Years ago a friend once remarked to me about how amazing it was that I could take one roasting chicken so far…he was observing that first I roasted the whole chicken for dinner, then the next day I boiled the bones, neck and skin for soup, used the leftover chicken meat to make a chicken pot pie the following night…and he laughingly swears that if there’d been any leftover pot pie I would have used it as wallpaper paste …..frugal?
Not so much, I just plan out my meal menus to take full advantage of all the nutritional value of every item on my grocery list. Like planning to bake an angel food cake in close proximity of simmering a pot of chicken soup (to include all those lovely broken egg shells from the cake…an angel food cake requires 10-12 egg whites)…if you’re wondering why one would relish having so many egg shells when making chicken soup, refer to my post “chicken soup is not just for the soul…”. Or, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, my year-long awaited pot of turkey soup lures in the skiiers at our family’s Vermont “Leftover Thanksgiving Party” the day after the holiday…using the turkey carcass, neck, skins and pan drippings and simmering it for many fragrant hours with some veggies….or planning to make a tuscan bean soup the week following a baked ham…or making a batch of crispy, cheesy potato skins to freeze for appetizers at the same time that I need to make a shepards pie calling for mashed potatoes on top. It’s all a matter of planning…and thank heavens for freezers!!!
I admit to having a pretty bare freezer during the summer months, when I’ve used up all my winter store of homemade soups, casseroles, appetizers, breads, cookie dough, etc. And, after all, summer is all about garden fresh produce, lighter meals, and outdoor grilling. But as soon as chilly weather hits in the fall…I find myself filling up the freezer with a wealth of edibles perfect for those cold winter nights…all my fav comfort foods!
Let’s not forget that I’m a full time banker by day…so I plan my menus for the week and do my cooking on weekends. I cook full recipes and enjoy leftovers during the week…when I tire of a particular leftover, I freeze the remaining into individual portions easy to thaw for a quick lunch or dinner.
So this weekend I made a pot of chicken soup and today I’m making a chicken pot pie with herb dumplings…using all that meat from the soup, fresh cremini mushrooms for a little umami enhancement…whipping up some chicken gravy and steaming those cushiony pillows of herb dumplings atop the whole thing….yummmm chicken and dumplings…fast and easy!
Whewww….that was a long-winded way of getting to the topic of leftover chicken!
Chicken Pot Pie with Sage Dumplings
Ingredients:
- cooked meat from one chicken
- 1 quart chicken gravy
- 1 lb mushrooms sliced
- dumpling batter
Make a quart of gravy by melting in a 2 qt saucepan, 1/2 cup fat (butter, schmaltz, or frying oil) with 1/2 cup regular flour to form a roux, stir for a minute to cook out the flour taste, add 1 qt cold stock while whisking. Continue to simmer for 10 minutes until thickened, and adjust seasonings with salt & pepper to taste. You can add 1/2 cup of heavy cream to make it creamier. Make sure the gravy is thin enough to withstand the extra thickening it will undergo once the dumplings are added as they will absorb some of the liquid.
Combine chicken meat, mushrooms and hot gravy in a large skilled with a cover. The dumplings on top will be expanding as they steam, so be careful to use a large enough skillet. Heat until it’s just simmering.
To make dumplings:
Mix together 1 1/2 cups regular flour with 1 tsp baking soda, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp rubbed sage. Now cut 3 Tbl cold butter into dry ingredients until the consistency of small crumbs. Add 3/4 cup milk and stir to mix into a thick batter.
Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons around top of simmering pot pie. Cover and cook for 15 more minutes at a simmer. Dumplings will rise.
