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.

Alice's Baby Shower: Looking Back

Next Saturday I am throwing another baby shower, this time for one of my very best friends, Katie.  Her husband, Clay, has been friends with my husband, Aaron, since they were in high school (so like 20 years ago haha).  Katie and I hit it off the moment we met when Aaron and I started dating - and the rest is history.  As I write this, her sweet baby boy (dog-baby) Jackson, is snoozing with my three pups on the bed (how is there even room for me?).

In any case, I am so excited about showering Clay and Katie on Saturday and it has me thinking back to last summer when I showered my friend Alice, who was expecting her first baby girl, Betsy, just ten days after I was expecting our sweet Hondo.

Alice is as southern-girl as they come.  She couldn't have been more perfect to have a baby girl and the matching sweet southern, pink shower to celebrate her.  So from the get-go with Alice, there was no question that pink would be front and center, right along with bows, and frills, and sparkles and anything cute.

The Invitations

After scouring for hours, and changing my mind 15 times, I finally chose this adorable "Mommy to Bee" invitation from Minted.com.  The hardest part with this shower was choosing a theme, besides pink.  Chanel and I had considered a "Cute as a Button" theme, a "Twinkle Twinkle" theme ( so. much. glitter.), the list goes on.  In any case, we just kept coming back to this invitation.  The colors seemed so perfect for Alice and Betsy.  They were girly and soft, but popped with that navy accent.  Very girly and traditional, but a little modern. It just fit. 

To keep the whimsical, girly feel that we liked about the invite so much, we chose a mint envelope from The Paper Source, lined it with a sweet polka dot paper, and then dressed up the labels with perfectly coordinated washi tape.

The Activities

Baby showers can be really hard, I will be honest.  I am not a huge fan of the kitschy games that make everyone feel kind of awkward (I'm looking at you, Mystery-Poop-Diaper Game Inventor). At a party like a baby or bridal shower, its likely that not everyone knows each other, they just all know the guest of honor.  So games that require everyone to really let their inhibitions down and do something extremely silly can be rough for people who air on the side of awkward (like me). 

My goal with the games for Alice's shower were to be things that people could 1) enjoy without all the attention on them, 2) might produce something for the momma-to-be to keep, and 3) were short, but funny.

What we came up with was a due date calendar, Pin-the-bow on the Baby Alice, and Baby Price is Right.  I even was able to order these cute customized signs from Minted!

The Due Date Calendar was simple to put together: we got a pretty wall calendar from Paper Source, a set of pink pens (different shades) and set it up on the wall.  Each guest was asked to sign their name and write a message to Alice on the date they predicted Besty would arrive.  This game checked all my boxes!  Each guest could do it on their own, it functioned as a guest book and a gift for Alice (she got a whole calendar), and only took each person a minute.

Pin the Bow on the Baby Alice was also easy to prep and easy to do.  I had Alice's mom send me a baby photo of Alice, then I emailed the image to my local Staples and had them produce a black and white 2' x 3' engineering print for 5 dollars! I hung it on the wall with it corresponding sign, and then hung a baggie full of tiny bows with adhesive (they were from the scrap-booking section at Joann Fabrics) next to the poster. There was no spinning and blind-folding to be completely transparent.  If your friends are game, I'm sure it would have been cute, but all of our guests just happily decorated baby Alice with adorable bows and Alice got to take it home.

Finally, while we were all eating, I passed out the custom cards I had made for our Price is Right game with some pens.  We uploaded a slideshow of all the items to my TV (don't ask me how I hooked up my laptop - I called my brother and he talked me through it) and everyone made their guesses while we ate and chatted and tallied up their guesses.  As always with the Price is Right, the winner was the one who was closest without going over.

The Menu & Decor

I had envisioned a beautiful outdoor brunch on the back porch at wood tables with pink and white table runners, but the reality was it was July in Central Texas so it was actually 105 degrees outside and no one wanted any part of that.  So we served the food buffet style on the kitchen island, and added extra seating to the family room for people to be comfortable, play the games and let Alice open gifts.

I was able to stick to my menu though, despite the awful heat.  When I do a party that is celebrating someone specific like this, I try and design the menu around their favorite foods and then tailor them to the occasion and theme.  Since the party was a southern brunch, Alice's favorite foods were easy to incorporate.  I am about to let you all in on the crazy that is how I organize for a party - below is a menu snapshot from my Excel spreadsheet. 

My spreadsheets for any given party have three tabs: guests, menu, and decor and to-do.  On the Guests tab, I have each guests name, address, RSVP (# attending), and then a column for their gift. At the bottom of the RSVP list, it tallies the total number of guests I am expecting and then when the party is over I can send the sheet along with the guest of honor so they have address and gifts written down to make Thank You Notes easier.  Then the Menu Tab has a column for each food item I am going to make, the ingredients I need to purchase for that item, and then a servings cell, so I know how much to make.

To make this brunch quintessentially southern, I chose to make mini fried chicken and waffles, mini biscuits served with jam or white pepper gravy, spinach feta crescent rolls, a caprese salad, pimento cheese deviled eggs, and fruit salad.  For desert I made trifle parfait cups, lemon and raspberry sorbet, and pink ombre Italian Rainbow cookies.  As of right now, I haven't written posts and recipes for all of the things I made, but I promise I will as opportunities arise to make them!  It's most likely that those Rainbow Cookies will appear again soon, everyone always asks for them. 

Finally, the decor.  I went simple and pretty for this.  Shades of pink and white tissue blooms on the ceilings in the kitchen and family room.  Pink crinkle table confetti strewn among the serving platters and gold glitter stars atop the toothpicks in the chicken and waffles.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

September is a hard month for me.  I love-hate September.  There is the good: the kids start school, it's the start of the downhill side of the deathly heat of summer in Texas, there is the possibility it could rain, it's the first sign of fall coming... The bad? Well, pretty much the flip-side of all the good parts: the kids are going to school so that makes me kind of sad, summer is supposed to be over, yet its still 100 degrees outside, and its not actually fall yet!

Early September is definitely too early to start wearing sweaters, decorating with pretty leaves and pumpkins, and cooking up all the cozy, aromatic recipes of fall. Except that I really want to.  So badly.  Adding to the problem I have is that all those amazing autumnal vegetables I love and want to cook with aren't really in season yet.  So I have to find things to cook that will appease my need for cozy-fall feelings but also are more appropriate for the actual season.

Thankfully the internet is full of handy charts and info-graphics that can remind you what is in season with a quick google search.  So while I was sad that none of my favorite fall things are on the list yet, it provided some solid inspiration for things to make until October finally decides to come.

Design by Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed

LOTS of these things are favorites in our house so my brain started cooking.  Eggplant is immediately off the list, Aaron is super allergic and we can't even have it in the house, so unfortunately for any of you who are eggplant lovers (like my mom) there will probably not going to be any recipes with eggplant on the blog.

However, my kids are huge fans of apples, pears, and melons.  Chanel loves mangoes, corn and plums.  I'm a huge fan of raspberries and peppers and okra... my goodness so many ideas for things to make this month! I think there are going to be some creative pizzas coming this way with beets and arugula or figs and prosciutto.  We could have a cozy night with some gumbo chock full of okra. I will probably make that sausage and pepper bake again, since it was such a hit!

Okay, but back to the issue at hand, what was I going to make today, right now, to feed the kids for the week?  Inspired by this Averie Cooks bread, I decided on making some Raspberry Chocolate Chip Muffins with a crumble topping borrowed from my banana bread.  These muffins did the trick.  Hondo has been gobbling them up. 

Before I get to the recipe, there are just a couple notes I want to share about muffin making.

1. For a popped-up muffin with a pretty top, make sure your cupcake tins are full.  That means batter all the way to the top of the liner.  So even if your recipe says it makes twelve, if the tins aren't full they won't pop up over the top and have that pretty muffin shape, they will look flatter like a cupcake.  So maybe you get nine muffins instead of twelve (this recipe should make 12).
2. I like to use two liners instead of one.  This is for a couple reasons - if you chose a pretty decorated liner or a color, it will be more clear and pop if there are too since they are pretty translucent.  Also, often some grease will seep into the liner and can leave them very shiny and soggy, they can rip more easily when getting pulled off.
3. Also, spray your liners with some cooking spray after putting them in the cupcake tins.  It might sound crazy (it did to me when Aaron suggested it), but it helps the liners peel off cleanly without taking half the cake or muffin with them and also prevents some of that seeping-grease problem.

Also for this recipe I recommend using fresh raspberries, not frozen.  First, I can't seem to ever find a bag of just frozen raspberries and not a berry mix.  Second, I find that frozen fruit can bleed and sink, so you end up with a soggy-bottomed muffins.  Lastly, because of the size of fresh raspberries, I think cutting them in half means you get bites with good, full berry flavor, but not so much that the bread around it is soggy.

Raspberry Chocolate-Chip muffins

Makes 12 standard muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup whole milk
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 6 oz. fresh raspberries, washed, patted dried and halved
• 1/3 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 batch crumble topping (see below)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare a cupcake tin; line with cupcake liners and spray lightly with cooking spray, set aside.

In a large bowl combine the flour, sugars, baking soda and salt. Set aside.  In a separate bowl, combine the cooled butter with the buttermilk, oil and vanilla.  Whisk together and then whisk in the egg.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until combined.  Carefully fold in the raspberries and chocolate chips, the raspberries can smush easily.

Fill each cupcake tin to the top of the liner with batter.  Top each muffin with crumble topping.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until tops are golden browned and a tooth pick comes out clean.

crumble topping

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs. butter, melted
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice
• 1/3 cup of flour

Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  When the butter is cool enough to touch, use your fingers to crumble it into pea-sized pieces.  Top the muffins with equal amounts before baking.

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.