Chicken Pot Pie

I definitely did not come up with this recipe, but it is a good one and after posting the below picture on instagram, many people have asked me to share.  I actually got this recipe from my sister, who got it from a friend at work, so it has been used a time or two.  Pretty simple, and very good! Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 10-oz can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 boiled & shredded boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 1 rotisserie chicken, pulled apart)
1 10-oz package frozen mixed vegetables
2 pre-cut pie crusts (the kind you roll out)
2 cups water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. In a medium pan, melt butter over low heat.  
3. Add flour, stirring until mixture is smooth and thick. 
4. Gradually add cream of chicken soup and chicken broth. 
5. Stir in salt, pepper, mixed vegetables, and chicken.  Thoroughly stir to completely thaw vegetables. 
6. Roll one pre-cut pie crust onto pie pan.
7. Spoon chicken mixture into pie pan, filling pan to the top but making sure not to overfill it past the edges of your pie crust.
8. Roll out second pie crust.  Cut the crust into inch-wide strips. 
9. Place the strips on top of the pie filling, alternating above and below the others to create a lattice.  Once finished, pinch the edges of both crusts together to keep the filling inside during cooking. 
10. Place the pie pan in oven and bake for 30 minutes, until crust is golden brown. (My note: The pie crust I bought said to bake for 45 minutes.  I ended up baking mine for about 40 minutes, so just adjust as needed based on the pie crust that you buy.)

Freezer Burritos

Okay this recipe also came from Pinterest and was also a winner.  It's not REALLY a recipe, it's just something I did not know.  I found it here.  Who knew that you could make ahead burritos, freeze them, and then just stick them in the microwave when you're ready to eat.  I guess it makes sense since you can buy freezer meals, I just never thought to make my own.  


Freezer Burritos:

Basically, I cooked a batch of rice in my rice cooker along with a can of diced tomatoes, one chopped onion, and a clove of garlic.  I made a batch of burritos using the rice mixture, black beans, refried beans, chicken, cheese and salsa.  Then I wrapped them up individually and stuck them in the freezer.  When we're ready to eat them, we'll just unwrap them and stick them in the microwave for 3 minutes.  Perfect!

Spaghetti Calzone

Thanks again, Pinterest, for giving me another easy recipe to add to the collection.  This one was pulled from here but I altered it a little bit.  Basically instead of eating spaghetti with a side of garlic bread, this recipe combines it all into one.  Kevin called it the spaghetti calzone, and actually that's exactly what it was.  The original recipe calls for frozen bread dough or dinner rolls (Rhodes), but I used pizza dough (found it in the freezer section in Ingles).  I guess the only difference is that my bread/crust wasn't as light and fluffy.  It was more calzone/pizza-like.  Still pretty good.


**Update- I tried this again with the frozen bread dough and liked it just a little better.  The Rhodes brand frozen dough was a bit harder to find, but worth it. You can see the original recipe here.

Before baking:

And after:

There's not really a set recipe for this one.  Basically, make spaghetti the way you normally would and go ahead and mix your sauce and noodles.  

Then roll out your thawed-out dough.  Place a row of spaghetti down the middle of the dough.  Then, I put a little more sauce on top of my spaghetti just because I like a lot of sauce.  Don't put TOO much though.  You don't want it too soupy because then when you bake it, the bottom of your crust will get soggy. 


Next, top your spaghetti with lots of mozzarella cheese (or whatever kind of cheese you prefer).  


Then start cutting your dough from about an inch away from the out toward the edges. 


Next, pull the strips toward the center of the spaghetti, to close the calzone, alternating sides.  You'll want to make a criss-cross pattern so the calzone will stay closed. 


Brush the top with one egg white, and sprinkle with garlic powder, parsley, and parmesan cheese.  


If you decide to use pizza dough like me, follow the directions on the box for cooking- mine was at 450 for about 45 minutes.  The bread dough cooked for 30-35 minutes at 350.


That's it!  I think this is a great idea for spaghetti leftovers.  here.

Loaded Potato Soup

Here is a recipe for the BEST loaded potato soup.  Kevin actually said it's better than he's had in any restaurant.  It's probably worse for you than eating two double cheeseburgers, but it is SO good....

Ingredients:

12 slices bacon
2/3 cup margarine
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
7 cups milk
4 large (*or 5 med) baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
4 green onions, chopped (I substituted 1/2 of a medium yellow onion)
1 1/4 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
chicken broth (if needed)

1. Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until browned. Drain, crumble, and set aside.

2. In a stock pot or Dutch oven, melt the margarine over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually stir in milk, whisking constantly until thickened. Stir in potatoes and onions. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

3. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Mix in bacon, cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until cheese is melted.

4. Add chicken broth as needed to reach desired consistency. We like our potato soup really thick so I didn't add any chicken broth.  

That's it!  This made enough for us to eat twice, and there's still a little bit leftover for lunch tomorrow.  Enjoy!