I absolutely love cooking outside on the grill; who doesn’t love a good BBQ?  However, summer is officially over! If it stayed warm out all year (where I live) than I would continue to use the grill all winter long.  I have been known to stand outside in the cold just to cook on my grill.  Several years ago, when we went through a kitchen remodel in our home, I learned to cook just about anything on my grill.  I grilled anything from burgers & pizzas to cooking eggs & toast.  Since it is getting cooler out, I thought it was time to start thinking about making some of our favorite comfort food as we prepare for the colder months ahead.   This time of year makes me think of cooking more savory dishes and casseroles as we approach the Holiday season.  That’s right, I know it is hard to believe but the Holidays are not that far away.  I thought if I ignored it, summer wouldn’t end.  But the air outside is telling me something different.  I am already seeing pumpkins on front porches, Halloween decorations and we have already made our annual trip to the Apple Orchard.  So I guess I cannot avoid it anymore.  I will just have to join in the fun.

The next big holiday dinner will be Thanksgiving.  My husband LOVES a good turkey dinner.  Thanksgiving dinner is one of his absolute favorite meals of the year.  In fact, he begs for me to make thanksgiving dinner with turkey and all the fixings all year long.   Whenever we are at the supermarket together and we pass the aisle with turkeys he will ask, “Don’t you want to make a turkey dinner this week”?  If he isn’t with me at the supermarket I laugh as I pass by the turkeys knowing what he would ask me if he was there with me!  We all love the way the house smells all day long from cooking the turkey with the fresh rosemary, thyme and sage.  Then there are all those leftovers that we love to use in sandwiches, soups and casseroles.   The house smells amazing here on Thanksgiving!

For some reason, I just can’t make that big feast any other time than the holiday.  Maybe it is because I want to avoid being in that turkey day food coma or it is the anticipation of waiting for the holiday and how good the meal turns out every year.   If we eat that throughout the year than I don’t think I would look forward to it as much on the actual holiday.  I will make turkey in other recipes throughout the year, just not with all the fixings we make for Thanksgiving.   Instead I like to cook a whole chicken and keep it lighter by stuffing it with herbs and lemons during non-holiday months.  What about you; do you like to wait until the holiday to eat your turkey dinner or do you make turkey throughout the year?

I thought I would help kick off the Fall Season by making a dish that is savory.  By using up the fresh Rosemary that I still have outside, it helped to make it smell like Thanksgiving in the house.  I made my Chicken Pot Pie recipe and sure enough when the hubby got home he thought it smelled like Turkey Day!! We both win!

Chicken Pot Pie is one of those ultimate comfort foods for my family.  It is a savory, hot dish and so nice to serve on a cool autumn night.   I love that it is a 1 dish meal, filled with chicken and so many great veggies.  You can add any root veggies that you like as well as any herbs.  It is fun to change up your ingredients and use whatever is in season.  You can make this recipe with chicken or dare I say it, turkey!! They are both great in this dish.  I like to make a turkey pot pie after Thanksgiving, using the leftovers.   I like to top my casserole with pie crust but have been known to top it with biscuits.  It is also fun to make individual pot pies but this time I made 1 big casserole since it is a busy week.

Check out my Chicken Pot Pie recipe and would love to hear what your favorite, savory dishes are to make.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients

3-4, Chicken Breast, Boneless & Skinless

2 Tablespoons, Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons, Butter

4 small-medium, potatoes, cubed

3 stalks, Celery, chopped

1 pack (8 oz), Mushrooms, sliced or chopped

1 large, Onion, rough chop

2 large, Carrots, chopped

1 ½ Cups, Peas

1 ½ Cups, Corn

1 Teaspoon each:  Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, dried Oregano

2 Tablespoons, Fresh Rosemary, finely chopped

S&P

½ Cup, Chicken Broth

½ Cup, Light Cream

1 Egg, separate the yolk and white

Instructions

Heat oven to 375 degrees.   Cut chicken into bite size pieces, cook on stove over medium-high heat with 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter.  Once the chicken starts to turn white in color, season with S&P, ½ teaspoon of each dried seasoning: garlic powder, onion powder, oregano and also 1 tablespoon of the rosemary.   Mix until all chicken is seasoned and once all the chicken has turned a whitish color remove from stove.  Put the chicken on a plate, set aside.  Return pan to stove, heat 1 tablespoon each, butter & oil.  Add onion, celery, mushrooms, potato and carrots and sauté for about 5 minutes.  Season with S&P, ½ teaspoon of each dried seasoning and 1 tablespoon of fresh rosemary.  Stir well and continue cooking for about another 3 minutes.  Add chicken back to pan with veggie mix and add broth and cream, stir well.   Cook for another 5 minutes.  Turn heat off, add peas and corn and gently mix them in.

Transfer your mixture to a casserole dish (coat dish with cooking spray first).  Roll out your pie crust, brush the edges on the outside of your casserole dish with egg yolk and then lay the crust on top of your filling.  Press the edges of your crust to the dish and trim off any excess dough.  Brush the top your crust with egg white wash and cut a few slits into the crust to allow for steam.  Bake for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until crust is a nice golden brown.

Tips

For the potatoes, I like to leave the skins on.  No need to spend time peeling those!

For the corn, I like to use the fresh corn on the cob that I have in my freezer but you can use store bought, frozen corn also.

Rosemary: for more flavor, try to use fresh rosemary

Cream: I like to use a light cream to keep this dish a bit more on the lighter side.  You can also use a heavy cream if you like or even milk.

Eggs:  by brushing the edges of your casserole dish with the egg yolk, it will help your pie crust to stick to the edges and avoid the chicken pot pie bubbling over.  The egg white on top of the crust will help give your crust a nice golden color.

Be sure to cut slits in the top of your crust to allow steam to escape.  Otherwise, you could have a big mess in your oven!

Mangia! Enjoy!