Chicken Pot Pie

This is a recipe I have been making for years, and is perfect for the after-Thanksgiving use of leftover turkey. The vegetable choices in this pie are limitless, and of course you could change the recipe to beef by using beef bouillon in place of chicken. To be honest I would like to get away from using the manufactured bouillon in this recipe, so I should probably work on a way to remove it...

Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie
-from unknown recipe book many years ago

2 diced cooked chicken breasts (or turkey or beef)
1 &1/2 to 2 cups each of 3 different veggies depending on what is in season, preferably each a different color!! (pre-cooked & diced)
----potatoes
----turnips
----parsnips
----carrots
----thawed frozen peas
----greens (chard, collards, kale, spinach)
----green beans
----broccoli
some manner of a crust to top with. This part is very adjustable! Make a recipe of biscuits to top with, or a batch of cornbread dough, or top with a single pie crust, or make some pizza dough in a bread maker & top with that. Basically, put a bready dough on top to make a crust, and of course, whole grain is the best!!! Bob prefers the pie crust route, and I agree, with biscuits being a close second.
For the "gravy filling"
6 T butter
1/3 C flour
2 T chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups milk

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. When bubbly add flour & stir with flat whisk. Then add bouillon & pepper. Let bubble for a while to "toast" the flour.
2. Add milk all at once while whisking in. Continue whisking until well mixed, then gently heat to bubbling. Stir occasionally and let continue to bubble until thickened. (should coat a spoon like white gravy when it's ready)
3. pour gravy into a 3 1/2 to 4 QT casserole. Add in cooked chicken and veggies, stir well, and top with your dough of choice.
4. Bake in oven preheated to 375 degrees for 40 minutes, or until top is golden & pie is bubbling. If using pie crust topper, I recommend a starting temperature of 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then adjust down to 375 for the remaining 30 minutes.

I just made this with produce from the last week at La Vista garden, and I chose carrots, parsnips & chard. It was absolutely delicious. Thanks to Kris, Nate & Stephanie at the garden for a fabulous season!!!

Mexican Tortilla Soup

As I was looking for an easy chicken soup recipe to use some more of my garden veggies, I came across this one, and I could not resist! It was EXCELLENT. For a vegetarian version use vegetable broth rather than chicken broth, and add a can of rinsed pinto beans or chickpeas for some more protein. You could also add a cup of rice to this soup if you wish.

Mexican Tortilla Soup
Adapted from Recipe #4574 on Recipe Zaar

1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek, sliced lengthwise, and then chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 green pepper, diced
2 jalepenos, seeded & diced
2 t chili powder
1/2 t cumin
1 t oregano
1 (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed (or fresh if you have them available)
1 can chicken broth
1 "can-ful" water (10 3/4 oz)
4 medium carrots, diced
1 medium summer squash/zucchini, diced
1 C corn
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
1/4 cup packed chopped cilantro (feel free to add more!!)
2 cooked chicken breasts, boned & chopped or shredded

Optional Toppings:
Crushed tortilla chips
Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
sliced green onions
avocado
sour cream

1. In a medium stock pot, saute onion, leek, peppers & garlic in oil.
2. Stir in chili powder, cumin, oregano, tomatoes, broth, water & carrots. Bring to a boil & simmer 10 minutes.
3. Add corn, squash, beans, cilantro & chicken, simmer 10 minutes.

Remove from heat & let sit for a couple minutes, then serve & garnish as desired. Enjoy!

Carrots

I hadn't made carrots for like 3 weeks, and I had tons of carrots in my fridge - since they come weekly from the garden, and I was thinking, what am I going to do with all of these carrots? And then I found a recipe for carrot soup, and I was so disappointed by the recipe. So I will not post the recipe because, while it was not terrible, it was not delicious, and these carrots deserved better. However, I used some of the carrots to make another side dish of carrots that was SOOO delicious. Here is the recipe.

Jennifer's Gingered Carrots

1 lb carrots, sliced thickly on the diagonal
1 whole garlic clove
2 T butter
1/2 C water
ground ginger
ground nutmeg
pinch of sugar

In a large skillet, heat the butter over low heat. Add the garlic clove, sliced carrots and water, and put in some ginger (1/2 to 1 tsp). Cover & simmer til carrots are tender, adding more water if necessary to prevent burning. Uncover and if there is any water remaining raise heat to high to boil off remainder of water. Sprinkle 1/4 t nutmeg and a pinch of sugar (or maple syrup or honey) over the carrots, stir & serve.

If only the soup had tasted as good as this! Oh well. Sometimes you make a great recipe, sometimes a mediocre one, and sometimes a failure. But the more you practice, the more you learn, and the more delicious recipes you will discover & come up with on your own!

I invite anyone reading this blog to make a submission of their own favorite whole-food style recipes.