Homemade Chicken pot pie

I was going to make a homemade chicken soup until I realized I had the ingredients to make a chicken pot pie with puff pastry topping. I always wanted to make a pot pie with the puff pastry, it just looks so yummy.

I found this recipe from Alton brown on food network. The recipe is easy if you use store bought puff pastry instead of making it yourself. 

Ingredients

Filling:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs and/or breast, skin and bone removed, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 medium celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 ounces unsalted butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (I used the broth from the crockpot that I cooked the chicken in.)
1 1/2 cups 2 percent milk, room temperature (I used 1% milk and it still came out creamy.)

8 ounces frozen green peas

1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme
 

Store bought puff pastry

The first thing I did was put my chicken in the crockpot with water and a chicken bullion cube. I let this cook for six hours on low so I could use shredded chicken.

Next you need to cut the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Heat a pot on med high and add a couple Tbs of oil. Add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, and thyme. Stir and cook for about 5 mins until the onions are soft.
 

 Add the butter and melt. Then stir in the flour and cook for 2 mins.

Gradually stir in chicken broth and milk. Bring to a simmer and keep stirring until the sauce thickens.
 

Remove from heat and add the chicken and peas.

Put this filling into 4 individual ramekins. 

Roll out puff pastry and cut to cover the ramekins. Place on top of chicken mixture and brush with egg wash( that's how it gets nice and brown ).

Bake in oven for 15 mins on 425 then reduce heat to 400 and cook an additional 15-20 mins. Cool and serve. 

Cool and serve.

 

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Simple roast chicken

This is one of my favorite ways to have chicken. It is full of flavor and juicy. You can use any mixture of spices you like as well.

Ingredients I used

Paprika
Rosemary
Salt
Pepper
Thyme
Parsley
Olive oil
Chicken breasts

First heat your oven to 375
Next make your rub by combining all dry ingredients. You will need enough of each spice to cover the amount of chicken you have. Add the oil until it looks spreadable. Rub this on chicken. You can let this marinate or just begin cooking.
 

You will need a skillet that can go into the oven. I use a big nonstick skillet. Put the skillet on the stove on med high. Once it is hot enough put the chicken on and cook 3 mins on each side until browned. 

Take the skillet and put it in the oven and roast for 20 mins.

Check to make sure chicken is cooked through, using a thermometer it should read 170. Let the chicken rest for 5 mins and serve. 

 

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Bbq chicken pizza

I love making homemade pizza with homemade dough, plus it gives me a reason to pull out my bread machine which has been collecting dust the past two years. This is a good recipe for when you want to do something different than the traditional red sauce pizza. This recipe I adapted from Rachel Ray's recipe sweet onion pork pizza. 

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for brushing

1 red onion, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper

One 16-ounce package frozen pizza dough, thawed

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1/2 cup canned tomato sauce with Italian herbs

8 ounces pepper Jack cheese, shredded (2 cups)

6 to 8 leftover baby back ribs, meat shredded and bones discarded (about 1 cup meat)

2 green bell peppers, seeded and cut into thin rings

Note: I made a homemade dough using Fleishmann's pizza yeast. I took all the ingredients and put it in my bread machine on the dough setting. I also subsituted the pork for shredded chicken.

After the dough was done I kneaded it just a bit more and rolled it out. Then for the toppings.

Cook red onions until soft and carmelized.

Spread the sauce on the pizza dough and top with chicken, cheese, peppers and onions. Bake in oven 425 for 15 mins. Enjoy.

This pizza is a definate try if you are craving something different. I also love the sauce.

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Chicken Lasagna

Tonight I needed a quick and easy dinner. I had shredded chicken and corn tortillas and no clue what to make with them. I came across the recipe Corn Tortilla Chicken Lasagna from The Taste of Home website. It looked simple enough and I had the ingredients. I cut the recipe in half and changed the recipe a bit.

Ingredients

15 corn tortillas (6 inches)

3 cups shredded or cubed cooked chicken breast

1 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup salsa

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can rotel diced tomatoes with lime juice and cilantro

1/2 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

First get a 13 x 9 pan and spray with cooking spray. Lay 6 corn tortillas so that they cover the bottom of the pan. Then spread half the sour cream on the tortillas. Next comes half the chicken, black beans, salsa, rotel tomatoes , and cheddar cheese. Repeat one more time with the remaining ingredients and top with pepper jack cheese. Add the last 3 tortillas to the top.

 Cover dish bake in oven for 20 min. Pull off the cover and cook 10 mins more.

Overall it was a pretty tasty dinner. The good thing about this recipe is that you can change the ingredients to suit your tastes. I personally thought the only thing missing was some seasoning like cumin.

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