CHICKEN POT PIE

This is a Pillsbury recipe that I tweeked a little to get the calories down.  But I must say that this dish is beyond delicious and Pillsbury rocks!

INGREDIENTS

Crust

1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

Filling

1/3    cup chopped onion

1/3    cup flour (I used wheat flour)

1/2    teaspoon salt (I used McCormicks Herb seasoning)

1/4    teaspoon pepper

1 3/4 cups chicken broth (I used a low sodium/no fat broth)

1/2    cup milk  ( I used Almond Milk)

2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey (I used chicken breasts)

2       cups Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables,thawed (HEB brand is cheaper)

DIRECTIONS

1 Heat oven to 425°F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch glass pie pan. 2 In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened. 3 Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon chicken mixture into crust-lined pan. Top with second crust; seal edge and flute. Cut slits in several places in top crust. 4 Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

If you use the substitutions that I used you will end up with calories coming in at around 250 to 300 per servings! 

SPICY CHICKEN PARMESAN

Today, I was hungry for something and had no idea what to make.  So with Bekah as my sidekick, off the store we went.  Thinking pasta, chicken, spinach, peppers, zucchini....only to realize that all those things are not going to go well together.  Then we decided on this, it ended up very yummy and once I finished calculating the calories I was very excited!

Coming in at 260 calories for one very large helping, this dish has to be a top contender for one of my favs! 

This recipe serves 4!

INGREDIENTS:  14 to 16 ounces of chicken breast (roughly 3 chicken breasts), 4 or 5 zucchini, 1 container of Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Creme, 1 bag of pepper stir fry (sliced red, green & yellow bell peppers and white onions),  red pepper flakes,  McCormick Roasted Garlic and Bell Pepper Seasoning and 3 fresh garlic cloves.

DIRECTIONS:

Take your chicken and slice off the fatty tissue, cube the chicken into small cubes as uniform as possible.  Place into a skillet with about 2 tablespoons of the cream cheese creme sauce and about 2 teaspoons of the McCormick seasoning, the bag of pepper stir fry and garlic.  If you like it with a little extra kick, add some red pepper flakes into the mix while its cooking.  You will most likely need to strain it during the cooking process to get rid the extra moisture. 

While the chicken mixture is cooking, in a separate skillet cube the zucchini and toss in just a dash of olive oil to get it going.  Don't cook for more than 5 to 7 minutes, you want it to be cooked but with a crunch.  Soggy zucchini is not the way to go. 

Once the chicken is cooked thoroughly, add in the zucchini and the remaining cream cheese creme.  Finish off with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and enjoy.

I hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.  God Bless!