Chicken Pot Pie

All anyone seems to talk about lately is going green. The thing that bothers me about this is that the people that talk about it the most, with maybe the exception of my buddy Dawn, are the ones out buying $9.00 cleaners instead of just buying a reusable bottle that they refill with baking soda and vinegar, or some other kind of natural cleaner. They're the ones that won't car pool, but brag that they have a Prius. Are they really living green?

How does this relate to previous posts, you ask? Well I've been trying to "eat green". Does this mean I've run to the store to buy every organic item sold? Do I seem like the kind of gal that wants to spend more than I already do on groceries? No sir.

I'm a big fan of cooking from scratch. I don't understand why our culture is in such a rush to eat, but I'm convinced a big part of that contributes to why so many people are so darn fat. You might be thinking to yourself, "but this girl makes cakes and other terrible-for-you goodies all the time, what room does she have to talk?", and in a way, you're right, but let me ask you this. When you eat a HoHo, or goodness knows whatever your processed poison is, can you honestly say that you know what's in it? At least when I make my cakes, candies, cookies, or whatever, I know what's going into it. I know what I'm feeding my family.

Let's take it one step further. You're craving chicken pot pie, so you go out and you buy store bought pie crust. Do you realize how many extra chemicals and ingredients are in there for what's supposed to be a five ingredient food?

I understand the fear of cooking that people have, and why it seems so much easier to just get something processed you can nuke in the microwave. Trust me. My husband knew how to do three things when we got married- how to boil water, how to cook a cheeseburger into submission and how to microwave. He was petrified of learning how to cook, let alone trying to make things from scratch, but after months of watching me do everything, he started to get more confident, and now he's a pretty great cook.

So how does this relate to being green? Buying local produce, meat and milk not only helps the local economy, but can be used really easily to make great meals.

Here is a delicious recipe for Chicken Pot Pie:

Ingredients:

2 large chicken breasts
4 carrots (chopped)
3 large potatoes (I like red or yukon gold with the skin on), quartered
2 cups chicken broth
1tsp onion powder
2tsp corn starch
peas (desired amount)
corn (desired amount)
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 sprigs rosemary (diced)
2 sprigs thyme
1/2 cup water

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Cut chicken into cubes (If you want to make it super quick and easy, use butcher scissors)
3. Pour chicken broth into a medium pot. Bring to a boil.
4. Add rosemary and thyme (dried rosemary and thyme will also do, just cut the amount in half)
5. Add the cubed chicken to the broth. When the chicken begins to turn white, take the chicken pieces out and place in a 9" pie pan.)
6. Combine 1/2 cup of water to the 2tsp of corn starch. Whisk them together until they are a white pasty/thick liquid.
7. Whisk into the broth. The combination will thicken a bit. Set aside.
8. Boil water.
9. Add chopped carrots and potatoes to the water. Boil until fork tender.
10. Strain carrots and potatoes. Combine the carrots and potatoes with the chicken in the pie pan.
11. Add desired amount of corn and peas.
12. Add the thickened broth to the mixture in the pie pan. Salt and pepper to taste. Gently mix everything together in the pan. (You can do this in a bowl if you like, and then add it to the pan, but this saves time and dishes.)
13. Roll pie crust onto the top. Pinch the sides and stab a few slits into the pie crust.

Cook for 40 minutes, or until crust is browned.

This is my favorite pie crust recipe by the fabulous Alton Brown (I make it in batches and freeze it so it's always handy)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pie-crust-recipe/index.html


Happy, Healthy Eating!