Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Every year for our birthdays, Mom would let us choose whatever we wanted for dinner.  Didn't matter what it was, she would make it for our Birthday Dinner.  I don't think my brother ever chose anything but Swiss Chicken.  When I was very little I usually asked for "roast beast" with mashed potatoes.  But later I remember asked for chicken pot pie.

Mom did not like to make chicken pot pie.

Don't get me wrong we all loved to eat this heavenly concoction of comfort food!  But the recipe my mom used was a seriously From Scratch Recipe and it was pretty time-consuming.  She lovingly labored over making the crust, chilling the crust, rolling out the crust, and setting it in the pan.  Sometimes she'd even do a lattice top.  She'd poach a couple of chicken breasts, chop up the meat, and then get started on the filling for my beloved birthday dinner.  Whew!!

My little dino-lover got a stegosaurus pastry.

And as much as I loved and still love this pie, I like to think that if I'd truly realized all the work that went into this one dinner, I would have asked her to look for a soup recipe like this one instead.

I thought my little Padawan would appreciate a TIE fighter pastry.

Exact same flavor. SO. MUCH. EASIER!!

Chicken (or Turkey) Pot Pie Soup
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home Magazine
Prep time: 20 minutes   Cook time: 30 minutes

2 tbsp butter
1 cup peeled, diced potatoes (about 1/2" little cubes)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium carrots, diced
1/2 cup flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cups chicken stock
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken or turkey 
1 cup-ish frozen peas
1 cup-ish frozen corn
Prepared pie crust [This could be store-bought or a secret family recipe. Whatever YOU prefer!]

1.  In a Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Add the potatoes, onion, and carrots; cook and stir until the onion is tender, 5-7 minutes.

To keep this soup quick-cooking, do a smaller dice on your veggies.

Potatoes chopped but have to wait?  Keep them in a bowl of cold water to prevent oxidizing.

2.   Stir in the flour and season with salt and pepper; let the flour toast a few minutes.  Gradually whisk in the chicken stock and milk.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for about 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and heat through.

Toasting the flour so the soup doesn't taste like flour.

I used leftover Christmas turkey for this actually.

Dump. Stir. Done.

3.  Preheat the oven for 425.  While the soup simmers and oven heats up, roll out your preferred pie crust to your desired thickness.  I like a thicker pastry for this so mine was about 1/4" thick.  Using cookie cutters, cut out pieces of dough and lay on a baking sheet. You could use a round cutter, heart shape, star shape, or completely embrace whatever dorkiness lies within you and your family and have some fun with the shapes.  In my house, that meant making train, dinosaur, and Star Wars shaped pastries.

Whenever I deviate from my Preferred Crust Recipe, it never turns out quite right.
But I still managed to get some shapes cut out.

4.  Bake the pastries until golden.  The time will vary depending on the thickness of the dough.  For thinner (1/8") pastries, about 10 minutes.  For thicker (1/4") crust, more like 15-17 minutes. Serve the soup topped with your fun-shaped pastries.

FUN!!

For you Thomas-aficionados out there, yes that is Percy.

I'm not sure who got the bigger kick out of the pastries: my kids or my Star Wars-loving husband who also got a TIE fighter on his soup.  It definitely added a fun element to dinner!  The soup itself is this thick, creamy, comforting bowl of goodness that warms you, heart and soul.  The pastries are flaky, but crunchy enough to  resist turning into a soggy mess. 

I think I found my new birthday dinner!