Comfort Classic: Chicken Pot Pie

A classic for a cold day...  This was a great Chicken Pot Pie to make!  I used store bought pie crust. I made the chicken during the day in my crockpot which is really close to store bought rotisserie chicken.  Chopped up and sautéed some carrots, onions and celery. Whipped together the creamy butter sauce and viola - you have a great hearty warm meal.  This was a winner!

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
2 cups Chicken, shredded - either rotisserie or crockpot
2 pie crust dough (top and bottom) - I use already made from the refrigerated section
1 cup carrots
1 cup celery
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt and pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup flour
2 tbl melted butter for pie dough

Directions
Morning: Place several chicken breast (I use frozen) in crockpot. Add 1/2 cup water and salt and pepper.  Cook for 6-8 hours. When done, shred with fork.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In saucepan over medium heat, sauté the carrots and celery until soft.  When done, stir in the chicken.

3. In another saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent.  Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in the chicken broth then the milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat.

4.  Place one pie dough in a pie plate.  Place chicken carrot celery mixture in bottom of pie plate.   Pour hot liquid mixture over the chicken.

5. Top with other pie dough. Crimp the edges together of the top and bottom pie doughs to seal the pie.  Brush the melted butter over your pie. Make several small slits in the top to allow the steam to escape.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10-15 minutes before serving.

key lime chicken

Another grilled chicken recipe.... this one is great too!  

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4-6 chicken breast or 6-10 chicken tenders

Directions:
1.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl or plastic bag. Whisk well to get the honey to combine.
2.  Add chicken and marinate for 30 minutes - a couple of hours
3. Grill chicken 6-7 minutes per side for breast or 3-4 minutes per side for tenders.

grilled island chicken

I always have frozen chicken around.  It is so easy to defrost some and throw it on the grill.  This marinade is really good and was so easy to make.  I use chicken tenders since they cook faster and they are easy to serve to the kids because they are smaller.

Grilled Island Chicken

Ingredients: 
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2-4 chicken breast or 6-10 chicken tenders

Directions:
1) Combine all ingredients except chicken in a bowl or plastic bag.  
2) Throw in the thawed chicken.
3) Let marinate for at least 3 hours, can also be done overnight.
4) Grill on the charcoal or gas grill, or inside on the grill  - 6-7 minutes per side for breast or 3-4 minutes per side for tenders

Serve with baked potato, green beans and a salad!

Chicken Teriyaki - in the crockpot!

We love us some Asian food here at our house.  I make it probably once a week. I was looking for crockpot/slow cooker recipes and found this one. I added it to my next rotation.  I made it this last week with some minor changes and it was fabulous!  My husband said he REALLY liked it and that is a rare compliment around here.   There is one change I will make next time (mixing the sauce) and another secret is the rice!

Ingredients:
4-5 chicken breast or  8-10 chicken tenders
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup soy sauce
6 tbl cider vinger
3/4 tsp ground ginger
3/4 tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp pepper
1 container fresh mushrooms.
4 1/2 tsp cornstarch
4 1/2 tsp cold water
4 cups cooked rice


Directions:
1.  Place FROZEN chicken in the crockpot.  Put it in frozen skips a step and you can have it cook just a little bit longer.  I always use frozen chicken and beef in the crockpot.  
2.  In a separate bowl mix sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and pepper.  Pour over the chicken and stir up to make sure all of the chicken is covered.
3. Cook on low 4-5 hours if using thawed chicken OR 5-6 hours is using frozen chicken.
4.  I added a container of fresh mushrooms in with about 2 hours left to cook (optional!)  
5. About 30 minutes before you would like to eat, go ahead and make your rice.  We use Botan rice (see picture below). It is a Japanese rice and is soooo much better when serving Asian food.  It is sticky and a shorter grain.  It can be found at most grocery stores.
6.  About 10 minutes before you want to eat, get out about 1.5-2 cups of your crockpot chicken liquid and put it in a saucepan. Start heating on a low heat.
7. In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and water. Stir until smooth.
8.  Add the cornstarch mixture to the saucepan.  Stir with a whisk.  
9.  In  just a few minutes, you will have a thick teriyaki sauce.
10.  Dump your teriyaki sauce in the crockpot and give it a stir.
11. Serve your teriyaki chicken over rice.  I had a side of edamame too to round out the meal.

You could definitely add other veggies into this meal.  We talked about carrots and water chestnuts next time. They don't need to cook too long so you can do it with around an hour or two left.  

My frozen tenders mixed with the seasonings 

 Thick teriyaki sauce

Awesome rice to serve with your Asian dishes