Chicken Pot Pie

Deciding whether or not to post this has been a struggle.  It's kind of my 'secret recipe'.  But here goes nothin'.   You can make this ahead of time by assembling the pot pie, putting plastic wrap over it and putting it in the fridge.   When you are ready to bake it, then brush it with the egg and stick in the oven.   Baking will take longer since it is cold when you put it in the oven.  Cover the edges with foil if they start to get too brown.

Looking to use up some leftover steak?  Substitute thinly sliced or small cubes of beef and beef bouillon  instead of chicken!  I can't decide which is better.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 pie crust dough (like Pillsbury)
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
1 T minced onion
1/4 t. pepper
1 1/3 c. water
2/3 c. milk
3 chicken bullion cubes or a bit more than 2 T. granulated
2 c. cooked cubed or shredded chicken
10 oz. mixed veggies

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Line pie pan with 1 crust.

Melt butter, stir in flour, pepper, onion until blended.  Add water, milk, and bullion all at once.  Cook until thickened stirring constantly until cubes are dissolved.

Add veggies and stir until thawed.  Add chicken.  Cook until hot.

Pour in pie crust.  Add top crust and seal. Cut slits to vent.

Brush with beaten egg.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.   Let rest 15 minutes before cutting.

Creamy Vegetable Soup

While scrolling through facebook one day, a post popped up about Dolly Parton's Stampede Soup.  Apparently, she doesn't share the recipe but there were a few copy cat versions that I found and tried my version of it.  As I was making it, it occurred to me that it is basically like the base for my Chicken Pot Pie recipe minus the chicken and the addition of an overload of heavy cream.  That's fabulous, so what could go wrong??  Pretty good, I must say.   Serve with Biscuits and it really hits the spot.

This recipe only makes about 4 servings so you won't have to worry about eating leftovers for the rest of the week.

Creamy Vegetable Soup

4 T. butter

1/4 c. flour

1 t. onion powder

1 t. garlic powder

3/4 t. pepper

3/4 t. salt

2 1/2 c. chicken broth

2 c. frozen mixed vegetables

1 c. heavy cream

Melt the butter, then add the flour and spices.  Combine and cook for a couple minutes until it's a nice golden brown.

Slowly whisk in the chicken broth and veggies and cook to simmer a few minutes.  It will thicken up a bit.  

Remove from heat and use an immersion blender to blend the veggies in to your desired consistency.

Place back on the heat and stir in the heavy cream until the soup comes back to a hot temperature.

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T = Tablespoon

t = teaspoon

c = cup

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili

My nephew requested Pumpkin Chili for a Halloween dinner.  Of course I gave it a go.  I like that he likes my cooking.  Here is the the recipe I came up with after looking at a few online.   This is even better the next day!

Slow Cooker Pumpkin Chili

2 lbs. ground chicken (or leftover turkey if you do this the day after Thanksgiving!)
1 good sized onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
1-2 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes
1 can cannellini beans, drained ( or another bean of your choice, like pinto)
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 or 3 c. chicken broth, depending on how thick you want it
1 T. cumin
1 T. chili powder
1 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. nutmeg
a few shakes of 5-spice seasoning
salt/pepper to taste

Brown the ground chicken in a bit of olive oil.  Add the onions, green pepper, jalapeno, garlic to soften them toward the end.

Put the mixture above in a crock pot.  Add all of the other ingredients and stir.

Cook for about 5-7 hours.