Chicken Pot Pie

I have to post this because it's my favorite pot pie recipe, and my family loves it. However, it's in storage with everything else. And so I don't have to spend another half hour finding it again when I want it next, I'm posting it here!

12-16 Servings
Prep: 40 min. Bake: 35 min. + standing

2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1-3/4 cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1 cup butter, cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1-3/4 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1-1/2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
Pastry for two double-crust pies (9 inches)

Directions
Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.
In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the chicken, peas, corn, potatoes and carrots; remove from the heat.
Line two 9-in. pie plates with bottom pastry; trim pastry even with edge. Fill pastry shells with chicken mixture. Roll out remaining pastry to fit top of pies. Cut slits or decorative cutouts in pastry. Place over filling; trim, seal and flute edges.

Bake one potpie at 425° for 35-40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned. Let stand for 15 minutes before cutting. Cover and freeze remaining potpie for up to 3 months.

To Use Frozen Pot Pie: Shield frozen pie crust edges with foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. Yield: 2 potpies (6-8 servings each).

To use frozen pot pie: Shield frozen pie crust edges with foil; place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°; bake 70-80 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown.

Zucchini Fritters

Leah and I made these last night and they were YUMMY!  Remember, this is from a boy who doesn't even like zucchini.  I ate half of them.

2 small zucchini (10 oz. each)
1 large carrot
1 egg
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper

Grate zucchini and carrots.  With paper towels, dry vegetables well.  Mix together all ingredients.  Shape into 8 equally sized balls (this is messy).  Put four balls in a greased frypan and press balls until flat.  Cook them for five minutes, flipping once.  Repeat with other four balls.

This makes two GENEROUS servings, each of which are about 270 calories.  Yes, you get a lot of food for no calories.  Leah and I didn't even eat sour cream on them like we used to on zucchini pancakes.

Note, these fall apart quite easily.  In the original recipe, you're supposed to deep fry them in a skillet for five minutes instead of pan cooking them.  This would surely crisp them up better, but it means that every two cakes (so four servings instead of two) have 245 calories.  Again, this is hardly extravagant.

Michelle's Stuffed Pumpkin

It's that time of year, when I like to make stuffed pumpkin for dinner, and my family complains that I've made it! This year I decided to try my own recipe in hopes that everyone would be happy, and it worked! This is awesome, and everybody ate it.

Ingredients:

1 small pumpkin

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp dry mustard

1/3lb (or so) cooked breakfast sausage

3 c. prepared corn bread stuffing

1 apple, peeled and chopped

1/4 cup craisins

Directions:

Cut top off of pumpkin and deseed. Poke holes in the inside of the pumpkin with a fork, if desired. Rub pumpkin with salt and mustard. Mix other ingredients and spoon into pumpkin. Put pumpkin lid back on and place in an 8x8 pan with a little water in the bottom. Bake at 350 for 90 minutes, or until the pumpkin is tender. Serve both the filling and the pumpkin.

Pita Pizza (Revised)

Okay, here is the first in a series of healthy recipes that I'll be posting.  Leah and I count calories, so I'll be posting calorie counts on these recipes.  Leah and I love these, and so does everyone we've fed them to.  You can also use it as a main dish or an appetizer.  (Leah and I are full after one each.)


4 whole wheat pitas
1/2 cup sundried tomato pesto*
4 roma tomatoes
1 1/2 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Salt and Pepper, to taste

Spread pesto on pitas.  Top with spinach and tomatoes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle cheeses on top.  Cook in preheated oven at 350 for 10 minutes.  Then, broil on high for 2 minutes, or until crispy.

That's it!  Enjoy!  Leah and I also put cubed chicken on these once.  We liked it, but we go back to this old reliable version more often.  Depending on your pita, tomato, etc., these range from 270 to 300 calories or so.

*What, you don't have a stash of sundried tomato pesto?  Well, here's my recipe (revised).

Blend together in food processor until smooth:

8 oz. sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 tsp. dried basil (or fresh equivalent)
2 tsp. dried parsley (or fresh equivalent)
1 packet onion soup mix
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Cadbury Eggs

I don't like the Cadbury Eggs that you buy at the store, so I don't know how these compare. Shane says they're good, but not quite the same. I like these but they are sweet! They are a pain to make, so don't get in a hurry. Plan pleanty of time. And when you're using the frozen stuff, only use a little at a time, as it thaws VERY fast!! But they are lots of fun!!



INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Yellow food coloring
Chocolate candy melts or almond bark


DIRECTIONS
In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat on medium low speed until well mixed.

Spoon about a third of the mixture into a separate bowl and color it with yellow food coloring. Refrigerate the white and yellow mixtures for at least an hour, for easier handling.

Roll the yellow mixture into balls and place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 20 minutes or so. Remove from freezer and cover with white candy and form into an egg shape. Freeze eggs for about 30 minutes.

Melt your candy melts or almond bark according to package directions. Place eggs in the chocolate and coat completely. Remove and place back on wax paper lined baking sheet. Place in the refrigerator until chocolate has set.

If you want these runny like traditional Cadbury Eggs, keep at room temperature. The candy mixture in the eggs softens very quickly.

Peanut Butter Eggs

These taste almost just like Reese's! I will make them again!!

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
2-1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening
Pastel sprinkles


Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter; gradually add the confectioners' sugar, cracker crumbs, peanut butter and vanilla. Shape into 16 eggs; place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until firm.
In a microwave, melt chocolate chips and shortening; stir until smooth. Dip eggs in chocolate; allow excess to drip off. Decorate with sprinkles; return eggs to waxed paper. Chill until set. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Yield: 16 eggs.

Toffee

I don't like toffee, but my family really liked this and its really easy to make!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 pound milk chocolate candy coating, melted

Directions
In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, corn syrup and vinegar. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Cook without stirring until the temperature reaches 300° (hard-crack stage) on a candy thermometer. Do not overcook.
Remove from the heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Pour into a buttered 13-in. x 9-in. pan. Do not spread candy; mixture will not fill pan.
When cool, break into bite-size pieces. Dip into melted chocolate; place on waxed paper until the chocolate is firm. Store candy tightly covered. Yield: 1-1/2 pounds.

Angel Food Torte

First off, I am an newly recruited supporter of angel food cakes from scratch and will never go back! It tastes better and isn't as spongy. So I made my own cake. I used Betty Crocker's recipe and folded in shaved chocolate. I also used orange flavoring instead of almond, but I'm eager to try coconut. Then again, you could just use vanilla.

Ingredients
1-1/3 cups cold whole milk
1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
1 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional)
1 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped, divided
1 angel food cake mix (8 to 10 ounces)
2 Heath candy bars (1.4 ounces each), crushed

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the milk, pudding mix and coffee; beat on low speed for 2 minutes or until thickened. Fold in half of the whipped topping.
Cut cake in half horizontally; place the bottom layer on a serving plate. Spread with half of the pudding mixture. Top with remaining cake.
Fold remaining whipped cream into remaining pudding mixture; spread over top and sides of cake. Sprinkle with crushed candy bars. Chill for 2 hours before serving. Yield: 10-12 servings.

Herb Crusted Leg of Lamb

A side note, the sauce for this is REALLY strong, but it is really nice to dip the meat in!

At a traditional Greek Easter dinner, lamb is served medium to well done. If you like it rare, roast it for a shorter amount of time.

Ingredients
2 legs of lamb (9 pounds each), bone in, trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head garlic
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brandy
1 1/2 cups Homemade Chicken Stock Homemade Chicken Stock, or canned low-sodium chicken broth, skimmed of fat

Directions
1.Let lamb stand at room temperature for one hour. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Remove all but a thin layer of fat from the lamb. Rub lamb with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place on a rack in a heavy roasting pan.

2.Meanwhile, rub head of garlic with 1/4 teaspoon oil; wrap loosely in foil. Bake until garlic is very soft, about 1 hour. Let cool.

3.Cut off top of garlic head; squeeze roasted garlic into a bowl. Using a fork, mash garlic to a paste. Add extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice, oregano, parsley, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; mix well.

4.Rotate pan after lamb has roasted 1 1/4 hours. After 30 minutes more, slather lamb with roasted-garlic paste. Roast an additional hour (for a total roasting time of about 2 3/4 hours), or until an instant-read thermometer inserted at the thickest part reads 160 degrees. Remove from oven, and let rest 20 minutes.

5.Transfer lamb to a carving board. Pour off fat from roasting pan; place over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with flour, and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour in brandy; scrape up brown bits from bottom of pan. Lower heat to medium; let liquid reduce by half. Add stock, stirring until incorporated. Add rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.

6.Slice lamb; serve with sauce on the side.

Twice Baked Potatos

Everyone has a twice baked potato recipe. This was really good!

Baked potatoes
Milk
Sour Cream
Chives
Salt & Pepper
Cheddar cheese
Goat cheese
Cream cheese
Bacon

Mash the potatos. Add everything else except bacon. Mix and stuff back into potatos. Topp with bacon. Bake at 400 until about 20 min. or until warm.