Chicken Pot Pie

I generally like to try out new recipes rather than continually repeating old ones, but there are a few recipes that I can't help but come back to again and again. Chicken pot pie is one of them. I use a recipe from my Aunt Suzanne, which I posted on the blog ages ago, but that was back before I posted recipes regularly, and I never took good photos, and I know I have a TON of new readers since then, so I thought I'd revisit it and share it again. It's super simple and great comfort food! 

Recipe from my Aunt Suzanne.
Ingredients: 1 small onion, diced 1 tsp minced garlic 2 tbsp butter 1 rotisserie chicken, deboned and shredded 1 bag mixed veggies, cooked (I use the "California blend" of carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower) 1 can cream of mushroom soup 1 can cream of chicken soup Italian seasoning, to taste black pepper, to taste 2 9-inch refrigerated pie crusts 1 egg white
Directions: 1. Heat butter in a large skillet. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent. 2. Add chicken, soups, and spices to the skillet. Mix to combine. 3. Place 1 pie crust in the bottom of a lightly-greased pie pan. Spoon in chicken mixture and top with remaining pie crust. Fold and shape the edges and cut slits in the top crust. 4. Put the egg white in a small bowl, then brush it on the top pie crust. 5. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

(bottom pie crust)

(veggie blend)

(diced onion)

(chicken deboned and shredded)

(adding chicken, veggies, and soups)

(mixing it all up...)

(filling in the pie crust)

(top crust...)

(edges crimped)

(pretty slits in the top)

(egg white)

(egg white brushed on the top)

(all done!)

(yummy chicken pot pie!)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Zucchini Sausage Casserole

Okay, so I forgot to take a picture of the finished product for this one, but I'm sharing it anyway because it's so yummy! Zucchini is a new favorite of mine (I thought I hated it for years, but apparently I actually like it), and this casserole is a great way to use it!

Recipe adapted from here. Ingredients: 1 lb pork sausage 4 medium zucchini (halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices) 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 oz) 8 oz sour cream 4 cups chicken-flavored stuffing mix 1/3 cup butter, melted
Directions: 1. In a large skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until browned. Drain off fat and return to skillet. 2. Add zucchini to skillet.  3. In a small bowl, combine soup and sour cream. Stir the mixture into the sausage mixture. 4. In a large bowl, combine stuffing mix and melted butter. Put half the stuffing mixture into the bottom of a lightly-greased 3-quart baking dish.  5. Spread the sausage mixture over the stuffing. Add the remaining stuffing mixture on top.  6. Bake, covered, for about 30 minutes (or until heated through).

(sausage and zucchini)

(soup + sour cream)

(ready for the oven...)

(butter + stuffing)

(stuffing in the bottom...)

(sausage mixture in the middle...)

[MISSING PHOTO OF CASSEROLE WITH THE OTHER HALF OF THE STUFFING ON TOP]

Oops. 

[MISSING PHOTO OF CASSEROLE FINISHED!]

Oops.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Mmm, bread. Bread is my favorite food group. And when I have a few bananas in the fridge that are getting brown spots, banana bread is my favorite part of my favorite food group!

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 2 cups white whole wheat flour 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 1 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 eggs, beaten 1/4 cup butter, melted 3 bananas, mashed 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions: 1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. 2. In a medium bowl, mix buttermilk, eggs, butter, and bananas. Pour mixture into dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. 3. Pour batter into two lightly greased 9x5 loaf pans (or one loaf pan and a muffin tin!) and bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes (or until a toothpick stuck in the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Muffins take about 20 minutes.

(wet ingredients)

(dry ingredients)

(adding chips to the mixture)

(ready for the oven!)

(mufins ready for the oven!)

(all done!)

(mmmm!)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Baked Okra

I love fried okra. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. But it's not all that good for you. So when I found this recipe for healthified baked okra that tastes like fried okra, I had to give it a try, and guess what? It satisfies that fried okra craving just as well as the original!

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 16oz frozen sliced okra, thawed 1 tsp Tony Chachere's seasoning (or other Cajun/creole seasoning) 1/2 tsp garlic salt 1 cup corn meal Canola oil spray 1 gallon-sized Ziploc bag
Directions: 1. Turn the Ziploc inside out and spray with canola spray. Pour the okra in the bag, and add the Cajun seasoning and garlic salt. Seal the bag VERY WELL, and shake vigorously.  2. Let the bag rest for 10 minutes. 3. Add corn meal to the bag and shake again. Pour okra over a strainer to the extra cornmeal will fall off. 4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the okra on the baking sheet in a single layer. Spray lightly with canola spray.  5. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Flip okra, and bake for 20 more minutes.

(sprayed Ziploc)

(thawed okra + spices)

(sitting for ten minutes)

(this is why you should make sure the bag is sealed really well... haha!)

(covered in corn meal!)

(after baking for ten minutes and flipping)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Cake

With Valentine's Day coming up, it's time to be looking for the perfect treat to bake! Well, look no further - this red velvet cake is SO delicious, and it's pretty easy to make! 

Recipe adapted from here.
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour 2 cups sugar 1 tbsp cocoa 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 2 eggs 1 1/2 cups oil 1 cup buttermilk 1 tbsp vinegar 2 tsp vanilla, divided 2 oz. red food coloring (yep, a whole two ounces!) 8 oz cream cheese (at room temperature) 1 cup butter (at room temperature) 6 cups powdered sugar
Directions: 1. Stir eggs in a bowl with a whisk. Add oil, buttermilk, vinegar, 1 tsp vanilla, and food coloring, and whisk until combined. 2. Place flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, and baking soda in the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to mix.  3. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on medium-high for about 2 minutes (or until mixed). 4. Pour into two greased round cake pans. Drop each pan on the counter a few times to release air bubbles. 5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean (start checking after 25 minutes). Let cakes cool in the pans for ten minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. 6. While cakes are baking, make the frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter together until creamy. Add remaining tsp vanilla. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing until smooth.  7. After the cakes cool, stack 'em and frost 'em! 

(dry ingredients)

(oil, buttermilk, etc.)

(with food coloring added in)

(mixing the wet and the dry)

(finished batter!)

(frosted and ready to go!)

(ahhh! look at that beautiful cake!)

Ta-da!

Enjoy!