Chicken Pot Pie

For all you Math wiz's today is Pi Day,and for those who don't know what that is its how you measure the circumference of a circle. For us baker's, it's a day to celebrate our favorite circular dish, PIE. Pies are the greatest things, they can be sweet or savory, full size or small enough to fit in your hand. I am a big fan of both sweet pies, apple and sweet potato to be specific. But today we are going savory with Chicken Pot Pie.

Chicken Pot Pies hold a special place in my heart. I remember when I was a kid and having the little personal size one that you pop in the microwave, oh yeah those were the days. I know probably not best think to eat, but I loves them anyway. My version is a great semi-homemade version to transition from this winter to spring weather. Yes, semi-homemade I just didn't have the patience to deal with pie dough. I had 2 members under the weather one of them being me, so I caved and got store made dough. The recipe is really easy whether you make your own dough or not. Normally people use chicken breast, but I had some nice chicken thighs so I used that.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced into cubes
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 stick butter, divided
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
2/3 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder and italian seasoning.

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a pan. Add chicken and cook through.

Add frozen vegetables, and warm through. Check season and add more salt and pepper if needed.

Transfer to another bowl.

In the same pan melt 1/3 cup of butter. Add onions and saute until soft.

Add flour and cook until you have a light brown rue. Add milk and chicken stock.

Cook over medium low heat until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Roll out pie dough and press into pie pan. Add chicken-vegetable mixture to pie pan, and pour gravy over mixture.

Place top crust and crimp edges. Cut a few ventilation slits in the crust and brush with some melted butter.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Let rest 15 minutes before you dig in.

I hope you try this recipe soon before the weather warms up to much. Happy Pi Day! Be blessed and enjoy.

Chicken Scampi Pasta

Like every other mom out there I love it when I find quick, easy dishes to prepare for the family. And this is one of my family's favorites, Chicken Scampi Pasta. We are a pasta loving family around here; we have it at least once a week in some form.

This Scampi is really simple to make and full of flavor too; you can easily swap out the chicken for shrimp and make it a date night meal. I have even thrown in some spinach to sneak some veggies into the kids. That's one of the things I love about pasta dishes, you can throw pretty much anything together with it and will be good.


 

 
Chicken Scampi Pasta


 
1lb chicken tenderloin (you can also use breast, but tenderloins are usually less expensive)

1 tsp italian seasoning

1tsp dried oregano

2 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp lemon pepper

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 stick of butter, divided in half

2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 large or 2 small lemons

2tbsp parsley fresh or dried

1lb of your favorite pasta (I used spaghetti)


 
Cook pasta according to package instructions.



While pasta is cooking dice chicken tenderloins into small chunks, and season with spices.



Place butter and olive oil in a pan over medium high heat. When butter has melted add chicken and sauté until brown.



Add the remaining butter and garlic and cook until fragrant. Slice the lemons and squeeze cut side up in the pan.



Drain pasta reserving about ½ cup of pasta liquid. Add some of the pasta water to loosen sauce.



Place drained pasta in serving bowl and add chicken. Sprinkle with parsley and cheese (if you like).

 


I hope you enjoy my version of chicken scampi as much as my family does. Be blessed and enjoy.


 

 

 

Roasted Chicken Salad

As the weather starts to warm up I tend to make a lot of cold salads. One of my favorites is this Chicken Salad recipe; I don’t follow the normal rules of poaching the chicken. No, I brine then roast the chicken. What is brine you ask? A Brine is a salt/sugar solution used to impart great flavor to certain types of meat, like chicken, turkey and pork. The size of the size of meat will determine how long you will leave it in the brine. I usually brine the chicken in the morning and place in the fridge until ready to cook.

My family loves this chicken salad recipe. The kids are usually eating the chicken as I cut it up. It is perfect for lunch or even dinner on hot summer evenings, and my husband has even been known to eat it right out the container. I recently brought a large container for my church’s Women’s Meeting, and there was none to bring home.

The recipe is pretty simple and well worth the wait of brining and roasting. You can make it the day or night before a party, which gives time for the flavors to really settle in. I use Craisins and red onion in my Chicken Salad, but you can use any thing you like to yours.

Roasted Chicken Salad

2lbs bone in chicken breast

1 cup of Craisins

½ cup of finely diced red onion

About ¼ cup of miracle whip or your favorite mayo (I don’t really measure, I go by creaminess)

About ¼ cup of sour cream

Brine for Chicken

1 cup kosher salt

¼ cup brown sugar

1 tbsp ground black pepper

2 tsp dried Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic powder

1tsp dried oregano

½ tsp red pepper flakes

1 gallon of water

To brine Chicken, combine all spices and sugar in a large container.

Add about 2 cups of hot water. Stir until salt and sugar is dissolved.

Fill the container with cold water then add chicken and cover.

Place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. The longer you leave it in brine the more salt drawn into the meat.

To roast the chicken, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove chicken from brine and place on cookie sheet and pat dry.

Roast chicken for 30-40 minutes or until internal temp is 170 degrees.

  

Remove chicken from oven and let cool.

When chicken is cool enough to handle, move to a cutting board.

Remove skin and bones, chop into small chunks.

Add diced red onion and Craisins to chicken in a bowl.

Next, add miracle whip and sour cream to bowl. Add little at a time until desired creaminess is reached.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

I hope you enjoy this chicken salad recipe at your next picnic or just for lunch. Be blessed and enjoy.