Hearty and Healthy Chicken Pot Pie

 YUM. I loved this! Probably because I love chicken pot pie in general...but I must say, I've tasted my fair share of not-so tasty ones. Once I ordered this in a restaurant and the middle of it was FROZEN. That was the last time I ever did that...

Anyway! This version is delicious...and healthy! Not a drop of butter! So go ahead, indulge :)

The crust is not flaky like traditional pie crusts. Flakiness comes from cold butter in the dough, which I didn't use. This crust is more like a biscuit or muffin batter. It tastes good with the sauce of the chicken and vegetables because it absorbs the flavor...

Ingredients
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-1 pound chicken breast, diced into small cubes
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 cup chopped carrots
-1 cup chopped celery
-1 cup chopped mushrooms
-3/4 cup frozen peas
-1 tablespoon dijon mustard
-1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
-1 tablespoon dried dill
-garlic salt and pepper to taste
-1 tablespoon flour
-1 1/2 cups milk

Crust
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-1 cup Heart Smart Bisquick mix
-1/2 cup milk
-1 egg

Assembly
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-Heat olive oilk in a pot and add chicken pieces. Cook for 2 minutes and add carrots, celery and mushrooms. Add the Italian seasoning, dill, garlic salt and pepper, and dijon mustard. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is almost cooked through.
-Mix the milk slowly into the flour while whisking constantly. Once the flour has dissolved, stir into into the chicken and vegetable mixture. Add the frozen peas. Mix and simmer on low for a couple minutes.
-In a separete bowl, mix the Bisquick mix with the egg and milk until well blended.
-Pour the chicken mixture into a pie dish. Spread the Bisquick mixture on top and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.
-Serve and savor each hearty bite!

Pumpkin Banana Nut Bread

I promise, this is the BEST banana bread recipe you will EVER try. That's a pretty confident claim, and if I wasn't so in love with this cake I'd never say/write it!

My husband and my daughter both love the banana bread from Starbucks, so I made it my mission in life to make a better version at home.

Requirements:
1. MOIST, MOIST MOIST.
2. A manageable amount of fat, so I wouldn't feel guilty with each bite.
3. Easy ingredients I already had

You can either make this completely a banana bread or pumpkin bread by leaving out one or the other and substituting the difference. So either 3 cups banana or 3 cups pumpkin.

So here it goes! As the picture says....Have your cake and eat it too!

Makes 16 servings.

Ingredients
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-2 eggs
-1 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-3 medium sized bananas, mashed (about 2 cups)
-1 cup pumpkin puree
-2 tablespoons sour cream or Greek yogurt
-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

-1 2/3 cup flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice (or cinnamon)
-1/2 teaspoon salt

optional
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-1 cup walnuts
-1 cup chocolate chips

Assembly
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-Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spread walnuts on a baking sheet. Toast for 8-10 minutes, then chop roughly.
-Whisk sugar and eggs until light and fluffy, for about 10 minutes. Drizzle in oil as you continue whisking. Add bananas, pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla.
-In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, pumpkin spice and salt. Stir dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Stir just until combined, do not overmix. Add toasted walnuts.
-Spray a bundt pan OR 2 loaf pans with cooking spray and spread mixture into pans. Bake for 44-50 minutes for bundt pan (baking time will be around 30-35 minutes for 2 loaf pans) or until center of cake is set.
-Slice and serve!

Chicken and Mushrooms in Puff Pastry

Consider yourselves lucky. I'm giving you guys a famous family recipe.

My mom is notorious for these pastries. She's been making them for about 25 years and everyone still loves and requests them.  My mom (who is actually a MUCH better cook than I am) came up with this in Saudi Arabia, and always easily found the ingredients for this dish in the various countries she has lived...so hopefully my 'out of US' readers won't have a hard time with this.

I decided to give this dish a try the other day and it tasted EXACTLY the way it does whenever my mom makes it. My family will vouch for that ;-)

Makes 24 pieces

Ingredients
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-1 rotisserie chicken, skin removed and shredded
-1 large onion, diced
-2 1/2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
-2 tablespoons oregano
-1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamon
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 package puff pastry sheets (2 rolls)
-2 cups shredded mozzerella cheese

Assembly
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-Heat a large pot and add the chicken, onions and mushrooms. Cook for 10 minutes until the onions and mushrooms wilt. Add the oregano, ground cardamon and salt and pepper. Turn off heat and allow mixture to cool.
-Lay 1 sheet of puff pastry in a large 13x19 baking sheet. Spread chicken mixture on top and sprinkle shredded cheese. Top with second sheet of puff pastry. Carefully cut into squares, 6 slices on the longer side of the pan and 4 slices on the shorter end of the pan for a total of 24 pieces.
-Place baking sheet on the lowest rack in your oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes at 475 degrees.
-Slice and serve!