Saturday, December 4, 2010

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie


My friend Linda has been one of my biggest cheerleaders since I started this blog. Even before starting the blog, she and I had great talks about nutrition. Recently she asked me if I could take a recipe that her husband loved, but was unhealthy (made with white flour and sodium/msg filled bouillon cubes - among other things) and remake it. I jumped at the chance. It was actually a lot of fun. I think the new recipe is not only healthier but probably a whole lot tastier! The result is a gluten free, grain free and dairy free dish that I think anyone can enjoy. If you are hesitant to make the change, or think your family will not like it as much, why not just try the new filling first. After they decide they like that you could tackle the crust if you wish.

Healthy Chicken Pot Pie

For the Filling:
  • 2 Cups Chicken (chopped)
  • 1.5 Cup Chicken Broth (homemade is best!)
  • 2 Cups Diced Sweet Potatoes
  • 2 Small Onions
  • 2 Celery Stalks
  • 1 Clove of Garlic
  • 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil
  • 1 Tablespoon Arrowroot Powder
  • 1 Tablespoon Parsley
  • 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Poultry Seasoning
  • 1 Teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning
  • 1/2 Teaspoon White Pepper
For the Crust
(Adapted from a recipe by Elana Amsterdam in The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook)
  • 2 Cups Blanched Almond Flour
  • 1/4 Cup Water
  • 1 Teaspoon Coconut Oil (melted)
  • 1 Teaspoon Parsley
  • 1 Teaspoon All Purpose Seasoning
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
  • 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Method:

Chop up all of your vegetables.


In a pan add the coconut oil. Cook the onions until soft. Add the garlic, celery and sweet potatoes.


Measure out the spices.


Add the chicken stock and spices to your vegetable mixture.


Continue cooking on low.


Meanwhile turn your attention to the crust. In a bowl combine all ingredients.


 Divide mixture in half. Take half and form into a ball. Put the other half into the refrigerator for later use. Place the ball between two sheets of wax paper/parchment paper. Roll into a circle.





Press the mixture into standard size pie plate. * Note: if you have problems with the dough falling apart it may be too warm, place in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes and try again.




Cook at 375 for 15 minutes until slightly brown. After the vegetable mixture has been cooking for about 10 minutes and has started to reduce add chicken.


Mix together arrowroot powder with equal portion of water.



Pour the arrowroot mixture into the pie filling.


Mix together.


Take pie crust out of the oven. Spoon reduced filling into the crust.


Take the remaining dough and roll into another circle. Place on top of the pie plate, cut off extra dough around edges.



 Put on top of a cookie sheet and place into the oven at 375 degree for 35 minutes.


Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!


I submitted this recipe to Monday Mania, check it out for other great recipes from real food bloggers!




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14 comments:

  1. This looks yummy...can't wait to try it. I may change it up a but and will let you know how it turns out!

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  2. Please let me know! Some people may not care for almond flour, I was using it to keep the carbs down for my hubby. Let me know what changes you make!

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  3. This looks terrific! Can't wait to try it out.

    Quick question - found your blog and love it. I was wondering about the choice of coconut oil in the cooking. I assume it's healthier? Does it taste like coconut as well? I'm not a big fan of coconut at all. If it does, is there any other "healthier" type of oil that you'd recommend for cooking?

    Great blog - keep up the good work!

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  4. Good question, Chris. I will copy what I wrote for my friend on facebook recently (we are on facebook, find us!) when she asked why not olive oil:

    I am working on getting a article together since this is one of the most common questions I am getting. Shortish answer is that olive oil is a great oil, but not so much when you use it to cook. The reason is that it is a monounsaturated fat- due to its structure cooking makes it suseptible to oxidative damage. In other words, everything about it that is healthy for you is eliminated once you heat it past a certain point. The only oil (that I know of) that is stable enough at higher heat to not be damaged is coconut oil. Coconut oil has so many health benefits - yes, it is a saturated fat, but it is a good one because it contains medium chain fatty acids which are easily digested. Not only that but medium chain fatty acids are sent directly to your liver for use as energy rather than being stored as fat. It is also thought to stimulate the metabolism. Another interesting fact is that coconut oil contains lauric acid, which is in mothers milk- and is thought to support the immune system. Fascinating! Hope that helps.

    If you do not like the coconut oil taste, you can get certain brands which have no taste. Here is a great artice:

    http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/04/coconut-oil-with-no-taste-or-smell.html

    If you still do not want to try that, I would just use butter. Glad you like the blog!! Thanks for your question.

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  5. Hi there! I found you via Monday Mania, and I think your blog is awesome!! I am 100% going to try out this recipe, including the almond crust, which looks amazing. Thanks SO MUCH for sharing. I love recipe reinventions!!

    To add to the coconut oil discussion, just use "expeller-pressed" coconut oil, it has no coconut taste, but all the benefits. It's cheaper too. We use the raw stuff just for things we want to taste like coconut.

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  6. Looks delicious and a great alternative to the yucky kind! I am definitely going to try this recipe, but will probably use some leftover turkey I have in the freezer. I used to make the unhealthy version many (MANY) years ago and look forward to making a nutritious version. Thank you so much for sharing! ~Karen

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  7. onceuponthekitchencounter- thank you for weighing in on the discussion! That is something I am really hoping for with this blog. I have a facebook page, please find it- I started it for that very reason! Thanks for looking, I hope you like the pie. My family loved it!

    beingconformed- go for it! The recipe my friend asked me to makeover actually did use turkey, but I had just roasted a chicken so I wanted to use it up. Let me know how it goes!

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  8. PS for my readers- the last two commenters have blogs as well, click on the links to see what they are up to!

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  9. Looks delicious, but wouldn't poultry seasoning or all purpose seasoning likely have MSG and other chemicals, if not expressly stated in the ingredients, then hidden under headings like "flavors". Why not just use the spices straight up?
    Another question, I've never baked with almond flour. Do you taste the nuttiness in a recipe like this?

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  10. Hello Anonymous-

    Thank you for the question. I use Simply Organic Seasoning. There are no fillers, no MSG and no "other flavors". The ingredients are Organic Sage, Thyme,Onion, Marjoram, Black Pepper, Celery Seed and Cayenne. The reason that I do not use the spices straight up is because I feel like they do a good job and why make my life even more complicated!;)

    As far as the almond flour goes, it is a personal preference. It does taste different. Not nutty, really. But different. It is hard to describe. I use it because I personally do not like the taste of whole wheat pie crust and try to use white flour rarely or on special occasions. Try it with your favorite crust first.

    Thanks for reading!

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  11. I made the pot pie last night. Well, actually I doubled it and made two. I'm always needing something to send hubby for lunch or trying to put something back for an emergency. Anyway, it was a hit here! I used my leftover turkey and tweaked the spices and veggies a little to adjust for what I had on hand.
    I did want to mention that your ingredients list doesn't include garlic, but the instructions do. I used ghee in the crust and it was a little hard to work with (I think my hands were too warm!), but it really was delicious and well worth the effort. Thanks again for sharing! I'll probably blog about it, but will definitely link to your article. ~Karen

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  12. Hi Karen!

    I am so glad that you liked it! Thank you for pointing out the garlic, there is 1 clove in the recipe. I will edit to reflect that.

    The crust is a little tricky, if you have trouble in the future put it in the fridge or freezer for a few minutes and that should fix the problem. I should probably add that somewhere in the instructions as well!

    Thanks for coming back to comment, I will be looking forward to seeing your blog post about it! Are you on my scratch love facebook page? I have a Karen. Anyway, if you are post on the wall with a link to your page when you do the blog post so my readers can see too!

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  13. I did figure out on the top crusts that it was easier when I chilled the dough! I probably would have given up if I hadn't had your pictures to encourage me. :) Yes, I "liked" your page and will definitely post on your wall about the pot pie when I do the blog. I like to tell my readers, "If I can do it, anybody can!"

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  14. I agree with you! Anyone can cook. Really! That is what I really wanted for this blog, to show people that they CAN do it! I am so glad you didnt give up on the crust!

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