Been awhile since I posted anything on here...but I'm aiming to change that! There are plenty of restaurants I have been meaning to review (Pam's Patio Kitchen! Thai Orchid! River Tree! Scuzzi!) And every time I cook something worth eating, I take a photo of it. And I typically alter the recipes for fun & for health, so IMO they're worth sharing. I just get lazy about blogging! But, one of my New Year's resolutions is to be consistent with my daily/weekly to-dos. One of those is to blog consistently, mainly over at my general site but also on La Vida Deliciosa, my San Antonio recipe/restaurant review site! So, enjoy. We'll see how this goes!
It's cold & gross here in SA right now (especially if you are allergic to mountain cedar, in which case the weather is gross and you are feeling nasty too). It's not a bad idea to turn back to the old favorites - but the hard part is the calories most of those favorites pack! I mean, have you ever noticed the per-serving calorie counts on dishes like lasagna, creamy casseroles, roast beef with potatoes, fried chicken...or pot pie? Well, it's easy to blow your diet with just one meal, unless you get creative and learn to mimic the richness of those original recipes with other lighter, cleaner ingredients. That's what I set out to do with pot pie. I was craving that creamy consistency, the green peas (one of my fave veggies) and most of all, the flaky, buttery biscuit topping. I know some people would prefer pie crust but I like a thicker topping that soaks in the creamy sauce, so I'm a biscuit girl all the way. I found a base recipe and decided to play around with it a little bit. Here's what I did, and it turned out so much better than I'd even hoped. I always feel a little silly using cornstarch to thicken a sauce - it seems like a "real" chef would make a nice roux and do other things to get the desired result - but I didn't want to use flour in the dish so cornstarch is next-best. I supplemented with pureed sweet potatoes as a thickener & natural, subtle sweetener -- and to my surprise, the result was really divine. Give it a shot.
Chicken Pot Pie (Serves 4 - takes approx 1 hour)
- 2 cups baby carrots
- 1/2 onion (red or white) chopped
- 2 tsp garlic powder (or minced garlic)
- 1 tsp. fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried
- 1 tsp TrueLemon lemon powder or fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 small jar of pureed sweet potato (I used...yes...baby food! or, puree 1 cup of frozen sweet potato chunks in a food processor)
- 2 cups cooked chicken - I have to be honest, I use canned drained white meat chicken in dishes like this. You an cook your own, or get a rotisserie chicken from the store & use the meat from that!
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1.5 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup skim milk
- 2 tsp dried parsley
- pinch salt and ground black pepper
- 1 recipe for 9 Bisquick biscuits, made and rolled out to the size/shape of the baking dish you're using
1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Drizzle some olive oil in a pan with high sides. Combine carrots, onion, bay leaves, garlic powder, thyme and 1/2 tsp. salt in the pan. Cook until the onions are getting translucent and the carrots are starting to look darker. Add the chicken broth and pureed sweet potatoes & simmer until the carrots are getting soft on the outside. Stir in white wine & bring back to a simmer.
3. While the veggie/liquid mixture cooks down and concentrates, whisk the cornstarch into the milk and athen dd to the simmering pot. Simmer until the mixture is really thick, then turn off heat.
4. Take out the bay leaf, stir in the peas, chicken, and parsley and season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the filling into a baking dish (I used a Le Creuset 8" stoneware gratin dish...because we are only 2 people and this recipe is just enough for, like 4 people.) Top the dish off with your biscuit crust (it should be no more than 1/2 inch thick). I brush the top with milk and sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, & parsley on top - you can get creative, use whatever you want!)
6. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbly... 20-25 minutes. Serve with fruit or a green salad!
As a bonus, I'll give you my recipe for canteloupe, which I served on the side - it's delish! I accidently used too much vinegar last night (sorry, husband) but the version below is accurate...
Canteloupe Salad (serves 2)
1/2 canteloupe, rinds removed & flesh cut into 1" pieces
1 tbsp white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/4 tsp salt
- Mix all the ingredients together & serve! Room temp is best for canteloupe, in my opinion...
