Modern Chicken Pot Pie

Slow Cooker Upside Down Chicken Pot Pie

Made: November 29, 2012

Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Thighs
- 1 Dried Bay Leaf
- 1/4 tsp Pepper
- 2 tsp Vegesal Seasoning Blend
- 1 bag Mire Poix Frozen Veggies; Onion, celery, carrot (16oz)
- 2 jars Chicken Gravy (18oz)
- 1 bag Mixed Vegetables (16oz)
- 2 1/4 cups Original Bisquick® Mix
- 1 cup Milk

Directions
- Place chicken in 3 1/2- to 4-quart slow cooker Top with bay leaf, pepper, VegeSal, frozen mire poix blend and gravy
- Cover and cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours
- About 30 minutes before serving, make and bake 8 biscuits using Bisquick mix and milk as directed on package
- Meanwhile, gently stir frozen vegetables into chicken mixture, breaking up chicken into bite-sized pieces, if necessary Increase heat setting to High Cover and cook 15-30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender
- Remove bay leaf
- For each serving, split biscuits and place two halves on a dinner plate or into individual pasta bowls Spoon about one cup of chicken mixture on top of each biscuit

I've been trying to find recipes that I have most of the ingredients in the house. I thought I had a frozen peas & carrots blend, but I only had peas. So I just added peas and corn. To be honest, I never heard of Vegesal seasoning blend. So I used some Chicken seasoning, thyme, parsley, salt & pepper. I also only used one jar of gravy (12oz) and added in a can of Cream of Chicken soup. I also didn't have any biscuits (oops) So it's just the inside of a Pot Pie pictured. But it had a nice taste overall.

(Recipe used: betterrecipes.com)

Basket eggs meet Casserole

Southwestern Egg Bake

Made: November 28, 2012

Ingredients
- 2 cups cornbread stuffing crumbs
- 1 can Green Giant whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 can Old El Paso chopped green chiles, undrained
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 7 eggs
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
- Salsa, if desired

Directions
- Heat oven to 400 F
- Spray rectangular baking dish with cooking spray
- Mix stuffing, corn, chilies, sour cream and 1 egg in large bowl
- Spread evenly in baking dish
- Make 6 indentations in stuffing mixture with back of spoon
- Break 1 egg into each indentation
- Pierce yolk of each egg with fork
- Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until egg whites and yolks are firm, not runny
- Sprinkle cheese over stuffing mixture
- Bake 2 to 3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted
- Serve with salsa, if desired

Mine wasn't too "southwestern" since I didn't have chiles in the house and I usually don't use chiles in much of anything. I did add a dash of crushed red pepper and Old Bay :) I cooked my eggs for the fill 28 minutes just in case. The yolks weren't too runny, but not over cooked. I also used some Mozzarella and Cheddar cheese.

(Recipe used: bettycrocker.com)

German Potatoes

Hot German Potato Salad with Bacon

Made: November 11, 2012

Ingredients
- 3 pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled
- 6 slices bacon
- 1-2 tablespoons
- 2/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 teapoons yellow mustars
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper

Directions
- Pleace the potatoes in a medium pot with water to cover
- Bring to a boil and cook until just tender, 15-20 minutes
- Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool before halving or quartering, depending on the size
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy, 5-7 minutes
- Set the bacon on a paper towel lined plate to drain
- Carefully pour the bacon fat from the skillet into a measuring cup
- Add enough vegetable oil to the bacon fat to make 1/4 cup
- Pour the fat back into the skillet along with the broth, vinegar, mustard, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste
- Whisk the mixture in the skillet to combine and simmer for 4 minutes
- Place the potatoes in a large salad bowl and add the warm vinaigrette, tossing well to combine
- Crumble the bacon on top of the salad

I didn't move the bacon fat from the pan and back, I just added about 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of oil. I also used golden potatoes and sliced them scallop style instead.

(Recipe used: Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible)

Homemade Hambuger Helper

Layered Beefy Mac n' Cheese

Made: November 4, 2012

Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (8oz)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 cups milk
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (12oz)
- 1 cup soft bread crumbs

Directions
- Heat oven to 350 F
- Spray 2 qt casserole dishe with cooking spray
- Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package, using minimum cooking time
- Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook the ground beef
- Season beef with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper
- Cook beef until thoroughly cooked, drain
- In a 2 qt saucepan, melt butter over medium heat
- Stir in flour, cook and stir 1 minute until bubbly
- Add in milk, cook and stir for 5-6 minutes until mixture thickens slightly
- Stir in broth and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Remove from heat
- Stir in cheese
- Fold in cooked macaroni
- Spoon 1/3 of the macaroni mixture into casserole dish
- Top with 1/2 of the beef misture
- Layer with another 1/3 of the macaroni mixture, remaining beef and finish off with the last of the macaroni mixture
- Top with the bread crumbs
- Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown

The only thing different I did was use Velvetta cheese instead of the shredded cheddar cheese. I didn't use a full 12oz of cheese either, just enough to coat the noodles and still be nice and cheesy!

(Recipe used: Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2012)

Fall Harvest Cupcakes

School Days Applesauce Cupcakes

Made: November 2, 2012

Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1 box Yellow Cake mix (or your favorite recipe)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup apple cider or apple juice
- 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 eggs

Frosting
- 1/2 cup butter or margarine
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions
Cupcakes
- Heat oven to 350 F

- In a large bowl, beat cupcake ingredients with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds
- Beat on medium speed about 2 minutes
- Divide the batter evenly among the cups
- Bake 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
- Cool for10 minutes
- Remove cupcakes to cooling racks to cool completely

Frosting
- In a 2 qt saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat
- Stir in brown sugar, heat to boiling, stirring constantly
- Stir in the milk, return to boil
- Remove from heat
- Beat in the powdered sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until smooth
- Frost the cupcakes

I followed this one to a tee, minus that I used cinnamon flavored applesauce since my unsweetened one went bad on me. Oops! But I called them my Fall Harvest cupcakes since I took them to a bowling alley and not a school haha Plus, Apples are best in the fall :)

(Recipe used: Best of Betty Crocker 2013)

Shepard meets Pot Pie

Stuffing Crust Turkey PotPie

Made: November 1, 2012

Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked stuffing
- 3-4 tablespoons chicken stock/broth
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup turkey gravy
- 1 cup frozen broccoli florets, thawed
- 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups cooked mashed potatoes
- 1/4 cup half & half
- 2 tablespoon butter, metled
- 1/2 cup French-fried onions (optional)

Directions
(If you haven't cook your stuffing, potatoes and turkey!)
- In a small bowl, combine stuffing and enough broth to reach desiered moistness
- Press into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9-in deep-dish pie plate
- Bake at 350 F for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned
- In a large bowl, beat cream cheese & gravy until smooth
- Stir in the turkey, broccoli, Swiss cheese, salt and pepper
- Spoon over crust
- In a small bowl, combine potatoes and cream
- Spread potatoes overtop turkey mixture
- Drizzle with butter
- Sprinkle with onions if desired
- Bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned

Again, I made a couple of revisions. I usually like to try out a new recipe step by step and make revisions later, but sometimes you have to improvise.
- I used chicken instead of turkey; although this would be quite yummy with Thanksgiving leftovers
- I used cream of chicken soup instead of gravy; I didn't think using brown gravy would have the same taste
- No Swiss cheese in the house, so I used Velvetta instead and chopped it into small cubes

Overall, the dish came out great! It was very yummy! But anything with stuffing has bonus points in my book!

(Recipe used: Taste of Home Annual Recipes 2013)