Chicken Pot Pie

A healthy twist on a classic comfort food, we switched up the traditional veggies for some new players. The combo of warm buttery pastry and rich gravy is perfect for a cozy winter or autumn dinner.

Ingredients

3-4 Tbs olive oil, divided
3 cups broccoli crowns, chopped
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 large (or 2 medium) sweet potatoes, diced
1tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 leeks, rinsed and diced
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup skim milk
1 1/2 – 2 cups chicken broth
1/3 cup flour
1-2 Tbs fresh thyme
1-2 Tbs fresh parsley
1 store-bought pie crust (We like Immaculate Baking Company!)

Preheat over to 400
Cut up the broccoli crowns into bite sized pieces and place on baking sheet. Drizzle with 1-2 Tbsp. of Olive oil and salt. Bake for 20mins or until lightly browned and beginning to crisp
Cut up chicken breasts into bite size pieces, about 1”
Add 2 tsp. of olive oil to a skillet, add chicken and cook over medium heat until mostly, but not completely cooked through. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Chop sweet potato, leeks, and garlic
Add 1 more tsp of oil to the skillet, add leeks and cook until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes
Add sweet potatoes, garlic, salt and pepper, cook for an additional 5 minutes
Add milk to skillet
In a small bowl add flour to chicken broth and stir until completely combined, then add mixture to skillet
Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until a thickened gravy forms, if gravy becomes too thick, add additional chicken stock 1 Tbsp at a time to thin out to desired consistency
Uncover and stir in thyme, parsley, and baked broccoli
Reduce oven heat to 350
Lightly oil (or spray) a 8×8 inch baking dish
Scatter chicken evenly along the bottom of the baking dish, then pour over the skillet mixture.
Smooth out and top with crust
Lightly brush the crust with oil
Bake for 30 minutes, until crust is light golden brown, and the gravy is bubbling
Let cool for 5-10 minutes
Enjoy!
*Note you may want to place the baking dish on a parchment lined cookie sheet, to catch any of the gravy that spills over.

This Mexican-inspired bean salad is so popular in our house we just started calling it “The Salad.” We like to crumble the tortilla chips over each bowl, instead of mixing them in so they stay crispy.

Ingredients
serves 4-6

1 package of mixed greens
3/4 cup frozen or fresh sweet corn
1 avocado, diced
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 cup cheddar cheese shredded or cubed
1 red onion, diced
1 bag tortilla chips
1 15oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 15oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Dressing
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 Tbs honey
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
pinch salt & pepper

Chop the greens into bite-sided pieces and place in a large bowl.
If using frozen corn, fill saucepan with 2 cups water and simmer corn until thawed, drain and allow to cool. If using fresh corn, shuck and slice kernels off of the cob – set aside.
Add the avocado, tomatoes, cheese, and onion to the bowl with the greens.
Add rinsed beans and cooled corn. Mix well.
Divide salad into bowls, crumble over tortilla chips.
top with dressing and enjoy!

For the dressing:
Place all ingredients in a mason jar and shake until emulsified and the honey dissolves.

Veggie Pizza

This recipe was adapted from a tomato and cheese tart recipe I once saw and thought, “I bet that would make a delish pizza.” Lauren isn’t a huge fan of traditional tomato sauce on pizza so this works really well.

Ingredients
Pizza crust (we like The Pizza Gourmet available at Whole Foods or Monteli Organic pizza crusts from Trader Joe’s)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 pat of butter
2.5 oz of goat cheese
1 pint of multi colored grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1 onion, caramelized
1/2 jar of artichokes in oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 400F. Heat two tbsp of olive oil and a small pat of butter in a pan. Cut the onion into half-moons and add to the pan. Once onions are softened and a deep caramel-brown color (about 25 minutes) set aside. Crumble goat cheese over the pizza crust. Layer tomatoes in a colorful spread over the goat cheese. Sprinkle over caramelized onions and about 6 sliced artichokes. Bake for 15 minutes. Enjoy!