Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers

Recipe adapted from Melissa d'Arabian


Yup, these taste as good as they sound and look. Chicken and veggies in a delicious sauce/gravy all wrapped up in puff pastry!! Your family will hope for leftover chicken just so you can serve this the next day!

I actually don't like Chicken Pot Pie, or most stews or casseroles. Well, that is what I thought anyway. What I have learned over the years is that it is usually the preparation and quality of ingredients that I don't like or didn't like growing up. I don't want to eat mushy veggies in a sauce consisting mostly of processed soups, powder packets or other short cut ingredients. And that is okay, in fact that is great. The fresher the better! I saw this recipe on TV and the whole time I kept thinking "I like that, I like those, that is exactly how I make my gravy". I figured it was time to try Chicken Pot Pie - well, my version anyway.

The original recipe called for peas but I don't really like them. I decided to use asparagus. Mostly because I like it and partly because I had some in my fridge!

All the veggies and chicken bubbling away in their sauce.

I like to cut my veggies big so you can see and taste what you are eating. The pastry did absorb some of the sauce but it still had all the flavor and was delicious.

Be sure to pinch your dough really good around the edges before baking. Some of our sauce found its way out onto the tray - but even this one was fantastic!!

Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers

2 tbsp butter
2 shallots, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup chopped asparagus
1 cup chopped mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups chopped or shredded chicken, cooked
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the shallots, carrots, celery, mushrooms, and asparagus with salt and pepper, to taste, until the carrots soften, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and cook for an additional minute, stirring frequently. Add the flour and cook off the raw flavor, about 1 minute more. Turn up the heat to medium-high and deglaze the pan with the wine. Whisk in the stock and Dijon mustard. Add the chicken and cook on a very low simmer until the sauce thickens up into a gravy, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, cut your puff pastry into four even squares. Gently roll out each square. Place the squares on a baking sheet and spoon the chicken mixture in the center. Fold the squares diagonally to create triangles. Pinch the edges together to create turnovers (use a little water if needed to bind). Press the edges with a fork to create a decorative border. Whisk the egg with a splash of water and brush the turnovers with the egg wash. Cut a small slit in the top to allow the steam to escape during baking. Bake the turnovers until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool at least 10 minutes before serving as the insides will be very hot.

Makes 4 turnovers. They are huge and this recipe could be easily spread into 6 portions.



Is there anything you like as an Adult that you didn't when you were a child?

Enjoy

CC

Chicken Mushroom Hash

Recipe from Weight Watchers

Can health food really be this tasty? It started with veggies, lots of veggies. And no cream, no extra cheese, how can this be so good? I really don't know, but trust me there is no lack of flavor here!

I added extra mushrooms to this part. Cause I can. I am the cook!

I had a chicken breast left over from the night before (a roasted chicken) and needed to jazz it up and stretch it out to feed my family. When I read this recipe it all sounded really good, but I couldn't really visualize it. I didn't understand how you would best eat it. And I didn't really know what to put as a side dish with it. More veggies??

I thought that when I scooped this out it would be quite saucy and might need pasta or something, but I was surprised. It held together quite well and was loaded with flavor. Not to mention veggies!! They are good for me, and you!! My husband and I ate up this casserole like there was no tomorrow! It went perfectly with my roasted asparagus.

Chicken Mushroom Hash

Serves 4

1 cup fresh whole wheat bread crumbs (about 2 slices of bread)

3 tbsp grated Romano cheese

2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped (optional in my house)

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, diced

1 cup chopped white mushrooms

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 pound skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (or leftover chicken!)

1 tbsp flour

1 tsp dried thyme

1 cup fat-free milk

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray shallow 2 quart casserole dish with nonstick spray.

2. To make crumb topping, mix together bread crumbs, Romano cheese, and parsley in small bowl.

3. heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and bell pepper; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms give up their liquid and liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes longer.

4. Add chicken to skillet; sprinkle with flour, thyme, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, and remaining 1/8 tsp pepper. Cook, stirring, until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Stir in milk; cook, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles and thickens, about 3 minutes.

5. Spoon hash into prepared casserole; sprinkle evenly with crumb mixture. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Points Plus value: 6

Enjoy

CC

Pineapple Chicken

Recipe from Jamie Cooks It Up



This is easily one of our new favorite recipes. It is sweet and sour and the warm pineapple is just over the top! We have discussed possibly throwing in a few green peppers too - which I think would make a great addition!


Brown your chicken and get it in a pan.

Then boil up your yummy pineapple sauce.

Pour over top and pop it in your oven.

With only 10-15 minutes to go pull it out and put the pineapple on top.

Serve over rice. Delicious and easy to feed a crowd!

Pineapple Chicken

Serves 7 (I easily half this recipe with only 2 breasts)

5 chicken breasts cut into strips

1/2 cup of flour

salt

pepper

olive oil

Sauce

1 large can pineapple chunks

1 1/4 cup pineapple juice (use the juice from the can. If you don't have enough just top it up with some water)

3/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1 chicken bouillon cube

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1. In a dish mix the flour, salt and pepper.

2. Dredge the chicken strips through the flour mixture.

3. Brown the chicken in a hot pan with olive oil. Lay the browned chicken in a 9 x 13 pan. Good idea to spray it first with cooking spray.

4. In a medium sauce pan mix the ginger, sugar and cornstarch. Add all the other sauce ingredients to the dry mixture and stir.

5. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 2 min, stirring occasionally. Then pour 2/3 of the sauce over the top of your chicken.

6. Bake uncovered at 375 F for 30 min.

7. After 30 min, remove the chicken from the oven and add the pineapple chunks and the rest of the sauce. Return to the oven for another 10 - 15 min.

8. Serve over rice.

Yum

CC

Chicken Caccitorie

Dutchess. Isn't she beautiful? My husband actually came up with her name - she is so very pretty. I have been waiting to cook the perfect dish with her for the first time. Finally it came to me. Chicken Caccitorie. One of those dishes that isn't really a recipe but rather an idea. Anyone can whip this up (sans Dutchess even). Be brave, be bold. Add something new!! I did, (two new things) and shhhhhh nobody knows yet!!

Start by browning off your chicken. I used Shake N Bake (do I even need to say it again? Don't fix something if it isn't broken) but you can use any sort of breading/seasoning you like! I didn't add the small chicken tenders back to the sauce but served them to my 3 year old with some slurpee pasta on the side. Seems to go over better that way. When you are happy with the color on your chicken, remove it and add your vegetables.

Now, with all that veg how can this meal not be good for you? So, secret ingredient number 1 - Shallots. I know, not a big deal but my family and I are not onion fans! I have started using a shallot here or there - and I must say, I think we all are starting to appreciate the little guy. I also have started grating half a zucchini into my tomato sauces. We all like zucchini but it melts away into nothing when grated and you still get the nutrients without feeling like you are eating yet another veggie!

Once your veggies are cooked down and the mushrooms have released some of their liquid, add your sauce. I started with secret ingredient number 2 - red wine. Just 1/4 cup. White wine is often splashed into all kinds of my dishes, but not red. It was delightful. Then I added my favorite tomato sauce. Then I added back the chicken, put Dutchess' lid on and simmered away for 20 min.

I hope some of you get inspired to make your own Caccitorie!!

Enjoy

CC.

WW pts = 10 (1/2 chicken breast, 1 1/2 cups pasta)

Lemon Thyme Chicken

I could eat Chicken every day. Every single day. I could eat it plain, breaded, grilled, BBQ, shake 'n bake, roasted, in sauce or with a dipping sauce. I love chicken so much all I have to say is "winner, winner" and my 3 yr old says "chicken dinner". Okay, you get the idea.

I don't think my husband shares my love of the "chicken every day" idea. So, I try to mask it with new and exciting recipes. This was one of them...

I love stove top cooking. Roasting is a close second, but the more chopping and stirring I get to do the better. I love watching the food transform before my eyes.

Something I learned: Lemon is a seasoning. Well, that is what I am going to repeat over and over to myself while using it. I used the amount of lemon called for in the recipe - but boy was it over the top sour lemon! So, when you go to make this otherwise delicious dish - please taste as you squeeze!! Stop when you have enough lemon for you.

This would go lovely with roasted veggies, a salad or your favorite pasta dish. I hope you give this one a try!!

Lemon Thyme Chicken

adapted from Rachel Ray

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp coarse salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp butter

1 shallot

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

juice of 2 lemons, rolled on counter to release juices

6 - 8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves stripped from stem

1. Put flour, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning in a big plastic baggie. Pat chicken dry and drop into bag. Give the chicken a good shake to lightly coat the breasts. Remove from bag and set aside the additional flour.

2. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a big nonstick skillet. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and add a pat of butter and the shallot to the pan. Cook 2 or 3 minutes. Stirring frequently. Add reserved flour and cook 1 minute.

3. Add broth and bring sauce to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and squeeze lemon juice into the sauce. Add thyme and additional pat of butter. Add chicken back to pan and let simmer until cooked through and coated with sauce.

Enjoy

CC

No, The Aliens Are Not Coming....

First off.... no need to be scared, this is not a food space ship. I know it looks like something that is about to sky rocket off with your dinner, but it is merely a convection oven.... cool right?


Secondly, I have gathered that I need to put in a disclaimer about now.... but I am new at this and not really sure of the rules or what to say. So here it goes. Nobody paid me to do this, or say these things. I do not own any of the FlavorWave Turbo company. It was just a Christmas gift for my sister.... and we wanted to try it out!

My sister received this convection oven and we decided to roast (if that still applies with this machine) a chicken. My sister and I had never seen any advertising for this machine before, so luckily our girlfriend had. She helped us wrap our pretty heads around it.

I decided to do a combination of my Honey Thyme Chicken and Jamie Oliver's Christmas Butter recipes. It was of course, fantastic. I usually cook with fresh herbs, but this was a last minute decision (we were lucky to get the chicken) so I settled for dry. Thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper and butter.

Stuffed underneath the skin and against the breast. There really is no better place for it!!

Then we set that baby on it's post/rack and let her go.....

It takes 21 minutes for every pound of chicken. This chicken was just under 3 pounds, so we cooked it for one hour. We could literally watch it cooking through the glass....

It caught all the drippings so we could even make our favorite gravy. A mixture of drippings, white wine and chicken stock. Thicken with cornstarch. Yum.

I know the skin looks charred here, but trust me - it is the honey that does this. It tastes fantastic. In fact, my husband is still talking about this chicken - and I make chicken all the time!!

Enjoy

CC

Bruschetta 'n Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breast

I found this was a simple recipe to put together. The best part was you can easily do this the night before and then you can just pop it into the oven when you get home from work. It would be great for your family or even company!

The filling is made up of the diced tomatoes, stove-top stuffing and basil. You have to pound out the chicken, place a good heap of the stuffing on them and then roll up! I found the ingredients in the grocery store but it did take me a long time to sift through the thousands of bottles of Kraft dressings to find the one they recommended.

The recipe makes 8 pieces of chicken. Way too much for my family! I did get smart though and bought 6 chicken breasts. I cooked 3 tonight and took the other 3 and put them in a casserole dish. I put a small bag of shredded cheese on top and a note with cooking instructions. Wrapped the whole thing up and put it in my freezer. I will be so thankful for that when I find it again!

You can get the recipe here.

Overall, it was easy to prepare. Other than the chicken - the ingredients did not cost very much. My husband loved it. I was on the fence. I was careful seasoning this as I thought it would be salty form the stove-top stuffing - but I actually found it quite bland. So my advice - try it out and don't forget to season as you go, it needs it!!

Enjoy

CC.

Tarragon Chicken

My in laws come to visit us quite often. I usually try to do a new recipe or a nice dinner one of the nights they are here. Gives me some time to myself in the kitchen and I enjoy cooking for more than our usual 2.5 people. My MIL's favorite herb is Tarragon, what a perfect dish to try out!

It was really easy to make and cooks up right on your stove top. I used bone in and skin on breasts and thighs. Everyone said they really loved it, although I wasn't a huge fan. Probably because the sauce consisted mostly of sour cream (I substituted instead of Creme Fraiche). I may try this again but perhaps just use cream to thicken the sauce.

I served it with a faithful side of roasted carrots and some roasted potatoes. I had meant to do some fennel as well, but it sat completely forgotten in my fridge... there is always next time!!

You can get the recipe here.

Enjoy!

CC

Enchiladas = "Work"iladas

My whole family enjoys Tacos. Kind of a good thing when you have to feed a 3 year old! It gets meat, cheese, veggies and some spice into the little guy. My husband loves it so much he suggested "Taco Tuesdays." Haha, well a good idea maybe - but I can't cook in a routine!

Anyway, I have been wanting to cook a little bit more of an authentic Mexican dinner. I mean, ripping open that overdose of a sodium spice packet over some ground meat (chicken in our house) is hardly authentic. So, I decided to give it a go with Chicken Enchiladas.

After picking a Rachel Ray recipe (which is a total hoax cause there is no way you are getting this done in 30 min!) I headed to the grocery store. I don't know if it was that I never had a need to look beyond my regular spice packet or if it is all new but Old El Paso is coming out with some great stuff! I really wanted to stay away from anything packaged, but just couldn't help myself, haha.


Okay, so cooking the chicken is quite the process. You boil it in stock, spices, herbs, onions etc. Rachel says it only takes 10 min but I found chicken on sale still on the bone. It naturally took much longer for mine to cook. Just be sure to check your chicken before you start to shred it!!

I used her spice blend in the recipe. I did find the chicken a bit bland considering what I had put it through - but again I think I am just jaded from that store bought spice packet! I also added some cheese inside these enchiladas - something Rachel must not have had time for!

I had every intention on making my very own authentic Mexican rice. I was even very excited to see these Green Chilies that Old El Paso has conveniently prepared for the consumer! Did any of you know these were out there?? However a little further down the shelf....

I mean hello, I could I pass this up! I was already in over my head on these "work"iladas that I decided to take a short cut with the Old El Paso Mexican Rice!

It was a bit soupy but had a really nice spice. I nearly fell on the floor when I saw the amount of sodium in here! Please, if you try this - don't look!!!

There it is, my authentic looking, hopefully tasting enchilada! AKA "Work"ilada!! Yum. Next time - skip the shredded meat and go back to ground!!

You can try it all for yourself here!

Disfrute! (I googled that, hope it is right)

CC.

Chicken Pandemoniyum

I tried this new recipe from my Eat, Shrink and Be Merry cookbook. It sounded really good and is all done in one skillet!! What could be easier?? It was also packed with flavor! You forget it is healthy for you with all that yummy taste!!

I used about 2/3 of the amount of chicken the recipe calls for. I still had enough to serve 4 people!! Serve with a salad and it is a perfect meal!

Chicken Pandemoniyum

3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/4 lbs = 568 g)

2 tsp olive oil

3 cups sliced mushrooms

3/4 cup chopped onions

1 tsp minced garlic

1 pkg (6.3 oz = 180 g) Uncle Ben's Long Grain & Wild Rice original recipe

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

1. Cut chicken breasts into large chunks (about 6 pieces per breast). heat oil in a 10 inch non-stick skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Add chicken pieces and cook over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, stirring often, until chicken is lightly browned all over Remove chicken from skillet and set aside.

2. Add mushrooms, onions, and garlic to the same skillet. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. If vegetables start to stick, add a little water or broth.

3. Add rice and seasoning pouch. mix well and let cook for 30 seconds. Stir in broth and wine. Return chicken to skillet. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, until rice is tender and liquid is absorb3ed. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

So good.

CC.

Honey! It is Thyme for dinner....

This may be the only roasted chicken recipe I make ever again. It was fantastic! Below is a shot of the chicken after 45 minutes. You roast it back side up for the first half and then flip it over (breast side up) for the remainder cooking time. It is lovingly basted with Honey and Olive Oil.

It's cavity is filled with Lemon Zest, Shallot and Thyme. If my sister is not around (she is allergic to everything) I throw a stalk of celery and one carrot in the bottom of the roasting pan for good measure. Ummm... Yummy!!


You can imagine what another 45 minutes and more basting would do to that chicken. Not to mention the fantastic potatoes that came along side of it.

I was not overly crazy about the au jus made from the drippings - but would attempt again. I took a reviewer's advice and made the sauce then strained it before bringing to the table. A little cornstarch to make it more gravy like could be a good addition.

The chicken was served with stuffing, asparagus and cheese sauce, potatoes and fresh buns. So delicious.

Here is the Recipe!
Enjoy.

I can't wait to have this again,

CC.