Sometimes we all need a little comfort food, especially around the holidays if we are far away from home cooked meals with the family. Matt and I decided it was time to bake a chicken pot pie last night, something that he grew up with as a kid (and something new to my "homemade" repertoire). We had two recipes to decide between: Matt's mom's and a lighter, more veggie filled option from Real Simple magazine. We did our best to combine the two, with the result of a slightly lighter, hearty, delicious home cooked chicken pot pie that any family would LOVE!
Ingredients for one 9" pie (we doubled it and froze one pie for later):
2 chicken breasts (grilled or boiled and cubed)
2 carrots, diced (we used a few handfuls of baby carrots)
1 onion, diced
2-3 celery stalks, diced
a handful (or 2) of green beans, cut into thirds (if fresh)
(you can add whatever veg you like; corn, peas, you name it!)
2 Tbsp. butter (we used the 1/2 and 1/2 butter/smart balance blend)
~2 Tbsp. olive oil
2-3 Tbsp. flour
1/2 c. white wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. skim milk
1/2 c. lite cream
1/8 tsp. thyme
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 Pillsbury pre-made pie crusts (thawed)
Directions: Pre-heat oven to 415 degrees
Cook chicken in a dash of olive oil and sprinkled with salt and pepper. Do not overcook. Cube or cut to desired size and set aside.
Dice up veggies (or pull from can or freezer). Saute veggies in olive oil until they begin to soften. Do not let darken. Add flour to begin thickening. Add white wine and cook off (about 5 minutes). Add chicken broth, stir in and let simmer for a minute. Stir in butter, salt, pepper, and thyme. Add milk and cream and let simmer until your desired thickness. You can always add a bit of flour to thicken more or add more milk/cream/broth if you want more sauce. Add cooked chicken and stir all together, letting simmer.
Put bottom pie crust into pie plate (or square glass pyrex), and add mixture to the crust. Place top pie crust on top and fold/pinch edges to seal and make decorative :) Slice venting slits in top. Put in oven for 30-40 minutes. Cover edges if browning too quickly.
Enjoy!! I know we can't wait for leftovers tonight...and the frozen pie in the freezer!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Lower fat chocolate chip cookies
We love chocolate chip cookies--my mom's and Matt's grandma's are our particular favorites! For some reason we couldn't perfect either of these recipes, so we decided to look around for our own. In a mission to find lower fat recipes (knowing we can never eat just one cookie), we discovered that A) it is not recommended to use apple sauce in cookies to replace the fat, and B) you can simply half the butter in a given recipe without much harm. Over time, we tried both. Subbing half the fat with applesauce wasn't too bad, but it wasn't the texture we were looking for. Subtracting half the butter actually worked perfectly!! The cookies were crispy on the outside and still soft in the middle (without being cakey).
Here's the recipe we used (adapted from the Ghiradelli chocolate chip bag). I think the even amount of brown and white sugar makes these cookies particularly tasty--almost a bit like toffee!
Lower-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (we use more than half whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened (this is already halved; we used a 50/50 smart balance blend stick)
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs (we used one whole egg and one egg white)
2 cups semi-sweet (or dark) chocolate chips (we used a little less than 2 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
~Heat oven to 375.
~Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.
~In large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy (if you halve the butter, this will be less creamy and more sandy).
~Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mix on low speed until incorporated (you don't need a mixer if you prefer using a spoon like my mom taught me to do).
~Gradually mix dry ingredients into creamy mixture.
~Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. This is a little more difficult with less butter, so be patient!
~Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. You will find the dough doesn't stick together quite as well if you halved the butter, so you may have to pinch/round the dough together.
~Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
We won't claim these are "healthy," but if you try the 50/50 Smart Balance butter sticks, halve the butter, and use one egg white, they are definitely lower in fat than your traditional chocolate chip cookie. And we promise they are equally delicious. They have become our home recipe for when we can't get mom's and Grandma Betty's!
Enjoy!
Here's the recipe we used (adapted from the Ghiradelli chocolate chip bag). I think the even amount of brown and white sugar makes these cookies particularly tasty--almost a bit like toffee!
Lower-fat Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (we use more than half whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter, softened (this is already halved; we used a 50/50 smart balance blend stick)
1 cup sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs (we used one whole egg and one egg white)
2 cups semi-sweet (or dark) chocolate chips (we used a little less than 2 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
~Heat oven to 375.
~Stir flour with baking soda and salt; set aside.
~In large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until creamy (if you halve the butter, this will be less creamy and more sandy).
~Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, mix on low speed until incorporated (you don't need a mixer if you prefer using a spoon like my mom taught me to do).
~Gradually mix dry ingredients into creamy mixture.
~Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. This is a little more difficult with less butter, so be patient!
~Drop by tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet. You will find the dough doesn't stick together quite as well if you halved the butter, so you may have to pinch/round the dough together.
~Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
We won't claim these are "healthy," but if you try the 50/50 Smart Balance butter sticks, halve the butter, and use one egg white, they are definitely lower in fat than your traditional chocolate chip cookie. And we promise they are equally delicious. They have become our home recipe for when we can't get mom's and Grandma Betty's!
Enjoy!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Wow! I haven't posted anything from the Isbetto Bistro in quite some time. I guess our cooking has been put aside as we've been finishing up our dissertations. But some mornings, with lots of coffee, we put aside a little morning time for Oat Waffles. I hope you like 'em!
Oat Waffles (adapted from allrecipes.com)
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. quick-cooking oats
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk
1 egg
1/4 c. veg. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 c. ground pecans
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen) *Optional (we add them to the top, not in)
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the milk, egg, oil, vanilla, and lemon juice; stir into dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in pecans (and blueberries if you want them warmed in your waffle). Let stand for 5 minutes (or longer). Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to directions until golden brown.
Makes 2 Belgian waffles. Can also be used for pancakes. We double the recipe, of course, and save the leftovers for morning #2.
Oat Waffles (adapted from allrecipes.com)
2/3 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 c. quick-cooking oats
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk
1 egg
1/4 c. veg. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 c. ground pecans
Dash of cinnamon
1/2 c. blueberries (fresh or frozen) *Optional (we add them to the top, not in)
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the milk, egg, oil, vanilla, and lemon juice; stir into dry ingredients and mix well. Fold in pecans (and blueberries if you want them warmed in your waffle). Let stand for 5 minutes (or longer). Bake in a preheated waffle iron according to directions until golden brown.
Makes 2 Belgian waffles. Can also be used for pancakes. We double the recipe, of course, and save the leftovers for morning #2.
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