Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is one of my favorite meals!  It is just great comfort food.  Taste of Home had this simple recipe for a cheesy biscuit-topped pie and I fell in love.

Ingredients:

 Shopping List:
4 cups chicken, cooked, cubed
10 oz. package frozen broccoli with cheese sauce, thawed
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can potatoes, drained
3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup frozen peas ( i used mixed veggies)
1/4 tsp. pepper

Topping:
1 biscuit mix package
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Water (amount suggested on package)

Directions:
-In a large pan, combine the first 9 ingredients; bring to a boil. Transfer to a greased 9x13 in baking dish.
-In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients; spoon over the top.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly and topping is golden brown.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Into the Oven

All Done!

My giant piece!

If you noticed, I used an 8x8 instead of a larger pan.  We would have to feed an army if we made an entire pan, so I just halved the ingredients and used a smaller pan.  I did not halve the ingredients for the topping.  I like lots of biscuit with my pot pie so I just used the regular amount!

Let me know what you think!

Happy Eating!

Oven Roasted Chicken

Have you ever had those pre-cooked, oven roasted chickens from the grocery store? Me neither... But I do hear they are quite tasty!  If you have, you will never purchase another one, because now you can make your own at home for a fraction of the price!

Imagine an entire chicken for about $3.00.  They are usually around $1.00/lb. and can be even cheaper when on sale!  Thanks to the wonderful Taste of Home magazine yet again for this great recipe.

Shopping List:

1 whole chicken, rinsed, packet of yuckies removed, patted dry

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. dried basil

6-8 small red potatoes

4 ribs celery

3 medium carrots

1 medium onion

Directions:

-Chop all veggies into bite sized portions. Set aside (in a 9x13 pan).  I usually use about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of veggies for just the two of us.

-Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease another 9x13 with cooking spray (I usually use a disposable for easy clean up). Place chicken in prepared pan.

-Whisk olive oil, salt, garlic powder, and basil together. Reserve 1 1/2 tablespoons for the vegetables. Brush remaining olive oil mixture onto chicken. Roast for 30 minutes.

-Toss remaining oil with veggies, spread them into a single layer (best you can) and cover with foil.

-TRICKY PART. Remove chicken from oven. Increase oven temp to 450 degrees. Baste chicken with drippings in bottom of the pan. Place both the chicken and veggies in oven when temperature is reached. ( I usually put them in a bit early because I don't want to wait).

-Roast 20 minutes. Remove foil from veggies, stir, and place back in oven uncovered. Roast 10 more minutes or until chicken is done/no longer pink! Allow to rest 10 minutes before carving.

In short:

-Prep chicken and veggies in separate pans.

-Roast chicken at 375 for 30 minutes.

-Baste chicken, up temperature to 450.

-Roast chicken and veggies for 20 minutes.

-Remove foil from veggies, roast veg and chicken for 10 minutes.

-Let stand for 10 minutes

-Eat

Chicken before roasting

Veggies before cooking

Finished Chicken

My favorite, some white meat! 

Finished Veggies



I know the directions seem a little crazy, but it is a super simple process, I promise!

Happy Eating!

Philly Cooking Creme

I recently got a coupon for the new Philadelphia brand Cooking Creme.  This is a flavored cream that you can use in a variety of dished (Philly has some awesome recipes on their website for them).  The recipe I chose from the website was the Southwest Pasta Skillet.  It was pretty good so I wanted to share it with you!

Ingredients

 Shopping List:
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 medium onion, chopped (I used onion instead of the green pepper it called for)
1 can corn, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (not in original recipe but who doesn't love them?)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
2 cups hot cooked Rotini pasta
1 container Philadelphia Santa Fe Cooking Creme
1 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
-Cook and stir chicken and onion in a large nonstick skillet on medium high heat until chicken is done and onion is soft.  Add corn, beans, tomatoes, and creme.  Stir and cook for 3 minutes.
-Add pasta and 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Cook and stir for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted.
-Top with remaining cheese. Remove from heat, cover, and let stand until cheese is melted.

The Veggie/Chicken Mix

The finished pasta!



As you can tell, I took a few liberties with the recipe ( onion instead of pepper and black beans!).  Feel free to do the same when you create your dish!

Happy Eating!

It's Nuts

The hubs and I got a wok as a gift when we got married. I finally used it for the right purpose! It created a very tasty an easy stir fry dinner.

The Ingredients

Shopping List:
1 lb. chicken, chopped
1 Tbsp. oil
1 pkg. frozen stir fry veggies
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
4 tsp. corn starch
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/3 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
5 drops hot sauce
3 cups chopped cabbage
Chopped Peanuts
Hot cooked rice

Directions:
-In a large skillet or wok, stir fry chicken in oil for 2 minutes. Add vegetables, cook 4 minutes longer. Add garlic; stir fry until chicken is no longer pink and veggies are crisp tender.
-In a small bowl combine the brown sugar, cornstarch, and ginger. Stir in the broth, soy sauce, peanut butter, and hot sauce until well blended. Pour over chicken mixture.
-Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add cabbage, cook 2 minutes longer or until crisp tender. Sprinkle with peanuts and serve with rice.

The WOK

The completed dish (minus the peanuts)

This meal was glorious. Just like the Chinese restaurant, but WAY healthier I'm sure. Let me know if you give this a try.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup is a new recipe at our house! We just love the taste of this when we are out to eat, so I decided to create my own version at home. The best part about this recipe? Most of the ingredients are from a can so it is mainly a open, pour, and stir meal!

Please let me know if and when you try this in your own home!

Ingredients

The canned and packaged items

The fresh items

Shopping List

1 medium onion, diced
1 orange sweet pepper, diced

2 Tbsp. butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can cream of potato soup

1 can chicken broth

1 can Rotel tomatoes and chillies, with juice

1 can corn, drained

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded

1/2 packet taco seasoning

1/2 packet chili seasoning

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup sour cream

Tortilla Chips

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Directions

-Saute onion, pepper, garlic, and butter in a large pan until tender.

-Add soups and broth to onion mixture. Stir well.

-Add Rotel, corn, beans, and chicken; stir and let heat through

-Add taco and chili seasoning with 1 cup of milk. More or less milk can be used according to desired thickness. Add sour cream and heat through; stirring often.

-Spoon into individual bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

We ate our soup with a tasty grilled cheese (with turkey). Please be warned, this recipe make enough to feed an army (about 8 large bowls). We like to freeze the leftover soup in separate containers so we have a few quick meals at our fingertips later on!

I also did a little calculating because I really wanted to know how good (or bad) this soup is for you. With all of its cheesy, creamy, rich goodness I must admit I was a little afraid. However, with a serving size of 2 large ladles it only worked out to be 475 calories! I may have done a small happy dance at that revelation.

So there you have it. The first recipe of what I hope is many to come.

Happy Eating!