Pot Pies

This is a reminder recipe, you can find the original post here.  These are a favorite this time of year, warm, hearty and HEALTHY!  Enjoy,

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Pot Pies

So as you can tell by now, we hope, we tend to pick recipes that are healthy and crave worthy and we HEART Ellie Krieger.  She always does just this, and these pot pies are SO amazing, they’ve been a staple in our kitchen for a couple of years now.  We finally got actual mini pie dishes, thank you Katie and Aaron, off our wedding registry so here they are to flaunt all their goodness in gorgeous little pie plates.  We used to use 2 cup pirex glass bowls and they can easily be stored with their lids as left over lunch too.  The photo is just from the iPhone and we will be working on getting our in home studio up and running again, ahem.  She uses all green veggies in this- leeks, green beans, peas and parsley- not only are they amazing together, it looks gorgeous too.

 

Pot Pies, Serves 4

Recipe provided courtesy of Ellie Krieger. © 2008-2009 In Balance, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ingredients:

• 1-1⁄4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 1⁄2-inch chunks
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 leeks, bottom 4 inches only, trimmed, washed well, and chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1⁄2 cup)
• 2 medium white potatoes, left unpeeled and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
• 1⁄2 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1⁄2-inch pieces ( you can also use frozen= faster)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1-1⁄2 cups nonfat milk
• 1⁄3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup peas, thawed if frozen
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 3 sheets frozen phyllo dough, thawed ( 7 or 9 work well)
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat 4 individual-size baking dishes with cooking spray.
2. Season the chicken with 1⁄4 teaspoon of the salt and 1⁄4 teaspoon of the pepper. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and brown, about 2-1⁄2 minutes per side. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
3. Add 2 more teaspoons of oil, the leeks, and celery to the pan and cook, stirring a few times, until the vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the potatoes, green beans, garlic, and the remaining 3⁄4 teaspoon salt and 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring to combine everything. Add the milk. Stir the flour into the broth until dissolved and add to the pan. Cook, stirring, until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken, peas, parsley, and thyme. Spoon the mixture into the baking dishes.
4. Put the remaining 1-2⁄3 tablespoons oil in a small bowl. Unroll the phyllo dough and cut it into quarters. Place a quarter-sheet on top of each baking dish and brush with the oil. Repeat layering with all three layers. Tuck the edges of the phyllo into the dish rim. Sprinkle the top of each pie with the Parmesan.
5. Place on a baking sheet and bake until the filling is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Serve hot.

 

Potato and Leek Bisque

This is a gem of a recipe from our very new Eating Well Cookbook!  It’s a great velvety smooth, thick, rich creamy potato soup ( think delicious mashed potatoes!)- next time we’ll keep some potatoes chunky and add some peas and lean ham to give it more stew texture and mix this up a bit.

Potato-Leek Bisque
8 servings, about 1 cup each

adapted from Eating Well

Bisque
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds leeks, white and light green parts only, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced
3 cups nonfat milk
2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste
2 ounces grated Parmesan
Thinly sliced fresh chives for garnish

Croutons
1/4 cup minced pitted Kalamata olives
3 anchovies, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
8 slices baguette, toasted

Preparation

1.To prepare bisque: Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add leeks and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender but not brown, 20 to 30 minutes. Adjust heat as necessary and add a bit of water if needed to prevent sticking. Set aside 1/3 cup of the leeks in a small bowl.

2.Add garlic and red pepper flakes, stir for a minute then add potatoes, milk and broth to the pot. Bring to a simmer (do not boil) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are very tender, 15 minutes.

3.To prepare croutons: Meanwhile, add olives, anchovies and black pepper to the reserved leeks; mix well. Divide evenly among the toasted baguette slices.

4.When the potatoes are tender, remove from the heat. Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in batches in a regular blender. (Use caution when pureeing hot liquids.) Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, lemon juice and white pepper. Divide among 8 soup bowls and float a crouton on top of each. Garnish with chives and Parmesan, if desired.

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