Essentially homemade chicken pot pie

Even though it's somehow basically summer again outside here in Atlanta, last week was absolutely frigid. so naturally I made my favorite cold-weather dinner: chicken pot pie.

I love this recipe because you can be as complicated or no-frills as you want to be with it. I think the most important part of a recipe is that it should be reasonably doable on an average night. So I took a potentially complicated, exhausting recipe and made it just that. Here's how:

• Homemade crust? Sure, if you're into that kinda thing. Me, I don't have any kinda time for that business. Who wants to spend 5 hours making a (extremely temperamental) pie crust before even starting to cook dinner? Not this moi.

• Another potential point of debate: the frozen veggies. Look. Look. Listen. Listen. Look. Come on, who really likes celery? I find no shame in grabbing the organic Publix-brand frozen mixed veggies that come in the exact amount that I need. aka more of what I want for less effort. I pick that.

• Optional white wine aka an excuse to buy a bottle of white wine. Even if you're not into wine, it really does enhance the flavors, so don't skip it unless you really have to.

• Final point of flexibility: the protein. If you've got a leftover chicken breast or two that you can cook and chop up: go for it. You can also buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery and pull the meat off--sometimes it's cheaper than buying raw chicken, plus it's already cooked! Have leftover chicken from a roast? Use that. Lots of room for flexibility here.

Special Thanksgiving hint: this recipe is AMAZING with leftover turkey. Do yourselves a favor and set aside 2 cups of turkey so you can make this--it's WAY better than turkey sandwiches, I promise.

Okay, enough defending my choices. Just try it and you'll see for yourself. My family requests this over and over again, and it might just be what snags me a husband one of these days. It's that good.

Laura's Chicken Pot Pie

1 pie crust (if you get the two-pack from the store, freeze one for next time!)
1/2 stick butter
2 cups frozen mixed veggies
2 cups chopped or shredded chicken (or turkey!)
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
splash of white wine (optional) (not really)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper (or to taste)
1/4 tsp thyme (or to taste. I use dried/ground because lazy)

Preheat oven to 400.

(Cook your chicken and shred it up if you haven't already.)

Melt butter in a large skillet. Toss in frozen veggies and, stirring, cook until heated through (a couple minutes). Add the chicken and stir, coating the chicken in the remaining butter. Sprinkle flour over mixture and stir to coat. Cook over medium for a couple minutes (this helps the chicken and veggies stand up to the liquids).

Pour in broth, stirring constantly to deglaze (get the crispy stuff off the bottom) the pan. Let it return to a simmer and add a splash of white wine. Stir and let return to a simmer. Then add heavy cream.

Bring to a slow boil and let simmer for a few minutes until the mixture thickens a little to an almost gravy-like consistency. While simmering, add salt, pepper and thyme. I hardly ever measure these things (#YOLO) I just keep adding and tasting until I'm happy with it.

Pour the mixture into a casserole dish or pie dish (at least 9-in). Unroll the pie crust and carefully place over the mixture, and press the edges into the side of the dish (so the insides don't boil out). Slice vents in the top of the crust.

Bake 30-40 mins or until golden and bubbly. Allow to cool just slightly before serving (because the inside will be at molten lava temperatures).


Make it tonight!
    

    

Monday, Shmonday. Make this soup!

This weekend we Atlantans had a nice reprieve from the rain and the late winter cold. Friday evening Laura and I decided to take advantage of the nice weather. It was just warm enough to eat outside and just cold enough for butternut squash soup- what a perfect end to the week. Did we mention beer? There was a little bit of beer. But just a little. Really. We sat outside and enjoyed each others' company, a superb warm meal and the cool breeze of one season turning into another...

Il était doux, non?

Well. That was Friday. Now it is Monday. Now it is cold and rainy again. Now, as I write this, I am soaking wet from standing outside in the rain while my new puppy finds the courage to do her business outside-yes, Mae- even when it's raining.

O mon dieu. D'accord...

What I wouldn't give for another bowl of butternut squash (or squatternut bosh if everything in your life is also a Friends reference) soup. It's quick, easy, full of flavor but impressive enough to serve any guest any time... as long as they don't know how quick and easy it really is...

 

Butternut Squash Soup

1 butternut squash 2-3lbs, peeled and roughly chopped (it's getting blended, so just make sure your chunks are uniform in size to make for quick, even cooking)

1 medium sized apple, peeled and chopped

1 small to medium sized onion, chopped

3-4 cups vegetable stock (or 3-4 cups water and 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon paste)

1-2 slices bacon, chopped (I love getting Broadbent bacon from the Farmer's Market)

1 small apple, diced (optional)

croutons

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (optional)

You can do this entire soup in one pot. This is another reason I love this recipe.

Heat medium-low to medium (I wouldn't go above a 6 if you like to play the numbers game) a tablespoon or so of olive oil in an 8-quart or so pot.

Add your bacon and fry until almost crispy. Remove and set on a paper towel. And save for later. Do not drain the bacon grease. This will add loads of delicious flavor.

Add your butternut squash, apple and onion to the pot. Give 'em a good stir to make sure they're evenly coated with the olive oil/bacon grease. It should take about 10-15 minutes for these guys to get soft enough to blend. Just remember to stir often and adjust your heat (down) if they're getting too brown. These aren't supposed to get dark and they shouldn't stick to the pan. Keeping a lid on the pot will help them soften up, too.

Once the squash and apple are tender (can you cut through a piece of squash easily using a wooden spoon?), add your stock. Take the pot off the heat. Let it sit for about 5 minutes, then take your immersion blender to it. You'll have to kind of mash some of the chunks as you puree, but you'll see it gets smooth quickly. This should take about 5 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Add back on the heat if you need to, keeping your burner on low.

When you're ready to serve this, typically 2-3 ladels will do. Top with croutons (if you're making them fresh- cut up stale bread into 1/2 inch chunks, drizzle with olive oil and bake at 350 for 5-10 minutes, watching to make sure they don't burn), bacon, jalapeno, and, if I'm feeling crazy, a little bit of fresh apple.

[almost naked soup...put some clothes on, soup!]

[fully dressed soup. perfection.]

Until next time...