Good Eats: Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken-pot pie.  I don't like all the condensed soups that create the filling, though.  I also am not a big fan of making my own crust from scratch, so I prefer the "semi-homemade" chicken pot pie...this way I can get all the flavors, none of the condensed soups, and still can cheat and use refrigerated pie crusts :) .

This recipe has become a staple for us...it is one of the only recipes that J remembers to ask "can we have that pot pie again next week"...which means I am happy to oblige.

The original recipe is located here, and her pictures do this dish far more justice than mine... I didn't seal my edges all the way so my crust is not nearly as beautiful as hers, (but it was still delicious!)

This is also one of those dishes that you can freeze in Tupperware and you can reheat it and it tastes delicious all over again.  (sigh)....I absolutely love simple recipes that are delicious and you can reheat frozen portions later...what a beautiful thing.

On to the recipe.....



Ingredients:

 1 box of pie crusts, at room temperature (I let mine sit out for 15 minutes prior to using them)

 1/3 cup unsalted butter

 1/2 cup chopped onion

 1/3 cup AP flour

 1/2 tsp salt

 1/4 tsp pepper

 1 and 3/4 cup chicken broth

 1/2 cup skim milk

 1 lb cooked, shredded chicken (I baked mine at 350 for 40 minutes and shredded it in my kitchenaid

         mixer..I also sprinkled it with Lawry's seasoned salt)

 1 small bag frozen, mixed veggies, thawed (around 2.5 cups)

 

 



Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Spray glass pie dish with cooking spray.  Place bottom crust in greased dish. 

2. In saucepan over medium, melt butter.  Add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. 

3. Add sat, pepper, and flour.  Gradually add milk and broth.  Continue to cook and stir until it is bubbly (you may increase the heat to medium-high to achieve the bubbles as needed)

4. Stir in shredded chicken and thawed mixed vegetables.  Continue stirring until the sauce is thickened.  Remove from heat.

5. Pour into bottom pie crust.  Top with second crust and seal the edges.  Cut slits into top crust to permit airflow.

6. Bake 30-40 minutes (if your edges begin to brown too much, cover pie crust edges with tin foil after 15 minutes of cooking).

7. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

 

 

 

Simple enough? I vote yes. So much so, that this is on next weeks' meal plan as well :)

 

 

 

Happy cooking, y'all,

Virginia

 

 



 



Good Eats: Balsamic Roast Beef with roasted asparagus

I love my crockpot.

So much so, that often times I hunt for new recipes just so that I can use my crockpot and come home to the delicious smells of flavorful foods that have been cooking all day. 

So I browsed through my pinterest and decided that this recipe was worth a shot.... and it didn't disappoint!! I also paired it with rice pilaf and The pioneer woman's roasted asparagus.  Perfect combo (this is by far my favorite asparagus preparation, by the way--you should totally use her recipe!)

delicious!  The beef was so tender, flavorful, and juicy!

 

Ingredients:

3-4 lbs boneless roast beef (chuck or round roast)

1 cup beef broth

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 Tbsp honey

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced

 

(If you're going to make the asparagus, grab a bunch of asparagus, pull out your EVOO, and your sea salt!)

 

Preparation:

1. Spray the slowcooker insert with cooking spray. Place roast in bottom of pan

2. Mix together all the ingredients (except the beef, obviously).  Pour over the beef.

3. Cook on low for 6-8 hours (I had a 3.5 lb roast and I let it cook for around 7 hours)

4. Remove beef and shred.  Ladle 1/2 cup of gravy over the shredded beef.  Save the reserved broth for future use!

 

 

That's it! So simple, and so delicious.  It has a flavor that is not overpowering, which I love because it permits it some versatility. 

 

 

To make the asparagus.

1. Chop off the woody bases of your asparagus.  Wash and pat dry. 

2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

3. Place asparagus on a single row on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with EVOO.  Garnish with freshly cracked sea salt and pepper.

4. Bake 12-15 minutes.

 

My favorite thing about this recipe is that the asparagus still has a crunch to it--it doesn't get all floppy and you're not dousing it in butter!! 

 

Delicious...can you smell the goodness?

 

Happy slow-cooking,

Virginia





Good Eats: Skinny Cheeseburger Casserole

Have y'all visited the blog Skinnytaste?  If not... you definitely should.  They have some of the best recipes that are all healthy-- and provide the nutritional information of each recipe for you so that you can tweak it as you need!!

Anyways, I kept seeing this cheeseburger casserole recipe pop up on pinterest...which to me, honestly sounds, well disgusting.  I love cheeseburgers....and I love casseroles....but the thought of something tasting like a cheeseburger and involving a casserole dish just didn't seem appealing to my tastebuds.  I decided, though, that the realm of pinterest and the pinning-gurus couldn't be wrong about mixing the dish together.  So with some hesitancy, I decided to muster up my courage and find a cheeseburger casserole recipe to try.

I made it on a night that I had a late lunch...mostly because I was fearful it would be a total flop (this was also the first recipe I had tried since my complete failure of crockpot French toast that I was ridiculously excited about and waited months to try...... and it was probably one of the biggest fails of all time.) 

So we tried one from skinnytaste (you can find the original, un-tweaked version here.  I wanted more protein, less noodles, and less cheese.  So we added more ground beef, and also some more tomato paste!



Ingredients:

1.5 cups uncooked rotini pasta

2 tsp EVOO

1 cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1.5 lbs lean ground beef

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 small can of tomato paste

28 oz diced tomatoes, drained

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/5 cups low fat shredded cheddar cheese

chopped dill pickles (we used the sandwich style dills and chopped them into sixths)

 

Preparation:

 

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 9 x 13 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.

 

2. Cook pasta according to directions on package

 

3. In a large skillet (with a lid), heat oil over medium.  Cook onions until softened.  Stir in garlic, and cook for 2 minutes.  Add beef.  Increase heat to medium high, and cook beef until browned.  Drain grease.  Add salt and pepper.

 

4. Stir in tomato paste and add tomatoes and mustard.  Allow the mixture to thicken and bubble (once thickened, allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes, covered.

 

5. Toss the pasta in with the meat mixture and stir until mixed thoroughly.  Pour into prepared casserole dish.  Top with cheddar cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted.

 

6. Top with chopped dill pickles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

y'all.... this was good.  So good, actually, that I may have enjoyed it more than a burger (don't get me wrong, I will always be a cheeseburger kind of girl), but this was a nice change.  It wasn't overbearing in flavor, but still tasted like the best parts of a cheeseburger.  Definitely a good one for us... oh yeah, and you can freeze leftover portions and it tastes just as delicious when you reheat them :)

 

 

Enjoy!

Virginia

Good Eats: Southwest Tilapia with pineapple-mango salsa

I love seafood.  Honestly, we don't incorporate it into our cooking as much as we should, but I saw this gem on pinterest I decided to give it a shot!  We already enjoyed the parmesan-crusted tilapia that we cooked, which you can find our recipe on the blog here. 

Anyways, We love spicy southwestern-style food, so I knew we should give this one a try.  I paired it with a simple pineapple-mango "salsa" to compliment the spicy flavors of the heated tilapia with the cool, sweet textures and flavors of the fruit.  It was a risky combo, but I thought it may work.... and I think it did!!!

For a side, we used a simple bean, corn, tomato, avocado salad that I threw together last minute for the flavors, colors, and veggies.

Ingredients:

3-4 tilapia filets

2-3 Tbsp EVOO

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

rice, optional

 

For the salsa: Mix together your favorite canned (drained) pineapple (I used crushed--so it had the consistency of applesauce) and chop up a fresh mango.  Mix together, sprinkle in a heavy shake of chili powder and the smoked paprika to give it a little kick. And that's it :)

Preparation:

1. Combine spices in a small bowl, mix well

2. Place tilapia on plate and divide spice mixture amongst the filets. (top side only)

3. Heat EVOO over medium-high heat in the skillet.  Place tilapia filets in the pan, spice side down.  Cook without moving for 4 minutes.

4.  Turn over filets and cook an additional 4-5minutes.

5. Serve over rice and top with the salsa!

 

I really liked the spicy flavor of the fish. I also love that it took 15 minutes to make! (come on now...preparing rice takes longer than that)... It's a perfect, healthy, flavorful fix for the midweek "Oh my goodness I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen tonight...dilemma. 

 

Enjoy, Y'all,

Virginia





Good Eats: Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Bell Peppers

Hi bloggers,

Sorry for my MIA absence.... but in the interim between posting recently, I have discovered some fabulous recipes that I can't wait to share!!!  Here is one of my new all-time favorites....

Philly Cheesesteak - Stuffed Bell Peppers

 

The cheese, the delicious taste of one of the greatest sandwiches in the entire world, all without all those carbs in the bread?  Is this too good to be true?  no...it's delicious. 

 

When I stumbled across this recipe on pinterest, I knew I had to incorporate it into our menu.  I was, in all honesty, a little doubtful that this healthier version would satisfy, but nonetheless we tried it.

 

It....was....mouth-wateringly.... phenomenal. 

 

 

Ingredients:

3 green bell peppers

1 package sliced roast beef (sandwich/deli style)

1 Tbsp EVOO

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 c. beef broth

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 package sliced white mushrooms

 

 

Assembly:

1. Cut peppers in half, from stem to bottom.  Remove seeds.  (Preheat oven to 375 approximately halfway through this recipe)

2. Spray Casserole dish with cooking spray. Place peppers in the dish.  Place a small handful of shredded cheese in the bottom of each pepper.

3. Heat EVOO in large skillet on medium-high heat.  Sauté onion and garlic for around 15 minutes.

4.  Add mushrooms.  Sauté for an additional 10-15 minutes, until tender and browned.

5.  Shred roast beef slices into strips.  Add to skillet.  Slowly incorporate beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil.  Add salt and pepper. 

6.  Allow mixture to simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated (this took me around 20-25 minutes).  Spoon mixture into the prepared peppers.



7.  Bake peppers at 375 for 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and sprinkle an additional small handful of cheese on top of each pepper.  Return to the oven and bake for another 10 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly. 

 



Hints for Prep:

1. When buying your peppers, try to buy ones that have three bumps on the bottom.  These tend to have less seeds and more of the actual pepper, so you get more for your money. :)

2. You can substitute sliced cheese for the shredded on the top layer, but this gets a bit messy because it will melt all over your dish (but you get more cheese on each pepper this way.)

 

 

 

Hope y'all enjoy this one! We loved it!!!

xoxo,

Virginia