Biscuit Pot Pie

This past winter the Chef has been on a home-made pot pie kick. Pot pies with leftover chicken, then turkey; pot pies topped with a traditional rolled pie crust, then with deli case canned biscuits, and even Italian garlic bread sticks. All are good, especially the roll of garlic bread sticks. Those are harder to find, so in this recipe I will stick with readily available pie crust and canned biscuits, both frequently on sale in the deli case at your local grocery store. As for filling, the Chef likes to grab seasonal veggies like asparagus and green beans, mixed in with the old reliables: red potatoes, carrots, red or yellow bell pepper, onions and frozen peas.
Of course, most pot pies are made with a grocery store bought pie crust. Well, the Chef is nothing if not unconventional, so why not use "Flaky Butter Tastin' Grands" biscuits by Pillsbury? They are often on sale at my local 99c Only Store.
If you like a super-thick crust, this is the thickest. It's like the Southern breakfast classic "biscuits and gravy," with the addition of veggies and chicken or turkey. Now, you can use any pre-packaged biscuit on sale. Biscuits are thicker than a pie crust, so after the initial pot pie baking, you may need to separate the biscuits and prop them up so the raw dough on the underside gets cooked through (see details below).
This post includes photos of both kinds of pot pie crusts. It's hard to beat a classic "pie crust" pot pie, but the Chef's "Biscuit Pot Pie" is a scrumptious alternative.

 
Ingredients

• 2 cups total of chopped veggies, including asparagus, onion, green beans, carrots and frozen peas
• 1 cup diced red or white potatoes (if you like potatoes more, then reverse veggies/potato ratio)
• 2 cups leftover turkey or chicken (about one whole breast or 2 leg/thigh quarters)
• 4 cups water (for blanching veggies for 5 minutes, thus making a quick vegetable stock. Reserve 1 cup for adding to cream sauce)
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1/4 stick of butter or 1/4 cup of oil
• 2 cups of milk (2% or whole)
• 1 thawed 16 oz. can of biscuits, or one pre-rolled pie crust
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp. each fresh chopped herbs including parsley, thyme and sage - 1 tsp. total if dried is used.

Pot Pie Filling
No leftover turkey? Just submerge a whole chicken breast, or a couple of leg quarters, in seasoned water and boil for about 45 minutes to an hour until done; set aside to cool and shred. Use this flavorful broth instead of veggie broth. On to the pie filling.
Boil chopped carrots and potatoes until fork tender - about 15 minutes. Blanch other fresh-cut veggies in low boiling water for 2-5 minutes; a little crunch is good. Remove veggies and set aside. Reserve 1 cup of vegetable stock from blanched veggies. Melt butter and add 3/4 cup of flour to a pot. Stir and heat for a few minutes; do not brown. Slowly whisk in vegetable/chicken stock, then milk. Continue stirring until sauce starts to thicken, about 10-15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut leftover turkey meat into bite-sized pieces. In a large, deep casserole dish add veggies, herbs, turkey and cream sauce. Fill casserole dish to about an inch from the top to give sauce boiling room. Cover dish with biscuits or a pie crust (make a few vent slits so sauce does not boil out with a pie crust - I usually put foil or a cookie sheet pan underneath just in case). For a pie crust, bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes. With biscuits, after about 30 minutes, carefully check the bottom of a biscuit to see if it's still raw. If so, separate biscuits and place them on their sides, leaning against each other (you can form little pyramids) to finish cooking for 15 minutes more. However, if you like the texture of a boiled dumpling, don't do a darn thing to the biscuits - the flaky biscuit will have a dumpling like bottom. Remove pot pie from oven, reassemble biscuits on pot pie, and let it rest for about 10 minutes if you like your sauce thick.