Chicken Pot Pie

My husband LOVES chicken pot pie.  I have tried so many recipes and never found one I liked.  The sauce was too runny, it took took long to prepare, and so on.  I found this recipe on pinterest recently and have already made it twice.  It is a keeper for sure and easier than most recipes as it uses purchased puff pastry dough.

The Ultimate Chicken Pot Pie - click here to link to the recipe.  I used a rotisserie chicken cubed.

Shepard's Pie

Shepard's pie is such a comfort food for me.  My mom made it growing up.  I found this recipe on Pinterest.  It is suppose to be a copycat of the recipe they use at the Cheesecake Factory.  I have eaten this at the Cheesecake Factory.  They are both really good but I am not sure how close this recipe comes to the restaurant version.  I really, really liked this recipe.  It was just what I need on a cold dreary day!!  Mmmm.

This recipe took longer to make than described.  So, by the time I got it put together and in the oven, dinner was a little late.  We were starved!  So, I totally forgot to take a picture until we had already eaten half!  This is not the greatest picture and does not do it justice.  Click on the link to see a much better picture and the recipe.  But this recipe is worth the time it takes to make it.  So good!  I think next time I will try to make it much earlier and refrigerate it until closer to dinner time.

Copycat Cheesecake Factory's Shepard Pie - click to link to recipe.

Recipe notes:  I obviously omitted the egg wash at the end of the recipe.  It cooks up just fine without it.
With a little more effort, I also think this recipe could be made gluten free.  To make it gluten-free, I would recommend making sure you have a gluten-free tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth.  I would also substituting corn starch in place of the flour.  You likely won't need as much corn starch.  Try two teaspoons but be sure to dissolve in a little water before adding it in.

Roasted Vegetable Medley

Here is the Roasted Vegetable Medley as promised.  I also want to try them grilled as suggested by the recipe that I adapted this one from.  Check it out at the link below.

Roasted Vegetable Medley

Adapted from Easy Grilled Vegetables by Gimme Some Oven

1 zucchini, quartered and thickly sliced

1 yellow squash, quartered and thickly sliced

8 oz mushrooms, quartered

1 lb grape tomatoes, whole

1 yellow onion, cut in half then each half in quarters

2 T olive oil

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

black pepper and seasoned salt, to taste

Preheat oven to 425^o.

In a 11x14 baking dish, add vegetables and mix to evenly distribute.  Then drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle mixture with garlic, seasoned salt and pepper.   Stir again. Then roasted in oven, stirring every 10 minutes until cooked to desired texture.  

Chicken Tetrazzini

I tried another recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  This time I made one of their recipe makeovers for Chicken Tetrazzini.  It was featured in their January issue.  It is so good and creamy! 
 

Chicken Tetrazzini - Click here to link to the recipe. 

Seared Steaks with Mushrooms and Onions

My brother and his wife got me a subscription to Cooking Light magazine for Christmas.  It is full of so many good recipes that you can feel good about eating.  I am really enjoying it.  Here is recipe from the January issue that we enjoyed.  I hope your family does too!


Seared Steaks with Mushrooms and Onions - Click here to link to the recipe.  I made this very much like the recipe, substituting beef broth for the red wine and dried rosemary for the fresh because that is what I had on hand.  If you have a dairy allergy, I think you could easily substitute a non-dairy option in place of the butter.

Beef Stew {Slow-cooker}

I have been working on this recipe for a while.  I have finally come up with something that I am happy with and it is allergy friendly!  Yay!  A good warm, hearty meal for a cold day.  Serve with Cornbread (EF).  Enjoy!

Beef Stew {Slow-cooker}

1 ½ - 2 pounds stew meat, well trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 T olive oil

1 onion, coarsely diced

8 oz mushrooms, coarsely diced

1 – 1 ½ pounds waxy potatoes (I used red potatoes), quartered

½ - 1 pound carrots, peeled and sliced into 1-inch pieces

2 bay leaves

1 c beef broth^*

2 T cornstarch

3 T tomato paste^*

2 T Worcestershire sauce^*

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t dried parsley

½ t dried thyme leaves

½ t freshly ground black pepper, more to taste

salt, to taste

Heat 1 T of oil in a skillet and brown meat on all sides without cooking through.  Add meat to slow cooker.  In same skillet, heat remaining 1 T oil.  Sauté onion and mushroom until onion is translucent, mushroom is tender and have taken on a nice caramel color.  Add potatoes, carrots and bay leaves to slow cooker.  Top with sautéed onion and mushrooms.  In a separate bowl combine broth and cornstarch stirring until cornstarch is dissolved into the broth.  To broth mixture, stir in tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce and remaining spices.  Pour broth mixture over meat and vegetables in slow cooker.  Cook on high for about 6 hours.

^* For those with a gluten allergy, make sure the beef broth, tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce you use are gluten-free.  Lea & Perrins is gluten-free.

Goulash

Goulash is not really a recipe that I would seek out.  But I came across this one on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try.  I think the fresh zucchini and mushrooms give it a lot of healthy flavor.  Plus, it was pretty easy and cheap to make.  All the makings of a great busy weeknight meal!

I made the recipe as written so I will link to it below.  For those on a gluten-free diet, you can easily substitute gluten-free pasta.  But you may need to reduce the cooking time.  You may also want to double check the ingredients on the beef broth and tomato paste.

One Pan Goulash - Please click here for the recipe.

Chicken, Asparagus and Mushroom Stir Fry

Stir fry is a great healthy allergy-friendly meal.  This is a variation of my previously posted recipe for Chicken and Green Bean Stir Fry (EF, DF, GF).  Enjoy! 

Chicken, Asparagus and Mushroom Stir Fry  

2 lb fresh asparagus

8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

2 T olive oil

1 ½ lb chicken, cut into bite sized pieces               

6 cloves garlic or 1T, minced

¾ t ground ginger

1 t freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ t cornstarch

1/3 c water

1/3 c reduced-sodium soy sauce*

2 T honey

Break off woody portion of asparagus, roughly the bottom half.  Then cut the remaining portion in half.  I end up with about 2 inch pieces.  Wash asparagus and mushrooms; set aside.  Preheat skillet and add 1T oil.  Add chicken and garlic to hot skillet and sprinkle with ginger and pepper.  Sautee chicken until browned on the outside and juices are clear.  Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.  Add mushrooms, asparagus and remaining oil to skillet.  Sauté until mushrooms are soft and asparagus can be pricked with a fork.  Return chicken to the skillet.  Mix water, cornstarch and soy sauce.  Pour over chicken, asparagus and mushrooms.  Add honey and stir until incorporated and sauce starts to thicken.  Serve over your favorite rice.   

Serves 6

* For those on a gluten-free diet, be sure to use a gluten-free soy sauce.

Sautéed Mushrooms

We grilled burgers over the weekend and I was craving mushroom burgers.  So, I whipped up this recipe for sauteed mushrooms and was pleased with the results!  You could also have these with your favorite steak, like Grilled Peppered Steak (EF, DF, GF)!  We actually used the seasonings for Grilled Peppered Steak (EF, DF, GF) on our burgers and it tasted great!!

Sautéed Mushrooms

24 oz mushrooms

1½ T unsalted butter or non-dairy substitute

½ yellow onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 t seasoned salt

½ t freshly ground black pepper

2 T marsala wine (optional)

Rinse mushrooms and set aside.  (I also like to take the stem out of my mushrooms.)  Melt butter in a large skillet.  Add onion and sauté onion until starts to soften.  Add garlic and continue stirring until garlic starts to brown.  Add mushrooms and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Sauté until mushrooms become tender and onion is translucent.  Add wine and stir over heat until most of the liquid absorbs.  
Serves 6-8