Chicken Pot Pie Casserole With Sweet Potato & Apple

This is another divine dinner from Cuisine At Home.  It's a wonderful, warm, comfort food, full of fall flavor.  It's not your traditional Chicken Pot Pie, I like to think of it as a little more 'grown-up', but my kids really liked it too.

1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed (2 sheets)
3 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 cups peeled, diced sweet potato
1 1/2 cups peeled, diced russet potato
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups diced rotisserie chicken
1 granny smith apple, peeled and diced
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
2 tbs fresh lime juice
salt and pepper to taste


For the crust, cut pastry sheets into 1 inch wide strips.  On a parchment lined baking sheet, weave strips into a lattice pattern; freeze while preparing filling.  (Roll out one of the sheets of pastry just a little so it is the length of your 9x13 pan)

Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray

For the filling, heat 2 1/2 cups broth, sweet and russet potatoes, onion, celery, and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high.  cook until vegetables are slightly soft, about 8 minutes.

Whisk together remaining 3/4 cup broth, cream, flour, curry powder, and cinnamon.  Pour mixture into vegetable mixture.  Cook and stir until thick and bubbly.  Add chicken, apple, peas, cilantro, and lime juice.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour filling into prepared baking dish.

Bake the crust and casserole separately, yet at the same time, so the pastry is crisp when you lay it on the pie.  In about 25-30 minutes your filling should be bubbling, and your pastry should be golden.  Transfer on top of the casserole.

Enjoy!!

Thanks for stopping by, let me know if you try something, and your thoughts.  :-)

Tex-Mex Lasagna

This is my new favorite mexican type casserole.  The whole family loved this!  It's adapted from Cuisine At Home.

14 corn tortillas, cut into thirds
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
1 can of chopped mild green chili's
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 Tbs minced garlic (about 6-8 cloves)
2 Tbs Olive oil
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 Tbs chile powder
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 can low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups black beans (I typically start with dried, then prepare.  If you use canned, rinse and drain)
16 oz shredded cheese.  I used 8 oz triple cheddar and 8 oz mexican blend.  You could use pepper jack if you want it a little more spicy.

Preheat the oven to 350.  Lightly coat a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray

Arrange tortillas in a single layer on baking sheets.  Bake until slightly crisp, about 15 minutes.

Saute' onion, bell pepper, chilis, corn and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat until softened, 3-5 minutes.

Stir flour, chile powder, cumin and coriander into vegetable misture, then stir in broth.  Bring to a boil and cook until thick, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes.  Add the lime juice and season with salt and pepper.

Line bottom of baking dish with 1/3 of the tortilla strips.  Layer with 1/3 of the black beans, begetable mixture, and cheeses.  Repeat twice, using 1/3 of the ingredients in each layer, ending with cheese.

Bake until cheese is bubbly and melted, 30-35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with Avocado Lettuce Salad.  YUM!

You could also substitute chicken for the beans, or just add both.

Avocado Lettuce Salad

This recipe is adapted from Cuisine At Home.  It's a great side dish that offers the best of guacamole and a crunchy salad.  It compliments any mexican meal.  Okay, it compliments anything if you love guacamole like I do!

1 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
4 avocados
6 Tbs mayonnaise
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
8 cups shredded Romain lettuce
4 roma tomatoes, diced
2/3 cup sliced scallions
2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup seeded, minced jalepenos (optional)

Mash avocados in a large bowl until smooth.  Add mayonnaise, lime juice, and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

Stir lettuce, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro, jalapenos, and bacon into avocado mixture until combined.

A couple notes:  If you like it really crunchy, you may want to use iceberg lettuce.  I like Romaine because there is still crunch to it, but it has more nutrients than iceberg lettuce.

The jalepeno's will add some heat.  I left them out because my kids are not big fans of hot-spicy food.

This recipe makes a lot!  I actually made a 1/2 batch for my family of 4.  My daughter tried it, but she is my picky one and didn't want seconds.  The rest of us all had a second helping and there was still a serving left over.

Enjoy, and please let me know what you think!