Easy Chicken Pot Pie

We had leftover rotisserie chicken from the weekend so I decided to make chicken pot pie. My fiance and I love a good chicken pot pie. I like to alternate between pie crust and puff pastry. This recipe is pretty simple. Since I use store bought pie crust/puff pastry it cuts down on prep time. If you love a good chicken pot pie like I do, stay tuned!

Ingredients: 

1 medium onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 medium potato (I like to use gold), diced

4 oz mushrooms, diced (optional)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup flour

2-3 cups of rotisserie chicken chunks

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (1 teaspoon is using fresh)

1 box of either pie crust or puff pastry (pie crusts come circular while puff pastry comes rectangular)

1 egg, whip with a fork to make your egg wash

*you may choose to dice your veggies larger than how I diced mine.

Step 1:

In a large pan or Dutch oven, melt 6 tablespoons of butter. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, mushrooms and onions. Season with salt and and pepper and cook on medium low heat for 10 minutes.

Step 2:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Add flour to veggies and mix thoroughly and cook for 2 minutes. Then add chicken broth and mix again. Raise heat to medium high and add milk. Once the heat rises, you should notice the liquid thicken. If it is too thick add a bit more milk. Taste your filling, add salt if you like it saltier. Add chicken and thyme, mix, then add peas. I did not make mine with peas this time due to the mister's request.

Step 3:

Ladle in to ramekins for individual servings or a 9 by 13 baking pan. Do not fill all the way to the top, leave about 1/2 in to the top. If using ramekins cut circles that are slightly bigger than the ramekins so the dough hangs over the edge a bit. Brush a little but of egg wash around the edge of your ramekins or pan and place dough on top. Pinch lightly around the edges to make sure it sticks. Carefully cut a few small slits in the dough. Brush egg wash on top.

Step 4:

Place in oven, center rack or higher. Bake ramekins for 30-35 minutes until crust is golden brown. If using baking pan, bake for 50-55 minutes until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Ca Ri Ga)

Vietnamese Chicken Curry aka Ca Ri Ga is a dish that I loved to eat when I was still living with my parents. Once in a while, Chau and I will have a craving for curry and whip up a pot. If you like curry like I do, stay tuned to see how I made this curry.

Ingredients:
2 lbs chicken thighs (I used skinless, boneless), cut into 1 1/2-2 inch pieces
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut (see pic) - I used 4 since we like potatoes
2 carrots, peeled and cut (see pic)
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks of lemongrass, smashed and cut (see pic)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
2 cans of chicken broth, 14 oz each
2 can of water, use chicken broth can
1 red chili pepper, sliced (omit if you do not like spicy)
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
1 Tablespoon Madras curry powder, can add more to suit your taste (can be found at most Oriental food market in the spices aisle)
2 teaspoon sugar
1 can coconut milk or cream, we like to use coconut cream, the cans come in 14 or 17 oz, we like it coconutty so we use 17 oz.
Oil

Chicken marinade:
2 Tbsp Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon fish sauce or 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder or black pepper

 

Step 1:
Cut your chicken thighs into 1-2 inch pieces. Marinate with fish sauce or salt, pepper, curry, onion and garlic powder. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Step 2:
In a pot, lightly oil and saute garlic, onion and lemongrass for 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add bay leaves, chicken broth, water, fish sauce or salt, chicken bouillon powder, and 1 Tablespoon of curry powder. Mix well. Taste, you may add more curry powder to your taste. Be careful not to add too much. Turn heat on high.

Step 3:
In a large pan, lightly oil and sear your chicken then add to broth. In the same pan, lightly oil and saute carrots and potatoes. You want to lightly brown the carrots and potatoes on all sides before adding to the broth. This helps the carrots and potatoes stay intact after adding them to the broth.

Step 4:
Once the broth boils, turn down to medium low heat and simmer for additional 20 minutes. Add your coconut milk or cream. I prefer to use coconut cream instead of coconut milk. Stir gently to incorporate the coconut cream. Taste your broth, if you need more salt, add extra fish sauce or salt. Discard bay leaves and lemongrass before serving.

Traditionally, we eat Ca Ri Ga with french bread. Alternatively, you can serve with white rice or even vermicelli rice noddles. Good luck and enjoy!

Chicken Strips

So change of plans... I'll be making Bo Luc Lac later this week. Instead, I will be showing you how to make chicken strips. I served my chicken strips with fries (store bought) sprinkled with special seasoning. These chicken strips may be prepared ahead of time and kept in the freezer until ready to be fried.



Ingredients:
1.5 lbs of chicken breast, cut into 1 in strips
Vegetable oil for frying

wet batter:

• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk (can substitute water)
• 1 tsp Maggi or Knorr tomato chicken bullion powder, can substitute with all spice
• 2 tsp papikra
• 2 tsp garlic salt

dry batter:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 Tbsp pepper
• 1 Tbsp garlic powder
• gallon sized ziploc bag

Step 1
Cut chicken breast into 1 inch strips and soak them in a bowl of salt water for 15 minutes.

In the mean time, mix egg, milk, tomato chicken powder, paprika, and garlic salt in a large bowl. Soak chicken in wet batter for 15 minutes.


Step 2
While the chicken is soaking, prepare your dry batter. Mix flour, pepper, garlic powder in ziploc bag. Set aside.

Step 3
Once chicken is done soaking, place strips one by one in ziploc bag and let dry batter cover strips. Once all strips are in the bag, shake it up a bit. Place in freezer for at least 30 minutes - 1 hour.

Step 4
Heat oil about 5 minutes before chicken is ready. Take chicken strips out of freezer after 30 minutes - 1 hour. When oil is hot, add 3-4 strips in at one time. Fry until chicken is browned on both sides, aprrox. 5-7 minutes depending on how hot your stove is.

Step 5
Remove strips from oil; drain on paper towel. This is optional, but you can sprinkle the seasoning over the strips. Serve with ketchup or any desired sauce. Makes about 4 servings. If you want to only make 2 servings, fry up about 6 strips and store the rest in the freezer up for up to a week.

Special Seasoning for fries:

• 1 tsp Maggi or Knorr tomato chicken bullion powder, if you don't have this don't worry about it
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• pinch of McCormicks Season All
• pinch of dried basil