Cream Cheese Chicken Pot Pie

A few years back, I stocked up on cream cheese when it was a loss leader.  I got them almost free after a coupon.  My family loved the flavor with the cream cheese for the Creamy Chicken Pot Pie.  I stretch the dish out a little more to feed my family with a 9x13 pan and just one layer of crust.  The recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
1 can cream of chicken soup or homemade (2 cups) *
8 oz cream cheese (room temp/softened)
5 cups mixture of diced carrots, peas, corn, and diced cooked potatoes
1/4 cup diced mushrooms (optional)
2 cups cooked chicken chopped or shredded
1 rolled out pie crust (room temp)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a 9x13 pan, spray with a nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, mix together the soup, cream cheese, and veggies.  I like to heat it in the microwave to cut down on the time in the oven.  Stir until creamy.

Then, add the chicken.  Pour into 9x13 pan.

Top with the pie crust and bake for about 18 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly.  Let sit for a bit and cool.  Sauce will thicken as it stands.

Variation:  Use turkey in place of chicken.

**My family can easily eat this in one sitting.  It concerns me that I will have to make more than 1 9x13 dish for dinner, if I want leftovers, for my family of 6.


*Recipe adjustments:  I used only 2 tbs of the cornstarch instead of 4 tbs that the recipe calls for in tonight's dinner, as I was running low on it & didn't think of using flour.  It was a little runny, per se, but the sauce did thicken as it cooled off.  I will remake this another time & remember to record any necessary changes; my family will be happy with that! :)

Cream of Chicken Soup Recipe

We used to buy Cream of Chicken Soup all the time, even though it was at a ridiculous price.  It seems to be a staple for just about any kind of casserole made.  Having this made up ahead of time makes meal preparation at dinner time so much quicker.  I freeze mine in freezer bags into 2 cup portions, yielding 2 bags.  I love using the cornstarch mixed with the cold milk, making it virtually lump free=less time cooking it.  The recipe is adapted from Frugal Upstate.

Ingredients:
2 tbs butter/margarine
3 cups water
1 large chicken bullion cube or 2 tbs of Knorr chicken bullion powder
1 cup milk
1/4 cup cornstarch

Melt butter in pan with 3 cups water and chicken bullion cube; bring to boil, dissolving the bullion cube.  Measure the cold milk and stir in the cornstarch, mix until creamy.  Pour milk into broth, stirring constantly, bring to boil.  Remove from heat.  If need to be thicker, add a little bit more milk with more cornstarch, measuring accordingly to desired thickness.

Equivalent to about 2 cans diluted with milk.   Able to use in place of any recipe calling for Cream of Chicken Soup.

Note:  If you'd like to make cream of chicken/mushroom soup, just add 1/4 cup diced mushrooms to the sauce when cooking.  Or, if you'd like to just have cream of mushroom soup, omit the chicken bullion cube.