oven cornbread pot pie

This is comfort food central!  Not only did our house smell awesome while this was in the oven, but my soul was so soothed while I was eating it – it made me want to put on sweats, curl up in a ball in front of the fireplace with a soft blanket and good book :)  Who needs chicken noodle soup when you have THIS?!?!

This is also super easy to make vegetarian and/ or gluten-free!  Enjoyable on all counts really :)

Oven Cornbread Pot Pie
Start-to-finish 1 hour
Serves 8

Ingredients
filling…
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 chicken breasts, cubed (optional – baked squash is a good substitute)
salt
pepper
olive oil
4 medium carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen broccoli

sauce…
3 1/2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour (if making this recipe gluten-free, use gluten-free thickener such as corn starch)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth/ yellow veggie stock, warmed
1 cup milk, warmed
1 bay leaf
salt
pepper
thyme
1/3 cup shredded parmesan

topping…
1 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 1/2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoon oil

Instructions
1) Combine onion, garlic, and 1 tbsp oil in medium dutch oven over medium heat.  Saute ~3 minutes until onions begin to soften.  Add chicken and saute ~5 minutes.  Add carrots, celery, potatoes, peas, and broccoli.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a bit more oil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer ~15 minutes or until vegetables soften.

2) While vegetable-chicken mixture is simmering, make sauce….
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Once melted, add flour and stir to combine.  Reduce heat to low and gradually add warmed milk, and broth, stirring until well combined after each addition so that no lumps form.  Once all the liquid has been added, season with bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper. Increase heat to medium and continue to stir until sauce thickens.  Remove bay leaf and stir in parmesan until sauce is smooth.

3) When both vegetables are soft and sauce is thickened, add sauce to vegetable-chicken mixture and stir to coat.

4) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

5) Make corn bread topping…
In a medium bowl, combine corn meal, salt, sugar, and baking powder.  Add in milk, eggs, and oil and mix until well combined.

6) Spoon corn bread batter evenly over filling.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes until top is browned and sides are bubbling.  Let stand ~5 minutes before serving.