Curry Chicken Pot Pie

Oh the weather outside is frightful,

But the fire is so delightful,

And since we've no place to go,

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

The blizzard outside today was a perfect excuse to try a new comfort food recipe - chicken pot pie. I just finished my second helping and it was EXACTLY what the doctor ordered. Creamy, spicy, flaky, and delicious all around. My recipe is based on the one I found here, with some tweaks:

Curry Chicken Pot Pie

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Crust

1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 lbs chicken breast, cut into small chunks

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (corn, chopped carrots, and peas, and whatever else you'd like!)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon red curry powder

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 3/4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch ungreased pie pan.

2. In a boiling pan, add frozen veggies and chicken and allow to cook until chicken is no longer pink, about 5-8 minutes. You can shred the chicken if you'd like, or keep cubed.

3. Meanwhile, a medium-sized saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and all other spices until well blended. Gradually whisk in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened.

4. Drain chicken and mixed vegetables and add into saucepan. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust.

5. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

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Healthy Chicken Pesto Pasta - Creamy and Rich!

I remember when I first started cooking I was sooo particular about following the directions to a "T". However, after experimenting and discovering some great and exciting combinations of food, it's fun to open my pantry and refrigerator and dream up a new concoction. Especially when it actually tastes GOOD!

Tonight I had a hankerin' for pesto chicken, but didn't want to go too crazy on the calories and fat intake. I used yoghurt to give it a cre

amy texture and used minimal amounts of oil without sacrificing taste at all.

Healthy Chicken Pesto Pasta

Serves: 2 (can be easily doubled)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8 oz chicken breast - cut into strips or chunks, seasoned with salt, pepper, and Adobe seasoning (if available)
• 1/2 serving of whole wheat pasta (penne or linguine works well, I used egg noodles that I had handy)
• 2-3 tablespoons pesto (jar is fine)
• half an onion
• 1 cup mushrooms
• 1 cup yoghurt
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• olive oil
• red pepper flakes
• grated parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Cook pasta as directed. Be sure to check the pasta before draining - whole wheat tends to take an extra minute to fully cook.

2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the pesto and lemon juice with yoghurt and mix well. Set aside.

3. In a nonstick pan set to medium high, add 1 tsp. of olive oil, the mushrooms and onions. Saute until onions are caramelized and mushrooms soften - about 5 minutes. When this is close to being cooked, add the garlic and allow to simmer for 1 minute. Remove from pan and combine with the bowl of pesto.

4. Using the same pan, add in chicken to cook until no longer pink. More olive oil can also be added if needed.

5. Once cooked, take chicken off heat and add pasta and pesto mix. Combine well, top with salt & pepper to taste. Top with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese and voila! Dinner is served :)