because we always do what we're told

So our lovely winner, Angel, suggested that we make either a turkey pot pie or some kind of spaghetti with chicken. Well, we go all out around here when people give us suggestions. I mean, really, I once made cookies with garam masala in them because one of the guys at work challenged me to do it. Chicken Spaghetti? No problem.

I did have to pause when I was told that most people mean some kind of ... *cringe* casserole (gag) when they say "chicken spaghetti."

I have an undying holy hate for anything called casserole. While this kind of thing serves as comfort food for many people, memories of my mother's pasta-and-cans-of-mystery-soup dinners are things of nightmares.

I do not, and will not ever, make casseroles.

And because of this, I turned to my old standby. One cutting board, one pan, and dinner in as little time as possible.

Chicken Spaghetti

What you need:

• 2 chicken breasts
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 4 giant mushrooms
• 1 small box of spinach
• 1/3 c basil leaves
• 1-1/2 c table cream
• 1/4 c cream cheese
• 1/4 c parmesan
• 1/2 box linguine

What you gotta do:

Get a nice big pot of water on to boil. (this is the pasta equivalent of remembering to preheat the oven)

So, because I'm damn lazy, hate washing dishes and have limited cutting boards, I always chop the veggies first. Mince the garlic, slice the mushrooms, and chiffonade the basil.

Then, once those are taken care of, I use the same board for raw meat. Chicken breast cooks faster when it's thinner, and it's quite satisfying to make big loud banging noises as you shake everything on the counter with every swing. I remember my mom having a "meat mallet" and it seemed like a common tool at one time, but most utensil sets nowadays don't seem to include them.

It is a bit of a specialized item and I'm quite fond of multi-purpose items, so I use the bottom of a Pyrex measuring cup. Works just fine.

Bring a bit of butter to bubbly in a large pan.

Add the chicken breats and cook until it's just starting to brown. (um, that's pepper. I like pepper. Which reminds me: salt and pepper.)

Flip them over and give them just a couple minutes then take them out of the pan and cover them with foil. Don't worry if it's not entirely cooked all the way through. It's going to rest on a plate for a while and then go back into the pan. It'll have lots of time to finish cooking.

Dump the mushrooms and garlic into the pan. If you'd like you can add a bit more butter with them.

If your spinach is small-leafed enough, you can just toss it in as is. If the leaves are a little on the big side, you can tear or chop it before adding it. Me, I just tore it up a bit since I'd already dirtied the only cutting board I wanted to wash.

Once the spinach has wilted a bit (that takes like 2 minutes, and likely you'll be busy adding linguine to water while it happens) add the cream,

and the cream cheese.

Let this simmer for about 5 minutes over reasonably high heat. I used cream with 18% milk fat, which is less than whipping cream, but more than what typically goes into coffee. If you've got whipping cream, cut it with a bit of milk or chicken broth. The cream cheese isn't totally necessary in this, but it adds a nice bit of cheesey flavour.

When your pasta is almost done, slice your chicken breasts. Add it and the basil and grated parmesan to the pan.

Drain the pasta, leaving just a little bit of water in the bottom of the pot, then dump it all into the sauce pan.

Give this a good mix, and keep it bubbling over medium high until the sauce is the consistency you want.

I kept mine bubbling for about 3 or 4 minutes before I loaded it onto a plate and into a couple of containers for lunch tomorrow and dinner in a couple days.

So, there we go. A deconstructed Chicken Spaghetti casserole (gag) made with fresh ingredients, in about 30 minutes with as few dishes as humanly possible.

Next challenge??

Got Leftover Turkey? Put it in a Pie!

Since Angel was the winner of our Black Friday contest, we decided to give her a little bonus, and make the two dishes she requested.  I’m starting off with turkey pot pie.  I mean, who doesn’t have leftover turkey right now?  And with the cold weather, what’s better than a hot, baked meal? 

Here’s what you’ll need:

For the crust:
2 ½ cups flour
12 Tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) butter
¼ teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon corn starch
½ teaspoon baking powder
6-10 Tablespoons ice water

For the filling:
2 cups-ish diced turkey (or chicken)
1 medium carrot
2-3 celery stalks
1 leek
¼ cup frozen peas
2-3 garlic cloves
1 Tablespoon fresh parsley
2 cups chicken milk (huh?)
¼ cup (1/2 stick) butter
¼ cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper

So, the first thing you’ll need to do is make the crust.  It needs to chill for at least an hour before you can roll it out.  I made it the night before.  So, I have a confession.  I’ve never actually made a pie crust.  A crumb crust, sure.  A shortbread crust, of course.  But a fat and flour, rolled out crust, nope.  Sad, I know, but the pie crust horror stories have always scared me away.  Well, this time I decided I was going all in.  So, if you’ve never made a crust, you can learn along with me.  First, whisk together your dry ingredients.

Next, cut your cold butter into little cubes. 

Now comes the hard part, unless you have a food processor, which I don’t.  I haven’t yet bought a pastry blender, either, so I decided to go with the ‘two knives’ method of cutting in. 

Yeah, that was a mistake, but my mom said that’s how she used to do it.  I even watched a youtube video that made it look easy enough.  Pfft... yeah right!  Basically, you just cross two butter knives in a cutting motion.  When my arms started getting tired, I thought maybe putting a damp towel under the bowl would help with the process. 

Well, it did help to keep the bowl still, but I needed more help than that.  When my arms were about to fall off, and the mixture looked like this…

I decided to just dive in with my fingers and rub the flour in.  I know, I know, touching the butter will warm it up and make the crust tough… whatever.  In no time the mixture was ready.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you should use this method.  I'm suggesting, if you don't have a food processor, you should definitely get a pastry blender.  I had one before the move, and I'm sure it was less than $10.  Anyway, the mixture should be sort of crumbly, and the butter should be pea sized, or thereabouts. 

Now it’s time for the water.  It should be ice cold.  Add it 1 Tablespoon at a time, and sort of just fold it in. 

You’re looking for a consistency about like this.

I know it looks dry, but you’ll know it’s ready if you can squeeze a handful of it and it stays together.

Divide the dough in half and form two discs, then place them inside ziplock bags.  Place them in the fridge for an hour, or overnight. 

When you’re ready, start chopping your veggies for the filling.  I assume you can figure out how to dice the carrot and celery and mince the garlic, but a lot of people don’t often use leeks.  Leeks are basically like giant green onions.  They have lots of layers.  Dirt like’s to find its way between them, see?

Cut the leek into quarters, about ¾ of the way up the stalk.  Leave the green part whole to keep everything together, then run water between all of the layers to get out any sand or dirt.  See, nice and clean. 

Then just chop it up.  You’ll only want to use the white and light green parts. 

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, and dump in the veg minus garlic. 

Sprinkle over ½ teaspoon of salt, stir and cook over medium heat.  When the veggies are nice and sweaty, add the garlic.

Yes, there are little specks of green in my garlic.  My cloves had little sprouts starting, but no problem.  I’ve never noticed any difference in the flavor.  Continue to cook the mixture until most of the moisture has cooked off, then add the frozen peas, turkey, and parsley. 

Stir them together for just a minute, then put them in a bowl and set them aside.  Time for the sauce.  Remember that ½ stick of butter you have left from making the pie crust?  Here’s where it goes.  Throw it into the pan and allow it to melt completely.

Sprinkle over ¼ cup of flour. 

Stir that in and continue stirring while it cooks for about 3 minutes.  Now is also a good time to add the rest of the salt, and a good sprinkling of pepper. 

Now is where you should add the chicken milk.  That just sounds wrong.  I used 1 cup of chicken stock and 1 cup of milk, but you can use any ratio of those you’d like, just so it come out to 2 cups of liquid.  I said ‘should’ because, if your brain is out to lunch like mine was, you’ll just dump in the vegetable mixture, instead of the liquid. 

Oh well, no big deal.  Either way, just pour in the chicken milk and stir until it comes to a boil.  In the end, you should end up with a vegetable and sauce mixture that is nice and thick. 

Now’s probably a good time to preheat your oven to 375°.  Then pull your first piece of dough out and place it on a well floured surface.  Sprinkle flour over the dough, as well.

Now, if I had made a pie crust before, I probably would have pulled it out of the fridge for about 10 minutes before I started to roll it out.  It ended up, well… 

Yeah, I know, it’s a wreck.  But even if yours looks like this, I promise it will be ok in the end.  Just roll it onto your rolling pin so you can transfer it to the pie plate. 

There, you can patch any cracks and make whatever repairs are necessary.  Surprisingly, mine actually worked out fairly well once it was placed in the pan.  Be careful not to stretch the dough when you shape it to the pan.  Supposedly that will make it shrink when it’s cooked.  Now, roll out your second piece of dough. 

See, a few minutes to warm up just a bit, was definitely a good plan.  This one is much more acceptable.  So, when that’s ready, pour your filling into the bottom pie crust. 

Roll your second pie crust around the rolling pin like you did the first, and place it carefully on top of the pie. 

If you have lots of excess in places, you can trim it a bit with scissors. 

Then just press both layers together and fold them under. 

I then went around the edge and did a crimp kind of thing.  Not entirely necessary, but I was really trying to make up for that first crust disaster.

Make a few slits in the top for steam to escape.

Then onto a sheet pan and into the oven.  Bake at 375° for 45 – 60 minutes, or until the crust is just starting to brown. 

I’m thinking brushing the crust with melted butter, milk, or egg wash would have made it brown better, but you know, hind sight and all that.  Besides, I think it looks pretty good for a first attempt.  Now, your house is going to be smelling really good, and it’ll be hard, but you must let the pie rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting it.

I’ll be honest, I was beginning to wonder if all that work was really worth it.  But then I took a bite.  Oh my.  Never have I had any pot pie that was so delicious.  The crust was flaky, but sturdy enough to stand up to a savory pie, the turkey was moist and tender, and the vegetables were cooked to perfection.  And that sauce… I’m salivating just thinking about it now.  Absolutely to die for. 

So there you go, Angel.  Turkey pot pie, just for you!  I hope it meets your expectations.