Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits

Chicken pot pie is on the menu for this weekend so I'm sharing the recipe for March's second post.I'm trying to stay on track for 2 posts a month. I love chicken pot pie topped with biscuits so that's what I make at my house. The original recipe I started with when my girls were little was from a Hungry Jack biscuit add in a magazine and I  used canned chicken, cream of chicken soup and canned mixed vegetables.  It was good and what I made for years but now I only use fresh chicken and vegetables along with cream of chicken soup and canned biscuits.  I'm not very good at homemade biscuits so just use the canned.  The majority of the time when I make this I can do the whole thing in my big skillet.  Cook the chicken, usually breasts, with seasonings until done then cut up and set aside.  Then I cook the vegetables, whatever I have in the freezer or from fresh from the farmer's market, until tender then add in the soup, seasoning and put the chicken back in then top with biscuits and cheese and bake in oven until the biscuits are done.  Any combination of vegetables is great, must haves are green peas, fresh or frozen and broccoli but I also add onions, sweet peppers, corn, eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash, shredded cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale or spinach, whatever's in season.  I'm going to try it with sugar snap peas since I have some in my freezer that I got and cut up last month. A friend at church makes really good chicken pot pies with pie crust that she freezes and cooks as needed.  She's also donated these at a youth fundraiser and I've bought several which we've really enjoyed.  I haven't made mine as actual pies but like the idea of having a ready made dinner in the freezer  so will give that a try as well.

Here's the recipe:
2 to 3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped up

cooked veggies, chicken and soup mixture

1/2 c sweet peppers, chopped
1/2 c onion, chopped
1/2 c eggplant, finely chopped
1/2 c carrots, chopped
1/2 c broccoli, chopped
1/2 c corn
1/2 c each zucchini, yellow squash, cauliflower, chopped
can also add shredded cabbage, kale or spinach
1/2 to 1 c frozen green peas
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can large or 2 cans medium biscuits
1/2 to 1 t each seasoned salt, garlic powder, parsley, pepper, sage,
shredded cheddar cheese

original recipe with my notes

In large skillet, cook chicken in a little olive oil with seasoned salt and pepper until done, chop and set aside.  In same skillet with a little olive oil and butter cook vegetables, except green peas, until tender.
Add peas, chopped chicken, soup and seasonings and stir until blended. Top with biscuits, can cut up or leave whole, can also top with shredded cheese.  Bake at 375 for 20 to 25 minutes, or until biscuits are browned.
Enjoy,
Bamah

bowl of yummy goodness

Beef Stew aka Irish Stew

For March's post I'm sharing my beef stew recipe also known as good old Irish stew.  Stew is such a great recipe that is fairly easy especially if you throw everything in a crock pot and just let it cook all day, plus it's so versatile.  Years ago, when my daughters were little I made a tomato basted stew with a lot of vegetables, and browned stew meat in it which I grew up on.  We were eating at a favorite restaurant and they served this wonderfully thick beef stew with a rich beef broth and just potatoes.  My family loved it so I figured out how to do it myself at home.  Now per their request this is the only type of stew I make.  I still make my tomato basted vegetable soup from time to time but don't add beef to it. The secret to really thick and rich stew is to cook the beef by itself first and then add the potatoes and vegetables in later.  I almost always cook mine in my crock pot for at least 8 hours before adding vegetables.  I put the meat in, add seasonings, 1 chopped onion, minced garlic and 2 packages of beef gravy mix and water and let it cook until the beef falls apart.  I really like cabbage in my stew and found my family doesn't object if I cut it small enough and make sure it cooks down.  I always add chopped sweet peppers and sometimes carrots but try to limit the amount of vegetables I add. When I made stew earlier this month after the beef had cooked for about 4 hours, I added chopped cabbage and kale letting them cook for the remaining 4 hours which worked great.  We weren't going to eat the stew until the next day, so I added the potatoes in the crock pot in the morning and the stew was ready to eat at lunch.  Another secret I have for thickening stew (also soups) is adding instant mashed potato flakes when it's boiling at the end until it's the desired thickness. We love to eat ours topped with shredded cheddar cheese.

 

beef stew with carrots and potatoes

Here's the recipe:

Beef Stew aka Irish Stew

1 onion sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
seasoned salt and pepper
steak seasoning and marinade
Worcestershire sauce
2 to 3 lbs. beef, any roast like cut
2 packages beef gravy mix



 In crock pot cook meat with 1 to 2 cups water on high 8 hours until
tender.  I usually make meat ahead of time then put together with vegetables. This makes the meat more tender and the stew thicker.





Add to cooked beef in broth

1/2 to 1 c carrots, chopped
6 to 8 med potatoes, chopped
1/2 c sweet peppers, chopped

beef stew with red cabbage

2 T sofrito

1 jar beef or veggie broth

1 to 2 c water as needed

1/2 to 1 c chopped cabbage

1/2 to 1 c chopped kale

 1 t each seasoned salt and pepper

 1/2 t turmeric

1 t parsley

Cook all together for 30 min to 1 hour until vegetables are tender and

stew is thickened.  Can also thicken with instant mashed potato flakes.

Enjoy,
Bamah



Yummy bowl of stew topped with shredded cheese