Quick & Easy Meal: Chicken Pie with Cornmeal Crust

I don't know about you, but I LOVE casseroles! I seriously could eat one every day of the week. And there are so many different ones you can make so I'd never get bored.

Hubs on the other hand... HATES them! And based on my own personal research, so many of my friends husbands are in agreement. Hubs very much prefers that his meat, carb and veggie share the same plate, but do not touch or intermingle. Very basic...

BOOOOOOOORING......

What is it about men & women and their eating preferences?

Just like everything else it must be the hormones.

So if your husband is like mine, he probably will hate this meal and run out to Micky D's instead.

But I thought it was really good! And the girl's liked it too!

So you might wanna give it a try, just don't mention the words "pot pie" or "casserole".

Chicken Pie with Cornmeal Crust

First you heat 1 3/4 cups of chicken broth in a saucepan on the stove. Then you add 2 lbs. diced boneless skinless chicken breasts.

Simmer for 2 minutes.



Use a slotted spoon to fish out your chicken and place it into a 2-quart casserole dish. There's that word again... casserole...



Chop 4 carrots, any way you like. I did mine on the diagonal to make them fancy. Looking back that wasn't such a great idea because my girls wouldn't eat them. Apparently carrots sliced on the diagonal are a totally different vegetable than carrots in little disks.



Then add the carrots to the simmering broth. Simmer for about 5 minutes.



Remove carrots with your slotted spoon and add them to the casserole dish. Set the broth aside, you'll need it in a few minutes.

Now it's time to make a roux. Isn't that exciting!!!

I think so! I know, I live a sheltered life.

Melt 4 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.



Add 1 chopped medium onion. Sautee until translucent.



Add 1/3 cup all purpose flour. Don't try any funny business with other types of flour, otherwise your sauce won't turn out right. Cook for 5 minutes stirring constantly.



Remove from the heat, this is important, and then slowly stir in the reserved chicken broth. You may want to use a whisk.

Return to heat and cook until the sauce simmers & thickens.

Remove from heat and add in 1 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 cup of parsley.







Then pour your sauce over the top of the carrots & chicken.



Now for the crust! This was another hatch mark against the recipe as far as my Hubs is concerned, he hates anything that involves cornmeal. Doesn't like corn bread even! Can you imagine?!

I obviously can't, which is why I keep trying. I keep thinking one of these days I'll make a cornmeal recipe that Hubs LOVES... I'll keep you posted on that little experiment...

In any case...

Mix together 1/2 cup of all purpose flour, 1/2 cup of yellow cornmeal, 1 teaspoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon baking powder.



Then add your wet ingredients. Some might mix these in a separate bowl before adding them to the dry... but I didn't. I just went for it and hoped for the best. It gets me in trouble sometimes but in this case it worked out just fine.

Wet ingredients here are 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons of milk, 1 egg, and 1 tablespoons of olive oil.



Mixy mixy... I used a fork.



And then I carefully poured it over the top of the casserole.



Word to the wise, put a cookie sheet under this puppy before you toss it in the oven. Mine did ooze over the sides, and I was very thankful that I had the foresight to use a cookie sheet.

Cook in the oven at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden. Let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.




Chicken Pie with Cornmeal Crust
Borrowed with love from Parenting.com Recipe by Jane Kirby

Filling
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch pieces
4 carrots, thinly sliced
4 tablespoons of butter or margarine
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup low-fat milk
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 cup frozen peas (I didn't use them because Hubs HATES peas, maybe even more than he hates casseroles, so I knew if I included them he most certainly wouldn't try it.)
1/4 cup parsley

Crust
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons peanut or olive oil

1. Heat chicken broth in a large saucepan until boiling. Add chicken, reduce heat to low, simmer for 2 minutes. Remove chicken with slotted spoon and place in a 2-quart casserole dish. Add carrots to broth, simmer for 5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and place in casserole dish. Reserve broth and set aside.

2. In another saucepan or large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the flour and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and slowly whisk in reserved broth. Return to heat and cook, stirring until the sauce simmers and thickens. Remove from heat. Blend in milk, salt & parsley, then pour sauce over chicken and carrots. Mix in the peas if you wish, set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. In a small bowl combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and baking powder. Using a fork blend in the milk, egg and oil. Pour over the chicken filling and spread to the edges of the dish. Bake 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden. Stand for 10 minutes before serving.


Coming up...

Lentil Soup with Herbs de Provence.

Mystery Spice Monday! #2

I know, I said I'd post this up last night. Unfortunately I was pretty sick last night and ended up taking 2 naps before finally going to bed early. I'm feeling better today... I think. :P

As always, if you have any questions about Mystery Spice Monday you should consult the rules Here.

So without further delay...

Today's Mystery Spice is Nutmeg!



But not just any ol' Nutmeg... WHOLE nutmeg. Now let me tell ya, if you don't have one of these Nutmeg kits in your house you really should run out and buy one. The flavor of freshly grated nutmeg is just about a million times better than the pre-ground stuff you can buy. Don't believe me? Try it. You won't be sorry.

I know, you're wondering why I chose nutmeg rather than that exotic Greek mountain tea that came with no instructions. Well, Hubs and I have started a new Mystery Spice Monday custom, he picks the spice and then determines that I should ONLY make an entree, not a desert. Just wait till you see what he picked out for me for next week's Spice... *rolls her eyes*... But don't worry, I'll slip in some vials of sex tea or other such nonsense in the midst of his picks... it should be very entertaining.

Obviously since I was only allowed to make an entree with the nutmeg my choices were fairly limited. But thanks to the search by ingredient tool on Recipezarr.com I was able to come up with something that sounded really goood... and got a bunch of other ideas for future meals too!

I ended up picking Fake-baked Ziti! I know... YUM!!!

So first you boil your noodles per package directions.



Then you get some parmigiano-reggiano cheese and some ramano cheese... and try not to drool all over them before you get them out of their packages...



Then you grate each one in your food processor.



Until they each look like this:



Then you start working on the cream sauce. I think there's a fancy name for this type of sauce... bechamelle or something or other... they say it on the Food Network but I have no idea how to spell it.

You melt 2 T of butter and then you add 2 T of flour and stir it constantly for about a minute.



Then you add some salt and pepper and grate in some nutmeg. I probably put in about 1 teaspoon nutmeg total.



Then you pour in 2 cups of milk. And whisk it constantly, you want to make sure you don't have any flour lumps in there.



Keep stirring, eventually it'll come to a simmer, and you'll keep stirring and simmering for another 5 minutes.





Then it's time for the cheese! Be still my beating heart...





Look at how thick and dreamy it gets!



Now it's time to put this dish together. Put your noodles in some sort of dish and then pour 2 cups of jarred marinara sauce over the top.



Mix it until the noodles are completely covered.



And then pour the cream sauce over the top..... oooooh baby!



Then if you're smart you'll buy one of those big balls of fresh mozzarella cheese, if you're not, you'll buy small ones like me. Either way, slice them and put them all over the top.





Toss it under the broiler for about 3-5 minutes...



We pretty much died and went to heaven when we tasted this for the first time... and then we revived ourselves to proclaim how amazing it was.. and then we died again and again.. totally delicious!

You actually CAN taste the nutmeg in this dish, and it's basically a hint of "Hm... what's in this sauce?"

We're thinking that next time we make this we'll use 1/2 as much noodles and use the same amount of sauce, but we're huge sauce fans in this house.

The girls really liked it too.





For the complete recipe including a printable format click HERE.


Got a great recipe to share today on Mystery Spice Monday? Then please enter your name and blog below! Be sure to visit other's links as well, find some more great recipes to add to your family's menu!

Healthy Banana Bread

Let me just say, I am SO excited for tomorrow's Mystery Spice Monday! So excited that I've actually already made next week's recipe! It's gonna be awesome! I'm gonna try to put it up tonight after the girls go to bed, so for those of you who are equally excited, you can check back here around 8pm Pacific time and hopefully I'll have it up by then.

In the meantime I thought I'd tide you over with yet another recipe from Feed Me I'm Yours. Only $5 on Amazon, go pick up a copy! You'll thank me later. :)

I didn't do step by step directions this time. Sorry. I was multitasking. But here's the end result!



Ever feel glum? Bored? Don't know what to do with yourself? My suggestion? Make this bread! It'll make your house smell like heaven and the flavors will almost be like a week-long vacation in Hawaii! Well... almost. :)

Breakfast Banana-Nut Bread

1/4 cup butter of margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup bran cereal or oatmeal, uncooked (I used oatmeal)
4-5 ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 cups), mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla (I used 2)
1 1/2 cups flour (white, whole wheat, or a combination)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup nuts, chopped (I used macadamia nuts, totally added to the tropical feel)
(Original recipe doesn't call for it, but I added a couple tablespoons of flaxseed meal)

Cream shortening and sugar until light. Add egg and mix well. Stir in cereal, bananas, and vanilla. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and add to the first mixture, stirring just long enough to moisten the flour. Grease and flour a loaf pan; pour in batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until bread tests done.

Hint: What to do with that leftover, ripe banana? Mash it, add a bit of lemon juice or Fruit Fresh, and freeze until you make banana bread. If chopped nuts aren't yet appropriate for your child, whirl them in a blender before adding to batter.


Our Verdict? I'm not a huge banana bread fan, in fact, I'm not really a fan of bananas in general. So it has been a LONG time since I've made banana bread. Hubs on the other hand LOVES it and was SO happy that I made this! He said it was excellent as far as banana bread goes, said the mac-nuts really made the recipe for him. Half the loaf was gone this morning when I woke up, so he did some 3am munching. Both of the girls thought it was pretty good too, they kept saying Mmmmmm.... with their mouths stuffed full. Even I tried a bit.. ugh, I just don't think cooked bananas and me are ever going to go together. lol

Mmmmmm.... pancakes....

I was planning to make pancakes for the girls yesterday, but then my mom called and said, "Hey, why don't you come over with the girls. Dad will watch them during nap time, and you and I'll go get pedicures." And since I never turn down such offers of free babysitting and pampering I jumped at the chance! It was great. A much needed break, plus an excuse to get out of the house.

So I made pancakes this morning instead. :)

This recipe is taken (again!) from Feed Me I'm Yours, which is quickly becoming my go-to cook book for meal ideas for the girls. If you have toddlers, you should rush on over to Amazon and order a copy, it's only $5!

The recipe is called Cottage-Cheese Pancakes. Are ya droolin' already?

I didn't get a cast of characters shot for this one... what can I say, I hadn't had my first cup of coffee yet.

Ingredients are: 3 eggs, 1 cup cottage cheese, 2 T salad oil or melted butter, 2 T flour or cornmeal. Super simple!

I used my food processor to make the batter, you could use a blender if you want.

First I cracked the eggs into the food processor.



Then I pulsed them for about 30 seconds, and added cottage cheese.



Then I pulsed again until there were no more cottage cheese clumps.



Then I added the oil.



And 2 tablespoons of flour.



Mixy mixy...



Then I broke out my new Griddler... I'm really lovin' it. You'll hear more about it in the weeks to come. :)

You'll know they're ready to flip when they start to look like this:



Mmmmm... I'm gettin' hungry already!



Stack them on a plate and cover with foil to keep them warm until they're all done.

Oh lordy... these turned out wonderfully!



These are definetly a light/thin pancake as opposed to a cakey/thick pancake. I thought they were delicious. They're more of a saverey pancake as opposed to a sweet pancake, they have that tang of cottage cheese. Ziva wasn't a huge fan, but Anya ate 3 of them, and her smile was a great reward.



Because these are mostly cheese and egg, and only 2 tablespoons of flour for the whole batch, they're actually very low-carb! So if you're trying to watch your carbs, or if you're diabetic, this would be a very healthy alternative to regular pancakes. Use cornmeal instead of flour and it becomes gluten-free!


Cottage-Cheese Pancakes

3 eggs
1 cup cottage cheese
2 tablespoons oil or melted butter
2 tablespoons flour or cornmeal

With a small mixer or blender beat eggs. Add cottage cheese and mix until fairly smooth. Add shortening and flour. Make cakes on the "smallish" side. Bake as usual for pancakes.

Homemade Granola Bars

Ziva's a bit better today. But I think Anya's now starting to come down with it and Hubs is in full on "Ugh... I can't breathe!" mode. I'm starting to feel pretty tired and worn down and I have a headache.

Oh, and just because God has such a rockin' sense of humor...

it snowed today.

I hate snow.

I feel like scarfing junk food.

But we have none in the house because I'm dieting.

Sigh.

So it's a good thing I have pictures in my camera of a recipe for granola bars that I made last week because I don't think my brain is functioning enough to come up with any more witty things to say. :)

Serenity NOW!

This granola bar recipe came from a book my mom gave me called Feed Me! I'm Yours! It's only $5 on Amazon right now so you should really hurry up and go order a copy. I've made several good recipes from this book for the girls and it has many wonderful real life solutions for feeding babies and toddlers. Some of the recipes are VERY 1975, but I think that's part of why I like it so much. Reminds me of things my mom used to make when I was little.



Anyway... back to the granola bars.

They were delicious, BUT they didn't really turn out how I would have hoped, so if some of you culinary experts could closely pay attention to what I did and then tell me what I did wrong that'd be awesome! :)

Here's my cast of characters:

Oats, brown sugar, butter, baking soda & dried cranberries. The recipe didn't call for any dried fruit but I just decided to add some, maybe that's where I went wrong.



First, melt 1/2 cup of butter, 3/4 cup of brown sugar, and "a dash" of baking soda.



If this is wrong... then I don't wanna be right!



And then you add 2 cups of oats.

I don't have a picture of that.

Oops!

But I do have a picture of me adding 1/2 cup of cranberries.



Then the recipe says you should put it all into an ungreased 9x9 baking pan.

Which worked out just fine so go ahead and do that.



I spread it out all nice and even and popped it in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.



Ten minutes later the house smelled awesome, and I pulled it out of the oven.

TA DA!!!



It looks amazingly similar to the first picture, huh?

So then I let it cool in the pan. When it was completely cooled I decided to cut it up and sneak a piece (Warning: do not make this on Day 2 of your diet, because you will scarf down WAY more than you should.)

And then I realized I had a problem.

Not only did I now I have something totally yummy in the house that I couldn't leave alone, but it also fell apart into a million little pieces when I cut into it.

These were not granola BARS, it was just granola.



And you know how when you cook something and say one cookie is misshapen and it must be eaten right away before anyone else sees it? Yeah... well I had a whole entire batch if crumbly falling apart granola "bars" that just called to me. I eventually had to just dump it all in a freezer bag and toss it in the freezer so that I would stop munching on handfuls of it.



So, Verdict?

It was VERY GOOD! But also not what I was hoping for. I was hoping for a snack that I could give the girls in the living room that I wouldn't have to vacuum up a billion crumbs after they'd eaten it. This is exactly the kind of messy snack that I was trying to avoid, so it didn't serve my purpose. BUT, it was very tasty, and I'm sure it would be awesome in a bowl with a splash of milk.