Slimmed Down Chicken Pot Pie // Comfort Food

Once upon a time, I used to love cooking and trying new recipes.  Hashtag before kids :).  Anymore, it's whatever I can get on the table by 6pm.  Major bonus if I actually made it myself and didn't pick it up from Chipotle or New Seasons.  Eric is actually super helpful with meals on the weekends, but the weekdays are up to me.  While balancing a newborn and a toddler, I try to keep meals sweet and simple.

One of our favorite recipes that I try to throw into the mix (but takes a tiny bit of extra time) is chicken pot pie.  Eric and I love this meal and Sloan will actually eat it too!  I love when you can get the entire meal into one dish and this is also a great one to make ahead.  Oh and because I'm guessing you don't have much more time than I have, I listed all of my shortcuts throughout.

This is sort of a cross between chicken pot pie and chicken and dumplings, but a slimmed down version of both (no heavy cream here!).  I hope you guys enjoy this meal, it's truly one that I love sharing with my own family.

Ingredients:
-Non-stick cooking spray
-2 cups shredded chicken breast
-Olive oil
-Salt & pepper
-1 cup chopped onion
-1 cup chopped carrots
-1 cup chopped celery
-1 cup green beans (cut into inch long pieces)
-Minced garlic (about 2 teaspoons)
-1 1/2 cups 2% milk
-1/4 cup flour
-1 cup chicken broth (I use the low sodium kind)
-2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
-Bisquick mix (I use the heart smart box)

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Spray your casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

If you are cooking the chicken yourself, do that first.  Either boil it or pan fry it and then shred it.  Great shortcut: buy a cooked rotisserie chicken and shred the meat.  Set chicken aside.

Add about two teaspoons of olive oil to a large pan on medium to medium-high heat.  Add the onion, carrots, and celery.  Season the veggies with salt and pepper.  Huge time saver: I buy these veggies pre-chopped at my local Trader Joes (see photo below).  Cook for 3-5 minutes and then add the green beans and garlic.  Another time saver: I buy the package of pre-trimmed and washed green beans so that I just have to chop them a few times into smaller pieces.  I also save time by keeping jarred minced garlic in the fridge.  Stir everything and cook for 5 minutes more.

Add the milk to the pan.  In separate bowl, whisk the chicken broth and flour together until the flour dissolves, add it to the pan.  Keep stirring until mixture comes to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.  Add shredded chicken to the pan and season with salt and pepper again.  Add the fresh thyme and stir well.  Spoon the mixture into a greased 13x9 glass baking dish  (or something similar in size).

Now to make the "crust" (which is really like dumplings).  Grab your box of Bisquick and double the dumpling recipe on the side of the box (1 1/3 cup bisquick and 6 tablespoons milk).  Drop the batter into little mounds on top of the chicken and veggie mixture.

Bake until the mixture is bubbling and the crust is starting to brown-about 20-25 minutes.

Let cool a bit, serve, and enjoy!

I hope your family loves this recipe as much as mine does!

Xo,

Marisa