Cast Iron Skillet Chicken Pot Pie

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Yes, it’s almost spring, but there’s still time for comfort food!  This pot pie is one of my favourites….it’ll make you feel warm and satisfied, but still has a nice fresh flavour.

Chicken Pot Pie

Yields 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

4-6 chicken breasts, approx. 1.5lbs

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter

4 carrots, peeled and diced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-3 tbsp flour, all purpose

3 tbsp milk or heavy cream

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup frozen peas

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1 egg

salt and pepper, to taste

12” cast iron pan

Method:

  1. Cut chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes.  Season with salt and pepper.
  2. Preheat oven to 400F.
  3. On the stove top, heat the pan over medium-high heat, add oil and when pan is heated, add chicken.  Saute  chicken until slightly browned, but not cooked fully through.  Add butter, carrots, onion and garlic.  Stir occasionally until veggies are soft, approx. 5 minutes.
  4. Add flour.  Use a whisk to stir into the veggies.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Test for seasoning and adjust as necessary.
  5. Gradually whisk in milk/cream and then chicken stock.  Sauce will thicken as it heats.  Thicken with additional flour based on how your like your sauce, just remember to ‘cook’ the flour.
  6. Add frozen corn and peas.  Heat through and then remove from stove.
  7. Roll out puff pastry into a 12-14” diameter circle.  Place over the top of the pot pie and mold edges to the side of the pan (like a pie crust).
  8. Whisk egg in a small bowl.  Brush crust with egg wash.  Using the tip of a knife, cut 5 or 6 slits on the top of the crust.  This allows steam to escape!
  9. Bake 20-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.  Remove from oven, let cool 5 minutes and set it right on the table!  Cast iron is beautiful and doubles as serve ware…one less dirty dish.

Serve with a tossed green salad!

Enjoy!

Note:   Many chicken pot pie recipes call for thyme…I often use it in mine.  This recipe has a nice fresh flavour without any added herbs, try it!

Unexpected Guests?? …

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… Whip up a Quick Crab Dip and see what they say!

It can happen any time…  Maybe you’re at the cottage or you’re just hanging out at home and next thing you know, you have unexpected guests!  Here is a quick dip that tastes great and makes your guests feel just like you’ve been waiting for them to arrive!  Most of the ingredients are ones I have on hand or keep in the pantry.

Quick Crab Dip

Ingredients

1  8oz pkg cream cheese (light or regular)

3 spring onions, finely chopped

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (or to taste)

1/2 cup seafood sauce (hot tastes best)

1  188g  can crab meat or 1/2 cup fresh

1 Tbsp fresh chopped parsley or 1 tsp dried parsley flakes

Method

Combine all ingredients until smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Garnish with a sprig of fresh parsley and serve with a variety of crackers and veggies.

This is a quick and easy appetizer to serve dockside with cocktails or by the fireplace on a cold winter night!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Cashews

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This is a super easy weeknight dinner and can be easily doubled to serve more people!

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil (olive, grapeseed, etc.)

1 small onion or 2 medium shallots

3 carrots shredded (approx. 1 cup)

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

3-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups shredded (or diced) cooked chicken breast (approx. 1 lb)

3 tbsp soya sauce

1/4 cup real maple syrup

1/2 cup lightly toasted cashews, roughly chopped

1 tsp sesame oil

1 small can water chestnuts, sliced

1 large head Boston lettuce or leaf lettuce, washed and dried

1 cup dipping/drizzling sauce – store bought or see recipe below

Method:

  1. Heat oil in a medium sized saute pan at medium temperature. Add onion and carrots, stirring gently until softened (approx. 5 minutes).  Add garlic and pepper, stirring for an additional couple of minutes until garlic is also softened.
  2. Add chicken and stir until heated through before stirring in soya sauce, sesame oil and maple syrup. Allow mixture to come to a simmer, then toss in toasted cashews and water chestnuts and heat through.  Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary!
  3. Allow to cool slightly. Arrange lettuce leaves and add 2-3 tbsp of chicken mixture to each leaf, adjust accordingly.  Drizzle with sauce and serve!

Variations:

Add 2 green onion, finely chopped, before serving

 

Dipping Sauce

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

 1 tbsp ketchup

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 tsp mustard powder

red chile paste to taste

Combine all ingredients.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Super Easy Chocolate Chip Muffins

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Need a quick breakfast for the kids, something for a breakfast crowd or a little sweet treat for tea?  These muffins are quick, easy and tasty.  Best of all, you can modify them so they’re healthier or so picky kids like them.  I often use blueberries instead of chocolate chips, or sometimes along with the chocolate chips!

Super Quick Chocolate Chip Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour (can use half white and half whole wheat)

1/2 cup palm sugar (or white sugar, if you don’t have this)

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup sour cream (or left over yogurt works, too!)

1/3 cup sunflower or vegetable oil

1 large egg

2/3 cup chocolate chips or frozen blueberries

2 tbsp sugar (brown or palm) for dusting at end

1.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Line muffin tins with paper cups.

2.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl.  Add chocolate chips and stir.  If you’re using blueberries, add them after the wet or you’ll have a purple mess!

3.  In a small bowl, combine milk, sour cream, egg and oil.

4.  Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just combined. It will appear a bit dry, but don’t overwork them.   Scoop batter into muffin cups (approx. 2/3 full).  Sprinkle some brown sugar over each muffin.

5.  Bake 18-20 minutes or until cake tester comes out dry.  Do not over bake!

Best served warm, but they’re pretty good in your lunch box, too!

Yield 12-15 muffins.

**Note:  I use a lot of organic palm sugar in my baking.  It is supposed to be lower GI and a bit healthier for you.  It gives your baking an almost caramel-like flavour, so you will have a slightly different result with other sugars!

It feels like salad time!!

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Here is another favourite that will put a smile on your face…tastes delicious and super easy to make, the perfect combination!

Celery and Apple Salad

Ingredients

1 bunch celery  (with leaves, if available)

2 Granny Smith Apples

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped

1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled or cut into small cubes

1/4 cup light tasting oil, ie. safflower or light olive oli

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Prepare vinaigrette by whisking oil, lemon juice, mustard and honey.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Chop celery into bite size chunks.  Include leaves, if you have them.

Cut apples into eighths and then cut each wedge into bite sized triangles (see pic, if you can’t visualise this :)).

Arrange celery, apple, walnuts and cheese on a platter.  Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve!

Makes 4 lunch sized salads or can be easily doubled/tripled for a crowd!  This salad looks great on a buffet.

Chocolate Brownie Cookies!

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Sometimes you need a little lift…and quick!   These cookies are fast and easy.  They’re great in lunches or for dessert and since they have some whole wheat flour, you even feel kind of healthy!  If you don’t have white chocolate chips, use all semi sweet.  The white just make the cookies look less like plops!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4  cup semi sweet chocolate chips

3/4 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional or sub for other nuts)

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. Cream butter and brown sugar. Add vanilla and eggs, beating until fluffy again.
  3. Sift together flours, cocoa, soda and salt.  Add in 3 parts to butter mixture, stirring well after each addition.
  4. Add chocolate chips and walnuts, stirring to distribute.
  5. Using a cookie scoop (ie. mini ice cream scoop or use a teaspoon), drop onto baking sheets. Bake for 8-9 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool before placing on a cooling rack.  Be careful not to overbake…they will keep their brownie like texture!

Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 4 dozen small cookies!

These make a quick dessert and are delicious with ice cream!  Enjoy!

Pulled Pork – Yum Yum!

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Sometimes we just need a little comfort food!  This recipe is one that I use a lot at the cottage, but my family also likes it throughout the year.  You can often find the big pork loins on sale, so grab a large one and double up the recipe.  You’ll have enough for a big crowd or you can divide it into several meals that you can pull out of the freezer!

Easy Pulled Pork
3-4 pounds pork loin
2 Tbsp Seasoning Salt (email me for a quick homemade recipe)
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2-3 cups BBQ Sauce — any kind, but I like homemade best 🙂
Trim pork loin of any excess fat.  Sprinkle with Seasoning Salt and pat well.  If you don’t have seasoning salt, just use your favourite seasonings, especially garlic powder, salt and pepper, paprika.  Any excess seasoning will simply ‘fall off’ the loin.
Preheat a large cast iron skillet or enamel covered casserole, ie. Le Creuset, adding approx. 1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil. Sear all sides of the pork loin.  This provides a ‘seal’ before you add to your crock pot.
Add meat to crock pot…no further liquids are usually required because juice from pork will drain.  If you’re nervous, add 1/2 cup water!  Cook on LOW 7-8 hours (HIGH 4-5 hours). (Alternately, slow roast in a covered casserole/Dutch oven for 2-3 hours at 325F).  Pork should almost fall apart when it is ‘done’.  Remove from crock pot and shred meat with 2 forks. Test for seasoning…adjust to your personal taste.  Drain excess fat from crock pot and return meat to the pot.  Add 2-3 cups of your favourite BBQ sauce.  I’ve included one I really like below, although I usually cut the white sugar by half and sub for all brown…if you like it smokey, add 1 tsp liquid smoke for a more ‘southern’ feel!
I serve my pulled pork with coleslaw on fresh rolls!
Serves 4-6
BBQ Sauce recipes are all over the internet.  If I don’t have a jar of the bottled stuff on hand, I often just wing it and throw a bunch of things together.  Those of you who’ve been to the cottage, know that sometimes you just go with the flow.  The recipe below is one that can be adjusted to your own tastes or used as is.  It’s straightforward and tasty and can be easily doubled to keep the extra in the fridge!
Neely’s BBQ Sauce
Total Time:  1 hr 20 min
Prep:  5 min
Cook:  1 hr 15 min
Yield:  3 1/2 cups
Level:Easy
Ingredients
2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Recipe courtesy The Neelys

A Quick Dinner so you can get out and Enjoy Spring!

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Here is a super easy recipe that you can have on the table in under an hour, or make ahead and have it ready for when you need it!  Perfect for days like today when the warm weather is finally kicking in and the days are getting longer!


Honey Garlic and Sesame Chicken
3 pounds chicken legs, trimmed well (or thighs!)
3 large cloves of garlic, minced (or 4-5 medium)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soya sauce
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1-2 Tbsp hot sauce (I use Frank’s or Tabasco)
2 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste
________________________________________

Combine garlic, honey, soya sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds and hot sauce in freezer bag. Gently combine ingredients in the bag. Add chicken and coat well with sauce.
If you’re eating this right away, pour contents on to parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake at 350F for approx. 30 minutes or until juices run clear and sauce starts to turn golden.
If you’re saving this for later, seal bag well, removing as much air as possible. Lay flat in fridge or freezer until ready to use.  Allow to defrost and then follow cooking instructions above.

Serve with  brown rice and a crisp green salad, steamed carrots or snap peas.

Serves 4-5 as written, but can be easily doubled or tripled to accommodate your crowd!
Enjoy!

Why, oh why?

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Well, as I said in my initial post, this blog got started because of the many requests we’ve had for recipes and ideas at the cottage.  Who am I?  I’m a mom of three busy teenagers who eat a lot!  I’ve always loved cooking and have tried, since the time the kids were little, to use as many all natural ingredients as possible.  Easy, right?  Not really, we’ve moved a lot…around Canada and in the UK, so ‘go with the flow’ is often a chant I say to myself when I’m standing in a brand new grocery store looking for inspiration.  So what happened?  Well, I’ve somehow managed to get my family to eat a huge variety of diverse foods, eat well (most of the time) and learned to feed large crowds at the same time!  Why? Well it turns out I really like doing it.  It’s hard to beat that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when your guests or family lean back with a satisfied smile on their face and say, hmm, good.  So…I figure if I like that feeling, there must be others out there that like it, too.  Now, if someone asks for a recipe, I’m trying to add it to thecottagecrowd.com, so that they can easily find it and refer back to it, if they need to.  What have I learned?  Well, the biggest thing is that I know more about some things than I thought AND I know less about other things.  The learning curve is huge, but I’m getting there.  This blogging thing has been a chance to get a different part of my brain working (& yes, sometimes there is smoke), but I’m navigating my way through and hopefully improving every time.

Feel free to email me with any questions or leave a comment.  I know there are others out there just like me!  And please, try the recipes and let me know what you think!