Savory Creamy Chicken Mini Pastries

After making way more Chicken Verde than our family could possibly eat in a million tostadas, it was time to come up with some new recipes for the remaining chicken. I decided to make an appetizer for Friday afternoon. I like to have a little something special to celebrate the end of the work week. And the snack goes well with an icy beer.

Using up some premade pie crust from the freezer, I mixed the tomatillo-seasoned chicken with a little chopped onion, a couple cheeses, melted butter and sandwiched it between mini pastry circles. Savory Chicken Mini Pastries were born in my kitchen on Friday afternoon.

Lots of advice was offered by my kids while making the little pastries. One knew the best way to roll out the dough, another thought there should be more filling in each pastry, and a third wasn't too sure about the addition of seasoned bread crumbs as a topping. Lots of hands made for quick work of the snack preparation.

Enthusiasm for my cooking and cooking in general has grown in my family since my blogging began. And not only in my family, but in our friends as well. I even receive culinary pictures on my phone from my kids' and their friends while they are eating out. Here's to endless culinary curiosity.

Savory Creamy Chicken Mini Pastries

makes 16 pastries

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded (I used leftover Chicken Verde)
3 ounces neufchatel or cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons milk or cream
4 premade pie crusts
1 egg, beaten
seasoned bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a bowl, combine the first 8 ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Roll out one of the pie crusts and cut out 8 3-inch circles. A biscuit cutter works will for this. Place 4 of the circles on the baking sheet and top with a generous teaspoon of the chicken mixture. Top with the remaining pie crust circles. Use a fork to seal the edges of each pastry. Brush with the beaten egg and top with a sprinkle of the seasoned bread crumbs. Repeat with the remaining pie crusts.

Bake for about 12 - 14 minutes until nicely browned. Serve warm.

*Note - this recipe makes more of the chicken filling than will be used in the pastries. Heat the remainder of the chicken filling in the microwave and serve with pita or tortilla chips.