Chicken Pot Pie Crumble - My Favorite Pot Pie

You are looking at a must try comfort food meal. I was never a fan of chicken pot pie until a friend so kindly brought me this dish after I had my baby a few years ago. I'm fully in love with it! Rather then getting a surrounding of heavy pie crust you get a fluffy biscuit topping that will quickly have you loading your plate with a second round. In my opinion the topping is what makes this dish. It sets it apart from it's competitors, being loaded with Parmesan cheese, plenty of heavy cream, some black pepper and cayenne pepper for a slight kick, and I also added a little garlic powder (because how can I resist?). Then to finish, it's browned in the oven to beautifully golden perfection. 
And the wonder doesn't just end at the topping. That is just the beginning. It's loaded with fresh, sauteed veggies, fall apart tender chicken which is all tossed in a creamy white sauce. This hearty dish would also be incredible made with leftover turkey from your upcoming Thanksgiving feast. 
I love how this is your entire meal in one dish. The main course with the chicken, the side with its generous portion of veggies and a bread with that unbelievable topping. I love how the slightly tangy flavor from the Parmesan cheese will keep people wondering what delicious ingredient that incredible flavor is coming from. 
This meal will remind you of what a classic, simple, just plain good meal is intended to be. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie Crumble
Yields about 5 - 6 servings

Ingredients:
20 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 large)
1 (14.5 oz) can low-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup peeled and diced carrots (about 2 large carrots)
3/4 cup diced celery (about 2 large stalks)
3/4 cup finely diced yellow onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
2/3 cup frozen peas
3 Tbsp butter
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried thyme

For the crumble:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder (use 1/2 tsp for a slightly stronger garlic flavor)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/4 cup butter, cold and diced into small cubes
2 oz. finely shredded Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup packed)
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp heavy cream

Directions:
Place chicken in a slow cooker, pour chicken broth over chicken. Cover with lid and cook on low heat about 5 - 6 hours until chicken is cooked through. Remove chicken from slow cooker, dice and set aside. Strain broth from slow cooker through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl and reserve broth (if you don't have a fine mesh strainer just try to remove the pieces of fat). 
To prepare crumble: Preheat oven to 450 degree. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, garlic powder and optional cayenne pepper. Using your finger tips, cut butter into mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in Parmesan cheese. Pour in heavy cream and mix just until combine. Break and drop mixture into 1 - 2-inch pieces onto a Silpat lined baking dish. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
To prepare filling: Heat olive oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add diced carrots, onion and celery. Saute vegetables, stirring occasionally until lightly golden and tender, about 5 - 6 minutes. Pour vegetables into a bowl and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, melt butter in saucepan (I like to brown it a bit for and extra layer of flavor), then add in flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 20 seconds (it will be very thick). While stirring, slowly add in milk followed by reserved chicken broth, lemon juice, parsley, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture just to a boil,  then slightly reduce heat and allow to cook about 1 minute longer until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove sauce from heat and add sauteed vegetables, frozen peas and diced chicken to sauce, then toss to evenly coat. Pour mixture into a 9-inch pie dish and sprinkle with baked crumble topping (mine fit perfectly in my pie dish but if yours is coming close to the top edge you may want to sit it on top of a cookie sheet to prevent spills in your oven). Bake in 400 degree oven until nicely golden about 12 - 14 minutes. Serve warm.

Recipe Source: adapted slightly from Cook's Illustrated, and yes I omitted the tomato paste and soy sauce =)

Campfire Tarts and My First Giveaway!

I will just say it people, these Tarts On Fire sticks are the must have cookware of the year! They are the best thing since S'mores. Actually, I never thought I'd say this but S'mores are now a thing of the past, these are going to be my number one dessert choice at campfire cookouts. These Tarts On Fire sticks are a product that is well worth the money, and they are made of stainless steel so these things are built to last.
This is one of those genius inventions that's like, man why didn't I think of that =)? Nic (creator of Tarts On Fire) you have created something phenomenal! Every single person that tried these agreed that not only were they the new "it" thing but the end result of what they can cook is undeniably delicious (and I want to add, normally I'm all about made from scratch. I did not make one thing from scratch with these. I used store bought refrigerated biscuits, canned pie filling and canned whipped cream and these campfire cups left me speechless - for a moment, and then I couldn't stop talking about how awesome and delicious they were =). 
You get a perfectly toasted biscuit tart that's amazingly tender and fully cooked through (I questioned whether they might be soggy inside but they had no sogginess whatsoever), then you fill it with you favorite fruit pie filling and finish it off with sweetened whipped cream. Yes, they're melt-in-your-mouth fantastic! Their deliciousness also got me thinking of everything you could fill them with. You could do the traditional fruit pie filling or pudding, or you could change it up and fill them with sweetened fresh fruit (which I did with one), a cream pie filling, ice cream - with all the toppings of course, pastry cream, or make them S'mores tarts and fill them with toasted marshmallows and chocolate sauce. You could make a savory option and fill them with soup, chili, chicken pot pie filling, cheesy scrambled eggs, or you could make taco bowls and fill them with taco filling. Really the possibilities of what you can create with these are endless.
I wouldn't go on and on raving about a product I didn't absolutely love but I'm telling you I LOVE these Tarts On Fire sticks. And everyone is going to love me when I bring them to the campfire cookouts =). Adults and kids alike had so much fun preparing and enjoying the campfire tarts. I mean really, when was the last time your campfire cookware consisted of something other than a roasting stick, a pot or of roll of aluminum foil? These are new, they're fun, they're easy, and yes like I mentioned before I think these will be the new "it" cookware product. I hope they can keep up with the demand. These are not yet in stores so I'd recommend buying them before you have to pay the marked up store fees. 
As the holidays come near I'm always drawing blanks for an exciting gift to give to a friend or loved one. Well, not this year. These would make the perfect birthday or Christmas gift for men or women alike. 
Take these camping or out to the backyard fire pit and I can basically guarantee they will be a total hit, and like me you will instantly become a huge fan. Entertain in style with these new Tarts on Fire Sticks!

 ...they are like a piece of art.

Tarts On Fire is giving away FOUR Tarts On Fire Sticks to one lucky Cooking Classy reader!

Thanks to Tarts on Fire you don't have to be sad if you aren't the lucky winner of the giveaway because they are kindly giving all Cooking Classy readers a special discount!...

Buy 3 get 1 FREE!
Just head to www.tartsonfire.com and enter: { CKGCLSY12 } at checkout.

How to Enter the GIVEAWAY!!  Giveaway Closed
The winner chosen by Random.org is #63 Lisa, Congatulations!
{mandatory entry} Leave a comment below telling me what kind of filling you would put in these Campfire Cups.

Earn extra entries by completing the tasks listed below and leaving a separate comment below letting me know you did so for each...

1. Pin this post to Pinterest
2. Like Tarts On Fire on Facebook
3. Follow Tarts On Fire on Twitter
4. Share this giveaway on Facebook
5. Tweet about this giveaway on Twitter

Details: This giveaway is open to everyone! Contest ends September 15, 2012 at 11:59 PST. A winner will be chosen at random by using random.org and the winner will be announced in this post. The winner will be notified via e-mail, so be sure to list a valid e-mail address when entering. If the winner does not respond withing 48 hours a new winner will be chosen. Good luck! 

disclaimer: Although Tarts On Fire graciously gave me a set of Tarts on Fire Sticks to try out and keep, I was not financially compensated for my review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

All you need are 3 ingredients, and of course the Tarts On Fire sticks...

 1.Wrap

2. Toast

 3. Fill and garnish

 4. Enjoy and share!

Campfire Tarts
Yields 10 cups

1 package refrigerated, small biscuits (I used Pillsburry Jr. Grands)
2 (21 oz) cans pie filling such as apple, blueberry, raspberry, cherry
canned whipped cream

Special equipment: Tarts On Fire Sticks

Directions:
Evenly wrap and mold 1 biscuit dough around the outside of the stainless steel cup of each Tarts On Fire Stick (no greasing necessary). Roast over an open flame, rotating frequently until golden brown (don't hold them over a smokey area or directly in the fire), about 1 - 2 minutes. Remove toasted biscuit from stainless steel cup (it should easily glide right off), fill with your favorite pie filling and top with whipped cream. Easy as that! Now devour =).

Cream Puff Pie (aka cream puff cake or eclair cake)

 Let me state things plainly, you are going to want to make this pie =). It is one of the easiest and tastiest pies I've ever made. I adore cream puffs. Basically I could eat about 20 or more in one sitting (if I didn't exercise any self control). So, when I saw this cake, and noticed how many of the reviewers had made a pie version of it I knew I had to give it a try. I don't want a little wimpy piece of cake I want a big slice of pie! I'm so glad I tried this pie. I like it equally as much, if not more than cream puffs. 
I used a different pastry cream than that listed on the original recipe. I like to call it "cheaters pastry cream" because it is made from a boxed pudding mix. It's not often I use mixes when I cook and bake but in this case, for pastry cream, I love to. It always guarantees the perfect consistency, a great texture, and I also like how it's just a bit sweeter than your average pastry cream that's made from scratch. I don't know if I would love it so much if it weren't loaded with so much cream though =). I've said it before, cream makes everything better. Yes, my Momma taught me right. She loves cream and she definitely handed that down to me. You will find this pie is anything but shy on the cream. That is what makes it so incredibly creamy, delicious and decadently divine. You may even want to make two of these because they are going to go quick. Enjoy and share! 

Cream Puff Pie
Yields about 8 - 10 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk (preferably whole or 2%)
1 (5.1 oz) package instant vanilla or white chocolate pudding mix

3/4 cup heavy cream
3 Tbsp granulated sugar

Directions:
To prepare puff pastry pie shell:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter a 9 inch pie dish, set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Once mixture reaches a boil, reduce heat to low and stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes together forming a ball and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Remove from heat and while stirring, add in eggs one at a time mixing until well combine after each addition. Using buttered hands, spread mixture into an even layer over the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pie dish. Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes until golden brown. Cool pie shell completely. Meanwhile (you can do this while the pie shell bakes), prepare chocolate sauce by combining semi-sweet chocolate chips and 1/2 cup heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave chocolate mixture on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Cool completely (it needs to be cool or it will melt the whipped cream, you can chill it in the fridge while the pie shell bakes and cools, then reheat it slightly in the microwave on HIGH power in 5 second intervals, stirring after each interval until desired consistency is reached).

To prepare cheaters pastry cream:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 1 cup heavy cream, milk and pudding mix, for about 3 minutes until mixture has thickened. Spread pastry cream into an even layer over cooled puff pastry pie shell (note that it's pretty much inevitable that you're going to have some bubbles in the pie shell, you can try and flatten them a bit before spreading in the filling).

To prepare sweetened whipped cream:
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whip 3/4 cup heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add in granulated sugar and whip until stiff peaks form. Spread sweetened whipped cream evenly over pastry cream layer.

Cut pie into slices and drizzle each slice with cooled chocolate sauce. Serve immediately. Note: this pie is best served the day prepared. Also note, the sweetened whipped cream will begin to separate after about 3 hours so plan accordingly. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: adapted slightly from allrecipes.com

Come join Love the Pie with TidyMom  sponsored by Whirlpool and enter to win a new Whirlpool Range

Apple Pie Bars

Any day is a good day for apple pie, right? To me apple pie isn't just a Fall and Thanksgiving dessert, I want apple pie all through out the year. Why have such a good thing only once a year? Also, why stick with an ordinary pie? I love turning things into bar form. These are everything you get in an apple pie but in perfect, hand hold-able, individual bars. These are one of my favorite things I've blogged yet. I'm so excited with how well they turned out. Sometimes the things I make for this blog can only be titled as an experiment (an obviously I don't post them, in case you were wondering) because they end result doesn't turn out how I want it to. These however, are something to brag about =). Just like a regular apple pie these do require a bit a work but I'm telling you it is so worth it! You can serve these warm with vanilla ice cream or allow them to cool almost entirely and drizzle them with the creamy vanilla glaze (it will remind you of a toaster struedle only a thousand times better. Got a craving for apple pie? You're going to want to try these delicious Apple Pie Bars! Sweet, deliciously spiced, gooey apple filling is surrounded by a flavorful, flaky buttermilk crust then it's finished with a delectable, silky vanilla glaze, do things get much better =)? Enjoy and share!

Apple Pie Bars
Yields 12 generous bars or 24 mini bars


Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
12 Tbsp salted butter, cold and diced into cubes
1/4 cup +2 Tbsp buttermilk, chilled
1 egg yolk


2 1/4 lbs granny smith apples (about 6 medium apples)
2 1/2 Tbsp orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg


1 egg white
1 1/2 Tbsp Raw Turbinado sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 recipe Vanilla Glaze (optional), recipe follows


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To prepare pie crust:
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour and salt. Cut butter into flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and egg yolk to mixture and stir until mixture comes together and you are able to form a ball. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate dough while preparing apple filling.
To prepare apple filling:
Peel, core and dice apples into thin and small pieces. Place diced apples in a large mixing bowl. Add orange juice and 1 tsp vanilla and toss apples to evenly coat. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup flour, granulated sugar, light-brown sugar, 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour flour mixture over apple mixture and toss to evenly coat, set aside.
To assemble pie:
Divide pie dough into 2 equal portions. Roll one portion into a 13x9 inch rectangle on a lightly floured surface. Lift rolled dough into an ungreased 13x9 inch baking dish (the easiest way to do this is to fold the dough in half and then fold in half again, then transfer folded dough to one corner of the dish and unfold to it's original shape to cover entire baking dish). Toss apple mixture once more and pour into baking dish over pie crust. Roll remaining dough into a 13 1/2 x 9 1/2 inch rectangle and place rolled dough over apples (folding and unfolding as previously noted). In a small mixing bowl whisk egg white until foamy, brush egg white over top pie crust (you will only need about half of the egg white). In a separate small mixing bowl whisk together 1 1/2 tbsp Raw Turbinado sugar with 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over top pie crust. Bake in preheated oven 50 - 60 minutes until golden brown and apples are tender when pierced with a toothpick. Remove from oven and allow to cool at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares. Drizzle with optional glaze or serve with vanilla ice cream. Store bars in refrigerator in an airtight container, rewarm in microwave if desired.


Vanilla Glaze


Ingredients:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp half and half (milk could be substituted)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
Combine all ingredients in a small mixing bowl, whisk until smooth. Add an additional 1/2 Tbsp half and half if you'd prefer a thinner consistency.


Recipe Source: Cooking Classy