Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust

Chicken pot pie, at its core, is very simple. Chicken stew baked in a crust. However, that opens the door for a bazillion different variations. Not only can you change up the type of stew, you can change the type of crust.

My husband calls this particular variation, "the best chicken pot pie, ever." It's your traditional pot pie filling, but made with a cheddar biscuit crust. This is a good-sized recipe and should fill a 9x13 roasting pan. If you like, you can make the filling in advance.

Filling ingredients:
2 lbs boneless chicken, diced in 1/2 inch pieces. Either white or dark meat is fine.
2 tblsp. butter.
1 whole onion.
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced.
1 can cream-style corn.
2 carrots, diced.
2 celery stalks, diced.
1 cup green peas, fresh or frozen.
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
salt and pepper, to taste.

Gravy ingredients:
1 can chicken broth, or equivalent amount fresh.
2 tblsp. oil
2 tblsp. flour.
salt and pepper, to taste.

Crust ingredients:
4 c. flour
8 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
2/3 c. shortening
2 c. milk.
2 tblsp. white vinegar.

Start with the filling. First, the gravy. Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil and flour, and cook until the flour is lightly browned. It should take about 2 minutes. Then, whisk in the chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for another 3-4 minutes, to thicken. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, carrots and celery, and cook until the onions are clear and the carrots are starting to tenderize. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Add the chicken, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper. Cook until the chicken is completely cooked through, anywhere from 15-30 minutes. Add the creamed corn, green peas and gravy, and cook until the entire mixture is heated through. Once finished, pour the filling in a 9x13 baking pan.

Now, for the crust. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Combine the milk and vinegar, and set it aside to sour and thicken. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl, then cut in the shortening. Stir in the cheese. Add the milk mixture, a bit at a time, and stir after each addition. You want just enough liquid for the mixture to come together in a dough. If you need more liquid, you can just use plain milk.

When you have the dough, knead it very briefly on a well-floured surface. With a biscuit crust, the less you knead it, the better. You only want to work it just enough for the ingredients to come together and become elastic. It takes as little as 3-5 kneads for this to happen.

Roll out the crust on a floured surface. You want it about 1/3-1/2 inch thick. Then, place it over the filling. If you have any extra crust, you can just form it into biscuits and bake them on a cookie sheet.

Bake the pot pie in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the crust is lightly browned. Serve it when it's nice and hot.