Easy Chicken Pot Pie

I got this recipe from my friend Amy Kartchner.  It is really easy and super delicious.  The only modification I have had to make in France is to use fresh chicken cooked for about 2-3 hours in a crock pot rather than Costco canned chicken.  (I can't find any canned chicken of any kind here.)  Then I have to increase the salt amount by a little and cut the chicken up finely.  It's a little more work, but it's still really good, although believe it or not, I still prefer canned chicken in this recipe for both the taste and ease of preparation.

Ingredients:
1/3 C. butter
1/3 C. flour
1/3 C. onion, diced
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1-3/4 C. chicken broth (1 can)
2/3 C. milk, the creamier the better
1 bag frozen peas and carrots
2 12.5-oz. cans chicken, drained
2 premade pie crusts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 F.  In a large skillet or saucepan, melt the butter and add the flour and onions.  When onions are translucent, add the salt and pepper, chicken broth, and milk over low heat.  Simmer until it thickens.  Add the peas and carrots and the chicken.  Mix well.  Spoon into a pie plate with one pie crust already on it.  Spread another crust on top.  Pinch and flute edges.  Cut 4 slits on top to vent.  Bake for 40-45 minutes.  Use foil around edges of cust to prevent overbrowning.  Delicious! Even kids like this.

Chicken Noodle Soup

I remember mom making homemade chicken noodle soup.  My favorite memory was in Colorado when I had a snow day and was outside sledding and playing all day and she had a HUGE pot of soup on the stove and I kept coming in to eat some and then going back out to play.  One of my favorite snow memories. (which is more revolved around food than snow)  :)  Through couponing I acquired a ton of egg noodles for free and had no recipes to use them for.  I asked mom about her recipe and she just gave me one of those "oh, a little of this and that" throw it together recipes.  Those kind give me high anxiety when I'm first trying them out.  I researched a little online and then compiled this recipe from a few different variations.  The pictured bowl doesn't have much broth, but it usually has a good even ratio of chunk to broth.  I think it is soooo yummy!  I took this pic on the floor in the napper room at school while I was eating my lunch late and trying to pat childrens' backs at the same time.  :)  Tell me what you think if you try it!

What you need:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
• 1/2 pound shredded cooked chicken breast
• 1 1/2 cups egg noodles
• 1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste

 I usually use leftover chicken or shredded up pieces of the rotisserie kind that you can buy at the store. I never really measure out for this recipe, I just add as I see fit.  Last time I added zucchini and squash and that was tasty too.  If you're going to try that, do it at the very end. 

What you do:

In a large pot over medium heat, melt butter. Cook onion and celery in butter until just tender, 5 minutes. Pour in chicken and vegetable broths and stir in chicken, noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. (I usually add the carrots toward the end of the 5 minutes to soften them up a little bit)  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes before serving.

Basil and Tomato Tart

Have I got a delicious recipe for you!!  I made this tart last night, and it was so delicious.  It was such a shame some of it had to go to waste, since Jason and I can only eat so much.  I didn't think it would be good left over.  I will definitely be making this again.  I got the recipe from a Lehi ward blog.  The post author is Mandi Bagley (who I don't know), and I already left a comment to thank her for sharing such a yummy recipe.

Ingredients:

1 unbaked pie crust

1-½ C. shredded mozzarella cheese

5 Roma or 4 medium tomatoes

1 C. fresh basil leaves, chopped finely (can substitute 1 T. dry basil)

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

½ C. mayo

¼ C. grated Parmesan cheese

⅛ t. ground white pepper

Directions:

Bake pie crust according to package directions, or about 7-10 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from oven and sprinkle bottom of crust with ½ C. of the mozzarella cheese.  Dice tomatoes and drain on paper towels, eliminating as many seeds as possible. Arrange tomatoes atop melted cheese in the crust. In a food processor or blender, combine basil and garlic and process until coarsely chopped. Sprinkle over tomatoes. In a medium mixing bowl combine remaining mozzarella cheese, mayo, parmesan cheese and pepper.  Spoon cheese mixture over basil and tomatoes, spreading evenly to cover the top.  Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or until top is golden and bubbly. If crust gets too brown, cover just the crust with strips of foil.  Serve warm.  If desired, sprinkle w/ basil leaves.  Makes 8 appetizers or 4 main dish servings.

Tomato Basil Soup

I tried a recipe for Tomato Basil Soup today, and I didn't like it at all.  Way too bland and boring.  But I wanted to give it another go, so I went to Food Network.com and found a recipe that seemed simple and tasty.  So for the second time today, I made a Tomato Basil Soup recipe with some additions of my own, and I am very pleased with the result.  I added the garlic, the cayenne, and the cream, plus I did some blending the recipe didn't call for.  I also topped the recipe with cheese--such a must, I thought.  It turned out really delicious, and it's perfect for cold weather. 

Ingredients:

2 T. olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

3 cloves (1 T.) garlic, minced

4 C. vegetable or chicken stock (I used 2 chicken bouillon cubes and 4 C. water)

4 C. diced canned tomatoes (or 1 28-oz. can is probably fine too)

¼ t. cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

1 C. losely-packed, fresh basil leaves

½ C -1 C. heavy cream (I used 1C. but use less or omit entirely to lower fat content)

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the top (or use grated Romano or even Gruyère—any cheese really, but I like Parmesan with this recipe)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.  Sauté the onion, stirring often until softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic half way through.  Add about half of the stock, then pour the mixture into a blender.  Pulse the mixture a few times until onion pieces are fairly small (this step can be omitted, but my kids don’t like things too chunky, especially onions).  Return the blended mixture to the same pot, and add the remaining stock.  Now place canned tomatoes in the blender and pulse, but don’t puree (you want a little texture).  Pour all of the blended tomatoes except maybe a cup or so into the pot.  Now add the basil leaves to the blender and pulse with the cup or so of tomato, but again, do not puree.  (You will add this last cup of tomato and basil to the pot at the very end.)  To the pot of soup, add cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer about 10-15 minutes.  Stir in final blender contents, and add the desired amount of cream.  Heat through.  Serve immediately topped with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Delicious with crusty French bread!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

My family loves this recipe.  I got it from Brooke Andelin, who is the identical twin sister of our friend Megan Larkin in St. George.  I have made it and shared it with lots of people, most of whom have asked for the recipe.  In France I need to learn to make my own crunchy tortilla strips, but at home, we just bought them from Bajio or Café Rio.  I especially love this recipe for being easy, but really tasty too!

Ingredients:

2 large or 3 small chicken breasts (fresh or frozen—I have used both)

1 28-oz. can green chili enchilada sauce

1 10-oz. can chicken broth

3 green onions, chopped (optional, and I have to admit, I have never used green onions in this recipe)

1 T. garlic, minced

3 T. chopped cilantro

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (I have also used white beans)

1 can corn, drained

½ can green chilies (I added this to the recipe, so it’s optional too, and I usually double the recipe and use a whole can)

Black pepper to taste

Topping:

Diced avocado (drizzled with lime juice)

Sour cream

Shredded cheese

Tortilla strips

Directions:

In a crock pot place the chicken with the ½ can green chilies (if desired), the green enchilada sauce, chicken broth, onions (if you are using them), and garlic.  Cook on low until chicken shreds easily (about 4-5 hours for frozen, and about 2 hours for fresh).  After chicken is cooked and shredded, add corn, beans, and pepper to taste.  Heat through.  Add cilantro just before serving to preserve bright green color.  Top with tortilla strips, sour cream, diced avocado (drizzled with lime juice if desired), and shredded cheese.  You can also omit the chicken broth and serve the chicken mixture on fresh flour tortillas, burrito style.   

Crunchy Chicken Toes

This recipe is from Rachel Ray.  I first saw it in her magazine, but I have also seen it on "30-Minute Meals."  It is one of my kids' favorites, and I think it's probably a lot healthier for them than processed chicken nuggets (which they don't eat all that well anyway).  They devour this recipe though, and Jason and I actually like it a lot too.  We eat these right along with the kids whenever I make them!  My kids also think it's funny they are called "chicken toes" rather than "chicken fingers."  I ususally serve them with flavored rice and green beans for a super simple meal.

Ingredients:

1 C. cornflakes, crunched up with fingers

1 C. plain bread crumbs

2 T. brown sugar

1 t. salt

½ t. pepper

½ t. allspice

3 T. vegetable oil

1-1/2 lbs. chicken breast tenders, cut into roughly 2” pieces (or just cut up chicken breasts)

1/3 C. flour

2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375⁰ F.  In a shallow dish pour the cornflakes, breadcrumbs, sugar, s & p, and allspice; mix well.  Drizzle the oil evenly over the breading, mixing it well.  Dunk the chicken pieces into flour, then egg, then the crunchy breading.  Arrange the chicken on a nonstick baking sheet.  Bake for 15 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.  Best dipping sauce is a mix of honey mustard and barbecue sauce, but my kids like to have lots of options, including ketchup and ranch.  Serves 6.

Heather's "Damn Good" Pumpkin Pie

This recipe is my sister Heather's creation.  She made up the recipe (after some research, of course) during college when her volleyball teammate said she hated pumpkin pie.  When Heather took her a slice of this pie, the teammate finally agreed to try it, then exclaimed, "That's damn good pumpkin pie!" Hence, the name of this recipe. 

It's funny that my experience is similar.  I am married to a pie connoisseur.  No joke, the man LOVES pie, except pumpkin of course.  He's just never cared for it.  At Thanksgiving, he'll take a tiny sliver sometimes just so the poor pie won't feel too bad, but it's never even close to his favorite.  Lots of times he never even finishes his slice.  This year, I made this recipe on the last day of November because Jason talked me out of making any pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day.  I still can't believe I let him convince me not to make it.  Several days later, I was still sad I hadn't made pumpkin pie, so I made Heather's "damn good" recipe.  Jason took one bite, and said, "Tiff, that's damn good pie!"  I had to laugh, but I knew the recipe was a keeper when he asked for leftovers the next day!  That's NEVER happened.  As a pumpin pie lover myself, trust me, this recipe is one of the best, and it's so very easy too. I should have shared it before the holidays, but I have a rule that I won't post any recipe unless I have made it myself, and Nov. 30 was my first time making this recipe:

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 Tbs. butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbs. Flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. clove
1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Directions: 
Combine all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.  Pour into one 9" pie crust (unbaked) and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake until pie is golden and firm in the center (about 45 minutes).  Cool completely before cutting.  Serve with whipped cream.  Makes one "damn good" pie!