Lighter Chicken Pot Pie

This is the first time I haven't used my own picture! The dish was so good I just wanted to share it quickly. This is a delicious guilt-free version of chicken pot pie, and it is pretty easy to make. It is out of the Oct. issue of Everyday Food. I made it as a last minute thing and only had boneless, skinless chicken breasts, so I compensated for flavor by adding 2 or 3 chicken bullion cubes with the milk. I happened to have phyllo dough, but we didn't think it was needed for flavor, just for aesthetics.

• 2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (12 to 14 ounces each)
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 phyllo sheets (each 12 by 17 inches), thawed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly; discard skin and bones. Shred meat, and set aside.
2. While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.
3. Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.
4. Stack phyllo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings. Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil. Place phyllo stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so phyllo fits inside rim of pie plate. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.
   

Easy Pita Pizzas

I posted this on My 90 Day Plan, but thought I would post it here too.

I made these for lunch the other day and they were delicious!! I made mine veggie, but you could easily do it with the toppings of your choice, pepporoni, cheese, BBQ chicken (just substitute BBQ sauce for tomato sauce), the sky is the limit with these.

1 whole wheat Pita
2 TBS tomato sauce
1/3 cup grated cheese (divided)
Toppings of choice

Spread the tomato sauce over the pita and sprinkle half of the cheese over the sauce. Place toppings of choice, sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and pop in the oven until heated (5-10 minutes). I actualy put mine in the microwave and it tasted great, but I'm sure the oven would make it a little more crispy. For the veggie pizza pictured above, I layered spinach, tomato slices, green peppers and onions. YUM!! (and for any of you counting calories, it was only about 320 calories!)

I'd love to hear about some of the creations you might have.

chicken teriyaki skewers

Ben's mom gave me this recipe and I love it! I believe that she got it from someone in their ward so I am sure that Mary already has this but I hope the rest of you enjoy it!

Mix: 1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Canola oil
1/4 tsp. grated fresh ginger
2 minced garlic gloves

Marinade chicken tenders over night.

Soak skewers for 20 minutes in water before grilling. Thread chicken onto skewers. Grill chicken about 3-5 minutes on each side (medium to high heat).

Tony's Kung Pao Chicken

This is somewhat of a signature dish for my family. My Dad perfected the recipe over the years and it is by far one of our favorite meals. It is more than a meal, it is an experience - If you have had it, you know what I'm talking about! It is very delicious and worth the sweat and tears involved in the chili pepper process. It is not worth leaving them out - the kick is what makes it good, and memorable. Keep in mind that my kids eat the chicken, so it is not that bad. If you are a sauce person I would recommend increasing the sauce by half. You can find the dried peppers in the Mexican aisle of the grocery store and the Szechwan peppercorns at Asian markets. You can buy them whole, then toast and grind enough for a few batches.

The prep work takes a little time, but the stir-frying goes pretty quickly.

Cut 4-5 chicken breasts into 1/2 inch cubes/bite size pieces

marinate one hour with 4-5 Tbsp soy sauce

(For even more tender chicken add an egg-white and 1 tbsp corn starch to the marinate)

grate 1Tbsp fresh garlic

grate 1Tbsp fresh ginger root

Cut 6-12 green onions into 1/2" pieces

Cut 1-2 Yellow onions into fairly large pieces and separate them (~1 inch)

Cut 10-20 dried hot red peppers (chilis japones or chile de arbol) into 2-3 pieces each, while shaking out seeds

1/2 tsp of ground Szechwan peppercorns

1 cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts (Planters' brand recommended)

Sauce:

5 Tbsp soy sauce

2.5 Tbsp white or rice vinegar

2.5 Tbsp sherry

1 tsp sesame oil

3 Tbsp sugar

dash salt

1 Tbsp corn starch

Mix well

Heat 1-2 Tbsp peanut oil in wok at high flame. (It's tough to use a wok on an electric stove). Add chicken and half of garlic and ginger and stir fry until just cooked through. Take out and set aside.

This next part is where you want to turn on any vents or fans in the kitchen, and possibly open some windows. You might want to remove small children from the room!

Heat 1-2 Tbsp peanut oil in wok at high flame. Add chilies and peppercorns and cook while stirring until peppers are black (~1 minute). Add remaining garlic and ginger, then add chicken. Add peanuts and stir fry 1 minute. Add yellow onions and stir fry 1 minute. Add green onions and stir fry one more minute. Add sauce, let boil, and stir occasionally as the corn starch thickens (~1 -2 minutes).

Serve with steamed rice. To quote my Dad, "Don't eat the chilis with the first bite, but they're great after that!" The jury is still out on that one. . .

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

I've been trying some of the recipes from the Kraft food & family magazine, and so far they are delicious! Here's a few.

Grilled Bruschetta Chicken

1/4 cup Kraft Sun-dried Tomato Vinaigrette Dressing, divided
4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup Kraft shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves or 1 tsp. dried basil leaves

Place large sheet of heavy-duty foil over half of grill grate; preheat grill to medium heat. Pour 2 Tbsp. of the dressing over chicken in resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Turn bag over several times to evenly coat chicken with the dressing. Refrigerate 10 min. to marinate. Remove chicken from marinade; discard bag and marinade.
Grill chicken on uncovered side of grill 6 min. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, cheese, basil and remaining 2 Tbsp. dressing.
Turn chicken over; place, cooked-side up, on foil on grill. Top evenly with tomato mixture. Close lid. Grill an additional 8 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Makes 4 servings

California Chicken

All of you have this recipie in the recipies I gave you a few months ago, but I made some slight changes to this one. I made this the other night and it is a great summer dish! Especially if you have home grown tomatoes, YUM!!

6 Skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 tsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
¼ tsp garlic salt (to taste)
pinch ground black pepper
1 avocado, sliced
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced
6 slices of Monterey Jack cheese sliced really thin

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Warm oil in skillet and add garlic. Add chicken, garlic salt, and black pepper. Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until almost done.

Place chicken on a cookie sheet and top each chicken breast with 2 slices of tomatoes and a slice of cheese. Place in oven for 10 –15 minutes, until cheese melts. Remove from oven, add sliced avocado and serve immediately.