flavorful homemade chicken pot pie

ingredients 

pie crust (store made or)

2 cups flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup butter

4-6 tablespoons cold water

filling

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

2 3/4 cup chicken broth

3 cups cubed chicken

vegetables: celery, carrots, peas

herbs: garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley

preheat oven to 375.  first make the filling (white sauce) in a large saucepan which was the butter, flour and broth.  melt the butter first, add flour and SLOWLY stir in the chicken broth.  make sure there is no clumping and the broth remains smooth.  (do this while the chicken is cooking)  then add in chopped garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley.  next add in the chopped vegetables, and chicken-once it is cool enough to cut.  after the filling is made, pour in to pie plates, cook for 50 min.  let cool for 10 minutes before serving. delisch!

turkey dinner sandwiches + sides ala pecans

this evening of ‘real simple’ wednesday-night cooking we made turkey & cranberry chutney sandwiches with sweet potatoes w pecans & parmesan and green beans w pecans & maple vinaigrette sides.  the meal was actually very simple and was quickly able to be prepared. 

the most flavorful were the sweet potatoes; however, if the turkey sandwich was made with real roast turkey, that would be amazing.  (i swear i have had this sandwich on the cape before.) 

the green beans were from a summer issue, and the directions have them as a cold salad.  but for the season, we were thinking that they would be great warm.  it wasn’t the most amazing..we had just enough pecans for these three meals that included it.

we had this with a cab sav and it was a pretty good pairing!

 

turkey & cranberry chutney sandwich

serves 1| hands-on time: 15m | total time: 15m
ingredients

2 tablespoons cranberry or some other fruit chutney

2 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans

2 slices sourdough bread

2 ounces thinly sliced roasted turkey

2 ounces Brie, sliced

1/4 cup arugula

directions

In a small bowl, combine the chutney and pecans. Spread the chutney mixture on the bread and form a sandwich with the turkey, Brie, and arugula.

sweet potatoes w pecans & parmesan

serves 8| hands-on time: 15m | total time: 1hr 10m
ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the baking dish

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1⁄4-inch-thick rounds

1/2 cup grated Parmesan (2 ounces)

kosher salt and black pepper

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup light brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

pinch of cayenne pepper

directions

Heat oven to 375° F. Oil a shallow 2 ½- to 3-quart baking dish. In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with the Parmesan, 2 tablespoons of the oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper; transfer to the prepared baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake until tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the pecans, sugar, thyme, cayenne, the remaining tablespoon of oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon black pepper.

Remove the foil from the baking dish, sprinkle the pecan mixture over the potatoes, and continue to bake, uncovered, until the pecans are toasted, 10 to 12 minutes.

green beans w pecans & maple vinaigrette

serves 8| hands-on time: 15m | total time: 1hr 50min