I have good kids. Really good kids. During their las holiday from school, I assigned them the task of prepping a meal that could be frozen and thawed for their lunch boxes. I was in the midst of making a homemade chicken broth and had cooked chicken and mini tart shells on hand so chicken pot pies it was!!
Find my chicken broth recipe here:
At first my son was upset about the idea of chicken pot pie. He absolutely despises peas and doesn't enjoy carrots with gravy. My daughter, on the other hand was thrilled. We opted to make a simple thick gravy, I then gave them free reign with flavours. They were in charge. This was their cooking experience.
We started with a roux, which is simply a mixture of melted butter and flour. In a frying pan we melted down 1/3 of a cup of butter (I added a finely chopped shallot to the butter) and then added 1/4 of a cup of flour. When these ingredients were well blended, we added 2 cups of chicken broth to the mix, 1/2 tsp of sea salt and 1/2 tsp of poultry seasoning. We whisked the ingredients together over medium heat. My son liked the gravy at this point, so we transferred half of the gravy into another pot. My daughter opted to add 1/2 tsp of Herbs de Provence and a sprinkle of fresh cracked pepper.
My son added 2-3 chunked chicken thighs to his gravy. My daughter added the same amount of chicken plus 1/4 cup of frozen peas and 1/4 cup of cooked carrots.
We had thawed our tart shells on the counter, while we cooked the chicken pot pie filling. For each chicken pot pie, we required 2 shells. My daughter made 8 pies and my son, 7. We filled the bottom shell with 2-3 tablespoons of pie filling and then laid a thawed pie shell over the filled bottom shell. The kids then pinched and fork printed the edges of the pie shells.
We preheated our oven to 425 F. While the oven was heating, I cut slits into the tops of the pies. As a pie needs a way for steam to escape, while it bakes. My kids had made two different flavoured pot pies; this seemed like the perfect opportunity to label their lunchtime snacks. My son's pies were labeled with a "D" and my daughter's, with an "M". We then baked the pies in our preheated oven for 30 minutes.
After the pies cooked and the kids gobbled a few up for lunch, they were packed for the freezer.
When packing lunches, the kids thaw a pie or two over night in the fridge. We warm them in the morning and place them into a thermos, if they opt to not complete this morning task, they happily eat them at room temperature at lunchtime.
This kitchen project has worked out extremely well for my family!! My kids are pleased that they created something wonderful in the kitchen and I'm satisfied that they are filling their bellies with a healthy and satiating lunch.
Thanks for reading! If you have any questions or concerns, or you just liked this Big Idea, feel free to comment below.
