Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

I am a huge fan of meals that can be made in one (or two) pots. The fewer dishes, the better! My least favorite kitchen chore is doing the dishes. In fact, when Hubby is on his weekend, the dishes are his job. He knows I hate doing them, but when he works, it's on me since he leaves right after we finish eating. One more reason I really, really look forward to his weekends!

This skillet chicken pot pie is a wonderful, one pot dish that is a huge crowd pleaser. When it comes out of the oven, it looks so yummy and amazing, you really feel like you've got a handle on the whole cooking thing. Look what I made! Look how pretty! It looks delicious and smells like heaven! Yep, it's a good one.

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

12-inch cast iron skillet
3-4 cups cooked, shredded chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 shallot, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
6 sage leaves, finely chopped
1/3 cup flour
4 cups chicken stock
2/3 cup half and half
4 cups frozen veggies, thawed (I like a mix of carrots, peas, and corn)
Salt and pepper
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 425 º. Heat oil and butter in the cast iron skillet on medium-low heat. Add shallots and sauté for 3 minutes, then add garlic and sage and cook for 30 seconds. Add flour, stir to coat. (You can add a drizzle of extra oil here, if necessary). Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add broth 1/2 cup at a time, whisking as you go. Whisk in half and half and season with salt and pepper. Increase heat to medium high and cook for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Add the veggies and chicken and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper, as needed.

Unroll the thawed puff pastry onto the top of the skillet. Carefully pinch down the edges (the skillet is warm!) and brush with the beaten egg. Cut a few lines in the pastry sheet to vent. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 375º and bake for 5-7 minutes longer until the top is nicely browned. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then slice and serve. Enjoy!

Blackberry Cobbler

Blackberry cobbler and ice cream are the perfect combination!

I have a confession to make. I used to hate blackberries. My mom would make blackberry pie and I would turn up my nose. Too many seeds! Not sweet enough! I don't like pie! (To be completely honest, I still don't like pie very much. Crust is just really not my thing.) Maybe it was the seeds. Maybe it was the child labor involved to harvest the berries. Maybe it was the scratches from the thorns and the bee stings. I really don't know where the dislike started, but I have since changed my mind about blackberries. They are plump, juicy, and delicious, especially in this cobbler.

Hello, Delicious!

The cobbler topping on this was so good. We sprinkled some raw sugar (turbinado sugar) on top before baking, so the topping ended up soft and pillowy in the middle with a slightly crunchy top layer from the sugar. Perfection. The first time I made this, we used too many blackberries (7-8 cups instead of 6) and it didn't thicken up well. We made it again, and were careful to use only 6 cups of berries, and it turned out perfectly. This is a great summertime dessert-and a perfect Pacific Northwest treat!

Blackberry Cobbler
*Adapted from Tasty Kitchen

1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter
1/3 cup boiling water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/3 cup cold water
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest from one lemon
6 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed and drained
1-2 teaspoons turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 400º. In a large bowl, mix flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the butter in pieces and use a pastry cutter or two forks to cut it into the flour mixture, until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the boiling water until the mixture is just evenly moist. Set aside.

In a large bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water.  Add the berries, remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Transfer to a skillet and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Allow to boil for about 5 minutes, or until it starts to thicken. Transfer to a baking dish (I used a 9x11 oval baking dish and it worked perfectly). Drop the dough on top by spoonful and sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top.

Bake 25 minutes, until dough is golden brown. Enjoy with a generous scoop of ice cream!

Yes, this smells as good as it looks!

Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie

Hubs has been working a lot of overtime lately, so he decided to take a few days off last week. We had 6 glorious days in which I didn't have to worry about him or do the mostly-single parent thing; it was amazing. We spent lots of family time together, which was great. We went hiking, garage sale-ing, and checked out a few of the local street fairs. Our area also boasts the largest Scottish Highland Games this side of the Mississippi, which just happened to be on the weekend Hubs took off.

If you've never gone to a Highland Games event, you should. It was so much fun! There were bagpipers, dancers, dogs, clan booths, and yummy food. I mean REALLY yummy food. Hubs tried haggis (here's an explanation of what haggis is). Em tried it too, and really liked it. Because all 21-month-old toddlers like haggis. She's an odd little duck! I tried it too, but I was much more excited about my steak and mushroom pot pie. Fall-apart meat and mushrooms in a rich, hearty gravy topped with a puff pastry crust. Yep, doesn't get much better than that! I promised Hubs that I would try to replicate it as soon as possible. It was that good. Well, today I found a recipe that seemed very promising and with just a couple of very small tweaks, I made something that we absolutely loved. This one goes in the permanent recipe file, for sure. And, all in all, it was pretty darn easy too!

Steak and Mushroom Pot Pie

*Very slightly adapted from Simply Delicious

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp olive oil

3 1/2 pounds stew beef (or cut chuck steak into chunks, bone removed)

2 shallots, diced

3 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt and pepper

2 bay leaves

2 cups beef stock

1 tbsp worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 cup milk

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed

1 egg, beaten

Melt butter and olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in batches, making sure not to crowd the pot; season each batch with salt and pepper. This takes between 3-5 minutes total, per batch.

In the same pot, sauté the carrots, celery, and onion until soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes, making sure to scrape up all the yummy bits from the bottom of the pan. 

Add in the garlic and mushrooms and sauté for 8 minutes. Then add the paprika, thyme, rosemary, oregano, bay leaves, and salt and pepper, to taste. Stir well.

Add the beef back into the pot, juice and all. Pour in the stock and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low. Cover the pot and allow it to simmer gently for 1 1/2-2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 355º. 

When the meat is very tender (it falls apart easily with a fork), add worcestershire sauce and taste for seasoning. Add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Turn up the heat to medium-high. Whisk together the cornstarch and milk, and pour this mixture into the pot. Simmer rapidly to thicken, about 10 minutes.

Butter the bottom and sides of a large baking dish. Press one sheet of puff pastry into the bottom of the dish and up the sides. Pour in the beef mixture. Top with the second sheet of puff pastry and pinch the edges together with the bottom sheet. Brush with beaten egg and cut two slits in the top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the pastry is browned. Enjoy!

Chicken, Leek, and Shallot Pot Pie

Have you ever been intimidated by a certain fruit or veggie in the produce section of your grocery store? Well, that's how I felt about leeks until we had them in what felt like every dish while in France. Leeks are a staple there, so every time I eat them, I can close my eyes and pretend that we're back in a café eating quiche full of this mild onion-flavored veggie.

For Hubby and I, France means happiness, so I thought a dish with some French flavors would be perfect for our Valentine's Day dinner. We loved this turkey pot pie, so I adapted it using chicken, shallots, and leeks to make this delicious, filling, and slightly fancy main dish. It was a definite hit!

And it really did make us think of France, which made for a very romantic dinner. And then he went to work . . . Eh, the life of a cop's wife.

Anyway, bottom line: This dish is yummy! And it's a really lovely presentation, so it would make a great dish for a dinner party too!

Chicken, Leek, and Shallot Pot Pie
*By me!

3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (about 2 1/2 cups)
2 refrigerated pie crusts, thawed (let them sit on the counter while you make the filling)
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon parsley
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Pinch of salt
Pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 cups Southern style cubed potatoes, thawed and warmed in the microwave
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Heat oven to 425º. Slice leeks and mince shallot.

 Melt a little bit of butter in a skillet and add leeks and shallots. Sauté for about 5 minutes on medium heat, until tender. Add in minced garlic and cook for about 1 minute longer, then remove from heat and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt butter and whisk in flour to make a roux. Cook for 3 minutes, whisking frequently. Gradually add in milk and chicken broth, whisking to combine.

Stir in seasonings and cook until bubbly and thickened. 

 Add in chicken, warmed potatoes, leeks, shallots, and garlic. Stir to combine.

 Roll out one pie crust into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Press into the bottom of the dish and spoon the filling onto the crust.

 Top with the second crust, pinch and flute the edges. You can use any excess crust to decorate the top of the pie. Cut several slits in the top of the crust. Separate the yolk from one egg and discard. Brush the top of the crust with the egg white.

 Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. During the last 15-20 minutes cooking, cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent excess browning. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Turkey Pot Pie

At the end of our faux-Thanksgiving dinner party, we had an entire turkey breast left over. All of the turkey tips I read said to have about a pound of turkey per guest and we had 6 guests (our 7th couldn't make it), so I made 2 5-pound turkey breasts. I was really happy to see how much we had leftover though, since it meant I got to make turkey pot pie. I'm not sure where this recipe came from, but it is SO GOOD. Like lick-your-lips-like-crazy good. There are two pieces left in the fridge and they are calling my name . . .

Turkey Pot Pie

2 refrigerated pie crusts, thawed (let them sit on the counter while you are making the filling)

1/3 cup butter or margarine

1/3 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Pinch of nutmeg

1 3/4 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup milk

2 1/2 cups shredded turkey (or chicken)

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

1 egg

Heat oven to 425 degrees. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour to make a roux. Cook for 3 minutes, whisking frequently. Gradually add in milk and chicken broth, whisking to combine.

Stir in seasonings.

Continue cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables.

Roll out one crust into a 9-inch glass pie dish. Press into the bottom of the dish. Spoon chicken and vegetable mixture onto the crust.

Top with a second crust, seal and flute the edges. Cut several slits in the top of the crust. Separate the yolk from one egg and discard. Brush the top of the crust with the egg white.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes until the crust is golden brown. During the last 15-20 minutes of cooking cover the edges of the crust with foil to prevent excessive browning.

Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

For our wedding, Nick and I decided that a regular wedding cake wasn't what we wanted. Cakes are dry and boring and didn't fit with our Thanksgiving themed dinner. So we had pumpkin cheesecake for dessert. And it was amazing! This cheesecake was also yummy, although a little difficult to get out of the pan. A lot of the crust stayed in the pan, in fact, but it was still delicious. I can't wait to make it again!

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

38 ginger snaps

1/4 cup pecans

1/4 butter, melted

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 cups pumpkin purée

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup whipped cream

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Heat oven to 325 degrees. In a food processor, crush ginger snaps and pecans. Mix with melted butter and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with a mixer until blended. Add pumpkin, spice, and vanilla and mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each one just until blended. Pour into crust.

Bake 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is almost set. Loosen cake from the rim of the pan. Cool completely before removing the sides of the pan. Refrigerate 4 hours.

Top with cool whip and a dusting of nutmeg. Enjoy!

Apple Dumplings

This one came from Trisha Yearwood's cookbook Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood and wow, it is amazing. And easy! It was delicious straight out of the oven with a little whipped cream. Then I took the leftovers to my parents' house and they re-heated the dumplings and added vanilla ice cream. My dad couldn't stop raving about these babies! He loved them and so do I. It was like eating your own personal apple pie and I will be making this again and again and again and . . .

Apple Dumplings
*From Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood

2 Granny Smith apples
1 cup water
1 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (I used half a stick and it was still delicious)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
8 canned buttermilk biscuits (the dough, not precooked)
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Peel, core, and slice the apples into 8 slices each. Cover with water to keep slices from turning brown.

In a medium saucepan, mix the water, 3/4 cup sugar, butter, and vanilla. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat.

Separate each biscuit into two layers. Wrap a biscuit layer around a slice of apple, stretching the biscuit slightly to overlap and seal on the bottom. Place the wrapped slices, seal side down, in a greased 9x13 casserole dish.

Pour the hot sugar mixture over the apple slices. Don't panic when it looks like a hot mess. It will be good, trust me. Mix the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top of the dumplings.

Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream and enjoy!

Caramel Apple Pie

What's more American than apple pie? I made this dish for the 4th of July and it was delicious. Sweet from the caramel sauce, tart from the Granny Smith apples, and a little spicy with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Add all that to the fact that it is pretty easy to make with a store-bought deep dish pie crust and you've got a real winner. I didn't take many photos because I was pressed for time, but trust me when I say this was GOOD!

Caramel Apple Pie

1 9-inch deep dish pie crust
8 Granny Smith apples, peeled and sliced thinly, about 1/4 inch thickness
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Pinch nutmeg

For the topping:
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the flour to create a paste. Add water, white sugar, and brown sugar and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for five minutes. Meanwhile, place the apples in a large mixing bowl. Add cinnamon and nutmeg and toss. Pour apples into the pie crust. They will create a large mound, which will cook down. Add the caramel sauce, pouring slowly so that it doesn't run off. Make the topping by melting the butter and adding the flour and brown sugar. Mix to combine and sprinkle on top of the pie.


Bake for 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 35-45 minutes or until the apples are soft.

Banana Cream Pie for Father's Day

When I asked my dad what he wanted for Father's Day, his response was: Banana cream pie. I've never made a pie from scratch before, but my dad was worth the effort. And it was an effort. For starters, our Pillsbury dough didn't make it through the baking process. I didn't push it high enough up the side of the pie plate and it slid down while baking. Round 2: send husband to the store for a pre-made crust. Unfortunately, I forgot to specify that I needed a deep dish crust. The crumb crust he brought home=no good. Thankfully, I remembered that I had a pre-made deep dish pie crust in my freezer, so I thawed that out and shoved it in the oven to cook. All of this occurred about an hour before we had to leave to go my parents' for their Father's Day celebration. Despite the fiasco, this was a delicious pie. My dad loved it and my Papa scarfed down a huge piece too. This one is definitely in my permanent file!

Banana Cream Pie

1 9-inch deep dish pie shell, baked
3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon banana extract
3 bananas plus one for decorating
Whipped cream

In a large saucepan, scald the milk. To scald milk means to bring it to almost boiling. But don't let it boil!

In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually stir in into the scalded milk. Over medium heat, stirring constantly, cook until thickened. You'll know it's done when you lift the spoon and a thick coating remains. It will be the consistency of custard. Cover, and stirring occasionally, cook for two minutes longer. In a small bowl, have the 3 slightly beaten egg yolks ready. Stir a small amount of the hot mixture into the beaten yolks to temper. When thoroughly combined, stir the yolks into the hot mixture. Cook one minute longer, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and blend in butter and banana extract. Let the mixture sit until lukewarm.

When you're ready to pour, slice three bananas and scatter in the cooked pie shell. Pour the warm mixture over the bananas. Refrigerate until cool.

Top with whipped cream and sliced bananas before serving. Enjoy!