Chicken Cobbler Casserole

Chicken Cobbler Casserole

We finally have colder, wet weather! It is the perfect time for casseroles. This is a glorified version of Chicken Pot Pie and tastes so much better. It takes a little more work but it is well worth it.
The next time you find whole chickens on sale, buy some.  Then when you get home, wash one and pull out the giblets.  Put the chicken, giblets, a peeled onion, peeled carrot, a couple of celery stalks, garlic powder, chicken bouillon, salt and pepper in the slow cooker. Cover it all in water and turn on high and cook for 4 hours or low and cook for 8.  Let the entire pot cool down and then refrigerate until the fat comes to the top. Skim off the fat. Remove the meat and freeze it.  Save the stock and freeze it. Discard the fat, skin and bones. Now you have homemade chicken and homemade stock at your finger tips.
However, I have used all of my pre-cooked chicken, so for this recipe I boiled two large chicken breasts with the onion, carrot, celery, garlic powder, bouillon, salt and pepper and let it cool.  I removed the bones and skin and then cut it up. The chicken breast were large enough to make 3 cups of chicken. So here is the rest of the recipe.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees

First make the crust.
1 cup of Flour
1/4 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of dry Basil
1/4 tsp of dry Thyme
1/4 cup of Sepay Groves Olive Oil (that is why the crust has a yellowish tint, this olive oil has a very green color)
1/4 cup of water

Toss the flour, salt, basil and thyme together. Combine the olive oil and water together but do not stir.  Pour the oil and water mixture into the flour and mix with a fork until all of the flour is moist.  Add more water, by droplets, if necessary.  Form into a ball and let rest.

Next make the filling.

2 to 3 cups of chopped Cooked Chicken
2 Tablespoons of Sepay Groves Olive Oil, divided
1/2 cup of each, finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, and yellow squash
1/3 cup of flour
3 cup of water
3 Chicken Bouillon cubes
1 teaspoon of Poultry Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon Garlic powder
salt and pepper
Olive Oil for sprinkling on the top

Heat a large skillet over low-medium heat and add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil.  Add vegetables and cook until tender but not browned.  Sift flour over the vegetables and stir. Add the rest of the Olive Oil. Continue to stir and cook for 3-5 minutes until the bottom of the skillet starts to brown. Add water, bouillon cubes, poultry seasoning and garlic powder. Stir and cook until thick and bubbly.  The flour will not be completely cooked at this point.  Taste the sauce for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, if needed.  Add the chopped chicken and set aside.

To assemble, grease an 8 cup casserole dish and place a small amount of the filling on the bottom of the dish.  Divide the dough into two balls.  With one of the balls, pat out pieces of dough, by hand, until each forms a 3 to 4 inch circle and is about 1/4 inch thick.  Place on top of the thin layer of filling , repeating 2 or 3 times with the dough.  Gaps in the dough are okay. Pour the rest of the filling on top. Then pat out the rest of the dough and cover the top. Sprinkle with a little Olive Oil and bake 30 to 45 minutes or until the crust just starts to brown. Let cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

Deloris