Whew, the past two months were pretty gruelling for me. I’ve spoken about this in a few previous posts – I’ve been getting acquainted with a new job while working on a project for my old one. Every spare minute during lunch time, evenings and weekends has been devoted to a legal argument that I’ve been helping my former employers write. It’s been two months of non-stop worry and stress, sleepless nights, bad eating habits and a total abandonment of domesticity. I haven’t cleaned, I haven’t cooked, I haven’t baked. I’ve been subsisting on coffee and store-bought pastries (blech for the latter)! It was an exhausting process but also highly rewarding. For those who haven’t been following this blog long, I recently made the switch from criminal defence work to civil litigation (no small decision on my part since I’ve spent my entire life working towards a career in criminal law). Participating in writing this argument has enabled me to keep working on a criminal law issue, which brings me great satisfaction. It’s also allowed me to keep in touch with my old employers and colleagues, who I miss very much. The good news is that the argument was finished on Thursday so I’ve been revelling in my new found freedom.

I spent my entire day Saturday cooking and baking and it was heavenly. To me, spending time in my kitchen warms my soul. I made a two layer chocolate cake, filled with chocolate pastry cream, and covered in dark chocolate ganache for my fabulous sister-in-law’s birthday. I also made a chicken pot pie with a cheddar chive biscuit topping for dinner. What is more comforting and soul warming than chicken pot pie? Given how exhausted I’ve been and the crappy weather outside (it’s dark as dusk all day, with a ceaseless rain pelting down), I’m in need of a little comfort. Although, it can definitely be worse – my thoughts going out, of course, to all the people affected by Hurricane Sandy.

This week’s Sunday Supper is hosted by the wonderful Susan of The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen. This week’s theme, Soul Warming meals, couldn’t have come at a better time. My pot pie isn’t quite traditional but that’s the beauty of it – you can use whatever vegetables you want. This is also a full day affair – it takes a lot of time but it’s worth it in the end. Plus, there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing on a cold, rainy day.

Chicken pot pie (inspired by Bon Appetit’s Easy Chicken Pot Pie)

Here’s a lovely close up shot of my kitchen sink.

8 chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces (I also season the raw meat with a bit of salt and sugar)
2 cups diced onion (I used half of a large yellow onion)
2 tbsp minced garlic
2 cups diced carrots
2 cups diced celery
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 bunch kale, shredded (no stems)
1 bouquet garni of italian parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage and 2 bay leaves
3 cups low sodium chicken broth (I used no-salt added chicken broth)
1 cup whipping cream
2 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1/2 cup room temperature water (to make a thickening slurry)
salt and pepper to taste

Making my bouquet garni. I don’t have cheese cloth so I made one out of coffee filters and kitchen twine.

Lol – it looks like a giant joint.

Heat a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a stock pot or large saucepan with higher sides. Add onion and cook for five minutes over medium heat. Add carrots, saute for another 5 minutes. Add celery and saute for another 5 minutes. Add broth and the bouquet garni. Bring the mixture to a boil. Add the chicken and simmer on medium-low heat until the chicken is no longer pink (about 5 minutes). Add the mushrooms and kale, stir until everything is combined. Add the cream and increase the heat to medium high. Bring the mixture to a boil.




At this point, I removed all the meat and vegetables, transferring it to a large bowl. Keep the broth/cream liquid with the bouquet garni boiling for about 10 minutes in order to reduce the liquid. At this point, add the corn starch/water mixture and let it come to a boil. If the liquid hasn’t thickened to your desired consistency, you can add more (I like it thicker so I had to add more). Add salt and pepper to taste (I actually like to salt throughout the cooking process so that each element absorbs some of the flavour).

Add the chicken and vegetables back the liquid and spoon it into your baking dish. I chose to bake my pot pies in little ramekins as well as a square baking dish.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

I usually top the pot pie with store bought puff pastry (easy and delicious) but I decided to jazz them up a bit and made biscuits instead. I used the Brown Eyed Baker’s Cheddar Jalapeno Chive Biscuits (recipe found here). Since I didn’t change it much (I simply omitted the jalapeno), I won’t reproduce the recipe. You can visit her fabulous blog and check it out there.

Flour and cold, diced butter.

A well in the centre for the buttermilk/egg mixture.

I love seeing the shredded cheddar and chopped chives in the dough.

Flatten with your hands.

Top the chicken mix with the biscuits. Bake for about 1/2 hour (that’s how long it took for my biscuits to fully cook).



The Husband, who was starving by the time I was finally finished cooking, was pretty happy with the dish. I’m glad because he’s really taken one for the team around here – he’s done all the cooking in the last two months. Me – I think I over salted the dish (which I hate doing). And the next time, I might bake the biscuits separately from the chicken mixture. I didn’t like that the undersides of the biscuits were a bit soggy and dense since they baked sitting in liquid. Otherwise (I am a highly critical, picky woman), this was a wonderful meal to share with the Husband on a dark, cold, Saturday evening.

Make sure to check out what the rest of my Sunday Supper family is bringing to the table!

Main Entrees: 

• Carrot, Parsnip and Lentil Casserole  – Happy Baking Days
• Chicken with Herbed Dumplings – Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
• Chicken pot pie – Gotta Get Baked
• Cholula Chicken Enchiladas – Kwistin’s Favorites
• Eggplant Parmesan – The Hand That Rocks The Ladle
• Roasted Roots and Fruits with Sausage – Shockingly Delicious

Chili/Stews:

• Beer-Braised Beef – Sustainable Dad
• Bigos {Authentic Polish Hunter’s Stew} – From Fast Food to Fresh Food
• Brunswick Stew and Rice – Big Bear’s Wife
• Calico Beans – Home Cooking Memories
• Carbonnade Flamande – The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Chicken Cacciatore {Hunter Style Stew} with Easy Creamy Polenta –Webicurean
• Chicken & Mushroom Stew On Egg Noodles –  Galactosemia in PDX
• Cowboy Beef Stew – Comfy Cuisine 
• Ham and String Beans –  Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Hearty Moose Meatball Stew – Mrs. Mama Hen
• Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili – Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Lentil and Chorizo Stew – Vintage Kitchen Notes
• Seafood Gumbo and Soul Warming #SundaySupper Wine Pairings – ENOFYLZ Wine Blog
• Soul Warming Hearty Beef Stew – In The Kitchen With KP

Soups:

• 30 Minute Black Bean Soup – Supper for a Steal
• Black Bean Soup – Basic and Delicious 
• Black Bean Soup with Hot Roast Pepper Cream – The Lovely Pantry
• Canadian Beer Cheese Soup – Juanita’s Cocina
• Chicken Soup with Dumplings – The Messy Baker
• Chicken Tortilla Soup – Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
• Coconut Curry Chicken Soup – Damn Delicious
• Easy Chicken and Dumplings – My Catholic Kitchen
• Easy Italian Wedding Soup – Family Foodie
• Easy Wonton Soup – Soni’s Food
• French Onion Soup – Momma’s Meals
• Homestyle Chicken and Dumplings – I Run For Wine
• Lasagna Soup – Cravings of a Lunatic
• Lemon Chicken Noodle Soup – Mangiamo
• Lentil and Bacon Soup – Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Lentil Soup with Spinach – Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Peppery Mulligatawny Soup with Cherry Tomatoes & Cilantro – Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
• Pozolillo Verde {Green Chicken & Corn Pozole} – La Cocina de Leslie
• Red Lentil Soup with Crispy Aromatic Coriander – Chattering Kitchen
• Roasted Jalapeno Soup – Chocolate Moosey
• Rule of Thirds Soup – What Smells So Good?
• Seafood Chowder – Noshing with the Nolands
• Spanish Garlic Soup – Pippi’s In The Kitchen Again
• Spicy Gumbo Z’herbes – Pescetarian Journal
• Spicy Korean Brisket Soup {Yukgaejang} – Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
• Spicy Seafood Noodle Soup {Jjamppong} – Kimchi Mom
• Spicy Udon Noodle Soup – My Trials In The Kitchen
• Turkey Noodle Soup – Magnolia Days
• Tuscan Bean Soup  – The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Twisted Chicken Noodle Soup – The Meltaways
• Warm You Up Spicy Bacon Cheeseburger Soup – Daily Dish Recipes

Desserts/Beverages:

• Hot Fudge Pudding Cake – That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• White Hot Chocolate with Orange – GirliChef

Join on us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper.  In the evening we will meet at 7pm EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat.

All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.

We’d also love to feature your Sunday Supper Soul Warming Recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers, too.