Chicken and Bacon Pot Pie

Ingredients

• 400g cooked chicken, shredded or cubed (about half a large BBQ chicken)
• 250g streaky bacon, diced
• 250g button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small brown onion, diced
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup chicken gravy
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dried thyme — staple
• 2 sheets flaky puff pastry
• 1 egg, beaten (for glazing)
• Salt and pepper — staple
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 bag green beans, topped

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220°C.
2. Cook the diced bacon in a large frying pan over medium heat until nearly crisp. Lift out onto paper towels, leaving about 1 Tbsp of fat in the pan.
3. Sauté the mushrooms and onion in the bacon fat for 6-8 minutes until tender and the liquid has cooked off.
4. Make up the gravy to 1 cup and let it cool slightly.
5. In a big bowl combine the chicken, bacon, mushroom-onion mix, sour cream, gravy, Worcestershire and thyme. Season with salt and pepper.
6. Tip into a 23cm square (or similar 2L) baking dish and level the top.
7. Lay the pastry over the top, trim the edges, press to seal and cut 6 small slits for steam. Brush with beaten egg.
8. Bake about 30 minutes until the pastry is puffed and deep golden. Rest 5 minutes before serving.
9. Steamed trio: in the last 10 minutes, steam the carrot 4 minutes, then add the broccoli and beans for a further 4-5 minutes until bright and just tender. Serve alongside the pie.

Notes

- Second source (video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLQDEKulj2o — Sam the Cooking Guy's Chicken & Bacon Pot Pie. - Meat ≈500g per 4 servings per house rule. Source quantities restored: 3 cups cooked chicken (400g) plus 1/2 lb (250g) bacon, which is 650g of meat across 4 — comfortably over the target once the bacon is counted, so no adjustment was needed. Sour cream, gravy and seasoning are all at source levels. - Source quantities converted from imperial: 1/2 lb bacon = 250g, 8 oz mushrooms = 250g, 425°F = 220°C, 9x9 inch dish = 23cm square. - Half a supermarket BBQ/rotisserie chicken pulls to roughly 400g of meat. Otherwise poach or roast about 550g of thighs. - Gravy: a packet mix (Gravox or similar) made to 1 cup is fine and what the recipe intends. Homemade pan gravy is better if you have it. - Top crust only — no need to line the dish. Two pastry sheets overlapped and pressed together will cover a 23cm square. - Calories/protein include the pastry; serve with a green salad or peas rather than more carbs. - Veg sweep: mushroom and onion alone were light, so the house Steamed trio (broccoli + carrot + green beans) is now a required side, ~170g veg/serve; calories +50 and protein +2. The onion lost its staple marker, and the sour cream carries a pregnancy-safe alternative.