It is true. I made a casserole. With the exception of an occasional Tater-tot casserole to make my husbands day, I generally steer clear of making them. No reason really, just not the way I normally cook. Here is how it went down in my house. The other day I was watching a guest on Oprah make several meals out of a few roasted chickens. Not rocket science for me. I can make an entire meal for my family using two chicken thighs, but the kids were watching and requested this particular dish Chicken Pot Pie with a corn bread topping. Sounded easy enough, and surprisingly, a HUGE hit with the entire gang! I made a few changes to the original recipe such as adding celery and substring beans for peas. I also added some herbs and fresh black pepper.
Filling:
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium Onion , chopped
2 Ribs celery, chopped
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
1/2 cup green beans, cut up
1 potato , diced and boiled
1 1/2 cup chopped, cooked carrots
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. herbs d' Provence
Cracked pepper
Dash of Hot sauce
Crust:
3/4 cup white or yellow cornmeal
3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1 large egg
2 Tbsp. olive oil
To make filling:
Preheat the oven to 400°. Butter a 2-quart casserole dish.
In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil and unsalted butter together. Add
onion and celery, sauteé until tender, about 4 or 5 minutes. Add in flour until
blended. Slowly stir in 2 cups of heated chicken stock, whisking well.
Cook mixture over medium heat until thickened and bubbly, about 4
minutes. Stir in chicken, beans, potato, carrots, salt, pepper and hot sauce of your choice. Pour into prepared dish.
To make crust:
In a bowl, stir cornmeal, flour, baking powder,
sugar and salt. Stir milk, egg and olive oil until well combined. Stir
wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Spoon the batter evenly on the
filling. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 22 to 25 minutes.
