Sometimes I wonder if Whole Foods wouldn’t be kinder to shoppers if they erected an electric fence of sorts around some areas of the store. Not a high intensity zap, but just a little bzzz to keep me away from, say, the wall of energy bars, the fine quality chocolate, and the greek yogurt. Actually, what might work even better would be a timer. One of those little sand filled hourglasses from Pictionary. Something to limit the minutes, ahem hours, I can spend gazing at artisanal cheeses that cost upwards of $10 a pound. I have a sneaking suspicion that I’d adapt to that sort of speed shopping, though. It would become a matter of running in and running out with ten items or less- the only items I’d managed to grab being imported gelato, Icelandic skyr yogurt, a cake, and freshly baked bread. Paid for with my left kidney.
Case in point: I wagered Daniel’s love and affection for a few of these yesterday:
…aaaand about a dozen of these
Apparently I thought his affection was worth $2.29 a pop. I can’t be held accountable, you’d do it too.
The saving grace of it all was probably the dinner I prepared. I had a hankering for chicken pot pie, but wanted to forgo the pie crust in favor of a cornbread topping. Basically, I wanted to make an already luscious dish practically pornographic in its obscenity. Success? To say the least.
I only wish she looked a bit prettier. Sure, she tastes delicious- tender chunks of chicken, carrots, celery, corn, and peas, swimming in a rich, creamy gravy, and nestled under a blanket of sweet, gritty cornbread. The crumbly topping serving as the perfect sponge for the flavorful sauce.
The recipe is from Miss O. Oprah. I began to take pictures of the cooking process but halfway through, my camera battery died. Story of my life. We’d be better suited to post pictures of me slamming my camera on the counter and calling it “Worthless. Never there when I need it.”
Here is the recipe, if you’re interested in wrapping your taste buds in a cashmere blanket and giving them a massage. Comfort food.
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 1 medium Onion , chopped
- 1/4 cup flour
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups chopped Roasted Chicken (I used 3/4 lb boneless skinless chicken breast that I simply sauteed in a pan and then chopped)
- 1/2 cup frozen sweet petite peas (I also added corn and celery- about 1/2 cup each)
- 1 potato , diced and boiled
- 1 1/2 cup chopped, cooked carrots
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- Cracked pepper
- Dash of Tabasco® 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. canola oil
Directions:
To make filling: Preheat the oven to 400°. Spray a 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. In a large sauce pan, heat olive oil and unsalted butter together. Add onion and sauté 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, peas, potato, carrots, salt, pepper and Tabasco®. Pour into a 2-quart ovenproof casserole dish coated with cooking spray and spread mixture evenly.
To make crust: In a bowl, stir cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Stir milk, egg and canola 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.
Enjoy!
Oh I think it’s very much a gorgeous dish…
I prefer cornbread for stuff like this- something about that fluffy yet semi-gritty bread gets me every time…
I love chicken pot pie but I love cornbread even more. This looks so much better than what I’m eating for lunch today.
Drool-worthy! Two of my favorite things – pot pie and cornbread – COMBINED!
This looks so heavenly and like the ultimate comfort food! Yummmmm!! :)
Mmmmmm- LOVE me some cornbread! Now that’s what I call a pot pie – delish! :)
You are sooo funny! I love this recipe, I could eat it for breakfast!
M.J.- Ha, I really did look at the leftovers this morning and think about eating them right then and there! Tempting.
That looks like the yummiest thing ever, and I wish it was in my belly right now ;)!! You’re such a great cook! You make my mouth water every time I click on over to you blog!
Have a great weekend!
So I saw the words “cornbread crust” and was immediately won over. I love cornbread. Love it!
That sounds delicious! My mom never made homemade chicken pot pies, just frozen ones.
Holy YUM I can’t wait to make this. How many servings does it make? Do you have a pic of it in the baking dish? Trying to see how much it makes.
Thanks!
Hi Ashley! Oprah’s site said to put it in a 2 quart casserole dish, but I didn’t have one and instead used a 13×9″ baking pan. The cornbread layer is thinner than it would be in the 2 qt dish, but I was okay with that. Still tasty! You could also use a 9×9″ pan for a thicker cornbread layer!
haha ohhh WFs…you always take all my money too. I haven’t had pot pie in ages- I love the idea of a cornbread crust- I totally need to make this! I hope you have a great fourth
OH YUM! Cornbread is my absolutel favorite! This is a must try! Thanks honey!!!
Whole Foods is evil. I forgive Whole Foods, of course, because it’s awesome. But it makes you buy things you later regret, ever-so-slightly. Evil! :P
This recipe looks delicious! I like the idea of a cornbread crust haha.
Mo, it’s true- Whole Foods is the hardest place for me to not spend an entire paycheck. Clothes and other purchases I can generally take or leave, but the quality of food at WF is just my weakness!
Oh*my*goodness*. (mouth gaping). That looks DELICOUS!
That sounds SOO GOOD!!! And yes, Whole Foods is highly dangerous to my bank account.
Yum! My 7yo thinks it looks delish too. Whole Foods Timer? Yes, I definitely need one when I visit. My only saving grace is the nearest WF is 30 minutes away. They are opening a HUGE one closer to me soon. I’m in trouble ;-)
Oprah has recipes??
Chicken pot pie used to be my *favorite* dish when I was younger :D Truth be told, it was all about the soggy crust muahaha
Chicken pot pie is one of my favorite comfort foods! It looks absolutely amazing with the cornbread crust (I’ve never had it that way before!). Love at first site. Literally. ;)
chicken pot pie is a childhood favorite- I loved it! I had no clue how unhealthy it was (haha) but this recipe seems like a great one!
xoxox
Chicken pot pie is the ultimate comfort food. This looks to die for.
Holy mother of all things GOOD!!
Chicken Pot pie is by far MY FAVORITE food of all time. It would be what I asked for if I were ordering my ‘last meal’. Mmmmm
I like to make them in ramekins because I’m the only one in my house that will eat them and this way I have single servings size to freeze and bake later… as needed.
I am trying this recipe just as soon as I can!!
Mmmmmmmm
Mm, this is yummy. Though I would suggest either omitting the sugar or reducing it – I love sugar in cornbread, but on top of the pot pie filling it was… weird. And the filling (for me) was not quite salty enough but that’s an easy fix.
Okay, done with the complaints. It was so easy and quick to throw together – I boiled up the carrots with the potatoes so they would be cooked (as the recipe calls for), very easy. I added celery and let that cook with the onion, so that was easy, too. It thickened up perfectly, and it was just so easy, so delicious, and very beautiful out of the oven. I would highly suggest this recipe. Even clean up was a breeze – I boiled the potatoes and carrots to start with, chopped while it cooked. By the time it was done boiling, I was done chopping everything else so I could strain the potatoes/carrots and use the same pot to cook everything in.
Thanks for the feedback Vanessa! Glad you tried it and liked it!
Tried this last night – and wowza was this yummy! I did do a couple of slight changes – I cheated and used a box of jiffy cornmuffin mix, just added 3/4 milk and one egg to it make the crust. And I added about 1/2 cup of “mojito criollo” to the chicken breast when I cooked it. Also cooked the veggies ahead of time (real good idea!) Sadly there’s no leftovers, it was sooo good we scarfed it down. KEEPER!
Awesome to hear your feedback Ana! Thanks!!
Made this for dinner tonight! Modified the recipe a little big – instead of making my own sauce I used a can of creamed chicken soup, and added a diced serano pepper into the sauce. WOW IT WAS AMAZING! We both had seconds and the BF also requested a doggy bag for lunch tomorrow. Best combo ever. Definitely a staple from now on.
This is a little complicated: I took leftover homemade chicken noodle soup, took out all the dumpling-noodles (which weren’t too good anyway), added a little creamy broth and some peas, then I made your divine topping and it’s in the oven now. Can’t wait!