Looking for the perfect bowl of soup to combat that winter chill?  Look no further than this Chicken Pot Pie Soup.  It’s the ultimate comfort food – a tasty, healthy dish that’s warm, filling and chock full of familiar flavors.  With the thickened broth, variety of vegetables and chunks of chicken and potato, it is indeed chicken pot pie in a bowl.  You get all of these flavors and warmth with minimal preparation time and far fewer calories than your typical pot pie.  As an added bonus, this recipe yields 6-7 hearty portions.  It heats up beautifully and tastes even better on the second and third day!  I simply can’t say enough good things about it.

As we plunge into the depths of winter I can assure that I’m adding this soup to my regular menu rotation, and I recommend you do the same.  You won’t regret it!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup
Yields 6-7 1 1/2 cup servings

1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups fat free milk
1 large celery stalk, chopped
1/2 medium chopped onion
8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms
fresh ground pepper
pinch of thyme
10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small
salt

1.  In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the chicken broth with the flour and whisk until well blended.  Set aside.
2. Heat a stock-pot coated with a small amount of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add celery, onion and mushrooms to the pan and cook for several minutes until vegetables have softened. Add frozen vegetables and allow to heat through – about 3-5 minutes.
3. Add remaining broth and milk to the pot, increase heat and bring to a boil.
4. Bring to a simmer and add potatoes cooking until soft (about 5 minutes).
5. Slowly whisk in broth and flour mixture, mixing well to combine.
6. Add chicken, cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Allow the mixture to thicken slightly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Today in honor of week 2 of the football playoffs, I am adding another dip recipe to add to my January collection.   I personally love anything buffalo flavored these days – something about the spicy tomato-ey flavor combined with creamy cool cheese that has got me hooked.  I therefore obviously had to include a buffalo chicken dip in my dip montage.  I found this recipe which I ended up modifying from the original a bit  – first, I try not to buy canned chicken, as I find it too salty and too dry - instead, I used one leftover medium-sized cooked chicken breast made the day before.  Second, as with most of my recipes, I made some substitutions to reduce the fat content – namely, used light cream cheese and fat free ranch dressing.  Third, I don’t know about you – but 5 cups of dip as this recipe claims to make is a LOT of dip to make for one party, no matter how awesome the dip (or the party) – so I changed the proportions to make a much more reasonable 2.5 cups. Lastly, I made it at a friend’s house – so instead of dirtying a skillet, I used the microwave to heat it!  This version came out great – it has just the right amount of kick to be enjoyed by all.  For a different flavor, try add blue cheese dressing instead of ranch!

Buffalo Chicken Dip – adapted from allrecipes.com, Nunpunch

Ingredients

• 1 medium-sized chicken breast, cooked and shredded
• 8oz package light cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup fat free Ranch dressing
• 1/3 cup hot sauce (such as Frank’s)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese (I used a combination of swiss and cheddar)
• 1 bunch of celery, cleaned and cut into 4 inch pieces
• crackers

Directions:

Stir together chicken, cream cheese, ranch dressing, cheese, and pepper sauce in a microwave-safe container.  Place into microwave.  Microwave for 1 minute at a time, stirring in between, until the dip reaches your desired temperature and consistency.  Enjoy with celery and crackers.  And football, if you are so inclined.

Chicken fajitas are a summer staple in our house. Throw together some tasty marinade, grill up chicken and vegetables and serve them together on warm tortillas. It’s the perfect summer meal: no indoor cooking, minimal dishes and maximum flavor.  Serve them on the deck with an  ice-cold margarita and you’re faced with pure perfection.

While tequila-lime marinade has been my go-to choice for all things Mexican-related, I decided to shake things up a bit last weekend and searched AllRecipces.com for a new chicken fajita marinade.   Success!  The lime juice provides a bit of tart sweetness, while the liquid smoke and cayenne pepper imparts a smokey zing.  I was in a rush and only let the chicken marinate for about an hour, but that didn’t seem to cause any problems.

I use a grill basket like this one for my grilled vegetables, so it’s just as easy as sauteing on the stove.   I don’t use an actual recipe;  chop up mushrooms, peppers and onions and toss them in either olive oil or Italian dressing and then season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Coat your basket with cooking spray and place on the grill during pre-heating.  Cooking times will vary, but 5-8 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes, will usually do it.

Chicken Fajita Marinade

1/4 cup lime juice
1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. In a small bowl whisk together the lime juice, water, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, salt, liquid smoke, cayenne and black pepper.
2. Pour marinade over meat and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Cook as desired.

I love summer cooking.  Marinate some meat, slice up some farm-fresh vegetables, throw them on the grill and dinner is ready.  My husband received The Grilling Bible from his sister for his recent birthday, and we’ve enjoying paging through this book marking recipes for future use.  It’s going to be a fun summer with lots of variety.

This recipe was originally for Lime Mustard chicken, but a and a last-minute substitution was necessary when I found there were only about 2 tablespoons of lime juice left in the refrigerator.  Confession:  I LOVE fresh citrus juice, but frequently resort to bottled lemon and lime juice because it is just so easy!

The chicken was tangy and flavorful with a nice little kick, courtesy of the ground red pepper.  We want to try it again, but it will have to get in line behind all of the other new recipes from The Grilling Bible!

Lemon Mustard Chicken Marinade
produces enough marinade for 4 butterflied chicken breasts

1/2 cup lemon juice
4 tbsp honey mustard*
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Whisk together all ingredients. Pour over chicken and marinate in the refrigerator for two hours.

*don’t have honey mustard? use 2 tbsp honey and 2 tbsp mustard

Grilled pineapple is amazing – just delicious!  If  you’ve never tried it you need to… really.  And the grilled pineapple is only half of this tasty meal.  The Asian-inspried marinade was a fun change of change of pace from our usual barbecue sauces and Mexican-inspired marinades.

I spotted these Chicken and Pineapple Skewers on Proceed With Caution and knew I just had to try them!  Since I only had thin-sliced chicken on hand (I buy chicken on sale,  trim and slice it thin before freezing), I opted to grill the breasts whole.  Served on a bed of brown rice and garnished with chopped green onion, this is quick and easy weeknight meal.  We’re adding it to our grilling rotation!

Asian Pineapple Chicken

2 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp low sodium tamari soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, pounded or sliced thin
1/2 pound fresh pineapple, sliced into spears
1 tbsp agave nectar or honey

1.  In a large bowl, whisk together onions, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. Add chicken and cover, marinating in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.
2.  After preheating grill, grill chicken over medium-high direct heat until cooked through.  Baste  occasionally with marinade. (Food safety tip:  do not baste chicken during the final flip – you want to make sure everything is cooked properly.)
4.  When chicken is almost done, place pineapple on the grill over medium direct heat. Flip after 4 minutes.  After grilling the other side for 4 minutes, remove and serve.

During the recent heat wave, I have not been feeling like eating much that is cooked – so when I got a craving for Indian food recently I had to figure out how I would be able to get the flavors I wanted without standing over a steaming stove for very long.  This curry chicken salad fit the bill perfectly – it does require some cooking, however it’s very refreshing as it is served chilled.  I brought it to a cook out over the weekend, and it was quite a hit!  It tastes wonderful atop a bed of mixed greens, or in a sandwich, or even just on its own. 

Curry Chicken Salad – from Simplyrecipes.com, posted by Elise

Instructions

Place oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Sprinkle salt over the chicken as it cooks; saute just until cooked through entirely – about 5 minutes.  Make sure no pink remains!  Remove chicken from the skillet.  Add the onions to the skillet and saute until beginning to turn translucent.  Sprinkle the curry powder over the onion and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes.  If the powder sticks to the bottom, or the mixture is too dry, you may add another tablespoon or two of olive oil.  Add raisins and cook for another minute.  At this point remove from the heat, and stir in the mayonnaise.  Stir the chicken into the onion and raisin mixture, and chill until completely cooled.  When about to serve the chicken salad, mix in the apple, cilantro and green onions.

If your weather has been anything like our weather lately, you may be looking for some recipes that can be prepared outside on the grill!  Today our air conditioner picked the perfect day to go ka-put, as we’re heading into a three day heat wave - so when picking a menu for dinner I wanted to make sure whatever we were making wasn’t going to add to the sweltering environment inside.   I saw a recipe for veggie-laden California Burgers a few weeks back when perusing my Food Network magazine and thought it would be a good day to give it a whirl.  These burgers are chicken-based, but the addition of Panko bread crumbs and Greek yogurt keeps them moist even on a grill while providing a great texture to the burger.  They were perfect with a tossed salad and a glass of ice-cold lemonade – great for staving off even the worst hot weather.  I loved the fresh flavors, and even my husband (a red meat lover) had to admit they were really tasty despite their poultry origin.  Stay cool, everyone!

California Burgers – from Food Network Magazine, June 2010

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp plain non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 avocado, sliced
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 4 slices of tomato, thinly sliced
• Alfalfa sprouts
• 4 whole wheat rolls

Instructions:

Mix chicken, bread crumbs, worcestershire sauce, yogurt and salt together in a large bowl.  When ingredients are well combined, form into 4 even patties – about 1 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter.  Make a thumbprint in the center of each patty so they stay in tact on the grill.  Chill patties for 15 minutes prior to grilling so the patties stay solid when cooking.  Preheat your grill on a medium-high setting.  Place burgers on the grill, cooking for 5-6 minutes per side.  Just before the burgers are finished, toast the rolls on the grill if desired.  To assemble, put alfalfa sprouts on the bottom half of the roll and place the burger on top.  Top with avocado, cucumber, and tomato.

During the torrential rainstorm today, I drove 3 hrs each way to a job interview.  Consequentially I spent most of the day looking like a drowned rat in a business suit.  When I got home (aside from changing into my PJs and drying my hair) all I wanted was some comfort food and a nap.  We had lots of leftover chicken on hand and some leeks, so I decided to make a chicken pot pie.  This recipe caught my eye because it appeared fairly straightforward.  I made a few modifications, mostly because I didn’t have tarragon or grainy mustard (and as I was in my PJs, could not really go out to procure tarragon or grainy mustard…) and I also used skim milk because we didn’t have whole milk in the house.  It was a great way to end a very long and damp day.

Ingredients:

12 oz cooked chicken (I used a combination of boneless skinless chicken breast and thighs)

2 tablespoons butter

1 leek, sliced lengthwise and then into 1/2 inch strips

1 onion, diced

1 tablespoon mustard (I used dijon)

1/4 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon reserved skim milk

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried marjoram

Salt & pepper to taste

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 egg

Directions:

Melt the butter in a deep skillet over medium heat.  Saute the leek and onion until the onion becomes translucent – about 4-5 mins.  Add the mustard and the flour.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes stirring constantly.  Add the chicken broth, 3/4 cup skim milk and cream.  Cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture begins to thicken.  Add the chicken and spices to the skillet and mix well.  Let the mixture cool.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place into a deep pie dish.  Roll the pastry out to a size able to cover the pie dish and press it over top, sealing it to the dish.  I used the extra bits of pastry dough to decorate the top.  Beat the egg and tablespoon of milk together and brush over top of the pastry crust before baking.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the crust becomes golden brown and puffy.

The last time we grilled, I wanted to do something other than the usual BBQ sauce. A Mexican inspired marinade sounded good: tequila, lime, cilantro… something along those lines. A quick search of allrecipes.com produced this recipe for Tequila Lime Chicken.

The original recipe includes instructions for baking the chicken, and for an accompanying Mexi-Ranch dressing. I was only interested in the marinade. Based upon recommendations of reviewers and my personal tastes, I changed a few of the proportions. Since it is Tequila Lime Chicken, I increased the amount of tequila to 1 teaspoon, and will probably add more next time. The recipe produced an ample amount of marinade and would easily work for more than the suggested four chicken breast halves.

The chicken was delicious and tender! It had a tangy, smokey flavor that went very well with the cilantro lime rice I made that night. The leftover chicken was delicious on it’s own and on grilled pizza. This marinade will be added to our regular grilling rotation this summer!

Tequila Lime Chicken

1 cup water
1/3 cup Teriyaki sauce
2 tbsp lime juice (juice of 1 lime)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp liquid smoke flavoring
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp tequila
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1. Combine all ingredients, except chicken, in non-reactive bowl. Mix well.
2. Add chicken and turn to coat.
3. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours.
4. Grill chicken.

When I think of classic chicken dishes, Chicken Cordon Bleu usually comes to mind – although I remember the one my mother used to make being dried out, and the ones I get in restaurants being very greasy. I found this chicken cordon bleu recipe a while back and decided to give it a whirl because it came out of one of my favorite cooking publications (Cooking Light) and because I was trying to shake up my recipe roster a bit. It was really great – the center stayed moist and tender, and much like any other Cooking Light recipe it’s not (that) bad for you. It’s fancy enough to serve to company, and easy enough to make for dinner just because it’s Tuesday. Plus, my husband loved it – what guy wouldn’t love meat wrapped in meat?! The only modification I made was to use pre-seasoned bread crumbs, because that’s what I happened to have on hand.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 5 teaspoons butter, melted
• 1 large garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup dry Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 thin slices prosciutto (about 2 ounces)
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350?.

Place broth in a small microwave-safe bowl; microwave at high 15 seconds or until warm. Stir in butter and garlic. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and paprika in a medium shallow bowl; set aside.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and pound each to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt, oregano, and pepper. Top each breast half with 1 slice of prosciutto and 1 tablespoon mozzarella. Roll up each breast half jelly-roll fashion. Dip each roll in chicken broth mixture; dredge in breadcrumb mixture. Place rolls, seam side down, in an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour remaining broth mixture over chicken. Bake at 350? for 28 minutes or until juices run clear and tops are golden.