Lighter Chicken Pot Pie

I've been meaning to make this recipe for quite a while. I've always been a fan of chicken pot pie; however, sometimes it's just too filling. This recipe substitutes the traditional pie crust with phyllo dough. Phyllo dough is a Greek pastry dough; it's paper thin and very delicate. I made it as one large chicken pot pie; however, you can make these into individual chicken pot pies.

I substituted the fresh tarragon for fresh thyme and omitted the peas since I'm not a huge fan of peas. It was very tasty for a cool fall day!

You can find the recipe here

End of the Summer Chili

Yummy! I got this recipe from the August 2009 issue of Everyday with Rachel Ray. I made it with ground turkey but you can use beef, pork, or ground chicken. The recipe calls for summer vegetables- zucchini & corn. There's no beans in this chili but I think they'd make a great addition.

You can find the recipe here

Comfort food: Chicken Ala King

I love cooking when there's a chill in the air. This time of year is perfect and it always puts me in the mood for some good comfort food. I've been wanting to make chicken ala king for awhile now and finally got around to it last night.

About a year ago I went to a "Tastefully Simple" party. Have you ever heard of this company? They're known for making things super easy. I bought this biscuit mix and finally got around to making them for chicken ala king. They were very easy and very good!

I got the chicken ala king recipe from Rachel Ray. I'm not a big fan of peas so used celery instead. This is one of her 30 min meals; however, it took me about an hour. All in all it was very good meal. I'll be making this one again.

You can find the recipe here

Israeli Salad

Israeli salad is perfect for this time of year especially for those with their own gardens. Israeli salad is a combination of finely chopped cucumbers and tomatoes with a little bit of onion. This is a great recipe to serve during summer cookouts with some pita chips or it's a great to serve in a wrap along with some hummus. I added some feta cheese for additional flavor; chickpeas and black olives would go nicely too.

Salad Recipe:
3 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
3 shallots, diced
Dressing:
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons a freshly chopped parsley
Salt & Pepper

Toss vegetables and coat with dressings.

Basil Pesto Orzo Salad

Pesto is a simple sauce that can be used in so many ways! I had a couple people over for the 4th of July and decided to make an orzo pesto salad. So where do I turn for a great Pesto recipe? That's right...Martha! I have Martha Stewart's Cooking School: Lessons and Recipes for the Home Cook which gives a great step by step recipe for Pesto. If you're a garlic lover like myself you'll love this recipe. If you're not a huge garlic fan Pesto might not be for you.

Recipe:

3 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cups of loosely packed fresh basil leaves

3 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts

1/2 teaspoon of coarse salt

1/3 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

(I used a food processor even though Martha suggests to use a mortar and pestle). Pulse together basil, garlic, pine nuts, & salt until the basil is pulverized and the pine nuts and garlic are pasty. Add cheese and pour oil in a slow steady stream and mix until combined. Serve immediately.

The pesto orzo salad is a breeze from here. Just make the orzo according to the package. Rinse with cold water to cool and cover with pesto. Chill for 30 mins. You can cut up tomato and mozzarella to add to the salad as well.