Thursday, September 10, 2009

Quiche & Pot Pie

We've been trying to really plan meals for the week and take into consideration what we buy when we grocery shop. For example, if we are cooking a recipe with fresh basil, we try to find other recipes with fresh basil so that not so much goes to waste. This is a bad example, but you get the picture.

So tonight, we took a cue from Rebekah and made a quiche with extras from foods used in the chicken pot pie we made Tuesday night. The recipe we followed was inspired by one from Erin Cooks and can be seen by clicking here. We made a few changes using ingredients we had, and it turned out fantastically. We both ate a little more than we should have but it was pretty tasty. I'm listing the chicken pot pie recipe as well as the ingredients we put into the quiche. I'm not listing the full quiche recipe in order to encourage everyone to check out the Erin Cooks post. There's important information on protecting your oven when baking a quiche! Unfortunately no pictures for this post... but just imagine yummy goodness!

Quiche Ingredients & modifications:
The frozen veggies mentioned below can't be purchased in "1 cup" sizes, so we used about a cup of those (peas, corn, onion) as well as some of the carrots and a small tomato (called for in the recipe). We bought a 2-pack of the frozen pie crusts, so one was used for the potpie and the other for the quiche. Frank decided to use 6 eggs (Eggs are really healthy for you and when divied u into an 8 serving quiche, the protein & nutrients weigh out any cholesterol!!) instead of 4. In lieu of the gruyere cheese called for in the recipe, we used some Mexican blend shredded cheese leftover from taco night; we decided this was a delicious complement to the onions and tomatoes. Also, we didn't have half & half, and since I only drink vanilla soymilk (which is not a great replacement in this situation), Frank substituted butter. I calculated the calories per serving assuming the one quiche yielded 8 servings and it's around 275 - 300 calories. When doubled, this is a great dinner for an active adult. If you are sticking to the Change One plan of 450 calorie dinner, shoot for 1.5 servings. Enjoy!

One-Crust Chicken Potpie (from Change One)
serves 4
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (15 oz) refrigerated pie crust
1 egg white, lightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup frozen small white onions
1/2 cup fat-free evaporated milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper

1. In a lrge saucepan, bring the chicken, 1/8 tsp salt, and enough water to cover to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low and gently poach the chicen until the juics run clear, abu 15 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, let cool, and cut into bite-size pieces. Reserve 1 cup of the poaching liquid.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat a baking sheet and four 1-cup baking dishes. Note: we opted instead to use a traditional pie dish and instead of cutting out individual pie crusts, we simply used the entire pie crust over top the inside chicken mixture.

3. Dust a work surface lightly with flour. Unfold the piecrust, cut in half, and wrap the remaining half in foil or plastic wrap; refrigerate or freeze. Roll out the crust 1/8 inch thick, then cut out 4 squares to fit on top of the baking dishes. Brush the tops with the diluted egg white. Transfer the squares to the baking sheet and bake until crisp and golden, about 12 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

4. Meanwhile, cook the carrots in boiling water until tender about 5 minutes; drain. In a colander, rinse the corn, peas, and onions in hot water. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and flour until smooth.

5. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the milk mixture, then the reserved poaching liquid. Cook until the sauce thickens and boils, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken, carrots, corn, peas, onions, pepper, and the remaining salt. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Divide among the 4 baking dishes and bake until the filling bubbles, about 15 minutes. top each with a pastry square.

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