Chicken Pot Pie

There are a few dishes that I make that I pretty much have never even seen a recipe for.  Things that I've always just...made.  One of those is chicken pot pie, I just kinda did what I figured seemed like the right things to do.  Chanel has even made it with me so often that she just knows how its done.  Normally, when we make chicken pot pie, I have used canned biscuits and just stretched them out over individual ramekin servings.  However, a long time ago I had seen a picture of a gorgeous lattice-topped, buttery, flaky perfection of a chicken pot pie casserole on the cover of a magazine and thought it was gorgeous.  So today, when Chanel suggested making chicken pot pie for dinner, I set my goals high.  We were going to make a puff pastry from scratch and it was gonna be pretty, damn it!  Well, we were pretty proud of our finished product!

Making chicken pot pie is really simple to be honest, so we did manage to make something that is pretty easy, much more involved than it needed to be, but we are still on a little bit of a high because it looked SO NICE.

There are two ways you can go about preparing this recipe.  We interchange the method depending on the day and what we have going on.  You can either make it in the crock pot or on the stove top.  Obviously, either way still needs to be finished in the oven.  I am going to write out both options for cooking it, they will both taste fantastic. 

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 5 cups of chicken broth, divided
• 1 tsp. ground sage
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1 tsp. ground thyme
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 celery stalks, diced (about 1/3 cup)
• 3 medium carrots, diced (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/2 medium white onion, diced (about 1/3 cup)
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 6 tbs. butter
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 batch puff pastry (recipe below)

Note about vegetables: As long as the vegetables are in equal amounts, it doesn't really matter how much you use.  It really depends on how much you like carrots, celery and onions.  However, I think these are an appropriate proportion.

Note about seasonings: I always like to taste the filling before I put it in the pan and you may want to add more seasonings, particularly salt and pepper depending on your tastes.

Note about an egg wash: If you prefer, you can brush the top of the puff pastry with an egg wash (1 egg scrambled with some water) before baking.  It will give it a more shiny finish, but it will also brown a bit quicker.

Stove Top Instructions:

1. In a large dutch oven, place the chicken breasts and cover with 4 cups of chicken broth.  Add the seasonings (sage through bay leaves) and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Add the celery, carrots and onion to the pot.
3. Lower the heat and boil the chicken until it comes apart with two forks. When the chicken is cooked, turn off the heat and take the chicken out and place it in a large bowl, set aside. Remove the bay leaves, cover the remaining broth in the dutch oven and set aside.
4. While the chicken cools, prepare your puff pastry.
5. With the chicken cool enough to touch, use two forks (or a hand mixer) and shred the chicken. Set aside.
6. Return the dutch oven to medium heat, melt the 6 tbs. of butter into the broth and vegetables.  Whisk in the flour until smooth, whisking out any lumps.
7. Add the heavy cream and remaining cup of chicken broth.
8. Stir in the shredded chicken and frozen peas.  Heat until warmed through and the peas are thawed (just a couple minutes).  Remove from heat.
9. Butter a 9x9 baking dish. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
10. Pour the chicken filling into the dish and even out with a spatula.
11. Remove your puff pastry from the fridge and place it between two sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper.  Roll the pastry to 1/8 inch thick with a rolling pin.
12. You can just lay the pastry in a sheet over the top of the filling and trim it with a knife.  If you are feeling ambitious like we did, cut your pastry into 1/2 inch strips and create a lattice pattern on the top.
13. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Crock Pot Instructions:

1. In the bowl of a crock pot, cover the chicken breasts with 4 cups of chicken broth.  Add the seasonings (sage through bay leaves) and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours - until the chicken is fork tender and pulls apart very easily.
3. Remove the chicken from the crock pot and set aside in a bowl.  Reserve the broth in the bowl of the crock pot.
4. While the chicken cools, prepare the puff pastry dough.
5. When the chicken is cool, use two forks (or a hand mixer) to shred the chicken.  Set aside.
6. In a dutch oven, melt the 6 tbs. butter over medium heat.  Add the celery, carrots and onion.  Saute until onions are translucent.
7. Sprinkle 1 cup of flour over the vegetables and whisk until evenly coated.
8. Add the chicken broth from the crock pot, 1 cup at a time, whisking to prevent lumps.
9. Stir in the heavy cream and remaining cup of broth. Bring to a boil.
10. Reduce to a simmer, and add the shredded chicken and frozen peas.
11. Heat until the peas are thawed and then remove from heat.
12. Butter a 9x9 baking dish. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
13. Pour the chicken filling into the dish and even out with a spatula.
14. Remove your puff pastry from the fridge and place it between two sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper.  Roll the pastry to 1/8 inch thick with a rolling pin.
15. You can just lay the pastry in a sheet over the top of the filling and trim it with a knife.  If you are feeling ambitious like we did, cut your pastry into 1/2 inch strips and create a lattice pattern on the top.
16. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Puff Pastry Dough

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 sticks of butter (20 tbs.), cold
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 1/2 cups flour

Cut two sticks of butter into small cubes, place in a bowl and return to the refrigerator.

Dissolve the salt into the cold water.

Cut the remaining 4 tbs. (half stick) of butter into small cubes and combine in a food processor with 1 cup of flour.  Pulse until combined.

Add another 1 cup of flour to the food processor and half the cold butter.  Pulse until combined.

Add the remaining butter to the food processor and pulse until combined. 

Pour the contents of the food processor into a large mixing bowl.

Add the salted water to the flour and combine using your hands.  A little at a time, add the remaining half cup of flour until it forms a stretchy dough, but not so sticky it won't come off your hands.

Roll the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for an hour or until you need to use it.

Bacon-Gruyere Cavatappi

Cheese is a food group to me.  When the rest of my fridge could be pretty empty, the cheese drawer is full.  When I was pregnant with Townes, the first thing I did was call our favorite French Restaurant, Justine's, in a panic that their triple-creme brie wasn't pasteurized (it is, thank goodness).  When I am at the grocery store with Chanel and I ask, "do we need cheese?" she just laughs at me.  You get the picture - cheese is a big deal.

My kids know it too.  We don't just eat American cheese - which has its throne in the crockpot to make queso.  But Townes has always loved brie spread on a cracker, or feta in his eggs, or blue cheese in a lobster beignet (not that he can even say, beignet).  So when I am feeling like a cheesey comfort food staple like mac and cheese we go one of two routes: 1. we make Annie's white cheddar shells with extra butter and some cream (SO GOOD) and maybe some peas and carrots thrown in or 2. I make some from scratch version with "stinky" cheese so it has a more adult flavor.

This is clearly the latter, since I'm not gonna post a recipe on how to do-up some Annie's (though I totally could if anyone is interested). In my opinion, bacon and gruyere go together so wonderfully.  There is a bitterness to the cheese that is perfectly complimented by the saltiness of the bacon. For this cheese sauce I also tried to liven up that deep flavor in the gruyere with some Worcestershire, horseradish, dry mustard and then smooth it out with cheddar.  Topped with more bacon and some butter bread crumbs, this was a total win.

Bacon-Gruyere Cavatappi

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cavatappi pasta (or elbows)
• 1 lb. thick cut bacon, diced
• 1 small white onion, grated
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish (optional)
• 3 tbs. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 8 oz block of orange cheddar, freshly grated
• 6 oz block of gruyere, freshly grated
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• Green onions or chives, chopped for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large sauce pot or dutch over, boil water with salt and a dash of olive oil (to prevent sticking), cook pasta to the al dente directions.  Rinse your pasta under cold water in a colander and set aside.

Empty the pot and return it to the stove.  Cook all the bacon in the pot over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.  When crispy, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Pour the lose bacon fat from the pot into a heat safe container and set aside, do not wipe out or rinse your pot. 

Add the 1 tbs. of butter to the pot over medium-high heat.  Saute the grated onion until translucent.  Add the garlic powder, dry mustard, Worstcheshire, salt and pepper and horseradish.  Whisk until mixed.  Add the flour and stir until evenly coated.

Immediately add the milk, whisking to incorporate smoothly. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the cheddar and gruyere. Turn off the heat and stir until creamy and blended.

Add the pasta to the pot with the cheese sauce.  Reserving a small handful for topping, add the cooked bacon to the pasta and cheese.

Transfer the pasta mixture to a 9x12 casserole dish.  Melt the 2 tbs. butter in a microwave safe dish and then stir in the bread crumbs.  You may need to add more  if you want them a little drier, but its your preference. 

Chop the remaining bacon into small bits and add to the bread crumbs.  Top the pasta with the bread crumbs and bacon.

Bake until the breadcrumbs are just browned and the casserole bubbles.

Remove and top with chopped green onions or chives.

Cheesy Sausage and Pepper Pasta Bake

Another day, another dinner I haven't planned and have no idea what we are eating later, or even if we are eating at all.  It probably sounds crazy, but its normally by 11 am that I start to feel stressed I don't have a plan for dinner.  I will look at Chanel and whine, "what am I making for dinner tonight" and stretch out and lay my face down on the kitchen island in utter defeat.

Its seriously 11 o'clock in the morning, and I'm already over it.  I love when something comes to me the night before and I wake up with a fun plan for dinner.  That doesn't happen nearly as frequently though as the above-described scenario.

However, the majority of the time, Chanel and I manage to talk our way to something or some idea that seems worth a shot.  Or we come up with something we already know and love that sounds yummy.  On this particular morning I whined and Chanel replied, almost terrifyingly quickly, "sausage and peppers."

Well, okay! However, I immediately realized the main issue with the classic Italian-American staple, that none of my boys would probably been keen on eating slimy slices of peppers and would just eat sausage.  And baby Hondo, would probably manage to choke on pieces that big and it just didn't seem like it would be a very popular choice.  But I like sausage and peppers, and Chanel likes sausage and peppers (not that she eats dinner at the house very often, but she taste tests a lot, and often snacks on last night's dinner after our morning walks, so I suppose she kind of has a dog in this fight).

So my brain started working through it and this creamy, tomatoey, sausage-peppery pasta is what came out and it was fantastic. I mean, it got gobbled up like I could not have predicted.  Two 9x9 pans of pasta was GONE by 11 am the next morning!

Aaron called his bestie Clay to come over and they both had two helpings, Hondo tore through three bowls, even Townes gobbled two servings down.  I packed some up for T to take to school for lunch the next day, and the little bit left was snatched up the next morning for a baby brunch split between Hondo and Betsy and tastes for Chanel. 

It's only been a week since I made it and I've already had requests for it again! I think it might have bumped regular ol' baked ziti from the rotation.

Cheesy Sausage and Pepper Pasta Bake

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. tube pasta (like penne or ziti), cooked al dente
• 1 medium white onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 lb. hot Italian sausage*
• 3 heaping tbs. flour
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 large jar (24 oz) of chunky tomato sauce (like this Classico one)
• 3-4 cups shredded Italian blend cheese (mozzarella, parmsean, etc)

*I used bulk sausage for this recipe, I think the crumble texture of bulk sausage lends well to being mixed into a pasta bake.  However, you could also use a link sausage.  In that case, you will want to sear the outsides first, then slice it into 1/2 inch thick discs and then add them to the veggie mix to cook through.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Add the onion, bell peppers, garlic and salt and pepper; saute until onions are translucent.

Add the sausage to the pot.  Using a wooden spoon, mix the veggies into the sausage and break it up into small pieces as it cooks. 

Once the sausage is browned and cooked, sprinkle the flour on top, 1 tbs at a time, and mix until all the fat and grease has been absorbed by the flour and has created a paste.  Depending on the variety of sausage you chose, you may need more or less flour, based on the amount of fat released by the meat.

Whisk in the jar of sauce a little at a time, making sure it combines smoothly and without lumps. Bring to a boil and stir in the cream.  Simmer and stir until combined. Remove from the heat.

Add the cooked pasta directly to the pot and stir to coat the pasta evenly. 

This would taste amazing just as it is and would not NEED to be covered in cheese and baked, you could easily just spoon this pasta right into a bowl and eat it. 

Pour the pasta into a 9x12 casserole pan or two 9x9 pans.  Sprinkle the cheese on top, add a little salt and pepper.  Bake in the oven until cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Until I moved to Texas I didn't eat a lot of casseroles, I'm gonna be honest.  Excluding baked ziti and lasagna, I don't think my mom just ever made any.  Turns out, I was missing out on some pretty awesome, easy to make, fantastic casseroles. 

Another thing I had missed out on, but have since converted to the church of, is the crock pot.  So truthfully, when I find a recipe that uses the crock pot and is a casserole, I pretty feel like I knocked it out of the park. That's exactly what this King Ranch Chicken recipe is. 

Truthfully, I also didn't know what King Ranch Chicken was before I moved to Texas.  If I had tried to guess from the name I would have though it was some kind of giant chicken breast, seasoned with a packet of Ranch dressing. But I was introduced to this amazing Texan Lasagna when I was the Curriculum Coordinator at a preschool in Round Rock and our super talented chef, Kathryn, would make the kids King Ranch Chicken.  She fed it to me once, when I was dying of morning sickness and it was my savior.

Kathryn's recipe, however, would not be easy for me to replicate since we are a family of 4, not 140, so the proportions might be off.  Also, I'm not particularly a fan of using cans of condensed soup for the base of recipes.  They can be very high in sodium and I'm not really a fan of the taste.  So when I came across a recipe for a completely from scratch version on Five Heart Home and gave it a shot and liked it a lot.  This is my tweaked, crock-pot-added, mushroom-optional version.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

For the Chicken:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• 2 tbs. adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• Salt & pepper

For the Sauce:

• 6 tbs. butter
• 4-6 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, diced small (optional)
• 6 tbs. flour
• 2 cups of chicken cooking liquid from crock pot
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
• Salt & pepper

For the Casserole:

• 10 small corn tortillas
• 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or jack blend
• 1 cup of chicken cooking liquid from crock pot
• 1 small can Rotel
• Diced jalapenos (optional)
• Fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped (optional)

In the bowl of your crock pot, cover the chicken with the chicken broth and add the seasoning.  Stir to coat the chicken and cook on high for 4-6 hours, until the chicken comes apart easily with a fork.  Once the chicken comes apart easily, roughly break apart the chicken breasts into smaller pieces to cook for 15 more minutes on high (I feel like the smaller the pieces the moister the chicken).

Remove the chicken from the crock pot with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.  Turn off the crock pot, allow the remaining broth to cool and set aside.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  If you are using the mushrooms, sautee the mushrooms in the melted butter for 3-5 minutes, until cooked.  If omitting the mushrooms, just skip ahead.  Add the flour to the butter and whisk until blended.  Do not allow this to burn.

Add the milk and 2 cups of broth (from the crock pot) to the sauce and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the seasoning and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.

Using two forks, shred the chicken as fine as possible.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and mix together.  Set aside.

Butter a rectangular baking dish.  Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees. Assemble all the components of the casserole within easy reach (tortillas, chicken mix, remaining chicken broth, shredded cheese, drained Rotel and optional toppings).

Spread half of the chicken mix in the baking dish, top with shredded cheese, some Rotel and jalapenos.  Cover with a layer of tortillas.  I tear mine in half to make sure they cover every inch, overlapping is fine.  Drizzle some of the chicken broth over the tortillas, making sure to get the edges.

Top with the remaining chicken mixture and another layer of tortillas.  Top the tortillas with cheese, Rotel and other optional toppings. 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake until bubbly, about another 15 or 20 minutes.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

This is my first entirely vegetarian recipe! Its not vegan, because there are eggs, but give me some time and I can figure out what someone could use as a vegan binder instead of eggs...though I would assume someone who is actually vegan would probably be a better person to figure that out. In any case, I think that's pretty exciting! While I love vegetables, the rest of this household its more inclined towards the carnivorous. However, this meal made each and everyone full and satisfied! Vegetarians for the win!

So you might ask, if no one likes things without meat, why did I even bother making these?  Valid question.  I'm not sure, I ask myself things like that all time. But in this case, I was inspired!

Years ago, my mom bought me a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, which I had always loved because of how much explaining it does.  It really gives you a wonderful understanding of why and how a specific method works or is better than another.  Knowing that stuff is what makes learning to cook without recipes so much more enjoyable and exciting.  Well, this month's Cook's Illustrated came in the mail, just as my mom was texting me and asking if I wanted to renew the subscription. I said, "ya know, probably not, I don't think I've really read it in a long time." 

Naturally, I flipped it open, and saw a whole two page article on vegetarian burger patties.  The black bean burgers just sounded to good! So I read the article, took in all its advice and tips and this was what I came up with; Aaron ate two, Townes ate his entire one, avocado and all, and our ten month old ate nearly two without the bun!  I think Townes was particularly proud and excited to eat them because earlier that day we had made the buns from scratch and he was able to do most of it himself.

I sliced open those fresh whole wheat buns, toasted them slightly on the flat top and added a little mayo.  When the patties were cooked, I topped them immediately with feta cheese and let it warm on the hot patties.  Then sliced avocado and red onion went on, and they were ready to eat.  I only snapped one picture because they did not last long.  All six were snatched up fast!

Spicy black bean burgers

Makes about 6 medium patties

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (15 oz each) of black beans
• 1/2 cup coarse broken tortilla chips
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 - 2 tsp. of adobe seasoning (chili powder or chipotle powder would be find substitutes, depending on your spice preference)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
• Feta cheese, for topping
• Avocado, for topping
• Red onion, for topping
• Mayo, for topping
• 6 burger buns

Line a large baking sheet with two or three layers of paper towels and set aside.  Drain and rinse your two cans of beans in a colander in the sink and then spread out your beans on the paper towel-lined cookie sheet to dry off.  You can also lay another layer of paper towels on top if you would like.  The less moisture on the beans the better your patty.

In the meantime, put your tortilla chips in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are a fine powder.  Transfer the ground chips to a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the 2 tbs, of flour and all the seasonings.  Whisk in the two eggs, until the mixture is a paste. 

Add the beans to the bowl, and using a potato masher, forks or even your hands, mash the beans into the paste evenly. Its important not to over mix the beans into a paste, but also not to leave the mixture too coarse.  You are looking for the mixture to be about 60-70% paste and 30-40% discernible beans. If it is too coarse, the patties won't hold together, and if its too mixed, the patties will be soggy.

When you are done, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours, but six or more would be ideal.  Once the mixture is chilled, using your hands, form six 1/2-inch-thick round patties. Set aside.

In frying pan, over medium heat, heat the oil to fry the patties.  Two at a time (or however will comfortably fit in your pan, don't over crowd them) fry each patty for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  Serve immediately, on a toasted bun, topped with feta cheese, avocado, red onion and mayonnaise.