Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This is one of my favorite easy dinners to make during the week.  Its pretty easy and very delicious!
The recipe is an adaptation from Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style cookbook.  Her recipe includes roasting chicken breasts and making biscuits from scratch.  To make things easier I use rotisserie chicken from the market and Grands biscuits.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken broth or homemade chicken stock
1 1/2 sticks butter (12 TBSP)
2 cups chopped onion (2 small onions)
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 10-12oz bag frozen peas and carrots mix
1/2 cup minced fresh* parsley
2 cups simply potatoes (diced with onion, but sliced and hash brown type work too)
1 rotisserie chicken cubed  yield 4-6 cups
1 can Grands buttermilk biscuits


Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a small saucepan heat the chicken stock on medium heat.  In a large pot or dutch oven melt the butter and saute onions over medium-low heat for 10-15 min, until translucent.  Add flour and cook over low heat stirring constantly for 2 min.  Don't worry if the mixture is lumpy, it will make for a thick creamy sauce.

  

Add the hot chicken stock to the onion mixture.  Simmer for another minute stirring until thick.  Add salt, pepper and heavy cream.  Stir in cubed chicken, peas and carrots, potatoes and parsley.  Mix well.

Place stew in a 10x13x2 oval or rectangular baking dish and bake for 15 min.  Take dish out of oven and place biscuits on top of the stew.  Place the dish back in the over for 15-20 minutes until biscuits are brown and stew is bubbly.  *I always use fresh herbs when I can.  Dried parsley isn't an option for me.  Fresh herbs make a world of difference.
 

Here is my little Cameron enjoying his yummy dinner :)

Since it was one of those nights at my house.......  Salute!

Wine bottled by Will and I @ Su Vino Winery, Scottsdale, AZ

Banana Crepe Cake with Butterscotch Topping

Banana Crepe Cake

So I'm tooling around on Pinterest and see this amazing looking crepe cake.  Now I've never heard of a crepe cake so I'm interested.  Crepes aren't the easiest thing on the planet to make.  I take that back.  The batter is extremely easy.  It's the flipping of the crepe that can be a little intimidating.  It looked so good so I decide to give it a whirl.  (note: the crepe batter needs to be refrigerated for at least 1 hour and preferably overnight.  The filling could also be made a day ahead of time).

Gather all of the ingredients, which there aren't that many and nothing out of the ordinary.

For the Banana Crepes

4 TBSP melted butter, plus 2 TBSP melted for greasing pan

1 large speckled very ripe banana (will be about 6 ounces or 1/2 cup pureed)

1 cup milk ( I used whole milk )

3/4 cup all purpose flour

4 large eggs

2 TBSP light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of ground cloves

Cream cheese yogurt filling

8 ounces cream cheese ( i used reduced fat)

1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas sliced thinly (save this step for later)

Walnut butterscotch topping

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 TBSP unsalted butter, room temp

1/2 cup toasted* chopped walnuts

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon flaky sea salt, or to taste

*I always toast my nuts in a dry saute pan on the stove top.  It is too easy to put them in the oven and forget about them until its too late.  Take a few minutes to babysit the nuts on the cook top.  When you start to smell the toasty smell of the nuts remove them from the heat.  They will continue to toast a little more once you get them off the heat. 

Make the crepe batter: Blend banana in a food processor until totally smooth. Add melted butter, blend again. Add remaining ingredients and blend until they are combined. Transfer batter, which will look thin, to a bowl,  cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least an hour, preferably overnight, and up to two days. When you remove the batter, it will seem surprisingly thick. Stir it to redistribute the ingredients before using it.

Cook the crepes: Heat a medium skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Once heated, brush pan thinly with melted butter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet, swirling it until it evenly coats the bottom and cook, undisturbed, until the bottom is golden and the top is set, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip* the crepe and cook it for 30 seconds on the other side, before transferring it to a plate to cool. Repeat with remaining batter. Be sure to butter the pan before each crepe.  You can stack your crepes and they should not stick together. Let crepes cool completely.

* Here’s my  Two-Spatula Crepe Flipping Method: I have two spatulas handy, one flexible fish-style spatula and one smaller, like an offset icing spatula. I slide the larger one just a little bit under the crepe and lift it enough that I can slide the smaller one under. I lift it enough that I can get the larger one far underneath the crepe, then use the larger one alone to flip it. It is easier than it sounds.

Make filling: Whip cream cheese until fluffy, then beat in yogurt, 1/2 cup at a time. When fully combined, add sugar and vanilla then beat until rich and fluffy, just another minute.

Assemble crepe cake: Lay first crepe on a cake plate or serving platter. Spread with 1/4 cup of the yogurt-cream cheese filling. For more of a banana flavor add thinly sliced bananas on top of filling Repeat with all but the last remaining crepe, which should be stacked but have no filling on top, as it is the lid.

Make walnut butterscotch sauce: Combine the cream, brown sugar and butter in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally in the beginning and more frequently as it reduces and thickens. You’ll know it’s done when it becomes thick and smells toasty. Stir in the vanilla and salt, then walnuts. Immediately pour over stack of filled crepes, nudging the butterscotch to the edges with your spoon — if it goes over the edge, so be it.

Serve immediately, or keep in fridge until ready to serve. Crepe cake keeps for up to 3 days, possibly longer, but good luck with that.  Recipe from Smittenkitchen.com