poultry appreciation

Winner winner chicken dinner.*

*Whether you hate him or find him entertaining (I fall somewhere in the middle, for the record), I'll always credit Guy Fieri with popularizing that phrase, whether he deserves it or not.

Chicken is definitely my protein of choice when I'm making supper. We'll have beef a couple of times a week (almost always in ground form), pork at least once (usually exactly like this)(because if it ain't broke, don't fix it), and scallops once in a blue moon. More often than not, though, chicken is on the menu.

My boyfriend's mom turned me on to this recipe; she made it for us when we were visiting over the holidays. I might've added a few twists of my own (and I would encourage you to do the same), but the basic idea is that you plop the filling for a chicken pot pie onto a square of puff pastry, fold it into a triangle, and bake it, resulting in a cute little package full of comforting goodness.

I daresay I'll never get tired of chicken, especially since there are endless ways to prepare it! As those ways go, this one is definitely worthy of a repeat.

Puff Pastry Poulet Pot Pie Pockets
Ingredients:

• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 celery rib, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1-1/2 cups cubed cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

Directions:
On a lightly floured surface, roll pastry sheet out to a 20x20-inch square. Cut that into 4 5-inch squares and place these on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, cover and chill.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion, celery, and carrots until softened, about 10 minutes. Add peas and corn; sauté 3 minutes. Sprinkle thyme and flour over vegetables; sauté 1 minute. Raise heat to medium-high and stir broth and mustard into pan. Add chicken; cook until sauce is thick, 7 to 10 minutes. Add seasonings to taste, then transfer to a bowl and let cool.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Brush edges of pastry squares with egg. Spoon 1/4 of chicken mixture into the center of each; fold to form a triangle. Seal edges. Brush the tops of the triangles with remaining egg. Cut 2 or 3 slits in top of each and chill for 15 minutes.
Bake turnovers in preheated oven until golden, about 30 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes and serve.