Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Chicken Pot Pie

It's Fall :)  and I have bronchitis. LOL   I read somewhere (on the interwebs;) ) that chicken broth helped with clearing the lungs or something to that nature ...so I decided to Google recipes that were made with such broth.  I didn't want chicken noodle soup (wanted something different) and came across some of these chicken pot pies.  Never had them, so I thought I'd give them a try.  Surprisingly VERY hearty and delish.  I'm definitely keeping these in the rotation :)  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 white onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped in quarters
2 celery stalks, chopped
5 cups  of chicken broth
4 tbsp  cornstarch or flour thinned with 1 cup of water
¾ cup  of frozen peas
1 tbsp  heavy cream
1 tsp  seasoned salt
1 tsp  paprika
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp  seasoned salt
¼ tsp cracked black pepper
¼ cup fresh flat leaf parsley chopped
2 sheets of puffed pastry thawed (to fit over your bowls)
1 egg + 1 tsp (5 ml) water.




Directions:

1.  Cut the chicken breasts into one inch pieces and put in a large pot or dutch oven with two tablespoons of olive oil. Heat over medium heat for about eight minutes until cooked through. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  









2. In a separate pan, melt butter and add onion, carrots and celery. Heat vegetables in pan for about six minutes. Add parsley and thyme to the vegetables and toss. 





































3.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.   Add vegetables to chicken/broth mixture. Add garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, and heavy cream. Bring to a boil for five minutes.




































4.  Add cornstarch (or flour) and water mixture to the pot and stir.  Simmer on low until mixture thickens.


















5. Prepare 4 to 6 large ramekins by adding the chicken mixture to them.






















6. Place puffed pastry squares over the ramekins. Lightly coat the tops of the pies with the egg/water mixture.  Bake pot pies in oven for 15-20 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.Wait five minutes are so before serving.  They are piping hot!

*My apologies for the sideways photos...blogger glitch.*







Monday, November 04, 2013

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

It's that time of year again!  I love Fall.  When I think of Fall, I automatically think of falling leaves and all things PUMPKIN :) Pumpkin Spice lattes, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, ....

You're sure to enjoy these little moist and delicious cupcakes. Happy Fall!





Cupcake Ingredients:

1  box Duncan Hines Signature Spice Cake 
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup sour cream1 cup pure pumpkin puree

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients:

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese softened
1/2 cup of butter, softened
4 cups of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon


Cupcake Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin tin with paper liners or spray with non-stick cooking spray.

Beat together the cake and pudding mixes, pumpkin pie spice, sour cream, pumpkin, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat for about two minutes on medium speed until well combined-- about two minutes on medium speed.

Using a large cookie scoop, distribute the batter between 24 muffin wells; (or about 2 large spoonfuls of batter per well, if you don't have a cookie scoop.)

Bake in preheated oven for 18-22 minutes or until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly touched. Allow cupcakes to cool inside muffin tins for about 20 minutes.

Remove cupcakes from muffin tins and allow to fully cool on a wire rack. Once cupcakes are cool, prepare your frosting.



Frosting Directions:

For frosting, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until smooth. Frost cupcakes. Refrigerate leftovers.