Chicken Pot Pie . . . from scratch

One of my favorite comfort food meals is Chicken Pot Pie.  As a child, I would beg my mom to buy lots of those frozen chicken pot pies for lunch when I was home for the summer . . . and I would eat one every day if I had my say.  I still could!

I've given up the frozen pot pies and have moved up to semi-homemade chicken pot pie, using Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup, chicken, vegetables and a refrigerated pie crust.  So much better than the frozen ones.

Even better is made from scratch chicken pot pie for those days you want to linger in the chicken and make something special.  Semi-homemade is awesome, but made from scratch is super awesome!

Try it when you have some time on your hands for cooking something special . . . make a pie crust from scratch if you have lots of time on your hands.

Ingredients:

• 1 rotisserie chicken OR 3 cups cubed cooked chicken
• 1/3 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1-1/2 cups sliced carrots
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 cup frozen baby peas
• 1 refrigerated pie crust
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Remove chicken from rotisserie chicken and cube; set aside.

In large saucepan, melt butter. Add onion and garlic; sauté and stir 3-4 minutes. Add celery and sliced carrots; cook and stir 3-5 minutes longer until crisp-tender.

Add flour, salt, pepper, and thyme; cook 2-3 minutes until bubbly. Add broth, stirring well, then add evaporated milk. Simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens.

Add Monterey Jack cheese and stir until melted. Remove from heat and add peas and chicken. Pour into 2-quart round casserole dish and top with pie crust. Seal crust to edges of casserole and cut slits in top crust to vent steam.

Brush crust with 1 tablespoon milk and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for 40-50 minutes until crust is golden brown and filling bubbles. Cool 10-15 minutes before serving.

Source

Fruit Pies Recipe Guide and more

Fruit pies and tarts are delicious sweet treats that can be as simple or difficult to make as you want . . . the choice is yours!  The fastest and easiest is pre-made refrigerator pie crust with fruit pie filling . . . however, the possibilities are endless.

This post will take you to articles I have found all over the internet . . .

Pillsbury knows how to do fruit pies and they have a ton of ideas and recipes . . . many are quick and easy!

About.com's section on Southern Cooking has all types of fruit pie recipes!

Collection of fruit dessert recipes from The Food Network

"How-to" videos for fruit pies

Collection of fruit pies and lots of tips from Epicurious

Fruit pies and tarts from Food and Wine

Top 10 Fruit Pies from Chew On That

Demeter Clarc on Pies

5 Simple Steps to Fantastic Fruit Pies from Zesty Cook 

Gorgeous pies and tarts for the holidays from Better Homes and Gardens

Impressive fruit pies and tarts made easy 

Gina's pie board from Pinterest

Pumpkin Mania

Pumpkin Mania has taken over the food blogs and websites!  This past week I could not go cruising around the internet without running into pumpkin delights, crafts and decorating ideas for Halloween.

I will be featuring pumpkin recipes on this post as I did last year . . . I'll post them as I find them!

Fun Home Things has 10 pumpkin recipes posted!

In My Own Style wants to teach you how to carve a pumpkin with a hot knife for your Halloween decorating . . . use the pumpkin inside for your recipes :)

Pumpkin carving tips from HGTV

Pumpkin Butter from The Gracious Pantry

20 Ways to cook your pumpkin seeds from SusieQT Pies Cafe

Pumpkin Magic Bars from Bakers Royale

Starbucks Pumpkin Pound Cake from Something Swanky

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles from Key Ingredient

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars Recipe from Taste of Home

Pumpkin Cookies from HGTV

Skinny Pumpkin Muffins from I Should Be Mopping The Floor

SusieQTPies Cafe presents Top 10 Yummy Mummy Halloween Recipes and Halloween Crafts

Pumpkin Bread from Alexandra's Kitchen

Stuffed Jack O'Lantern Bell Peppers . . . one of my older posts

Click here to go last year's post on Lots of Pumpkin Recipes!

Bourbon Caramel Pumpkin Tart

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Pumpkin Croissant Bread Pudding with Pecans

Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Cinnamon Cream

Amy's Pumpkin Board on Pinterest

Ernesto's Random-Cut Pasta with Sausage Sauce

Taccozze con Salsiccia

PASTA

2 1/2 cups finely ground durum semolina flour, plus additional if needed
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm filtered water
1 teaspoon Filippo Berio extra-virgin olive oil

Place the four and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and whirl the mixture to blend. With the motor running, slowly pour the water through the feed tube. Add the olive oil and continue processing until a ball of dough is formed that is moist and holds together. If the dough seems too dry, add a few drops of water and pulse.

Gather up the dough and knead it for a few minutes on a wooden surface, adding a little flour only if the dough is sticking to your hands. Cover the dough with a bowl and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into quarters and work with one piece of dough at a time; keep the remaining pieces covered.

Roll the dough out into a rough circle or rectangle shape approximately 1/8-inch thick. With a sharp knife, cut across the dough so that you make strips about 1 1/2-inches wide. Then cut the strips into either squares, diamonds, or triangles. Put the finished shapes onto a floured towel, sprinkling them with a bit of flour to keep them from clumping together. Repeat the process until all the dough is used. Let the shapes dry for about 10 minutes before cooking.

Cook the shapes in salted water for about 4 minutes, just until al dente.

SAUCE

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage flavored with fennel, removed from the casing and broken up
1 small red onion, chopped
1 Little Devil hot red pepper, chopped, or more or less to taste
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup prepared tomato sauce
Salt to taste
Pecorino cheese, grated, for sprinkling

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan and add the sausage. Cook until the sausage is browned. Add the onion and cook for another minute or two. Add the hot pepper and cook for another minute. Add the wine and cook the sauce until most of the wine evaporates. Add the tomato sauce. Taste and add salt if necessary. Keep the sauce warm while the pasta cooks.

Drain the pasta and add it to the pan with the sauce along with about 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Mix well to coat the pasta and serve immediately with the grated cheese for sprinkling over the top.

Ernesto used a 2002 Masserie Flocco, Chardonnay "Podere del Canneto" in this recipe.

item recipe is featured on Ciao Italia in Episode 1524 of Season 15.

Watch Ciao Italia

with Mary Ann Esposito

Click here to find your local station

Ciao Italia, Mary Ann's website