Dutch Oven Chicken Pot Pie
Autumn leaves and the crisp cool air scream COMFORT FOOD. Camping lakeside in Arkansas seemed like the perfect time to break out the Dutch Oven and whip up some Chicken Pot Pie. Before we get to the recipe though, let me share with you how I got into cooking over coals the way the pioneers did.
The oven I use was given to me by my grandmother. My grandparents did a lot of tent and car camping in their younger years and eventually moved into the RV world. (sound familiar?) Before we moved to Oregon in 1999 she gifted me her prized Dutch oven. I was pretty young, inexperienced in camp cooking and had absolutely no idea what to do with this piece of hardware. Our camp dinners at that time consisted of Dinty Moore beef stew over rice with bread and butter (gasp!) I brought the Dutch oven to Oregon and let it sit. When we moved into our new house, the boys found it and wanted to use it for mud pies. Okay, have fun boys!
My dad comes for a visit and sees this Dutch oven sitting in the yard rusting away. He could not believe that I would let the boys use it as a toy and lets me know how disappointed my grandmother would be to see it in this condition. He told me about all the wonderful meals she used to cook in this on their camp trips. Guilt set in. I knew what I had to do.
Bill, being the fabulous husband he is, used his drill with a special attachment to clean all the rust from the oven. We properly re-seasoned the oven and got it ready for cooking again. I began to research how to use the oven and recipes to try. I found several websites and tried many recipes. Over time the craft of cooking in a cast iron oven with coals was perfected.
If you like to cook outside, I encourage you to try this method. It can be challenging but a lot of fun. The end result is usually delicious!
Ingredients
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves; diced
3 Tbs. bacon grease or olive oil
4 cloves garlic; minced
1 yellow onion; diced
4 medium potatoes; diced
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen mixed vegetables; thawed
2 (10.5 oz.) cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried rosemary
1 Tbs. Worcestershire
salt and black pepper to taste
1 can refrigerated crescent rolls (biscuits can be used if you like more bread)
Directions
Heat a 12″ Dutch oven using 20-22 briquettes on the bottom until hot. To hot oven add bacon grease or oil, chicken
and garlic; season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cook chicken stirring frequently until chicken is
no longer pink.
Coal Pile on the Right 
Add onions and potatoes and continue cooking until onions are translucent but still
firm. Stir in mixed vegetables, soup, evaporated milk, poultry seasoning and Worcestershire; season
with salt and pepper. Let mixture come to a low boil.
Unroll the crescent rolls and create a top crust by layering flat rolls across the top of ingredients.
Reduce the heat on bottom to 8-10 briquettes and add 14-16 briquettes to the lid. Bake for 25-30
minutes. Remove coals from lid and sweep away all the ash before removing the lid. Rolls should be golden brown and flaky. Check to make sure potatoes are cooked through. If not, replace lid, add briquettes and continue to cook maintaining bottom heat to keep pie bubbling an additional 15 minutes until potatoes are cooked through.
Enjoy!
