so good in this recipe,
and I buy them frozen because then that way
you don't have to peel them, because
they come pre-frozen, and that's totally fine.
It has all the same nutrient value
as a regular pearl onion, and they are so good.
They have this little pop of juicy flavor
as you're eating your chicken pot pie.
So, at this point, all the seasonings
have been added to this filling,
so you want to taste it now and see
if your taste buds want a little bit more
salt or pepper, and then add it to your taste.
So now that we have our filling all ready to go,
we can continue to work on our pie crust.
So go ahead and remove the discs from the refrigerator
and then let them sit out at room temperature
for about five minutes.
This is really gonna let them soften up
just enough to be movable and maneuverable
to form our crusts.
At this same time, let's also go ahead
and start pre-heating our oven to three hundred
and seventy-five degrees Fahrenheit,
and then grease a jumbo muffin tin
with some avocado oil or some olive oil.
And then, set that aside.
On your clean, flat and dry surface
go ahead and spread out a little bit of some more
whole wheat pastry flour so that your dough doesn't stick.
Then grab one of your refrigerated discs,
and then slice off about a quarter of it,
and then set that quarter aside.
The larger part is gonna be the bottom of our pie crust
and the top part is gonna be the top of our pot pie.
So, we don't need that yet.
Then, using a well-floured rolling pin,
we're going to carefully roll out our pie crust
into about a six-inch diameter.
Make sure as you roll it out that you
roll it out evenly, and you keep
flouring it so it doesn't stick to either
your rolling pin or the bottom of your surface.
If you find that it will just not cooperate
and it keeps falling apart, you can always
bring it all back together and combine it,
and then try it again. That's okay.
And, it's kind of normal for the process
especially if you didn't add quite enough water
from before, this point is really where
it's gonna fall apart, and you can always add
a little bit more if you need to,
to keep it to stick together.
Now, we're gonna take one of our discs
and we're gonna put it carefully into our muffin tin,
and using your fingers we're gonna kind of
press it down and in and around the muffin well.
What we're looking for here is
basically get it to cover and touch
all of the parts of the bottom of the muffin tin.
If you find that you do have a little bit of a tear
in the bottom of your pie crust, you can always
grab a little bit of other extra pie crust
and put it there and then kind of press it down in there.
If you have a ton of extra over-flowing the top
you can always trim it to be about a quarter inch
around the top, and that's a plenty, that's all we need.
Now we're gonna get our chicken pot pie filling
and we're going to carefully ladle it into each
of our pot pie bottom crusts.
We're looking to fill it almost entirely
all the way up, but we don't want it over-flowing.
So now we're gonna use our remaining dough
that we sat aside from earlier.
So we should have six pieces,
and each one we're gonna roll out
into about a four inch diameter.
They don't have to be as big,
because they're just gonna go on the top
of our pot pies, rather than
filling in the whole bottom.
Then, go ahead and repeat with the remaining ones,
and then we're going to carefully transfer that
over onto our pie crust, then
repeat with the remaining dough.
You basically want the top dough to be
touching the bottom dough so you have
a nice even and closed seal.
Then, using a paring knife or a small sharp knife,
we're going to carefully slice two slits
over the top of our pie crust.
This is gonna allow steam to escape
while the pot pies are baking,
instead of having it bubble up and break.
Now, in a small bowl, we're gonna combine an egg
and a tablespoon of unsweetened almond milk,
or whatever milk you prefer.
Then we're gonna whisk this together.
Now, we're gonna brush this mixture
over the top of our pie crust.
This is really gonna give it a nice,
golden color to the pot pies.
But, if you are vegan, this is not
an absolutely necessary step.
You could always just add in a little bit of
oil and water to top it, or you can just
leave it the way it is.
Place the pot pies on a rimmed baking sheet,
lined with parchment paper, just in case
there is some overflow, and then
transfer them into the oven.
We're going to bake for about thirty-five
to forty-five minutes, until the tops of the pot pies
are golden brown and the insides are bubbling,
and you can kind of see it bubbling.
If, at some point, you notice
that the tops are becoming a little more
golden brown and burnt, and you don't want that,
go ahead and just cover it with a little bit
of aluminum foil and that will solve that problem.
Then, you can remove them from the oven
and allow them to set for about five to ten minutes.
So these individual chicken pot pies
will last in the fridge in an air-tight container
for about four to five days.
You could also choose to freeze them
in either a reusable storage freezer bag
or wrap it in aluminum foil, and they'll last
for up to four to five months.
So we all grew up with those pot pies
that you can just grab from the freezer,
and this is totally a healthy version of that.
So you can just grab them straight from the freezer
and bake them at three seventy five
until heated through - it should take
about thirty to forty-five minutes as well.
You could always allow it to thaw
and just cook it in the microwave,
but that will not be as buttery,
crispy, delicious as if you reheat it in the oven.
So how cool is it to have our little own
healthy mini chicken pot pies?
I love how you can make them ahead of time.
You can prep six at a time and
then store them in the freezer,
for this just super-delicious, healthy,
hearty comfort food that is good for you during the fall.
You can also easily double or triple the recipe
if you want to just totally stock up
on chicken pot pies, or you can add
different ingredients into the filling
to kind of have different flavors as well.
Thank you so much for watching.
Make sure you give this video a thumbs up
if you are a fan of chicken pot pies made healthy,
and always share you Make It Healthy requests with me,
especially like in the comments below,
I love to hear what you want me to make healthy.
If your idea gets chosen, I'll make it,
I'll call you out, and you get
a cool t-shirt just like this.
So thanks so much for hanging out with me today.
I will see you next time. Bye-bye! (upbeat music)