Chicken or Veggie Pot Pies

I made these pot pies for our New Year's Eve party. I made 15 of these pies, so you will need to break down the recipe for the amount of servings you need. These are not traditional pot pies. They are baked in large ramekins with a crusted top only, not like a pie. The size of the ramekins I used were 1 1/2 cup.

For the basic filling:
2 pound bag of carrots, peeled and sliced
6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed (small cubes)
2 hearts of celery, leaves removed, sliced
8 oz. Crimini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
6-8 leaves of fresh basil, cleaned and finely chopped
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
1 teaspoon pepper
Kosher Salt, a few large pinches
1/2 Cup Olive oil
1/2 Cup Butter
1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream
2 tablespoons Chicken Bullion

For the topping:
15 frozen Rhodes Dinner Rolls, raised
Flour for rolling out the dough
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons milk

For the meat pies:
6 large chicken breasts, cooked and diced

Putting these pies together is actually pretty simple. The hardest part is the time it takes to roll out the dough. My measurements are also approximate. If you want to add or subtract from what is listed, or increase/decrease amounts, that is fine.

To start, place your 15 frozen Rhodes Dinner Rolls in greased muffin tins, cover with greased plastic wrap and keep in a warm, dark place for about 4 hours. I use Pam to grease the tins and plastic.

In a large, heavy pot, add the olive oil and butter with the heat at medium. Add the potatoes, carrots, and celery. Increase the temperature to medium-high and cook, stirring regularly, for about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and shallots. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes. Add the basil, salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning, stir to blend the seasonings completely. Finally, add the heavy whipping cream and chicken bullion. Stir to combine all ingredients and bring to a low boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes.

While the filling is doing the last bit of cooking, dice your chicken breasts and place at the bottom of your ramekins. You do not need to prepare your ramekins at all. Once the filling is ready, fill your ramekins nearly to the top.

On a floured board, roll out the dinner rolls one at a time so they are like small 6 inch pizza crusts. If you want to, cut a design into the middle of the dough now, as it will be more difficult once they are placed on the ramekins. Using an egg wash (2 eggs beaten with 2 tablespoons milk) create a seal around the edge of the ramekin for the dough to stick to. After all of the pies are covered with dough, use the wash to cover all exposed dough (this will keep the dough from drying out, shrinking, and make it look prettier after baking.)

Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes per batch. I put my ramekins on a large jelly roll pan to catch any leaking from the pies.

* I used three whole rotisserie chickens from the market that were already cooked to help cut down on cooking time. I mainly used the breasts and any good leg meat, avoiding the skin completely.