Light Low-Sodium Chicken Pot Pie

• Everybody loves a delicious chicken pot pie.  When I was growing up we had the frozen variety - which was pretty tasty.  But not as tasty as when I was served one with a puff pastry crust in a restaurant in Boston and realized there is so much more to pot pie than just the frozen variety.  So, here we go - this recipe takes about an hour and a half total to make but most of it is just the baking part.
  
  What you will need:

Pie Filling:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 3 cups fat-free, lower sodium chicken broth
• 2 1/3 cups cubed red potato
• 1.5 ounces (about 1/3 cup) all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken
• 1 cup frozen petite peas
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 2 teaspoons 1% low-fat milk

Crust:

• 1 1/2 Cups Flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of butter, salted
• 5 tablespoons ice water

Let's Get Cooking:

Crust:

To prepare crust, weigh or lightly spoon 6.75 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 6.75 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; cut in 7 tablespoons butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 5 tablespoons ice water; stir just until moist. Press mixture gently into a 5-inch circle; cover with plastic wrap. Chill 15 minutes. Roll dough into a 12 x 8-inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Chill dough until ready to use.


Pie: 

Preheat oven to 400

To prepare filling, melt 2 teaspoons butter in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add carrot, onion, and thyme; cook 8 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Add broth and potato; bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Combine flour and 1/3 cup water in a small bowl; stir with a whisk until smooth. Return potato mixture to a boil. Slowly drizzle flour mixture into potato mixture, stirring constantly. Cook 1 minute or until mixture thickens. Stir in chicken, peas, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Spoon chicken mixture into an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Place dough on top of chicken mixture, pressing to edge of dish. Cut 4 slits in top of crust to allow steam to escape. Gently brush crust with milk. Bake at 400° for 50 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Slow Cook Beef Stroganoff

This recipe was not one I thought I would be cooking on the Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend!  But 2013's start to Summer is a washout - so here it is.  This recipe is fairly straightforward and prep time is minimal, so you can prep it in the morning and have it waiting for dinner after you have spent the day enjoying the weather (ideally.)

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 6-7 Hours


What you will need:

• 1.5 lbs stewing meat
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
• 1 lb mushrooms (I use a lot. You don't have to.)
• 4 tbs butter
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 heaping tbs brown or dijon mustard
• 1 tbs sugar
• 1 12 oz can fat free condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 6 oz fat free sour cream
• Egg noodles
• 2 tbs dry or fresh chopped parsley (for garnish)

Let's get cooking!

• Heat olive oil on medium-high heat and add stewing meat
• Brown meat, do not need to cook through completely but make sure most pink is gone
• Add beef broth to pan - I used hot water with Herb-Ox Sodium Free Bouillon powder dissolved in it
• Stir in mustard and simmer for a few minutes
• Transfer to slow cooker set to warm
• Using same pan as you used for the beef, add butter to pan over medium-high heat
• Stir in chopped onion and mushrooms and sauté until soft - about 10 minutes
• Add mushroom mixture to slow cooker and mix
• Sprinkle sugar over top and mix
• Cover and cook on warm for 6 hours
• 10 minutes before serving, stir in cream of mushroom soup and sour cream and prepare egg noodles
• Serve stroganoff over egg noodles, sprinkle parsley to garnish

Enjoy!