Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie

With the first day of fall on tomorrow's horizon I decided to make a fall-comfort food meal.  It's still a little warm her in Nashville, but I start craving fall foods long before our weather gets below 70.

Chicken and Biscuit Pot Pie

Ingredients
3 c. chicken stock
1 4-5 lb chicken (you can sub this out for a store bought roasted chicken)
4 carrots, cut into 1/4" coins
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 c. frozen peas
2 cloves minced garlic
2 c. diced Yukon gold or red skinned, potatoes
5 TBSP butter
5 TBSP flour
1 TBSP chopped thyme
salt and pepper

1 batch of your favorite biscuit dough or 1 tube store bought biscuit dough

Directions

Bring a large stock pot 3/4 full of water to a full boil.  Gently add your chicken (with innards removed).  Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until done, usually about 1 hour.  Remove the chicken to a large cookie sheet and allow to cool about 1 hour.  When the chicken is cool to the touch pull all the meat off the bones, discarding any fat.

While your chicken is cooling boil your diced potatoes until fork tender, but not falling apart...usually about 15-20 minutes once the water boils.  Drain the potatoes and set aside.

If you have time, you can use the remaining chicken carcass and your poaching water to make white stock.  If you don't have time when your making the pot pie the carcass will freeze well and you can always do it another day.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.  Once your chicken is pulled into bite sized pieces your ready to assembly your pot pie.  In a 5 qt. pot saute the carrot, onion and celery in the butter over medium heat until onions are translucent.  Once they are tender add the garlic and thyme and cook another 2 minutes.  Add in the 5 TBSP flour and work it into the butter.  Slowly pour in the chicken stock and stir well (you don't want any flour clumps in your gravy!).  Bring this mixture to a simmer and add in the peas and potatoes, cooking until hot through.

Pour the mixture into a 9x13 glass baking dish.  Top the pot pie with rounds or squares of your raw biscuit dough.  Bake uncovered for 12-15 minutes (it will depend on how thick your biscuits are), until your biscuits are golden brown and the pot pie is bubbling.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before enjoying your delicious fall pot pie!