Quick Rich Biscuit Topping and Chicken Pot Pie

Light, airy, super fluffy inside with a crunchie top rich biscuit 'topping' is quick and easy to make has your casseroles and related dishes alike will have a new leash on life. I needed a topping for a chicken pot pie I made the other night, and didn't want to make a pastry - rich biscuit topping was my alternative I turned to - I also didn't wish to make it completely from scratch. So I altered a from scratch recipe to create this take on rich biscuit topping...Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups of self rising flour or Bisquick which is what I used.
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup or more of whole milk
5 tablespoons melted butter - yes butter. (I used unsalted)
1 casserole or chicken pot pie type dish needing a biscuit topping.
Oven at 375-400 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Directions:

Measure out dry ingredients and place into bowl.
Add milk and egg and stir.
Add melted butter and add to mixture. Stir till well combined.
I did not roll this out nor did it touch a board, but rather grabbed it into my hands and patted it out gently in my hands as if I was starting to work a pizza pie dough - throwing gently back and forth to help 'stretch it'.
The dough is not terribly too sticky yet it is wet enough with the butter (enough to kill a small horse) that it should be very easy and quick to pat out , not stick to your hands and then simply place on top of your casserole dish.
Bake in hot oven for 25-30 minutes and serve it up.

Other great uses, if you were to add 1/2 cup more of the Bisquick, you could easily pat these out, and cut out actual biscuits, bake them in a hot oven for 23-25 minutes at 400 degrees and you got yourself some delicious sky high biscuits! Now I am calling this real biscuit love.

Chicken Pot Pie

This is a take on an old favorite that so many of us grew up with. This version makes great use of left over chicken you may have. Since I had made a big roaster chicken and basted it up with my hoisin and lemon marinade -I had enough left over to make three other dishes. So here is the recipe for one good and true chicken pot pie.

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons chicken fat or butter
• 1 onion diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks diced
• 1 cup peas (frozen - and slightly thawed)
• 4 tablespoons flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken up into bite-sized chunks
• 2 cups chicken stock - or for a creamier sauce - use 1 cup milk and 1 cup stock
• 1/2 teaspoon each of celery and/or onion salt (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 400 degrees
2. In skillet, sautee diced onions, carrots, and celery for 8 minutes or until onions are soft.
3. Add flour and stir until blended.
4. Slowly add stock/milk liquid and over low heat, stir until thickened.
5. Add salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Add celery salt or onion salt if you would like along with a shake of dried red chili peppers.
6. In casserole dish add cut up chicken and peas - and stir till combined. Add sauce and stir once more till combined.
7. Top with rich biscuit topping (recipe above) or pie pastry - make sure to make 'slits' in pie pastry to allow steam to escape. If using the rich biscuit topping, you can have it not cover the casserole completely leaving some space on the sides (which is what I did) so that the steam can escape out the sides of your casserole (see photos).
8. Place your casserole into oven, and let bake for 30 minutes on the middle rack of your oven.
9. Put large cookie sheet or tin foil on rack below, to prevent any scorching on your oven floor from any boiled over drippings of your sauce - makes cleaning up a cinch!
10. Serve your chicken pot pie and enjoy with a fresh salad.