Pot Pie! The 5th Food Group

Pot Pie! The fifth food group!

Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie! - 

Hi folks, I hope everyone is surviving this wet winter weather. Its been a while since I've had much to post, but the wet weather inspired me to craft what could possibly be adopted as the perfect 5th food group;POT PIE!

The pot pie we will do today is seasoned for chicken or turkey, but with a couple changes will work well for beef as well.

The prep time for the dish is around 45 minutes, but a lot of that is just waiting on the chicken or turkey to cook. That wait time is always a good time to prep your other ingredients, chop your vegetables, gather your seasonings and such.

Here we go.....

Pot Pie - Chicken or Turkey (or meatless for vegetarian pallets)

INGREDIENTS: (makes 1 - 9" pot pie)

Get your ingredient together first.

Meat -
2 Cups - Cooked Turkey or Chicken (cubed)

Veggies -
1 Cup - White potatoes - (Cubed
1/2 Cup - Yellow Onion - (diced)
1/2 Cup - Celery (diced)
1/2 Cup - Frozen Green Peas (thawed)
1/2 Cup - Carrots (diced)

Seasonings and other stuff  -
3 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/2 stick Butter
1/4 tsp. Poultry Seasoning
1/4 tsp. Ground Sage
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1 Cup Milk (2% works fine)

2 - Pie Crusts (the rolled kind)

Preheat oven to 350F. Lay the rolled pie crusts out of the fridge to acclimate to room temperature.(leave them rolled)

Butter or spray one 9" round baking dish or pan.

I'm starting by cooking the chicken or turkey. I've also used turkey and chicken breast leftovers from other meals as the meat ingredient. If I want chicken broth or stock for other meals, I will boil the chicken breast for around 30-40 minutes with some salt and pepper. Once the chicken is done, I remove it to allow it to cool some while I am straining the fresh chicken stock to use elsewhere. If you don't need the broth at the moment, the freeze it for later. I haven't tried canned chicken breast, but if you do, let me know how it goes.

Start by putting 1/2 of the butter (1/4 stick) in a large pot or deep pan. On a medium to medium-high heat, saute the onions and celery for around 5 minutes.

While the onions and celery are beginning to cook, microwave the potatoes and carrots in a covered dish for 5 minutes. Use a tablespoon of water to help steam the vegetable. This gets us ahead of the cooking curve for these two hard to cook ingredients.

Once they are out of the microwave, pour them directly into the pot with the onions and celery.
Pour in the peas, the cubed poultry, the sage, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Stir well and allow to simmer on medium heat for 5 more minutes.

Making the Gravy -
Remove all ingredients from pot into a large bowl. Melt the remaining butter in the pot on medium-high heat. Once melted, add the 3 TB of flour. Stir the flour well into the butter. Once it has all melted together, pour in the milk. Using a blunt nosed spatula or large spoon, stir the mixture constantly to break down the butter and flour. The mixture will begin to thicken in about three minutes at medium-high heat.
Once the mixture thickens, remove it from the heat. Reintroduce the sauteed vegetables and meat into the gravy. Stir well.

Pack the filling in well.

Pour the contents into the lower pie crust and pack it in well around the sides.
Dampen the edges of the lower pie crust with water on your fingertips. Place the upper pie crust over the lower crust. Fold the upper crust under the edges of the upper crust. Using a fork, press around the crust edges to seal the crusts together. Cut THREE slits across the filled pie crust to allow steam to escape the pie.

Cut slits for steam and seal the edges.

Put the assembled pie onto a baking sheet to catch any overflow or spills from the pie should it leak.
Place the pie onto the center rack of the preheated oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour.
Once removed, allow the pie to rest for 10 minutes before serving. It helps the sauce thicken and makes it easier to remove from the baking dish.
Enjoy!

Chicken Salad with Rosemary and Basil

CHICKEN SALAD

A Cool & Easy Summertime Favorite!

Hi folks, Harv here! It's been quite a while since I've posted anything. I surely hope everyone has been ok and are ready to make some delicious cool summertime favorites. Today's recipe will be Chicken Salad in Pita Pockets. If your'e not watching your calories or carbs, then try it on croissants also!

This recipe will serve 2-3 adults (unless one of them is me, then you may wanna double it up)

INGREDIENTS:



Add Optional 1/2 cup celery for traditional taste.



2 cups cooked chicken (diced) (about 2 average chicken breasts)

1/3 cup fine diced red onion

2 tbsp. slivered almonds (we'll toast them later)

1/2 cup red or green seedless grapes (cut into 1/4's)

1/2 cup celery (diced) (optional)

1/2 cup broccoli florets (diced med. fine)

2/3 cup mayo

2 tsp. sugar

1 tbsp. red wine vinegar

Rosemary & Basil (seasoning for chicken when cooking)





Lightly toast almonds over medium heat



I start by lightly toasting the slivered almonds. Set them aside to allow them ample time to cool.

While the almonds are toasting, now is a good time to trim the chicken parts that you plan to use in your chicken salad. I prefer the boneless, skinless breasts done on the grill. To add some nice smooth flavor to the overall taste profile, I seasoned the chicken breasts with a drizzle of olive oil and rubbed in some rosemary and basil. Both of these together will really add some jump to your dish.



Grill or broil the seasoned chicken



I prefer the open flame of a grill for cooking just about any type of meat. Under the broiler of the oven works well also. Cook the chicken until the juices are clear and any signs of pink have disappeared. White meat chicken is much easier to tell when it is done by judging the color. For darker meat, a thermometer reading of 160F indicates the meat is done and safe to eat. A basic dial type or digital meat thermometer is a small but invaluable investment for your kitchen with regards to insuring your serving your friends and family only the best and safest of food to enjoy.



Chop into 1/4"-3/8" pieces.



Once the chicken is done and cooled in the fridge for a few minutes, you will dice the chicken into 1/4"-3/8" pieces. This size serves best in pita pockets, in croissants, or on top of salad greens.

Cooling the chicken well first insures that your not going to cook your nice cool mayo by dropping searing hot chicken into the ingredient bowl.



Mix everything EXCEPT the mayo, vinegar, and sugar



Bring all of the ingredients EXCEPT for the mayo, sugar, and vinegar together in a large mixing bowl.

Stir well to consolidate the ingredients.

In a seperate dish, mix the mayo and sugar. Once the mayo and sugar have been blended, add the red wine vinegar and mix quickly and well.

Put the mix into the fridge for a while to allow it to cool and voil'a, you have a super cool dinner or lunch, or picnic delight!!!

Note: When adding vinegar as an ingredient into any mix, a glass or other non-metal container should be used. Metal dishes can react to the vinegar and cause a metal taste to develop in the food.

Super easy pita pockets!

I found the pre-cut pita pockets at Food City here in Abingdon. They make a great way to serve the food. As I mentioned above, croissants are also a super way to serve chicken salad. (as long as you aren't counting carbs or calories)

Thanks to each of you for taking your time to stop by Cooking With Harv!!

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