Flashback Friday - Chicken Pot Pie

Just a very quick post to join Suzy at Kitchen Bouquet with her "Flashback Friday" Check out her post and the links to other flashbacks!!




This was actually the very first chicken pot pie I ever made one year ago - the photo was taken on Oct 18, 2008!! I only remembered it after I saw Mary's post on One Perfect Bite showing us her chicken pot pie! After reading her recipe I won't even bother posting mine! There are so many out on the net but I'm anxious to try Mary's... especially since it is "tried and true".

Time to think about warm, homey, filling meals for the cold months ahead. The chicken pot pie is one that is hard to beat when you think of the ultimate 'comfort food'.

Get your chickie dishes out and cook up a storm!!!

COCONUT CRUSTED CHICKEN

Swiped this recipe from Jonna at “Get Off Your Butt and Bake”, a great blog for some super recipes!

I've always loved coconut on chicken and especially shrimp! Since some of my family doesn't care for the sweet concoction I halved the recipe, instead of the coconut I just added some panko bread crumbs. They used a Ranch dressing dip and I used a sweet orange marmalade!

My “strips” were somewhat larger than Jonna’s which is just a personal choice and to be perfectly honest a lazy choice so I didn’t have to cook as many!

I added some baked potato chunks made from the Lipton Dry Onion soup box...my family loves these as an addition to any meal.



Definitely satisfies my craving for anything coconut crusted!

Butternut Squash Bisque

My sister called the other day to ask if I wanted any squash or pumpkins since they had a bumper crop. I had already purchased a butternut squash to try this recipe I had found at All-Recipes for Butternut Squash Bisque.

Followed the recipe to the tee and after reading the reviews I roasted the squash beforehand for 35 minutes at 375 degrees. It made it much easier to trim off the outside skin and cube rather than trying to do it raw. I also used an immersion blender instead of the food proceesor to blend the soup - it worked beautifully.



Lately on these cold days I have been yearning for good filling soups rather than cooking an entire meal. This qualifies as a very thick, creamy soup that satisfies any type of hunger pain! The texture is different from a tomato, cheese and broccoli or even potato soup. It’s a little coarser, but after the second spoonful you don’t even notice. The flavor of the squash, nutmeg and the splash of whipping cream at the very end melds everything together to make a very hearty meal. I topped mine with homemade garlic croutons which I get from a friend of mine in town… they are the best!



Now I need to call my sister to let her know I will take some squash and a few pumpkins to maybe decorate for Halloween!

An Apple a day....

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but if the doctor's cute then forget the fruit!"



Seems there has been an over abundance of apples this fall. I’ve been offered so many apples I’m trying to find new recipes to showcase them. One that truly caught my eye was one from Taste of Home for Crunchy Apple Cake. Ok,Ok, what REALLY caught my eye was of course the apple but primarily the butterscotch/caramel sauce that accompanied it!



The batter is very thick and you think there is just not enough moisture in the batter. In reading the reviews the proverbial light bulb went off and saw that the moisture from the apples will keep the cake moist! As you can see below the chunks of apples poke through the batter and believe me you learn patience when you have to wait the 30 minutes for the cake to cool!



Highly recommend this recipe, but do take the time to read the reviews. Decide on your own personal taste as to the amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg you and your family like. I used the amounts shown in the recipe and was not disappointed.



Also, Thanks to Marsha from Marsha’s Kitchen for turning me on to these great plates last summer… the apple theme ones are perfect for this dessert!



I haven’t participated in Mosaic Monday for a long time so I’m jumping back in to join Mary at the Little Red House. Check out her blog to links for some fantastic mosaics!