Tuesday, June 30, 2009

chicken pot pie

Chicken pot pie (from The Joy of Cooking)

2 cans chicken, drained

1 can chicken broth (2 cups)

4 tbsp +2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
1 cup whole milk, half and half (I used 2% which is what we had on hand, and it tasted fine)

lemon juice

salt and pepper

nutmeg
pie crust/biscuit dough (i used the half leftover from my strawberry pie recipe)

1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup carrots, chopped
3/4 cup frozen peas, thawed

Melt 4 tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add 1/2 flour and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Add 2 cups chicken broth/stock, and whisk until smooth. Whisk in milk. Increase the heat to medium and bring the mixture just to a simmer, whisking to break up any lumps. Return the pan to heat and, whisking, bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the chicken, cook for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and season to taste with lemon juice, salt and pepper, and a pinch or two of nutmeg. Preheat oven to 400 F.

Melt 2 tbsp of butter in large skillet. Add carrots and onions, cook, stirring often, until barely tender, about 5 minutes. Stir the vegetable mixture into the chicken mixture along with the peas and parsley if you wish. Pour into a casserole dish. Roll out the pie crust to roughly fit, then lay it on top and tuck the edges under. Cut a few slits in the top for venting. For a golden brown glaze, brush the top with an egg wash. Bake until the chicken is bubbly and the topping is nicely browned, about 25 to 35 minutes.

banana chocolate chip muffins

Banana chocolate chip muffins (from the recipes from the i don't cook syndrome book, really old. don't know the exact name)

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

2 eggs
2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 bananas mashed

1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs and beat well. Sift or mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add bananas, vanilla, and nuts if you like. Spray muffins pan or use cupcake liners. Fill muffins cups 2/3 full. At this point I had forgotten to put the chocolate chips in. OOPS! I sprinkled a few on each top and pressed them in a little. We all liked this! Bake 20 to 25 minutes. 

YUM. Both Rory and Janae ate three in a matter of minutes, so that tells you they were Goo-0d!

chicken pillows


Chicken Pillows (from the recipes from the i don't cook syndrome book, really old. don't know the exact name)

Filling:

6 oz cream cheese, softened
2 tbs butter or margarine, softened
2 cups cooked and diced chicken breasts (I used 1 1/2 cans of chicken from Costco)

1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Rest is optional: green onions, celery, mushrooms

Heat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix softened cream cheese with butter, Add chicken, salt and pepper and mix. Add green onions, celery, and mushrooms, if desired. (Rory did not desire those)

Biscuit dough:

4 cups flour
1 tsp salt

1 tbs sugar

5 tsp baking powder

1 cup shortening
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk

Combine flour, salt, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. cut shortening into dry ingredients. Mix eggs and milk together in a small bowl, then add to flour mixture. Dough will be sticky. Knead lightly on a floured breadboard or counter about 20 times. Roll out and cut with a round cutter or drinking glass. (Bake 10 minutes at 425 degrees for regular biscuits, until light brown)


I cut my dough into circles about 5-6 inches around, with a cereal bowl. That's right. MacGyver would be proud. Then I put a tablespoon or two of the filling in the middle of each circle and folded it up. I also put a little egg wash on the top to give it a nice golden yummy look.
Place dumplings on a greased (pamm-ed) cookie sheet, and bake 20-25 minutes. Serve with gravy. "gravy" is a can of cream of chicken soup mixed with 1/2 soup can of milk and heated through.