Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Pot Pie is one of the best comfort foods. And you don't have to feel that bad about eating it. After all, there are lots of veggies. And chicken is low fat. Right? Anyway, it's the only way Matt will eat peas. But it must have a little sprinkling of Tony Chachere's. Enjoy responsibly.

2 large potatoes, diced
1 tsp butter
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1-2 ribs celery, chopped
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp flour

1 cup chicken broth (2 tsp chicken bouillon + 1 cup warm water)
1 cup peas
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup light cream

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped (I use a rotisserie chicken)
2 prepared pastry crusts, unbaked

Boil the potatoes until just soft. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Heat to med-high and add celery and carrots for about 3 minutes.

Add the onions and continue cooking until carrots are brightly colored and just starting to soften. Stir frequently. If the veggies begin to stick to the pan, add a few spoonfuls of chicken bouillon.

Sprinkle flour over top. Stir until evenly blended.

Stir in seasonings, peas, remaining broth, and drained potatoes.

Add milk and cream, heating slowly and never allowing it to boil. Stir often, letting it thicken slowly.

Add chicken and stir well.

Roll out the pastry crust and place in a pie dish or round cake pan. Pour chicken mixture into pastry crust.

Cover with second pastry crust. Make a few slits in the top crust to allow for the release of steam.

Bake in preheated oven at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

*Adapted from Kari's Savory Chicken Pot Pie at Bon Appétit!

Sloppy Joe...Sloppy, Sloppy Joe

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon steak seasoning blend, such as McCormick brand Montreal Seasoning
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 crusty rolls or buns split, toasted, and lightly buttered

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add oil and meat to the pan. Spread the meat around the pan and begin to break it up. Combine brown sugar and steak seasoning. Add sugar and spice mixture to the skillet and combine. When the meat has browned, add onion, red peppers, red wine vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to medium and cook with meat for 5 minutes.

Add tomato sauce and paste to pan. Stir to combine.

Reduce heat to simmer and cook Sloppy Joe mixture 5 minutes longer.

Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, pile sloppy meat onto toasted, buttered bun bottoms and cover with bun tops.

Serve with your favorite sides. Have plenty of napkins on hand!

Makes 6-8 sandwiches.

*Borrowed from Rachel Ray on FoodNetwork

Country Biscuits

2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of sugar (can add more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 stick of butter, cold (1/2 cup or 8 tablespoons)
3/4 cup of buttermilk, cream or half-and-half

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.



Cut the stick of butter into pieces, and work into the flour mixture with your hands or a pastry blender until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Or you can take two knives and pretend you're Zorro for a few minutes and get the same results.



Add the liquid, mixing until a bit loose and sticky. Pour dough out on a floured surface, and knead for a minute. Dough should be smooth and no longer wet. You can sprinkle more flour on the surface if you find it’s sticking.



Take dough into a ball, and hit it with a rolling pin, turning it and folding it in half every few whacks. Do this for a couple of minutes.



Roll out dough until it’s 1/4 of an inch thick, and then fold it in half.



Using a round cutter (can use a glass or a cup if don’t have a biscuit cutter) cut out your biscuits from folded dough.



Place on a greased baking sheet close together (so they rise up not out), and bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.





Makes 10-12 biscuits.



From Homesick Texan

Beasley Breakfast Casserole

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law and is one of Matt's favorite breakfast meals. It's really simple and can actually be prepared the night before and baked the next morning. Perfect for Saturday morning brunch!

1 package Jimmy Dean Sausage (12 oz)
8 eggs
1 cup milk or cream
1 1/2 cups croutons
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly whisk eggs with milk.



Brown sausage in skillet.



Spread in the bottom of a baking dish.



Spread croutons over sausage.



Pour egg mixture over all and sprinkle with cheese.



Bake 30 min.




Number of Servings: 6

Breakfast Sausage

2 lbs of ground pork
1 tablespoon of sage
1 teaspoons of marjoram
2 teaspoons of red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Mix dry ingredients together.



Combine ground pork and maple syrup. Add to spices and mix well.



Form into patties and fry six minutes on each side.





Note: The spice measurements are not an exact science, so feel free to use a little less or a little more of the them to get your sausage just like you like it.

Serious Mac 'n Cheese

Here it is. The ultimate Mac 'n Cheese. I searched high and low for a great recipe that didn't include flour because Matt really doesn't like it with flour. I always try to tell him you can't really taste it but he swears he always can. Anyway, his mom can really make some mean Mac 'n Cheese. The only problem is, she doesn't have a recipe. She just throws whatever cheese she happens to have in her fridge at the moment in a baking dish and lets her rip. Sometimes that includes Velveeta. Sometimes not. Sometimes it includes Colby Jack. Sometimes not. That really doesn't work well for me considering I don't have a great variety of cheese here. So I had to find something a little more concrete. And, lo and behold, Paula Deen came through. She calls hers The Lady's Cheesy Mac. Of course, she also has The Ultimate Lady's Cheesy Mac 'n Cheese. I would try it but my husband has a family history of high cholesterol and I just don't have the guts. Sorry.



4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained
2 cups grated Cheddar
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk
pinch ground mustard (not part of Paula's recipe, but it just helps. Trust me.)



Not pictured: butter. Oops.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While the macaroni is cooking, combine eggs (whisked a little first), sour cream, milk, salt, pepper, mustard, and butter.



Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add 1 1/2 cups of the Cheddar.



Now add your egg mixture to the macaroni.



Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish.



Top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese (or add some more if you're feeling naughty).



Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-45 minutes.



Enjoy!

Makes about 6 servings.

*Borrowed from Paula Deen on Food Network.

Chicken Spaghetti

2 cups cooked chicken (I use rotisserie chicken)
2 cans Cream of Mushroom soup
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese
1/4 cup finely diced green pepper
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 4-oz jar diced pimentos, drained (optional for me)
3 cups dry spaghetti, broken into two-inch pieces
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt (I used plain salt this time)
1 additional cup grated Cheddar cheese

For this dish, you have 2 options for your chicken: You can either boil 1 cut up fryer in water and then pick off the meat to make two cups, or you can buy a rotisserie chicken and pick off the meat from that until you have 2 cups (about half the chicken). Either way, I don't suggest boiling chicken breasts and using that because you lose so much of the flavor without the dark meat. And really, who doesn't love a little dark meat? Anyway, if you boiled your own chicken, you can go ahead and boil your pasta in the leftover broth to give them a yummy flavor. I just mixed about 4 cups of water with 1 or 2 bouillon cubes (that would be why my water looks yellow).



Okay, the great chicken debate is settled. We can now continue. Cook the pasta according to the package directions until al dente. Don't overcook your noodles (!) because they'll cook a little bit more in the casserole. Meanwhile, saute your green pepper and onion a little in a skillet.



When the pasta is done, combine with the vegetables, soup, 1 cup cheese, salt & pepper, and pimentos, if you're into that sort of thing. I have an aversion to pimentos because my mom used to make me eat pimento cheese sandwiches when I was little ("Try it one more time, I know you'll like it!"). So I leave the pimentos out. Sorry, Mama.



Place the mixture in a casserole pan and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.



According to Pioneer Woman, you can freeze it up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or cook right away: 350 degrees F for 45 minutes. Watch the cheese on top, though, and cover with foil if it starts to get over-cooked.



Adapted (only slightly) from Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti

Charlotte's Sausage Jambalaya

Matt will be the first to tell you he is NOT Cajun. He is from northwest Louisiana, and people from those parts are Rednecks not Cajuns. So now that we have that settled, I can explain why I call this Charlotte's Sausage Jambalaya (Charlotte being my mom-in-law). It's because, although the Beasley clan is from northwest LA, they're not afraid of Cajun food. In fact, they embrace it. They even spent a few years in Lafayette, which is not northwest LA. Over the years, Charlotte has picked up some pretty tasty recipes. When Matt and I got married, she gave me one of her Cajun cookbooks, complete with her very own notes and substitutions. Her jambalaya is one of Matt's favorites from this cookbook. So that is why this is Charlotte's Sausage Jambalaya (even though she puts shrimp in it sometimes - I won't here because there is no coast in the Czech Republic and I feel funny buying seafood in a country with no coast, even if it's frozen).



1 1/2 lb smoked beef or pork sausage (about 4 large links)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup choped green onion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 cups chicken broth
1 can tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
2 whole bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 black pepper
3/4 tsp thyme
(feel free to add shrimp or chicken, also, but I've been advised to put seafood only in the portion you'll eat that day and not save it for leftovers)

In a deep skillet, slice sausage and pan fry.



(my skillet is too small to cook all of the sausage at one time so I had to do it in two parts)

Remove sausage, leaving the grease in the pan.



Now it's time for the veggies! Here you have some options. Charlotte had a few *ahem* picky eaters sit around her table over the years so she used to pulse the veggies together in a food processor to make them less obvious. My picky eater grew up and decided he didn't mind veggies so I don't have to do that anymore. I just chop 'em up and throw 'em in.



Add celery and saute about 3-5 minutes, or until they begin to soften.



Add remaining vegetables and saute until onions are clear. If necessary, add olive oil.



Return the sausage.



Add chicken broth, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce and seasonings.



Simmer until thickened.



Serve over rice.



Serves 8.