Anyone else feel as though casseroles have a bit of a bad rap? They tend to conjure up ideas of old-fashioned, full of “cream-of-whatever” dishes your grandmother made or that unidentifiable creation at the church potluck.
But when you really think about it, is there anything a casserole can’t do? It can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner (dessert if you want to stretch and call a cobbler a fruit casserole). It’s a whole meal-in-one, a do-it-all workhorse. It’s a gift of comfort food for a new neighbor or a friend in need.
You may have already guessed, but I’m a fan of the casserole. I may be baised, but if the number of casseroles sold at my former food shop are any indication, there are plenty of other casserole fans out there!
As a make ahead option, a casserole can’t be beat. I have learned that if I’m already in the kitchen making a casserole-like dish for the week, it is really quite easy to double it and put some in a dish for now and some in a freezer safe pan for later. (I keep a stock of foil pans just for this reason!) Many weeks you’ll see a casserole of some sort on our meal plan, because let me tell you, there is nothing like knowing dinner is done, and there are no pots to wash. It’s almost like a night off!
The word “casserole” has French origins (see it’s fancy!) and is defined by the Cambridge Dictionary as “a dish made by cooking meat, vegetables, or other foods inside a heavy container at low heat”, which, I think, opens up a world of possibilities. If you need inspiration, all you have to do is pop over to your favorite internet search engine, and you’ll have more choices than you know what to do with.
You’ll see plenty of casseroles pop up here as we move along this substack journey, but for today, I’m sharing my family’s favorite Chicken Pot Pie. This is how I remember my mom’s pot pie, it’s comfort food at it’s greatest, and it’s one of my go-to’s for sending a meal to a new mom. I make my own herbed pastry crust for this recipe. Not up for that? Go ahead and use a refrigerated pie crust or some frozen puff pastry.
MONDAY - Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato Sauce, Bread, and Fresh Fruit
A few weeks ago I roasted off some garden tomatoes with onions and garlic and blended it into a fabulous sauce (into the freezer it went!). So I’ll just need to boil some pasta, warm the sauce and bread, and slice the fruit.
TUESDAY - Italian Sausages, Roasted Potatoes and Onions
Another easy sheet pan meal. I grab extra packs of Sweet Italian Sausage links when they go on sale so I pretty much always have some.
WEDNESDAY - Chicken Pot Pie and Salad
Recipe below - it made one for us, one for the freezer, and a small one for my dad!
THURSDAY - Leftovers!
If you’ve noticed the pattern, right now Thursdays means soccer practice. So this week we’ll just do leftovers. We should have plenty from the other meals, and everyone can just make their plate and hit the microwave. If your family will eat leftovers, definitely build these nights in!
FRIDAY - Friday night pick up!
We do take out on Friday nights and I’m thinking something Asian this week…
SATURDAY - Dinner at YaYa’s (the in-laws!)
She has refrigerated ravioli she says she needs to use, and we don’t say no pasta! Throw in some salad and frozen Texas Toast for an easy Saturday night.
SUNDAY - Dinner at Dad’s
Something inspired him, and he say’s its Chicken Cordon Bleu! Sounds good to me! (It was probably the fact that our grocery store has had boneless, skinless chicken breasts on sale several times in the recent months, and both of us have a freezer full of chicken…)
LUNCHES for this week - Tuna Salad and/or Garden Veggie Pasta Salad
I’ve gotten into a Nicoise Salad phase using canned tuna in oil with cold veggies, olives, and boiled eggs (I’ll use some of those roasted potatoes from Tuesday night).
EXTRAS for this week
I purposely bought extra bananas and left them on the counter to get nice and brown just so I could make this banana bread from Bon Apetit. It calls for mascarpone cheese, or sour cream, or yogurt. I’ve tried it all three ways. They’re all fantastic.
Chicken Pot Pie
Each pot pie can serve between 6-8 (depending on size), this recipe will usually make two pot pies.
· 4 medium sized Yukon Gold Potatoes, about 1 ½ pounds
· 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
· 1 large Onion, diced
· 2 cups diced Carrots
· 1 ½ cups diced Celery
· 1 teaspoon Salt
· ½ teaspoon Pepper
· 1 teaspoon dried Tarragon
· 1 teaspoon dried Oregano
· 4 tablespoons Butter
· ¾ cup Flour
· 4 cups Chicken Broth
· ½ cup Heavy Cream
· 1 ½ cups frozen Pearl Onions
· 1 ½ cups frozen Peas
· 6 cups shredded or diced cooked Chicken (cook your own, or use rotisserie)
· ½ teaspoon Salt (again)
Peel the potatoes and cut into a 1-inch dice. Place in a medium sized pot and cover with cold water. Add ½ tablespoon salt and bring to a boil. Boil for 7-9 minutes, until a sharp knife tip slides in and out easily. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat a large soup pot over medium high heat and add two tablespoons olive oil. Saute the onions, carrots, and celery with 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper until cooked through and lightly browned, about 12-15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium if necessary to prevent over browning.
Stir in tarragon, oregano, and butter. Let butter melt, stir in flour, cook 1 minute. Slowly stir in broth, then cream and return pot to a simmer. Remove pot from heat and add pearl onions, peas, chicken, and cooked potatoes. Stir in last ½ teaspoon salt.
Divide mixture among desired number of casserole pans.
Roll pastry crust (recipe below) about one-eighth of an inch thick and cut into the correct shape to cover your dish. If needed, you can re-roll the scraps to cover additional pans. Cut a couple of vent slits in the top of the crust.
For a shiny crust, beat one egg with a tablespoon of water and brush over the top. Sprinkle with kosher or flaky salt and fresh ground pepper.
Refrigerate for later, freeze for later, or bake now.
To bake now – preheat oven to 350 with the rack in the upper third. Bake pot pie for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.
To bake later – preheat oven to 350 with the rack in the middle position. Bake pot pie for 45 minutes to an hour until golden brown and bubbling around the edges.
Thyme Pastry Crust
makes 2-3 top crusts depending on size
· 3 cups all purpose Flour
· 1 teaspoon kosher Salt (Morton or store brand)
· 1 teaspoon dried Thyme leaves (not ground)
· 1 ½ cups (3 sticks) cold Butter, diced
· 1 large Egg
· Cold Water
· 1 tablespoon white Vinegar
Place flour, salt, and thyme in a food processor fitted with the blade. Pulse a couple of times to mix.
Add in half of the diced butter and pulse about 20 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal.
Add in the remaining butter cubes and only pulse 10-12 times. Some of the butter pieces will still be “pea sized”.
Beat the egg in a measuring cup and add enough cold water to get to 5 ounces. Mix well. Add in 1 tablespoon vinegar.
With machine running, quickly pour in egg/water mixture, then pulse several times until dough starts to come together. It will still be crumbly, this is okay, do not over mix.
Lay out two large pieces of plastic wrap. Divide the dough between the two pieces, piling it in the middle. For each, use your hands to gently knead the dough just one or two times working in the loose crumbles. Shape into a round disk, wrap in the plastic wrap, and chill one hour or overnight.
If you chilled your dough for a longer period of time, it may need to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes to be easier to roll.
NOTES:
· I usually do two medium size pans. If there is some filling left over, I will also do a small or individual sized one.
· The pie crust scraps are awesome as pastry crust “crackers”, just cut into pieces and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or so.
· I will usually split this pot pie recipe into two days: day 1 for making pastry crust and cooking chicken, day 2 for actually making the filling and assembly.
· The unbaked pot pie will keep for two days in the refrigerator. I almost always make it ahead of time.
· If you have frozen an extra pot pie, thaw it overnight in the fridge, and then follow the “to bake later” instructions.