Chicken Pot Pies

The air outside has turned brisk and the leaves have changed into their glorious yellows and reds. It's finally comfort food season and I can't wait to try out some new recipes.

As a kid, we ate Marie Callendar's frozen chicken pot pies often in the fall and winter. I would turn my little pie upside down on my plate and eat from the bottom first. I loved that crunchy crust hiding that creamy warm center. It really was the ultimate comfort food.

I decided to try my hand at making them from scratch. This recipe is adapted loosely from one I found on the Weight Watchers website. The original recipe was for one pie in a normal size pie pan and I adapted it for individual size pies instead.

INDIVIDUAL CHICKEN POT PIES
Servings: 6

Ingredients:

Butter-flavor cooking spray
1 tsp butter
1 small onion(s), chopped
2 cup(s) mushroom(s), sliced
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/2 tsp table salt, or more to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cup(s) frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup(s) canned chicken broth
3 cup(s) cooked chicken breast, chopped
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup(s) fat-free evaporated milk, divided
6 roll(s) reduced-fat crescent roll dough, unrolled

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375ºF. Coat six ramikins with cooking spray.

Coat a large pot with cooking spray. Add butter and melt over medium heat. Add onion and mushrooms and cook, until tender, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Stir in paprika, thyme, salt and pepper. Add vegetables, broth and chicken. Cover and simmer 15 minutes.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/4 cup of evaporated milk; stir into chicken mixture. Cook over medium heat until thickened, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/4 cup of evaporated milk and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes more.

Spoon chicken mixture into prepared ramikins. Unroll crescent rolls and arrange dough around inside edges of ramikins to form a border (there will be a hole in the middle). Bake until rolls are golden brown and filling is bubbly, about 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes then serve.