Cooking

Bake until the cornbread is golden brown and delicious.

I got this idea on a whim on a chilly, rainy Saturday night and thought I’d throw together a quick, easy pot pie with ingredients from my pantry, combining elements from four or five recipes that I found online. Turns out that while it wasn’t complicated, it wasn’t remotely quick — it took more than an hour to make — but it was tasty. I’d reserve this for a weekend night or an evening where you’re home a bit early and have a little extra time to get dinner on the table.

Ingredients

• 1 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 carrots, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/3 cup butter (don’t skimp; you need this to make the roux for the creamy sauce)
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 Tbsp or more of Tabasco smoked chipotle sauce
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth or stock
• 2/3 cup milk (I had 2%)
• 1 can corn niblets
• 1 cup frozen or 1 can green beans
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 package (~8 oz) cornbread, mixed according to package directions *

Preheat oven to the temperature indicated on the cornbread package. (Mine was 350 degrees.)

Steam or boil carrots until crisp-tender, using your preferred method.

In an oven-proof skillet, brown the chicken on all sides, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Melt butter in the skillet. Saute onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Add flour and whisk to combine into a roux. Cook for 1-2 minutes, until the flour mixture starts to smell vaguely nutty. Add chicken stock and milk, whisking vigorously to remove lumps. Simmer over medium-low heat until thickened.

Add chicken, carrots, green beans, corn and peas to the milk mixture. Gently spread the cornbread mixture over the chicken mixture.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cornbread comes out clean. Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Creamy sauce makes it comforting, but it's also loaded with veggies.

Results

The Tiny Kitchen Assistant was delighted to have a meal that incorporated cooked carrots, chicken and cornbread. He wasn’t entirely excited about the mysterious white sauce, though.

Easy and tasty.

The grownups, however, were surprised by just how well this last-minute venture turned out. “If I ordered this in a finer restaurant, I wouldn’t send it back. Not bad at all,” said my husband. Excellent.

* I didn’t look at my cornbread package before embarking on this recipe. It was 15+ ounces and took nearly 40 minutes to bake. Oops.

Tags: chicken, comfort food, kid friendly, oven, Recipe, stovetop, vegetables, veggies

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