Thursday, October 17, 2013

Sweet Potato chicken/or turkey pot pie



Ok so I forgot to take a photo before scooping this out. This was from this months Better Homes and Gardens and it is soooooooooooo yummy. I made it with chicken and love it!! original recipe here

Sweet Potato-Topped Turkey Pot Pie
  • Sweet Potato Topping
  • 2 pounds orange-fleshed sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (I may have used more) 
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I only used about 1/2 a tab
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Freshly ground pepper
  •                    
  • Filling
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I omitted
  • 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil (nope I used a tiny amount of olive oil)                    
  • 1 large yellow onion, about 12 oz/340 g, diced (2 cups)
  • 3/4 cup diced celery (100 g)
  • 3/4 cup peeled and diced carrot (105 g)
  • Kosher salt
  • 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used cornstarch about 2 1/2 tab since I used a bit more broth and used almond milk instead of cream. Usually you need 1/2 the amount of cornstarch)                   
  • 1 1/2 cups homemade chicken or turkey stock or canned low-sodium chicken broth (360 ml)
  • 1/2 cup whipping cream, half-and-half, or light cream (120 ml) I used almond milk 
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded roast turkey or chicken (375 g) (I used chicken thighs boneless, skinless cooked in crock pot on high 3 hours, with some -2 cups-veggie broth, rosemary, thyme and sage)                  
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
Sweet Potato Topping::
1. For Sweet Potato Topping: In a saucepan combine the sweet potatoes, 1 tsp. of the salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Cover partially. Bring to boiling over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium. Simmer until the potatoes fork tender, about 10 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes; return to the warm pan. Stir over low heat for 1 minute. Using a potato masher, mash potatoes. Stir in melted butter, nutmeg, the remaining 1 tsp. salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Set aside.
3. Position a rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Filling::
4. In a large saucepan melt butter with the oil over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and carrot. Cook and stir, about 2 minutes. Add salt. Cover partially. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook until vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes. (I cooked longer adding some water because the carrots and celery were still a bit hard)
5. I cooked my chicken thighs previous in crockpot with broth. I did this earlier in the day. I thickened the broth itself with cornstarch and then added the chicken back in with the drained veggies. I had already seasoned mine so I added parsley and a bit more of seasonings to taste. OR you can do as they say:                   Sprinkle the flour over vegetables.Stir to combine. Slowly stir in the stock. Simmer stirring occasionally until smooth and thickened, about 2 minutes. Stir in cream;bring to a simmer. Add the turkey, parsley, sage, and thyme. Stir to combine; return the mixture to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Spoon the filling into the 2 1/2-to 3-qt. rectangular baking dish. Using a rubber spatula, carefully spread and mound spoonfuls of the mashed sweet potatoes over the filling, leaving some of the filling visible. Bake until bubbly and piping hot, about 20 minutes. Serve Immediately
Note: to self--I cooked my chicken in the morning in the crock-pot. Then I separated the chicken and stock and refrigerated. I also cooked and mashed the sweet potato and refrigerated. Later I cooked the veggies and added them to the broth I had thickened first and added the chicken.  I put this back in frig. When ready to cook at supper I microwaved the chicken/broth/veggie mixture and separately nuked the potatoes. Then I placed the potatoes over the chicken combo and cooked as they said in the oven. It was great.

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Greek Yogurt Biscuits/ low fat and easy



 easy and no fat added other than in the ingredients themselves!


I found this here http://www.alaskafromscratch.com/2013/03/04/greek-yogurt-biscuits/

Here is the recipe:

Adapted from Healthy Recipes
Ingredients
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup milk (I used non-fat)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. In a mixing bowl, add the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cream of tartar, stirring to combine. In a smaller bowl, stir together the yogurt and milk. Add the yogurt to the flour mixture and stir gently until it all comes together and a soft dough forms, being careful not to overwork the dough.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and pat it lightly into a circle, about 1-inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut rounds of the dough and place them onto a prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the dough has been used.
  4. Bake about 13-15 minutes or until cooked through and golden. Serve immediately, while hot. Great with butter and jam or honey, with gravy, or as the bread for a breakfast sandwich, etc.
Notes
Because of the absence of fat in this recipe, the biscuits do toughen up some as they cool. For that reason, they are best served fresh from the oven while still hot. Any leftovers can be stored in a bag or airtight container and rewarmed before serving.