recipes: a quick chicken pot pie

Quick Chicken Pot Pie (photo: mine)

We've started going to a late Sunday afternoon worship service, and that leads to late dinners. So, I've been trying out some crock pot recipes that would be ready or need minimal prep when we get home. I pulled this recipe together from several others I found on the interent and our family loves it—maybe yours will too:

2 cans cooked chicken breast (14.5 ounces each)

1 can chicken gravy

1 can cream of chicken soup

½ cup of peas (frozen or canned)

½ cup of corn (frozen or canned)

½ cup chopped carrots

1 cup of chopped potatoes (about one potato)

1 roll of Pillsbury (or any other brand) thin crust pizza dough

Combine all the ingredients except the pizza dough into the crock pot and cook on high for three hours. Divide the mixture into two 9 inch pie pans. Unroll the pizza dough and divide in half; stretch and mold the dough over the top of the mixture so the edges touch the sides of each pie pan but don’t go over it. Brush the dough with olive oil or spray with olive oil cooking spray, and then sprinkle salt, pepper and a little dried basil on top. Bake at the temperature and time as directed on the pizza dough package (Pillsbury directs oven temp at 400F and I baked mine until the dough started to brown; see picture above). Remove from the oven and let sit for about 10 minutes—then cut, scoop and serve!

If you are not a fan of canned chicken, you could substitute chicken breasts. In that case, I would place the breasts in the crock pot with the gravy and soup and cook on low for a couple of hours, then add the vegetables and let cook another three. Also, you can use a number of different crusts (see the recipes below) but I chose the pizza dough because it is lower in calories. You can also use a variety of vegetables in this recipe; I am going to add broccoli the next time I make it. You could also skip the crock pot entirely, cooking the mixture on the stove until the vegetables are tender or use precooked vegetables and skip the warming process, allowing the mixture to warm in the oven as the dough bakes.

There is an endless variety of ways to make this recipe—here are the few that I drew from to create the one above: the Crockpot Girls’ Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie, Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie from Make Life Delicious, Individual Pot Pies from Quick Dish, and Lighter Chicken Pot Pie from EAD Living.

Recipes: French Chicken Stew

image: mine

Looking for a yummy stew for a winter night? This French Chicken Stew from Better Homes and Gardens is a good option. There's very little prep, other than cutting up some vegetables, opening a can or two, and uncorking a bottle of wine.

Because I like my soups veggie heavy, I added a little to each veggie item, cut back on the meat, and then added a little more wine and chicken stock. In my crockpot, I loaded four cups of mushrooms (I used shiitake); a little over a cup each of sliced baby carrots and quartered petite red potatoes; a little over half cup each of chopped sweet onion, fresh green beans and canned chopped olives (I used used two small cans); a can of diced tomatoes, about a cup and a quarter of chicken stock and three quarters cup of white wine; two heaping tablespoons quick cooking tapioca, a couple of teaspoons de Provence spice (I didn't use any thyme) and dashes of black pepper and salt (I was careful with the salt because my chicken stock already had some). I mixed it all together and laid a little over a pound of frozen chicken breast tenderloins on top (instead of chicken thighs). I cooked it on high for a couple of hours, stirred it all together, and then reduced it to low for a few more. About half an hour before we were ready to eat, I put in 14 ounces of organic marinara sauce. I popped a loaf of Pillsbury french bread in the oven (brushed with oil, salt and basil seasoning) and served it all with a bottle of French wine. Very, very tasty!

Receipes: An easy and delicious chicken curry

A few days ago, I made a delicious crockpot chicken curry by tweaking a receipe, In a Hurry Chicken Curry, from a Better Homes and Gardens soup publication. I doubled the amount of vegetables (from 16oz to 32oz) and used fresh vegetables instead of frozen: about eight or so ounces of chopped baby carrots, one large onion roughly chopped, and half a head of cauliflower broken into pieces. I also used two cans of cream of potato soup and mixed in three tablespoons of curry (we love this spice). Instead of chicken thights, I used about a pound of frozen chicken breast tenderloins. I layered it all in the crockpot as directed: vegetables on the bottom, then the chicken, with the potato/curry mixture spread over the top. As an afterthought, I added about 1/4 cup of chicken broth, pouring it around the sides so it would sink to the bottom with the vegetables to give them a little more moisture since I had doubled the amount; next time, I'll add it at the same time I put the vegetables in. I cooked it on high for two hours and then on low for another two. After I served it into bowls, I added a dollop of Greek yogurt. Very yummy!

(I neglected to take a photo of the soup, but you can find one at the link above!)