chicken pot pie potato chowder & rosemary drop biscuits.

boy howdy. welcome welcome, cozy fall meals.

i am in lurrrve with chicken pot pie. i reallllyy lurrve the goop inside a chicken pot pie. so i figured out a way to essentially eat the innards of a chicken pot pie without feeling like complete dooky about it. 

this is basically a hearty beef & potato stew, hold the beef. but i like to look at it as chicken pot pie chowder, cuz that's how i roll. 

the base of this chowder is made up of a little mashed potato, lots o onion, and chicken broth. add some chicken, peas & carrots, and some more chunky potatoes, and you've got yourself a decently healthy and hearty meal. 

nowww ya know i'm all aboot the texture. so i had to make some simple biscuits to go on the side. throw some fresh rosemary in there and this whole combination is FA BO LO US. holla back, young'n. woo woo.

lemme just tell yaaa, a little bit of butter and flour and rosemary and some other stuff baking in the oven is just... ta die for. instant cozy home. hmmmm i wonder if it would be the opposite of wise to just throw some sprigs of rosemary in the oven and let em smell up the joint. sounds like a dry brush fiyah hazard waiting to happen come to think of it..

i've got a bone to pick with grocery stores and their frozen crinkle carrot selection. i would've ideally used crinkle carrots here, because i love them!! but they are weirdly hard to find! what gives?! howeverrr, these peas & carrots come in the same bag, so ya win some ya lose some.

ok so this is mostly all the things you'll need for this chow chow. not too shabby, eh? make sure you keep half of the potato a bit firm and less cooked, for the stewy chunks. they're necessary. 

also, peas & carrots sure are cute. 

"from that day on we was always together - jenny and me was like peas and carrots."  got forrest gump on the brain because i just realized today that maybe i want to be him for halloweener. running-across-the-country version forrest with straggly hair, cool hat, nikes and smiley face tee. HAHAAA i just now realized that running-across-the-country forrest is basically my spirit animal/style icon. minus all that pesky running. 

this meal comes together fairly quickly once you have your tater and chicken cooked, and veggies chopped and ready. in fact, you can totally cook the chicken and potatoes in advance. like a day in advance. same with the biscuit dough! be sure to keep the dough chilled til just before you bake. you don't want the butter to get all melty. 

and theeere you have it! a super cozy, hearty, healthy-ish, comforting dish. that rhymes. 

Chicken Pot Pie Potato Chowder & Rosemary Drop Biscuits

Chowder Serves 4 // Makes 12 Biscuits

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

Rosemary Drop Biscuits-

  • 1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 TB granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 6 TB unsalted butter (slightly cold)
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 TB fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Pot Pie Potato Chowder-

  • 1 large russet potato, peeled and cut in half (reserve 3/4 cup of the boiled potato water)
  • 2 TB olive oil
  • 2 TB milk
  • 1 cup cooked & cubed chicken (I used 1 medium chicken breast)
  • 2 TB unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups mixed peas & carrots, thawed if frozen

Instructions-

To make the rosemary biscuits, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray and flour a baking sheet. Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl. Cube the butter and cut through the dry ingredients with a fork until crumbly. Use your hands to incorporate the butter into the flour mixture. Add the milk and mix gently until a dough forms. Add either a TB of flour or a TB of milk if dough is too sticky or dry. Lastly, add the chopped rosemary and mix gently. 

Drop golfball sized spoonfuls of dough onto the baking sheet. Bake for 22 minutes or until bottoms of biscuits are golden brown. I suggest putting the biscuits in the oven just as you start to prepare the chowder on the stove.

To make the potato chowder, peel and cut the potato in half (as shown in photos above). Bring a pot of water to a boil. Boil the potato in water, removing one half after 10 minutes, and the other half after 20 minutes. Allow the lesser cooked half to cool slightly, cut into cubes and set aside. Place the well boiled half of potato in a bowl with olive oil, milk, and salt and roughly mash with a potato masher or fork. Set aside.

Cook the chicken as desired. I usually cook a chicken breast on medium/low heat in olive oil for about 4 minutes per side, lightly seasoning each side with salt, pepper, and/or garlic powder. Cut the chicken into cubes.

In a large pot, melt butter on low heat. Add flour and chopped onion, stirring with a spoon. Add 3/4 cup of the reserved potato water from the boiled potato and stir until a thick roux forms. Add chicken broth and black pepper and increase heat to medium/high, stirring frequently, until the mixture begins to boil (about 5 minutes).

Add the mashed potato, cubed chicken, peas & carrots, and slowly add the salt (different chicken broths can be more or less salty so beware of how much salt you add in addition). Simmer on medium/low for 5 more minutes. Lastly, add the cubed potato chunks and gently mix. 

Serve immediately with freshly baked rosemary drop biscuits! I plopped the biscuit right smack into the chowder. You should, too, yessiree Bob.

 

 

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spiced butternut squash bread with toasted pepitas.

buttahnut squarrrrsh. you are terrific. 

time to get roastin' y'all. i have a lot of good things to say about squash.

jeeeeeeez squash is such a versatile seasonal delight. its so great in so many capacities. savory or sweet - squash is an amazing little gourd to have around during these cozy fall times. 

i've put squash in thai curry, made the classic 'ol pumpkin purée, and shoved 'em full of various tasty toppings. and now a fabulous squash bread!

mmmmmm it was sooo goooooD. it's long gone, but just seeing the photos makes me feel warm & toasty and i can smell it nowwwww.

you can roast the squash in advance if you'd like the bread to come together more quickly. puréeing it right after roasting is probably the easiest method. then store it in the fridge til you're readyyyy.

they look pretty weeeird if you look at them a certain way...but also, little hearts. <3 <3 <3 

how ca-uuute.

can you even believe that amazing color of the purée?? so prit-dee honeyyyyy.

...and the green of the pepitas. love.

THIS bread. is perfeeeeeect. so warm and spicy and moist and ..... everything you want and need in a cozy fall bread. 

just look at that fluff. all spicy and well on its way to being a delectable bread. 

toasting those pepitas with a little butter or coconut oil, maple syrup and a dash of nutmeg kicks this whole loaf up a notch. i wouldn't skip that step :)

the SMELL! holy moses. so good. i want to bottle it up. 

i don't often buy pastries from starbucks since i worked there for so long, but their pumpkin bread is really good and calls to me. i was soo happy that this squash bread turned out just as scrumptious, if not MORE scrumptious than the sbux bread. i added some extra spices because i wanted this to be packed with warm spicy fall flavor. i call this a great success.

i should have avoided placing the pepitas in the center of the loaf because it got kind of heavy and caved in a little bit, but thats ok. just press them nearer to the edges of the loaf and all will be groovy.

i used butternut squash for this recipe because its a tad sweeter than other squash, but you could use pie pumpkins or try out other types of squash, too! and use any leftover roasted squash in your next meals. i recently had some butternut squash, black bean & cheese enchiladas...and yum. so versatile, i tells ya!

i stand by you, squash. 

Spiced Butternut Squash Bread with Toasted Pepitas

Makes 1 loaf

Total time: 2 hours (mostly inactive, for roasting & baking)

Ingredients:

Spiced Butternut Squash Bread-

  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter (6 TB for the bread batter, 1 for greasing pan, 1 for toasted pepitas)
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
  • 1 1/4 cup butternut squash purée*
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp. all spice
  • 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
  • 1 TB milk

Toasted Pepitas-

  • 1 TB unsalted butter
  • 3/4 cup pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds)
  • 1 tsp. maple syrup
  • pinch of nutmeg

*To roast the butternut squash, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Halve the squash and remove seeds. Rub skin with coconut oil, butter, or veggie oil. Place in a baking dish with 1/2 cup water in the bottom. Prick all over with a fork. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until softened and browning. Let cool and scoop squash out of the skin. Discard skins. 

*Add the roasted squash to a food processor or blender. Pulse with 2 TB water, adding 1 TB at a time until its formed a smooth purée. Set aside.

*You can roast & purée the squash about 3 days in advance to save time when making the bread.

To make the squash bread, Use 1 tablespoon of butter to liberally grease the bread baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a stand mixer or with electric hand mixer in a large bowl, cream the butter, sugar, and oil. Add the butternut purée, eggs, and vanilla, mixing as you go. Slowly add spices and flour mixture, mixing in between additions. Add 1 TB milk, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix once more. Pour batter into baking pan and shake until evenly distributed.

To toast the pepitas, heat 1 TB butter in a pan over medium/low heat. Add the pepitas, maple syrup, and nutmeg. Gently toss for a few minutes until fully coated and browned.

Gently press the toasted pepitas onto the top of the squash batter, avoiding the direct center slightly. Lightly tent the pan with tin foil (to avoid burning) and place in the oven on top of a baking sheet. Bake for about 70 minutes. Check the center of the bread with a toothpick at 60 minutes. The toothpick came clean for me around 70 minutes.

SO WARM COZY & DELICIOUS. ENJOY! :)

 

{Bread recipe slightly adapted from Epicurious via Bobby Flay - Toasted Pepitas adapted from Half Baked Harvest}

yay for october :)

 

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