Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie, or: To Feed an Ironman, or: M Dot Pot Pie

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Hello, all!! Dave had two things to celebrate this weekend: a great race result and a few days of leniency within his diet. We both watch what we eat, but he’s been watching his intake like a hawk for quality and quantity approaching his last tri of the season…. and it paid off!! Now, time to undo all of the hard work.

Ironpie

To welcome him home from his out-of-town race, I wanted to make some hearty and comforting meals without completely blowing his clean-eating efforts (or contribute too much to my recent lazy gal on the couch syndrome). This was the richest of the dishes I made, due to the double pie crusts. If you want to lighten this up, feel free to make a different crust, use only one, or serve this filling over brown rice or with mashed potatoes. If you do make a double-crust pie, though, congratulations! Your dish is delicious.

DEEP DISH CHICKEN POT PIE

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
  • 1 tbsp canola oil 
  • 2 lb bag frozen mixed vegetables
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried sage
  • 2 cups skim milk, divided
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 3 tbsp chicken base or bullion, to taste
  • 1 bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)
  • 1 pkg Pillsbury Pie Crusts (2 ready-o-use roll out crusts), at room temperature 
  • several dashes white pepper

Directions:

In a large stockpot, boil chicken breasts in 6 cups of water until they are cooked and no longer pink. Reserve about 4 cups of the cooking water. Set chicken aside and let cool. Open a beer with a favor from your cousin’s wedding. Yum. Dont’ you feel better?

you’ve got to cool it now… oooh, watch out

When the chicken is cooling, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Set your crusts out in their packaging and let them come to room temperature. Heat oil in the same large stockpot over medium heat, and add onion, thyme, and sage, cooking for 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent but not browned. Add the frozen (stay with me here) bag of vegetables to the pot, the chicken base or bullion, and about a half cup of the reserved cooking water.

chop chop chop

While that mixture is thawing and cooking, chop the parsley and cooked chicken. In a small bowl, whisk the 3 tbsp flour into one cup of milk, and add the flour slurry, along with the chicken and parsley, to the veggies. Stir well. This is going to get very thick very fast. As soon as the flour mixture and chicken are incorporated, add the other cup of milk and another cup of cooking water. Stir this all together and give it a taste for seasoning. You may add more milk or water at this point to reach the filling the consistency that you’d like. Remove this mixture from heat and set aside.

filling, ready to go

Remove your first pie crust from its packaging, draping across the bottom and pressing up the sides of a deep-dish pie pan. I used a disposable foil pan and it worked perfectly. Pour the filling right into the crust, smoothing out with a spatula and leaving a slight buffer near the top of the crust. Drape the other crust over the filling, crimping to meet the bottom crust. Vent this top crust in any design you’d like using a butter knife. Allow me to suggest the Ironman logo… ha! Cover the edges of the crust with some foil strips so they don’t burn, and put the pie on a foil-lined baking sheet.

unbaked, vented pie

Bake at 350 for 55 minutes, removing the foil strips at about 45 minutes. Bake until the crust is a beautiful golden brown and until your kitchen smells amazing. Let cool for 15 minutes and serve to all hungry athletes under your roof.

Turkey Meatloaf & Roasted Brussels Sprouts (gf)

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Mums! Pumpkins! Hay bales on doorsteps! Brussels sprouts! Wait, what?

It’s officially fall, and has been for almost two glorious weeks. Fall is my favorite season (right behind summer, spring, and winter- ha), and one of my favorite ways to enjoy this time of year is to kick my cooking into high gear, including as many seasonal fall veggies as I can on our menu. A favorite is brussels sprouts, which, embarrassingly, I’d always purchased frozen. While I love them any way I can get them, I thought roasting fresh sprouts would be a more elegant and  satisfying way to prepare them, bringing out their natural sugars without complicating the cooking process. That instinct was a good one.

behold! caramelized perfection

Man, were these good! Dave and I ate them like candy while the turkey meatloaf finished cooking (unexpected: while delicious, the meatloaf played second fiddle to the gorgeous Brussels sprouts). Here’s what I came up with, main course listed first:

TURKEY MEATLOAF

adapted from Triathlete (so you know it’s nutritious!)

Ingredients:

  • 1 package ground turkey breast
  • 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely diced to match
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic paste, or 1 tbsp minced fresh garlic
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp ketchup
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • large pinch kosher salt
  • several large grinds cracked black pepper

Directions:

Preheat that oven! To 375. Dice the onion and pepper first, and heat your olive oil over medium in a large saute pan. Add those veggies, and cook them for 10 minutes, until they’re softened and the onion is slightly browned.

fragrant and lovely

Meanwhile, chop the parsley and garlic, if you’re using fresh, and grab a large mixing bowl. Combine the parsley, garlic, egg, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, salt and pepper with a spoon. Blend this well. Add the turkey and fold it into the herb and sauce mix until it’s all one big seasoned gloppy mess. YUM. Don’t forget to stir those veggies every now and then.

When the onion and pepper are sufficiently soft and fragrant, mix them into the turkey and sauce. This can be done with a spoon since ground turkey is less sturdy than beef (i.e., no need to get your hands involved). Make sure to mix well. Form the turkey mixture into a loaf about an inch and a half tall and 8 inches long- do this on a vented broiling pan. If you like ketchup on top, brush 2 tablespoons on top now.  You may also want to line the broiling pan with foil for easy cleanup (something I thought of while staring at my broiling pan after dinner). Pop that bad boy into the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Let cool for 10 before serving. Delish!

don’t take a picture of the cooked meal, just post one of raw meat, like this!

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, on to the super easy pièce de résistance:

ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs fresh brussels sprouts, washed and ends trimmed if not purchased trimmed
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt (eyeball this, add/subtract to your liking)
  • cracked black pepper
  • 2 shallots, cut into quarters (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400. Toss all ingredients in a large bowl, then spread onto a baking sheet or cast-iron skillet. I made mine in cast-iron because I was feeling rustic and wholesome and full of the fall spirit. Circle the wagons, guys. If you’re also feeling that way, go cast iron, and don’t look back. Roast for 40 minutes and serve! So easy! So healthy! Good for you!

gawgeous, pre-cooked

These were so pretty, my sister commented that they “looked suspiciously like a Pinterest post,” which is pretty high on my List of Possible Compliments. Enjoy!

leftovers for lunch > pb&j

Chinese Dumpling Pasta (gf)

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Hi, all!! We’ve had all kind of things going on lately- workouts, races, friends in town, trees falling on our cars, beautiful nephews being born, parties to plan, and so on and so forth.* The [happy] chaos had led to lots of cereal for dinner and very few blog posts (okay, NO blog posts), but I actually had time to cook last night! Real food involving vegetables, protein, and grains- and none of it came from the ready-made Whole Foods bar. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Good wives go there all the time. At least that’s what I hear. You know, on the streets.

in all its tasty glory

I have mentioned this in a previous post, but I often crave Asian foods- Vietnamese, Korean, and Chinese are favorites. I’d made this dish before and it’s just what it sounds like: a pasta dish that tastes like steamed dumplings. BIG flavors, and quite tasty. It really hit the spot. Here’s what I came up with:

CHINESE DUMPLING PASTA

Adapted from Fitness Magazine

Ingredients:

  • 1- 1 1/4  lb lean ground pork (you can use turkey or chicken if you’d like)
  • 1 10-oz bag ready-to-eat shredded carrots
  • 1 bunch scallions, sliced
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • 8-10 tbsp hoisin sauce (sounds like a lot, but it isn’t; made with soy sauce, which contains gluten- substitues accepted for true gf)
  • 1/2 lb-1 lb shiitake mushroom caps, sliced (rehydrated, then sliced, if purchased dry) 
  • 1 pkg Tinkyada brown rice pasta, or pasta of your choice

Directions:

In a large stockpot, cook your chosen pasta according to package directions. On a recent experimental gluten-free kick, I tried the Tinkyada brown rice pasta, and loved it. I was inspired to go gluten-free in an effort to resolve some long-standing stomach issues, by some of the ideas behind the Wheat Belly craze, and by the endorsement of Heather Wurtele, a professional triathlete I admire (I’m a nerd, I know). Side note: Heather and her husband Trevor (also a pro triathlete) live in a tiny RV and drive all over North America racing and training. That sounds like such a great lifestyle to me, so streamlined and focused!

adorable

She’s very positive (check out their fantastic blog here) and she’s a fellow tall girl, which inspires me because she’s been very successful in a field of shorter, compact, fast little women who often seem to have a natural advantage in the sport. I met her in New Orleans and she had a big smile on her face all day, despite having taken a very violent and very public tumble off of her bike. She got right back up, placed 2nd (her hubby won the men’s division that day), and went out on Bourbon that afternoon, bandages and all. Her attitude completely won me over- she’s my fave. Oh- drain pasta and set aside.

good eats

While the pasta is cooking and as you’re perusing the Wurtele’s blog, heat the sesame oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the sliced shiitakes, the garlic, and the ginger. Cook for three minutes, until the mushrooms are soft and the kitchen smells amazing. Add the pork [turkey, chicken], and cook for another three minutes, breaking up and stirring to cook evenly. Drain at this point if there is a lot of fat coming off of the pork. Add the hoisin sauce and pasta water, cook another 3 minutes, then add the entire bag of shredded carrots and cook until the pork [turkey, chicken] is completely cooked through and the carrots have cooked down a bit (you will know this when you see it).

mushrooms, garlic, ginger

Place the drained pasta back in the large pasta pot and top with meat and veggies, then with scallions. Toss furiously! But don’t break up the pasta. That’s all! Serve with Sriracha (Cruse ketchup) and more hoisin, for those who’d like it. Quite a yummy and complete meal, and this will make a LOT for leftovers. Enjoy!

all together now

*

Quick Marinara Sauce For A Crowd, or “What To Do With Four Pints of Grape Tomatoes” (v, gf)

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We had a party* this weekend!!!!!! First we’ve had in, oh, about three years, so I bought way too many groceries to make the food I had on the menu. What was on the menu? Burgers, brats, BBQ chicken, all of the necessary burger fixins, chips, dips, potato salad with cabbage and sesame oil, avocado and corn tomato salad, baked beans and 534845321564 cookies and cupcakes (none of which I baked).

It was a delicious and overindulgent day, and I wound up with four pints of leftover grape tomatoes from the avocado salad…. What in the heck do you make for a two-person household using that many tomatoes? A friend suggested I make a marinara sauce (my first instinct was tomato soup), so I did, thinking I’ll freeze some later. This recipe begins with the usual disclaimer that I was short on time, so I had to improvise my way through the slow-cooking I would have preferred for the sauce. Cue the food processor…..

the innumerable tomatoes mock me

QUICK MARINARA SAUCE FOR A CROWD

Ingredients:

  • 4 pints of grape or cherry tomatoes, preferably sitting on your counter ripening for two days, challenging you to a “you can’t cook me” face-off
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 very large onions, chopped
  • 5+ cloves garlic, or 3 tsp garlic paste
  • 1 1/2 tbsp  dried Italian seasoning (small palmful)
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 2-3 tsp kosher salt (you may prefer more, I try to limit salt)
  • 1 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup water or pasta water, if you’re simultaneously cooking pasta and you like a thinner sauce

Directions:

Heat a heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium heat. Add the olive oil to the hot pot, and swirl to coat. Add onion, garlic, and spices, and cook for 5-7 minutes. Add the washed tomatoes and water, if using, cooking for about ten minutes, or until the tomatoes start to break down from the heat and salt. Add balsamic at this point, and stir. Cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes more, or however long you have.

Remove from heat and uncover, letting the sauce cool for about ten minutes before processing in batches. The benefit of quick-cooking a sauce like this is that it’s light and fresh at the end, which is nice in the spring and versatile. I plan to freeze it in muffin cups and use the fairly neutral sauce in future pastas and soups. I also thought that a quickly browned pound of ground beef or turkey could easily turn into a spaghetti dinner with two or three servings of the sauce, tossed in at the end of cooking time to melt and meld, then be served over pasta.  This sauce is also a great way to use sale tomatoes!

If I’d had more time (Always. Always “if I’d had more time…”), I would have roasted the tomatoes and onions together in a large roasting dish with olive oil before transferring to a stock pot to simmer, and then puree. The flavor would have been richer, but that will be a delicious way to try this sauce in the fall. Enjoy!

Sauteed with cooked ground beef- this was the next day’s lunch. YUM

Some more ideas:

  1. omit balsamic, stir in creme fraiche, or chunks of neufchatel
  2. stir in ribbons of fresh basil after pureeing
  3. stir in Kalamata olives and feta cheese before pureeing, serve over fish
  4. add zucchini or spinach for a nutritional boost
  5. use a head of roasted garlic in place of fresh cloves (DEFINITELY trying this!)

*

White Bean Chicken Chili with Spoonbread

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Dave made a request recently for chili. Since it’s, you know, May (and hot outside), traditional beef and bean red chili seemed way, way too heavy. Thinking of an alternative that would still have protein, be filling, fast, and relatively low-carb, BAM! It hit me! White chicken chili! I’d never eaten it, let alone made it, but I figured that if I stuck with tex-mex flavors, I’d be fine. And it turned out really well! In our house, if you top hot, spicy food with avocado, it will be well-received, so I tried my best with a recipe and threw a bunch of the creamy, green stuff on top. Instant hit.

chicken chili nom-noms

And because it was so healthy, I had to counteract at least some of the nutritional benefits with a side of my fast spoonbread- essentially Jiffy corn muffin mix with canned and creamed corn (recipe below).  It is tasty! And goes well with so much, especially soups and chilis. Here goes:

WHITE BEAN CHICKEN CHILI

Ingredients:

  • 1 package ground white meat chicken
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cans white beans, rinsed and drained*
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 jalepeño pepper, seeded and finely diced
  • 1 bunch cilantro- leaves minced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced, or one tsp garlic paste
  • 1 tbsp chicken base
  • 1-2 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tbsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 2 cups water
  • diced avocado, sour cream, hot sauce to serve

Directions:

Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. When hot, add your olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, peppers (all three kinds), and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the chicken and all spices.

peppers, onion, and garlic cooking away

Cook, stirring, until the chicken is broken up well and is no longer pink. This will take another 5-7 minutes. Add the canned beans- and here’s the thing about canned beans- *you can either drain and rinse them to cut salt content or just dump them in. I drained mine but then added a tablespoon of chicken base, so was I really cutting salt? Probably not by much. I do prefer the flavor of the chicken base to the boring, super salty-msg-like flavor of canned beans. But this is up to you. Are you a drainer or a dumper? That sounds kind of weird, doesn’t it?

all done!

Anyway, add water, and you can add by the half cup, depending on how soupy you like your chili. Add the chicken base or bouillon here, and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer about ten minutes. You’re all done! Stir in the cilantro and serve, with avocado, sour cream, hot sauce, and….

FAST SPOONBREAD

Ingredients:

  • 2 packages Jiffy corn muffin mix
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cups milk
  • 1 can sweet corn, drained
  • 1 can creamed corn

Directions:

SO EASY! Love recipes that start with those words! Mix everything well (the batter will be lumpy, which is okay). Let rise for a few minutes as you preheat the oven to 400. Grease a baking dish- an 8×8 pyrex should be the right size (I like using a white Corning Ware casserole dish for presentation points). Bake for about 45 minutes. You want this to be a very moist bread- not uncooked but very soft. The sweetness and moisture of the corn and creamed corn really make this a delicious bread, and it’s forgiving- another 10-15 minutes in the oven wouldn’t hurt it at all. Serve.

*This post has been categorized as gluten-free; Jiffy mix isn’t 100% gf, so homemade cornbread would be the best bet if you need to be a stickler.

Classic Shrimp and Asparagus Barley Risotto (pes, gf)

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Earlier in the month, I published a slight spin on one of may favorite recipes. I essentially made this dish with broccoli in place of asparagus and added curry powder. This version, with asparagus, fresh lemon, and no curry powder, is my absolute favorite version and really delicious in the spring, when asparagus is at its peak. The lemon zest and juice really give this a bright kick of flavor; do yourself a favor and make sure to include the lemon. It makes all the difference in the world.

SHRIMP AND ASPARAGUS BARLEY RISOTTO

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb (generally 1 bag) 31-40 count shrimp, thawed, peeled, and deveined
  • 1 1/4 c pearled barley
  • 1 bunch asparagus, washed and chopped into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2-3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • cracked black pepper, to taste
  • 5 1/2 cups stock, or water + 4 tsps cooking base or bouillon
  • juice and zest of 1-2 lemons Read More

Chicken Thighs Braised in Marinara (gf)

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Hello! I haven’t posted in a while- we’ve been moving into and getting settled in our new home! It’s been a very exciting month, but moving always means meals out and cereal for dinner for a while. Instead of posting bowls of Kashi and soy milk, here’s the first meal I cooked in our new kitchen:

CHICKEN THIGHS BRAISED IN MARINARA

Adapted from the Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

Curried Barley “Risotto” With Shrimp

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I like to make this barley risotto fake-out when I want to make a one pot, complete meal that tastes indulgent but isn’t. Usually, I make the dish with shrimp and asparagus and no curry powder, but this time I had broccoli on hand and a Eureka! curry powder moment, which turned into the dish I’m posting. Curry powder is most definitely a polarizing spice, so by all means, omit it if you’re not a fan.

the rirruto

It was quite delish, and is very easy to make. Once you know the proportions of water and barley and the cooking times (all of which will remain the same, regardless of fillings), you can substitute other veggies and protein for the shrimp and broccoli (see bottom of post for tried-and-true combos).

CURRIED BARLEY “RISOTTO” WITH SHRIMP

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 Steamfresh bag of broccoli cuts
  • 2 small or 1 large onion(s), cut into large dice
  • 1 1/4 cups Quaker medium pearled barley
  • 3 tbsp canola or olive oil, divided
  •  3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 5 1/2 cups stock, or water + 5 tsps cooking base or bouillon
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp curry powder, optional
  • a few generous grinds black pepper

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