everyday food made simple

Chicken pot pies and I have a love-hate relationship.

I’m absolutely in love with it, but I also know how bad it can be for you… the crust requires butter. The filling also requires butter and some sort of a heavy cream. Annnnddd… it’s super time consuming. But man, is it the ultimate comfort food or what?!

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Chilly weather, warm oversized hoodies, fireplaces, and individualized chicken pot pies…. YES please!

Imagine the moment you stick your fork into the light, flaky, buttery crust… you’re greeted by the warm filling filled with all kinds of yummy goodness –  chunks of chicken, carrots, potatoes, celery, onions, corn, and broccoli florets. Make sure you get a little bit of everything if possible… as you savor the different textures that’s in every single bite, you can feel the the warmth of the pie filling warming your insides as it makes way to your stomach. This is exactly why I love having a hot bowl of soup in the frigid Minnesota winter.

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The past few times I’ve made pot pies, I’ve always made my crust from scratch. However, since I’m typically trying to get six things done at once nowadays, I opted for the easy way out this time and used pre-made pie crust instead… tsk tsk. However, to “balance” out the amount of butter I used, I used skim milk instead of heavy cream… just to make myself feel a little bit better about it.

First I poached the chicken. You can by all means use pre-cooked diced chicken breast if you’re strapped on time, but I find fresh chicken to be better than the processed stuff. Place the chicken in a casserole dish, fill it with 3 cups of boiling water, cover it with foil, and cook it in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Take the chicken out to cool on a cutting board, and use the same water that’s left on the dish to poach/cook your peeled and halved potatoes, about 30 minutes. Dice up the chicken and potatoes once they’re cooled, but keep them in separate dishes.

The reason you keep them separate is because you’ll be covering the bottom of your ramekin with the potatoes. This is because if you add the already cooked potatoes while you’re making and stirring the filling, you’re probably going to mash the potatoes up even more in the process… and no one wants mushy mashed potato/pot pie filling in their chicken pot pies.

While I was cooking/cooling/dicing up the chicken and potatoes, I took out my frozen pre-made pie crust out to thaw. Once thawed, remove the pie crusts from the foil baking dish it came in, onto a floured surface. Roll the dough into a big ball, then roll it out with a rolling pin until it’s about 1/8″ thick. Next, using a bowl that’s slightly bigger in diameter than the ramekins you’ll be using, place the bowl upside down the onto the dough, and trace an outline of it with a knife. This is going to be your pie crust. Use the scraps of dough to roll it back into a ball, and repeat the process until you have about 6-7 pie crusts (we have 8-oz ramekins and two pre-made pie crusts yielded seven 5″ crusts). Stack the crusts together, with either a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap in between each one. Return to fridge to chill while you’re making the filling.

chicken pot pie
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Ingredients
  1. 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  2. 2 medium sized russet potatoes, peeled and halved the long way
  3. 7 tablespoons butter, divided
  4. 3 medium sized carrots, peeled and diced
  5. 3-4 stalks of celery, diced
  6. 1 small yellow onion, diced
  7. 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  8. Salt and black pepper
  9. 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  10. 1.5 cups skim milk
  11. 1 cup broccoli florets, roughly chopped
  12. 1/2 cup frozen corn
  13. 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  14. 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
  15. 2 frozen pre-made pie crusts (usually a package you find at the store has 2 crusts)
  16. 6 to 7 (8-oz) ramekins
Instructions
  1. Take frozen pie crust out to thaw. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
To cook the chicken
  1. Place the chicken breasts in a glass baking/casserole dish. Add 3 cups of boiling water to the chicken and cover with aluminum foil. Cook in oven at 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes. Remove chicken onto cutting board to cool, then dice into bite-sized pieces. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
To make the potatoes
  1. Using the same dish with the same water you used to cook the chicken, add the potatoes, cover with foil, and cook at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until fork tender. Transfer to cutting board and let cool. Cut into bite-sized pieces and transfer to another bowl.
Make the pie crust
  1. On a floured surface, remove pie crusts from aluminum baking dishes. Combine the two pie crusts and roll into a dough ball. Using a rolling pin, roll until dough is about 1/8" thick. Find a bowl that's slightly larger in diameter than the ramekins you'll be using. Place the bowl upside down onto the dough, and trace an outline of the bowl with a knife. Combine the scraps of dough and roll it back into a ball. Repeat steps to get as many discs of crusts as you can. Stack the crusts onto a plate, separating each crust with a piece of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Return to fridge to chill.
Make the filling
  1. Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add in the carrots, celery, and onion and cook until onions are translucent. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Stir.
  2. Add in the rest of the 4 tablespoons of butter into the vegetable mixture. Once the butter has completely melted, stir in the flour. Stir continuously to make sure the bottom of your pot doesn't burn. Cook flour for 1-2 minutes.
  3. Add in the chicken broth and milk to the vegetables. Cook until mixture starts to thicken, about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then add in the diced chicken, broccoli florets, corn, dried parsley, thyme, another 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper. Continue to simmer until all the vegetables are cooked. Once filling is thickened and vegetables are cooked, remove pot from heat and let cool for 20-30 minutes.
To assemble
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease six 8-oz ramekins. Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet.
  2. Add chunks of potatoes onto the bottom of each ramekin, enough to cover the bottom. Spoon the cooled filling mixture over the potatoes, filling each ramekin to the brim. Placed the pie dough you made earlier over the top, crimping the edges. Make several slits with a knife for ventilation.
  3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until crust turns golden brown.
  4. Remove ramekins from oven, let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve.
Adapted from Simply Scratch
Adapted from Simply Scratch
Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/
See?! Told you pot pies are time consuming. But I promise it’s totally worth it in the end!! :)

It will be important that you cool the filling down a bit before ladling them into the ramekins and topping them with the dough. This is because if the filling is steaming hot, it could melt your dough and your crust won’t be able to hold its shape while baking.

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This chicken pot pie is TO. DIE. FOR. The filling is creamy and the crust is buttery and flaky. Although the entire process took about 3 hours to complete, the final product sure didn’t disappoint! I’d happily do that all over again tomorrow if I had the time.

Also, just as a warning – the filling will be super hot when it comes out of the oven, so as difficult as it is to sit and wait and be tortured by the smells, letting it cool for a bit before eating is highly recommended! Burnt tongues ruin the enjoyment of eating pot pies, that’s for sure.

Recipe adapted from Simply Scratch

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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Now that fall is in the air, all I crave for are comfort foods. Usually this means some sort of soup or casserole dish when it comes to dinner. Don’t even get me started on the numerous desserts that are on my comfort food list – you’d be here for a while, and I’m sure your time is valuable.

Mac & cheese in casserole form is perhaps one of the best comfort foods ever. What’s better than a ooey gooey spiced up mac & cheese with onions, peppers, and seasoned chicken?!

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Okay, I know a warm brownie with a molten chocolate center served with a side of vanilla bean ice cream probably comes to mind, but stay with me here – right now we’re talking about dinner.

You’re going to laugh at me, but this is the first time I’ve ever bought a block of cheese and shredded it myself with a grater. Yep, first time. I’ve always been lazy and used pre-shredded cheese, but I was told those are usually coated with some sort of a flour-y substance that can change the texture of your dish. So this time I put my grater to use and shredded two blocks of cheese myself, and let me tell you what, I don’t think I’m ever going back to the bagged kind anymore. There’s something about fresh shredded cheese that tastes so much better!

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The two cheeses we use for this dish are Wisconsin sharp cheddar and pepperjack cheese. Pepperjack is perhaps one of my favorite cheeses ever, and it gives the dish a nice little kick that pairs well with the paprika, cumin, and green chiles.

chicken fajita mac and cheese
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Ingredients
  1. 12 oz of your favorite pasta
  2. 2 tablespoons EVOO
  3. 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded
  4. 1 teaspoon cumin
  5. ½ teaspoon paprika
  6. A pinch of cayenne pepper, more if desired
  7. 1/4 teaspoon salt
  8. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  9. 1 green bell pepper, diced
  10. 1 small yellow onion, diced
  11. 3 cloves garlic, minced
  12. 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles, drained
  13. ½ cup sour cream
  14. 6 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese
  15. 6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese
  16. Toppings such as diced tomatoes and cilantro, if desired
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium high heat. Add the chicken, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper, stir until chicken is coated with the spice mixture. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
  4. In the same skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of EVOO. Saute the garlic, green peppers, and onion over medium high heat until onions turn translucent. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in the green chiles and cook for another minute or two.
  5. Pour the vegetable mixture into the large bowl containing the chicken. Stir until combined. Add in the sour cream and the two cheese. Stir some more until everything is thoroughly mixed and there are no clumps of cheese.
  6. Transfer the chicken/vegetable mixture into a 3 quart baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until pasta is slightly brown and bubbly.
  7. Serve immediately. If desired, top with diced tomatoes, cilantro, or other garnishes.
  8. Serves 6
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Adapted from Annie's Eats
Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/
If you’re a fan of bell peppers, you can also add in a red and yellow bell pepper to the mix. I’m not a big fan of the red and yellow peppers, so I chose to leave them out of the recipe. However, I do like fresh tomatoes with my fajitas, so I diced up some tomatoes and added them to my bowl. A little bit of chopped up cilantro is also highly recommended – it really brings out the Mexican flavors and it gives the dish a nice bright flavor.

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I also chose to use rotisserie chicken to save some time – it’s a good way to get rid of leftover rotisserie chicken! If you prefer to cook your chicken yourself, just substitute the rotisserie chicken with two diced up chicken breasts instead.

On a totally different subject, I really shouldn’t have mentioned that warm brownie. Now I need to go make myself a brownie in a mug…

What’s your favorite comfort food?

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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I’ve actually been making this for years now, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that my coworker Erika inspired me to make it again and share it with you guys!

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You see, I’ve always had this thing where “old” recipes weren’t worth sharing and that only new things that I make (and that taste good) should be posted on here. But after today, successful recipes that have endured the test of time and multiple taste buds will start to make appearances on this blog, and I’m super excited about it!

This recipe is AWESOME – let me repeat, AWESOME – due to several reasons:

  1. it involves tator tots. Who doesn’t like tator tots?! If you, or someone you know, is/are not a fan of these little things, let me have a little talk with them.
  2. it’s completely customizable, and any dish that’s customizable is a win in my book. You can add different things in this dish any way you want. Exact measurements aren’t necessary either.
  3. it’s super easy to make. Prep time literally only took me 15-20 minutes.
  4. the leftovers taste just as good (if not better). Brian is not a big fan of leftovers, and this is one of the few dishes that we actually have to fight over leftovers the next day.

To start things out, you brown some turkey meat – it’s healthier that way. Using reduced sodium taco seasoning (or making your own) also bumps it up the healthy meter a little bit more. Add corn, cheese sauce/soup, then tator tots. Throw it in the oven for 45 minutes, and dinner’s ready. It’s that easy.

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taco tator tot casserole
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Ingredients
  1. 1 pound ground turkey
  2. 1 package 40% reduced sodium taco seasoning
  3. 3/4 cup water
  4. 2-2.5 cups frozen corn
  5. One 10.75 oz canned cheese soup/sauce
  6. 1 bag frozen tator tots (you won't need the whole bag)
  7. Any other toppings you may like - salsa, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream...
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground turkey until done. Add in the water and taco seasoning and stir until combined.
  3. Transfer the meat into a 8x11" casserole pan. Add in the corn and level it out with a spatula to make sure it covers the meat. If you'd like extra corn, feel free to add a little bit more.
  4. Next, pour/scoop the cheese soup on top, covering the corn. Layer the top with the tator tots.
  5. Bake for 45 minutes, or until tator tots are brown and crispy. Transfer to cooling rack and serve with desired toppings.
  6. Serves 3-4
Simple Everyday Food https://www.simpleeverydayfood.com/
Me, a little OCD? No way…

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Yeah, who am I kidding, I totally am. Lining up those little tator tots perfectly in rows totally satisfies my inner OCDness. And it’s the only way you can get as many tator tots in the dish!

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And just for the record, I hate making food with canned “soup”. If a recipe requires anything along the lines of “cream of…” I usually either don’t bother with it, or try to substitute it with something healthier. You probably won’t ever see me using any pre-packaged semi-gelantinous “soups” from a can other than this one.

I like my tacos with a little bit of salsa, so after I fill my bowl up with delicious goodness, I like to put a dollop or two of salsa on top of mine. I’ve also shared this recipe with a fellow coworker, and she added some black beans into the layers before throwing it in the oven. If you like sour cream, lettuce, cilantro, or anything else, definitely give it a whirl – I’m sure it’ll taste good!

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After I add my salsa, I like to mix mine up – it doesn’t look the prettiest, but it sure is tasty! Every bite consists of a little bit of spicy salsa, crispy tator tots, taco meat, and corn. Next time I’m totally adding shredded lettuce (and maybe a Mexican blend shredded cheese) to it too.

Enjoy!

© Simple Everyday Food. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use any of my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or kindly link back to this post for the recipe.

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