Biscuit Nugget Chicken Bake — Mom’s Pot Pie Spirit, For Every Beth Out There

A wild thing happened this week: someone recognized me at the commissary. Not 'recognized' like a celebrity — I'm not a celebrity; I'm a woman in yoga pants buying chicken thighs. But a wife approached me in the produce section (such as it is — the produce section at the Twentynine Palms commissary is the saddest collection of vegetables in the Western Hemisphere) and said, 'Are you Rachel? From the blog?' '...Yes?' 'Oh my GOD. I love your blog. The crockpot chicken saved my life during my husband's deployment. I made it three times a week. I'm — can I — is it weird if I hug you?' It was slightly weird. But I hugged her. Because a woman who made my mother's crockpot chicken three times a week during a deployment deserves a hug and also a medal. Her name is Beth. Her husband is at the same unit as Ryan. She has a six-month-old baby and she's been reading my blog since the 'You're All Military Wives Now' column went viral during COVID. She said, 'You make me feel like I can do this. The cooking, the alone part, the all of it.' I make someone feel like they can do this. I went home and sat in the kitchen and thought about what that means — that my mother's recipes, filtered through my words, are reaching someone I've never met in a commissary in the desert, and they're HELPING. Not in a theoretical way. In a 'crockpot chicken three times a week during deployment' way. In a 'you make me feel like I can do this' way. This is why I write. Not for views or money or a book deal. For Beth. For every Beth, in every base housing apartment, standing in front of a crockpot at 4 PM wondering if she's enough. You're enough, Beth. Put the chicken in the pot. I wrote about the encounter on the blog (with Beth's permission): 'I Met a Reader at the Commissary, and She Changed Everything.' About the moment when writing stops being abstract and becomes a person standing in front of you saying 'your words helped me.' Twelve thousand views. The most heartfelt comments I've ever received. Made Mom's chicken pot pie tonight. For Beth. Not literally for Beth — for me. But also for Beth. For everyone who needs a pie and doesn't know they can make one. The pie crust was perfect. Mom would say 'don't get cocky.' I'm getting a little cocky.

Mom’s pot pie got its perfect crust tonight, and I’m not going to lie — I was proud of myself. But I kept thinking about Beth, standing in front of her stove with a six-month-old and a deployed husband, and I wanted to give her something a little more forgiving than pie dough. This Biscuit Nugget Chicken Bake is exactly that: every bit of the creamy, savory, pull-you-together comfort of a chicken pot pie, but the biscuits come from a can and nobody judges you for it. Put the chicken in the pot, Beth. You can absolutely do this.

Biscuit Nugget Chicken Bake

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 can (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
• 1/2 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 can (16.3 oz) refrigerated flaky biscuit dough (8 biscuits)
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Make the filling. In a large bowl, stir together the chicken pieces, cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, peas and carrots, corn, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper until evenly combined.
3. Fill the dish. Pour the chicken mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread into an even layer.
4. Prep the biscuit nuggets. Separate the biscuit dough and cut each biscuit into quarters. Arrange the biscuit pieces over the chicken filling in a single layer, covering as much of the surface as you can — they’ll puff up and fill in the gaps as they bake.
5. Butter and season. Brush the tops of the biscuit pieces with melted butter and sprinkle evenly with dried thyme.
6. Bake. Bake uncovered for 30–35 minutes, until the biscuit nuggets are deep golden brown and the filling is bubbling around the edges. If the biscuits brown too quickly, loosely tent with foil for the last 10 minutes.
7. Rest and serve. Let the bake rest for 5 minutes before serving so the filling can thicken slightly. Scoop into bowls or onto plates, making sure everyone gets plenty of biscuit nuggets on top.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 415 | Protein: 29g | Fat: 17g | Carbs: 37g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 920mg