Tuesday's Terrific Food--A day late

Yesterday, Zoe had a 2 year old checkup. The good news: she's had a growth spurt of 4 inches in 6 months. The bad news: She's got her first ear infection. She had a terrible fever and felt awful Monday night, then yesterday and today, she's like it never happened. 10 days of antibiotics should clear it up though.

Hubby will be out of town tonight--great timing, huh?--Valentine's Day and all! So, he brought me home a beautiful bouquet tonight and some decadent chocolate last night. I got him some chocolates of his own and a photo collage I made in Photoshop.

For our Valentine's dinner, I tried a new recipe. It was a Chicken Pot Pie I saw on The Food Network. It turned out really rich and tasty--a good hearty meal for winter. Here's the recipe, with my notes on how I tweaked it.

Chicken Pot Pie
Copyright, 2005, Robin Miller, All rights reserved
Show:
Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller
Episode:
Ready, Prepped, Go

2 teaspoons olive or vegetable oil (I also added 2 tbsp butter)

1 cup chopped onion

4 boneless chicken breast halves cut into 1 to 2-inch cubes, about 4 cups (cut that by half unless you make the chicken for another recipe later in the week)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoons dried thyme (I also added 1/4 tsp tarragon, 1/2 tsp poutry seasoning)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

4 medium red potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes (I only used 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped into 1/2 in cubes)

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I left those out--didn't sound good in a pot pie)

1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth (I probably used a whole can just to get enough liquid)

1/4 cup dry white wine (Left that out too--substituted 1/2 cup heavy cream to get a creamy sauce)

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup frozen corn kernels (I also added 1/2 cup frozen peas, 2 bay leaves and 2 cloves chopped garlic)

9-inch refrigerated pie crust

1 egg, lightly beaten
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat oil (and butter) in a large Dutch oven or oven-proof stockpot over medium heat (My big 10 in iron skillet worked great). Add onion and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute 5 to 7 minutes, until browned on all sides. Remove 1/2 the cooked chicken for later in the week, cover and refrigerate. (Do this only if you use all the recommended chicken) In a small bowl, combine flour, thyme, salt, pepper, and paprika (and tarragon and poultry seasoning). Add flour mixture to the chicken and stir to coat. Stir in carrots, celery, potatoes, tomatoes (not sure why anyone would put tomatoes in a pot pie, so add your peas, bay leaves, and garlic), chicken broth, wine (use the heavy cream--trust me--it's good) , and Dijon mustard and mix well. Bring mixture to a boil. Cook until vegetables are tender (Note--this will take several minutes. Get enough liquid to just get to the surface of all the veggies and cut them up fairly small so they'll cook quickly. Stir occasionally to help keep from sticking and to thicken the sauce).
Transfer stew to a clean 2-quart casserole dish and stir in corn. (I cooked my corn along with the other veggies and if you use an iron skillet or oven-safe skillet, just skip this step. Also--remember to remove the bay leaves now if you used them). Place pie crust on top of casserole and pinch around the edges to seal the crust to the dish. Brush the top with beaten egg and prick the surface 1 or 2 times with a sharp knife or fork to allow steam to escape during cooking. Place casserole dish on baking sheet and bake 8 to 10 minutes (probably more like 10-12), until crust is golden. Enjoy!!