Sunday, January 10, 2010

Lighten up your Chicken Pot Pie!

I have not ever heard of a person that does not love chicken pot pie. It's comfort food at it's finest. We decided to make chicken pot pie the other day and every recipe I found had either light cream, half & half, whole milk, or condensed mushroom soup in it. I thought there has to be a way to lighten up chicken pot pie a bit.

So I set off to device a lower in fat and calorie chicken pot pie recipe that still tasted good. Turns out it was pretty easy! My basic substitutions were to eliminate the bottom crust, and to substitute skim/nonfat milk for the cream/half & half. I don't use any soup mix at all. The result? A pie that was so amazing, I literally could not tell that it was a healthier version.

So, I get that even my lighter version is still not the pinnacle of heath (I wouldn't eat it while on my diet) but for a "cheat day" or day when you want to splurge a bit, why not try my lower-fat chicken pot pie?



Katie's Lower-Fat-But-Still-Delicious Chicken Pot Pie
serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 pound of chicken breast, boneless, skinless, cut into cubes
1 bag of frozen vegetables (any kind you like, really) - I use a blend of peas, carrots, lima beans (or whatever's in the freezer)
1/2 cup (approx) celery -cut up into small pieces
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups (16 oz) chicken broth or turkey broth or vegetable broth (I prefer the low sodium kind)
1 cup skim/nonfat milk
1 ready made pie crust


Directions
Preheat the oven to 425

In a medium to large sauce pan add the chicken, frozen vegetables, celery, and enough water to cover it and boil it for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
Same pan, medium heat, add in butter and onions and cook until they are soft.
Stir in flour, cook until flour is mixed in - maybe a minute or so.
Slowly add in the chicken broth (or veg broth or turkey broth) and milk. Simmer on medium-low until thick.
Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour the chicken & vegetables into the pie pan. Pour hot liquid mixture over the veg/meat mixture.
Cover with the pie crust, seal it, and cut a few slits to vent it.

Bake 30-35 minutes
Cool 10 minutes before serving.

Variations: Use turkey instead of chicken. Use really any kind of frozen vegetables. Add mushrooms. Whatever you do, it'll likely be delicious!


Nutrition Info:

6 Servings, Amount Per Serving

Calories - 339.5
Total Fat - 15.8 g
Saturated Fat - 7.4 g
Polyunsaturated Fat -1.5 g
Monounsaturated Fat - 5.5 g
Cholesterol - 66.7 mg
Sodium 612.7 mg
Potassium - 438.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate- 26.2 g
Dietary Fiber - 2.7 g
Sugars - 4.9 g
Protein - 22.8 g

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