Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients - is that phyllo dough I see?

Onion with flour.

Making that good sauce.

In the pie dish, ready for phyllo on top.

Out of the oven.  Isn't it time to eat yet?

Broccoli fills out the plate.

Chicken pot pie - another "comfort food."  It has been one of our favorites for years!  This Weight Watcher version cuts the calories in the original recipe considerably, and for the six servings that the recipe gives, it is a very generous portion.  The serving on the above plate, however, was with eight servings, and it is easy to see how satisfying this amount is.  For those of you who may be wondering if we have dinner plates, the answer is, "Yes, we do."  Using a smaller plate is one of those tricks from Weight Watchers.   Those of us who are members of the "clean plate club" may be tempted to eat more when we are served a filled dinner plate.   The salad plate, of course, has a smaller capacity than the dinner plate, thereby decreasing the amount of food on the plate - and the amount of food we eat.

Now - on to the recipe.  This actually came in a regular email from Weight Watchers a few years ago as their recipe of the day.

CHICKEN POT PIE

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 cups water (I used chicken broth because I skipped the bouillon cubes mentioned below).
1/2 cup wine, dry white (I had none of this in the house, so I just used extra broth).
2 average chicken bouillon cubes, crumbled
2 medium carrots chopped
1 cup frozen green peas (I added 3/4 cup more because I left out the corn mentioned below).
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 Tablespoons white all-purpose flour
5 oz. fat-free evaporated milk
15 1/4-oz. canned white corn, drained (We prefer to have only carrots and peas in the pot pie).
6 pieces phyllo dough (I don't always have very good luck with this, but it worked well this time).

- Place chicken, water, wine and bouillon cubes in a medium pan.  Bring to a boil, lower heat, and cook gently, uncovered for 15 minutes.   Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Set aside one cup of broth and chop chicken into chunks.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Coat a deep 8-inch pie dish with cooking spray.
- Microwave carrots and peas for 2 minutes.  Drain.  Heat oil in a medium nonstick pan, add onions and cook until soft.  Stir in flour and cook over low heat for 2 minutes.
- Remove pan from heat and stir in milk and reserved broth.  Return to heat and cook, stirring, until mixture boils and thickens.  Add carrots, peas, chicken, and corn.
- Pour chicken into prepared dish.  Layer sheets of phyllo over pie, trim edges, and press down firmly to seal.  Lightly coat with cooking spray.  Bake for 10 minutes, lower temperature to 350 degrees F and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes more.  Servings:  Six

Today was January 31, and our high temperature reached 64 degrees!  The Man of the House met some friends, and they walked 18 holes on the golf course with only a light jacket!   We are 1.37 inches over our average rainfall for the month/year, with rain predicted during the next several days
and cooler temperatures by the week-end.  This has been a very unusual winter here, as it appears to have been over much of the United States.  We have some fruit trees, as well as a few berries, and we are hoping the unusual warmth will not encourage them to an early bloom.

There will be something sweet here in the next few days.  If you want to see something tasty, check into Munchomom.com for her latest delicacies.  This is our daughter's food blog.  She will appreciate the visit.

Tomorrow - more chicken.

Thank you for reading.  I enjoy reading your comments.



4 comments:

  1. Oh Nellie...this looks so yummy.....I still wish I lived next door to you...smile... Of course my Tom is an amazing cook too...so will show him this recipe! smile... (I like to use the salad plate idea also...I was on the Jenny Craig program a long time ago...so you learn lots of tricks to help you stay on course!)

    Blessings,
    Gert

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  2. Hi Nellie- Chicken pot pie is one of my hubby's all time favorites. Yours sounds delicious. xo Diana

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  3. We have been using the salad plates for several years, even before the children both moved away, and while they don't encourage overeating, some of us still find a way to pack on the pounds, I'm afraid! This chicken pot pie sounds really good, and I might just do it one day this week. Yes, Munchomom does come up with some great ideas, too!! I think the acorn did not fall far from the tree. :-)

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  4. Hello Nellie,
    I missed this yesterday. I love chicken pot pie and this is a nice version. I haven't made it this year because of the high points recipe I have. This will be nice. I will check out your daughters blog.
    Thanks for your sweet words they do always encourage me. My husband was leaving for work the other day and he said, " I wish I could tell the fruit trees, sleep, sleep don't listen it isn't spring yet."
    It is true, I am afraid the trees will bloom then we will get winter.
    Well, have a wonderful week, Oh, I am glad your daughter can eat chocolate now, there is always hope.

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