Chicken Pot Pie

After making the Arroz con Pollo I had 4 leftover thighs. I decided to take them & make my first Chicken Pot Pie. Originally I thought I'd make a fresh crust & all that. But then I took the quick & easy route & looked up a Bisquick recipe. I was able to throw this meal together in a few short minutes.


2 cups cooked cut up chicken
1 2/3 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1-2 cans cream soup (I used cream of celery & cream of mushroom)
1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick
1 egg
1/2 cup milk

Combine chicken, veggies & soups in a bowl. Pour into a greased pie plate. Whisk together Bisquick, egg & milk. Pour over chicken mixture. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Serves 4.

Taco Casserole Bake

Casseroles are so easy because you can make them ahead of time & pop them in the oven when it's convenient for you. I usually make mine as Em's doing her homework & when Brad's on his way home I throw it in the oven. I got this one from Emily's site.

24 bake Tostitos (I used the multi grain, that's what I had in the house)
1 Tbsp chili oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4lb ground turkey
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
15 oz can black beans, drained & rinsed
1 cup salsa
1 cup fat free shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350.
In large skillet, heat oil & saute onions until translucent. Add garlic. Stir 30 seconds. Add ground turkey, cook until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning. Stir in salsa & black beans. Cook until thickened.

Break up Tostitos & line bottom of 9x13 pan. Pour meat mixture on top. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 20 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Arroz con Pollo

I love Gina's site, no matter how often I go to it, I always find something new I want to make. I am constantly trying to cook mexican/latin type dishes & never have any luck, especially if they require making rice from scratch. But I saw this & I had to give it a try. The flavor was right, but the texture of the rice wasn't. I forgot one major step "simmer out most of the liquid". I'll try it again in the future. I do not have a large enough skillet to make this entire dish in so I used the skillet for the chicken & a large pot for the rest of the recipe.

8 skinless chicken thighs
1 Tbsp vinegar
1/2 packet Sazon
1/2 tsp Adobo (I could not find this so I used a spanish rice seasoning)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion
1/4 cup cilantro (I used flakes)
3 cloves garlic
5 scallions
2 tbsp bell pepper
1 tomato, diced
1 tsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups uncooked rice
4 cups water
1 chicken bouillon
1 packet sazon
salt to taste

Season chicken with vinegar, 1/2 sazon packet, adobo & garlic powder. Let side 10 inutes. Heat a large, deep skillet on medium, add 2 tsp oil. Add chicken & brown 5 minutes on each side. Remove & set aside.

Place onion, cilantro, garlic, scallions & pepper in food processor to chop. Add 1 tsp oil to skillet & saute mixture until soft. Add tomato, cook an additional minute. Add rice & mix well, cook 1 minute. Add water, bouillon & sazon packet, mix scraping up brown bits from chicken. Taste with salt. Add chicken & nestle it into the rice. Bring to a boil. Simmer on med-low until most of the liquid evaporate & reduce to low & cover.

Cook 20 minutes without opening lid. Remove from heat & let sit an additional 10 minutes with the lid on! Fluff with fork & serve

Serves 8. I serving is 1 thigh & 1 cup rice.

Mashed Cauliflower

Haven't posted all week?! What have I been doing?!? Well Monday I made Crawfish Etouffee which I didn't think was so "healthy" considering I used a stick & half of butter. Tuesday I made Pork Chops along with the Mashed Cauliflower I'm about to post. Wednesday I defrosted some ground beef & grilled some burgers. I'll post tonights dinner, Arroz Con Pollo later or tomorrow. As for now, enjoy this one!




Cut cauliflower into florets. Steam until soft. Add 1 Tbsp butter to food processor with cauliflower. Puree. Done! Such a great side dish. I have made this & added it to mashed potatoes as well.

Double Cheese & Bacon Egg Biscuits

When I saw this recipes on Picky-Palate I knew I had to make it. Great for portion control & easy to reheat during the week for my breakfast. Hard to resist having only one they are so good! I made two adjustments, I used 2 eggs & 3 egg whites instead of 4 eggs & only used 4 pieces of bacon.

4 eggs
2 Tbsp fat free milk
s & p to taste
1/4 cup reduced fat feta
1 can biscuits (10 count)
6 strips bacon, crumbled
1/4 cup fat free shredded cheddar

Preheat oven to 350. Place eggs in a bowl. Add milk, s&p, stir in feta.

Press each biscuit into muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 6 minutes, remove from oven & with the end of a wooden spoon press centers of dough to make room for the egg mixture. Pour egg mixture into partially baked biscuit. (*tip: press & pour mixture in right away before moving onto pressing the next biscuit or the dough will fluff back up) Top with bacon & cheddar cheese. Bake an additional 12-15 minutes until eggs are set.

Cracker Barrel Chicken & Dumplings

It's not often Brad puts in a request for dinner, especially not one with chicken in it. With him & Em feeling under the weather today he wanted a hearty home cooked meal & asked that I finally get around to making Chicken & Dumplings. I've never made this dish before so of course I had to "google" and found what they say is Cracker Barrel's recipe. Here it is:

Chicken & Broth:
3 quarts water
1 3-4lb chicken, cut up
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 small onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled & quartered
1 bay leaf
4-6 whole parsley leaves
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp lemon juice

Dumplings:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup + 2 Tbsp milk

Bring water to a boil in large pot. Add chicken, 1 tsp salt, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaf & parsley to the pot. Reduce heat to simmer & cook uncovered for 2 hours.

When chicken has cooked, remove it from the pot & set aside. Strain the stock to remove all the vegetables & floating scum (ew, I just copied what the recipe says, that sounds nasty)

Pour 6 cups of stock into a smaller pot. Add ground pepper & the remaining 1/2 tsp of salt & lemon juice. Reheat stock while preparing dumplings.

For dumplings, combine flour, baking powder, 1 1/4 tsp salt & milk in a bowl. Stir well until smooth, then let the dough rest for 5-10 minutes. Roll dough onto floured surface to about 1/2 inch thickness.

Cut the dough into 1/2 inch squares and drop each square into the simmering stock. Use all of the dough. The dumplings will first swell and then slowly shrink as they partially dissolve to thicken the stock into a white gravy. Simmer for 20-25 minutes until thick. Stir often.

While the stock is thickening, the chicken will have become cool enough to handle. Tear all the meat from the bones & remove the skin. Cut the chicken into bite size or a little bigger than bite size pieces & drop them into the pot. Discard the skin & bones. Continue to simmer the chicken & dumplings for another 5-10 minutes, but don't stir too vigorously or the chicken will fall apart.

When the gravy has reached the desired consistency, ladle portions onto plate & serve hot.

Makes 8 1 cup servings.

Cashew Chicken

I love Chinese food. . and lucky for me & my waist line there is no good Chinese take out around here. When I saw this recipe on Jessica's site I knew I had to give it a shot. I am trying to love peppers and although I can't bring myself to eat them I kept them in this dish for the flavor. Turned out delicious! I adjusted this recipe from 2-3 servings to 6 servings but here's the original 2-3 servings recipe:

2 boneless chicken breasts, chopped
2 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup mushrooms
1/2 red pepper, sliced thin
3 green onions, chopped (didn't have any)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup shelled edamame
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp soy sauce

Heat 1 Tbsp oil on medium heat. Add mushrooms & saute until soft; 5 minutes. Remove. Season chicken with s&p then sprinkle with cornstarch, making sure each piece is coated. Add remaining oil to skillet & add chicken. Brown on all sides until cooked. Add garlic, red pepper, edamame, 1/2 of the green onions & cashews. Stir 30 seconds. Turn heat down. In bowl, mix honey & soy sauce. Pour into skillet coating chicken & veggies. Garnish with remaining green onions.

I served this over white rice with the Chinese Egg Flower Soup.