Mini Chicken Pot Pies Bring The Comfort Food Meal To Snack Time
Chicken pot pie is often touted as a wholesome, homestyle meal. In fact, its popularity has been seen throughout history, with roots going back to the Roman Empire. Over the years, the pot pie also gained traction with different varieties and meats, particularly during Elizabeth I's reign in 16th century Britain. By the time the first American cookbook was published in 1796, several variations of the pot pie were included.
Due to the hearty, filling, and well-balanced nature of this dish, it became a household staple by the 1950s, and the first frozen versions of chicken pot pie were released in 1951. As demand for the product grew, the freezer section in grocery stores became filled with boxes of the food stuff. Interestingly, frozen pot pies are almost always single servings, designed to provide a quick meal for people at the end of a long day. However, making an even smaller version actually gives it incredible snack-time potential.
Finding a healthy pick-me-up to enjoy in the midst of your daily responsibilities is not always easy — or tasty. Many prepackaged foods like granola bars or crackers lose their excitement over time, and veggies aren't overly satiating. However, it often takes up too much time to craft a balanced snack from scratch each day. This is where snack prepping comes into play. Fortunately, turning a comfort food like chicken pot pie into a smaller snack version is a simple but genius option.
Snack pot pies don't have to be complicated
Mini chicken pot pies are incredibly easy to make and doing some prep work in advance will allow you to store them in your fridge or freezer for when you need that nourishing boost of energy at a moment's notice. Homemade snacks may sound daunting but batch-cooking them early and utilizing a few prepackaged staples can really streamline the process.
Specifically, putting raw Pillsbury biscuits into your muffin tins will give you those flakey layers of dough without having to make the crust from scratch. For the filling of mini chicken pot pies, a frozen bag of mixed veggies and cooked chicken chunks with cream of chicken soup gives you all the components you'll need to fill your biscuits — and then simply bake. You could always cut up rotisserie chicken if you don't want to cook your own meat, and use fresh veggies instead of frozen for other options.
While corn, peas, and carrots are classic ingredients in a chicken pot pie recipe, you can swap them out for other veggies like broccoli or green beans, especially if you're looking to add some variety. Plus, putting this mini comfort meal together gives you the ability to adjust the macros for your specific snack needs. Whether you have a certain dietary goal in mind or you're simply craving those savory flavors of creamy chicken and buttery puff pastry, bite-sized chicken pot pies feel more like a mini meal, which can help keep you satisfied before dinner time.