Category Archives: Main Courses

Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie

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Wondering what to do with that leftover turkey?  There’s nothing better than a homemade chicken (or turkey) pot pie. Especially when you have leftover turkey that is already cooked!

finished pot pie

The kids were home from college for the Thanksgiving Holiday weekend and this is one dish that my oldest always requests.  You can add whatever vegetables your family likes… or whatever you might have.  In our case, I had a bag of frozen peas and carrots so that’s what I used.  I usually  use a bag of mixed vegetables but peas and carrots sounded much better than a drive to the grocery store.

It starts off with making a very simple “gravy” type sauce, into which you eventually add some frozen veggies.  The sauce goes together quite easily and I have never had any problems with it.  Should I dare to say it’s fool proof???

chicken pot pieInto a casserole dish it goes.   Top with a homemade crust, a store bought pie crust, Bisquick or even a can of biscuits.  I just made up a Crisco pie dough (recipe for double crust).

crust shot

There’s truly no better way to eat leftover turkey!

Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie

(based on recipe from Better Homes and Gardens “New Cook Book”, 1988?) [print_link]

10 oz. frozen vegetables peas and carrots or any mixture you like)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup fresh mushrooms

1/4 cup butter or margarine (I use butter)

1/3 cup flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. dried sage

1/8 tsp. pepper

2 cups water

3/4 cup milk

1 Tbsp. chicken bouillon granules

3 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey

pastry for top (your favorite double crust recipe)

Cook frozen veggies according to package directions and drain.  In a saucepan, melt butter and saute onion and mushroom until tender.  Stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Add water, milk and chicken bouillon granules all at once.  Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.  Add drained veggies and chicken/turkey to pot.  Turn mixture out into a large casserole dish (or individual casseroles).

Roll pastry dough into a rectangle to fit your pan (recipe calls for 13X9).  Place over top of casserole and cut slits to allow steam to escape.

Bake at 450° for about 10-15 minutes, or until crust is browning and mixture is bubbly.

Cook Once Eat Twice | Boneless Chicken

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Here’s one of our favorites.  This really isn’t a “recipe” per se… it’s more of a “technique (and that’s stretching it too!).

IMG_4252I started making this when I was at the grocery and found a large package of boneless skinless chicken breasts at a great price in “it’s marked down – use it today” section.  Knowing that it really needed to be cooked that afternoon, I decided I would just put it all in the oven together and cook it all at once.

I must admit that this is a variation of Ina Garten’s method of roasting whole chicken breasts to use the meat for  casseroles and such.  I believe she did this on an old episode of “Barefoot Contessa” when she was making potpie.

Here’s what I do:

Set up and assembly line consisting of the clean chicken breasts, a bowl of olive oil, a plate with seasoning and a large cookie sheet.

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Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Using your hands/fingers, rub the entire chicken breast (lightly) with olive oil.  Side note: be sure to pour some oil into a bowl as you will contaminate the oil with your “raw chicken fingers”.

Put the oiled chicken into the seasoning that you have poured onto a plate.  I like to use a premixed chicken seasoning from the spice aisle (McCormick’s makes a good chicken rub).  Cover both sides and then place it on the cookie sheet.

Put the thicker chicken breast on the outside and the thinner ones on the inside if you can.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Slice the chicken into strips.

Our first dinner consisted of a large tossed salad with chicken strips.

The second meal was sooo easy!  For dinner two nights later, I sauteed some fresh veggies in a non-stick skillet.  When they were soft enough I tossed in some of the chicken strips and poured in some Light Italian Salad dressing (1/4 cup maybe?).  We ate that over rice and boy was it good!

[print_link]

Chicken Fajita Pizza

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This is a great recipe that is “somewhat” low fat… well, lower fat than a pepperoni pizza!  I made this as the “adult” pizza and used the second crust to make a pepperoni pizza for the kids.  This was a real winner and I will definitely be making this again.

chicken fajita pizza

I started with cubed chicken that I had on hand.  You can stick a roaster in the Crock Pot and cook it for several hours.  It results in a massive amount of chicken you can cube up and use later in recipes like this one.  You can cube and freeze the cooked chicken as well.  Very versatile and handy!

I tossed the cooked chicken with the spices in a bowl.  You can also start with raw boneless breast as in the recipe below.

seasoned-chicken

Here is a shot of the veggies cooking in my hot little orange skillet.  We love red onions so we used those.  You can use white or yellow too, depending on your preferences.  And if red and yellow peppers weren’t so darned expensive right now, you would see some of those in there too.

peppers-in-skillet

Follow directions for pizza crust and then top with fixins as per recipe below.

chicken fajita pizza ready to bake

We decided it was not as spicy as we would have liked.  Next time I will try out more chili powder.  Or I might try a whole different spice combo.  This is a great basic recipe to experiment with.

Chicken Fajita Pizza

adapted from Recipezaar

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 lb chicken breast, skinned, boned, cut into 2 x 1/2 inch strips(see notes above for starting off with cooked chicken)
  • 1-2 teaspoon chili powder(we used 2 tsp)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 cup thinly sliced onion
  • 1/2 cup green bell pepper, strips
  • pizza dough, for 12 inch pizza (see My Pizza Dough recipe, makes two crusts)
  • 1/2 cup mild salsa (I used a lot more)
  • 2 cups monterey jack cheese, shredded (and low fat cheese works well)
If starting with raw chicken:
Heat oil in large skillet.
Add chicken and cook, stirring frequently until lightly browned.
Stir in seasonings.
Add onions and bell peppers, cook an additional minute or so until vegetables are crisp-tender.

If starting off with pre-cooked chicken
Toss cubed chicken with seasonings.
Heat oil in skillet.
Put onions and bell peppers in skillet and cook  until vegetables are crisp-tender.
Add cooked chicken and heat through.
Heat oven to 425°.
Roll and press dough into pan.
Pre-bake dough until it is a very light golden brown, about 6 minutes.
Remove from oven and scatter chicken over crust, spoon salsa over chicken, spread vegetable mixture over that, and finally, top with cheese.
Bake for another 15 minutes until crust is golden brown.

Oh So Simple! Roast Beef

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Here in Ohio, we have seen some snow this winter. A lot of snow. Mountains of snow. So much snow that I am sick of it. And I don’t get there too often. I actually love winter and snow. Maybe it’s because I can wear lots of layers to hide those extra 10 pounds. Or maybe it’s all the fun of the cooking that is possible when you’re trapped inside for days on end.

on-platter

There’s nothing better than coming home to roast beef and vegetables. One of my favorite cold weather dishes.   It is true comfort food.

This recipe is one of my long-time favorite ways to cook a roast.  It is so incredibly versatile and oh so simple.  Cook the roast and then slice it and serve.  Or you can shred it for burritos.  Or you can shred it and put it on buns to make roast beef sandwiches.  Or top off salads with little slices of roast beef like we did the second night.

My favorite roast for this recipe is Eye of Round.  It is very lean, requiring a long cook time – perfect for this recipe.

ingredients

The roast goes in for an hour with nothing added – totally naked.

cooked-wo-waterIt gets all nice and browned up.  Add the water and seasonings (see recipe below) and top it off with a lid.

roast-in-juiceAfter baking for a few hours, it comes out perfectly done, all browned and crusty.  The water has now turned amber and can be made into a gravy if your waist will allow it.   We did have gravy.  How many days of winter clothes are there left???

Roast Beef

1 eye of round roast

salt

pepper

garlic powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Place the roast into a roaster or pan.  Be sure to choose something that will allow you to cover it later (preferably with a lid but foil will work).  Your pan should not be too much larger than your roast.  Bake for 1 hour, UNcovered.

Remove roast from oven.  Add about 1″ of water to the bottom of the pan.  Generously season the roast with the salt, pepper and garlic powder.  COVER the pan.

Turn the oven down to 300 degrees.  Place the covered pan back in and cook for 2 additional hours.  Depending on how large your roast is, you may want to keep an eye on it.  A small roast may not need two hours and a large one may need more.

Remove the roast and allow it to cool.  If you have time to do this ahead, you can place the roast (in the pan) in the fridge.  When you’re ready to get dinner together, skip the fat off the broth.  Shred or slice the roast.  Make gravy using the broth because it’s just too darned good.

A Simple Dinner

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Valerie Bertinelli is featured on a recent Jenny Craig commercial and she is almost in tears as she admits that this year her New Years Resolutions did not have to include her weight.  Mine didn’t either.  But then I ate like a pig over the Holidays.  And gained five pounds.  And can hardly fit into my pants.  And refuse to buy new ones.

So, the resolution began.  I am doing the Weight Watcher thangy.   It works for me.  I don’t go to the meetings or the weigh-ins any more – I just use the little points calculator and stay within my points.  And when the weight drops back off I’ll be allowed to eat like a real girl should.

I am surprised to find that I am having very little trouble with it this go round.  Of course it’s only the second week.  The hubby is doing it too so maybe that’s why it’s easier this time.

Regardless, I felt compelled to use that weight loss story as an intro to this dish.  Maybe because this  recipe was made for supper because it fit into my points plan. I really wanted to post something from Ina Garten’s new cookbook so I did roast some zucchini – which didn’t have all the fun veggies in it that Ina used for her roasted vegetables.  And really isn’t a recipe from her now.  Hey, I had a zucchini in the fridge and there’s a foot a new snow on the ground today.  That’s my excuse.

The view from the back porch

The view from the back porch

So, here it is.  A lower fat supper that is quick, easy and pretty darned tasty.

teriyaki-chicken

Chicken Teriyaki

Serves 5

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup sugar

3 tsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. water (may need more if your sauce is thick)

1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced

3/4 tsp. ground ginger

5 boneless chicken breasts (I used 8 Tyson frozen chicken tenderloins)

Combine all sauce ingredients in a non-stick skillet.  Cook over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about three minutes.

Add chicken.

Cook for about 45 minutes, turning the chicken occasionally.

Didn’t I say it was easy?  While that simmered I did some plain white rice.  I also cubed up a zucchini, tossed it in just a bit of olive oil, kosher salt and ground pepper.  Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes.  Turn about half way through if you like the sides to all get browned.

Kinda’ boring tonight but it is fast, easy and can be made with chicken straight from the freezer. Enjoy!

Pizza Dough

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I really hate to defrost meat in the microwave.  I guess it’s because I actually end up cooking the meat in the microwave.  I have not perfected the whole defrost thing.  So, my favorite way to defrost is to take it out a few days early and plop it in the fridge.  Actually, my favorite way to defrost is to not defrost and buy fresh but that’s just not practical around here.

So, when I forget to take something out and need a nice supper, here’s a favorite.  I would venture to say that there’s no way to mess this dough up (provided you follow the directions of course).  It is easy and quick to put together.  And I have never had this dough fail to please.

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These reheat really well.  They are great for a lunch box with the kids.

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This is my regular dough recipe but if you’re on Weight Watchers, you will be happy to know that each calzone has about 4 and a half points for the dough (per my calculations).  Add some sauce and veggies, a bit of cheese and you have a very satisfying meal.  We eat ours with raw carrots and sometimes a tossed salad.

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Pizza Crust (or dough for calzones)

makes two pizza crusts or 8 calzones

1 envelope yeast (I use active yeast out of the jar=2 1/4 tsp.)

1 cup warm water

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. oil (vegetable or olive)

Mix water, oil, and yeast together.  In a large bowl, mix flour and salt.  Make a well in flour and add yeast mixture to flour and salt.  Stir just until a ball forms.  Knead on floured surface until dough is elastic (about 5 minutes).  Place in lightly greased bowl and turn dough ball to coat.  Cover and let rise in warm spot for about 45 minutes.

Punch down.

For pizza: Divide dough into two pieces.  Roll  out and place on pizza pans.  Bake (no toppings yet) at 450 for 10 minutes.  Remove and top with desired sauce, toppings and cheese.  Bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

For calzones: Divide dough into eight pieces.  With hands, pat and stretch each piece into a small round.  Put about 1 Tbsp. sauce in center and then top with desired fillings, being careful not to get too close to the edges.  Fold in half and squeeze/press edges together.  Cut a few holes in top to vent.  Place on cookie sheet.  Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or so – whatever it takes to get nice and brown.  I serve these with warmed sauce for dipping.

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Depression Era Cooking

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I recently found this video and thought it was just too good not to share.  91 year old Clara lived through the Great Depression and has quite a memory!  She details how the bootleggers rented garages to make whiskey, how she had to quit high school due to lack of proper clothing, and she does it all while being videotaped as she cooks!

I have some polish sausage in the fridge that just might get substituted in for the hot dogs this week… while I say a prayer of thanksgiving that times are not so bad afterall.

Reuben Sandwiches (aka Reuben Loaf)

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I hate that we call this sandwich “Reuben Loaf”.  The Loaf part makes me think of the oh so tasty processed turkey loaf  they used to serve in the school cafeterias at Thanksgiving.  This is so much better than that!  We really do have to get it a new name.

This is an old recipe I have been making for years.  I made it last night along with Ina Garten’s baked sweet potato fries.  The father-in-law was coming for our weekly dinner and a movie so it was perfect for a casual supper.   This is also great for parties – St. Patty’s Day in particular.

Don’t let the bread making part keep you from making this recipe.  It really is very easy.

dough-ballThe dough comes together quite easily and is incredibly easy to work with.  You knead it a bit and then go directly into rolling it out.

dough-rolledAfter you roll it out, transfer it to your baking sheet and proceed to fill it with the typical Reuben fillings and then cut the side pieces as you see below.

sand-filledThe side strips just get cut with a knife.  I think I did ten total cuts on each side. Starting on one end, bring the end piece up and over the top of the filling.  Wrap each strip over the top, alternating sides as you go.  Don’t worry about covering the filling completely – it’s actually a prettier finished product if a bit peeks through.

Let it rise just a little and then look at this pretty little sandwich (that should never be mentioned alongside processed turkey roll)  -

sand-baked

You might notice that the recipe below contains caraway seeds.  The sandwich above does not have caraway seeds on it as that is one of the only things the hubby won’t eat.  Enjoy!

Reuben Loaf

3 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 pkg Rapid Rise yeast

1 cup hot water

1 Tbsp margarine

1/4 cup of Thousand Island Dressing

6 ounces of corned beef, sliced thin

1/4 pound of Swiss cheese

1 8ounce can sauerkraut, drained very well

1 egg white

caraway seeds (optional)

Set aside 1 cup flour.  In large bowl, mix remaining flour, sugar, salt and yeast.  Stir in hot water and margarine.  Mix in only enough flour to make soft dough.  Turn onto floured surface and knead for 4 minutes.

Roll dough into a 14X10 rectangle.  Transfet to greased baking sheet.  Spread dressing down center third of bread dough.  Top with well drained sauerkraut, sliced corned beef and then the cheese.  Cut side pieces of dough at 1″ intervals.  Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the top of the loaf.

Cover and place in warm place for 15 minutes.

Brush dough with egg white.  Sprinkle with caraway seeds if desired.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until done.  Cool slightly.

For an even heartier loaf, increase corned beef to up to 1 pound.  Increase baking time 10 minutes.

We have made this using ham and cheese too, although the reuben is still our favorite.