Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie

I found this recipe on the Rachael Ray website and had to give it a try. It was extremely easy to make and many of the ingredients I already had in my kitchen.

The one thing you will notice when I post recipes is that in parenthesis I will write if I strayed from the original recipe at all. I tend to make my recipes a little more figure friendly to help eliminate the hours afterwards that I need to spend on the treadmill.

XOXO,
Esra

Buffalo Chicken Pot Pie
SERVES 6

Ingredients:
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
1 large onion, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 carrots, peeled and chopped into bite sized pieces
3 stalks celery, chopped into bite sized pieces
2 garlic cloves, grated
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
4 tablespoons butter (I used I Can't Believe It's Not Butter)
4 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock (i used fat free and only used 1 can)
1/4 cup hot sauce (or more for more kick!) (I used Frank's hot sauce)
17 ounces boxed cornbread mix (like 2 boxes of Jiffy mix)
2/3 cup milk (I used skim)
2 eggs
1 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used reduced fat)

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.Heat 2 tablespoons of EVOO in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped chicken chunks and sauté them on both sides until golden brown. Remove chicken chunks from skillet and reserve on a plate.
3.Add another 2 tablespoons of EVOO, the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the same skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, 5-6 minutes.
4.While the veggies are cooking start the sauce: In a medium-size sauce pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat then stir in the flour and cook until light brown, about 1 minute. Whisk the chicken stock and hot sauce into the butter/flour mixture and bring it to a boil. Simmer the gravy until thickened, 2-3 minutes.
5.Return the reserved chicken chunks to the skillet with the cooked vegetables and add the gravy, stirring to combine. Transfer everything to a 9x11" casserole dish and set aside while you prepare the topping.
6.In a medium-size mixing bowl, prepare the cornbread according to package directions. Stir the blue cheese crumbles into the cornbread mixture and drop spoonfuls of the batter onto the top of the casserole, covering it completely.
7.Bake the pot pie until the cornbread is baked through and the filling is hot, 20-30 minutes.