Crazy Girl's Kitchen

Get ready:

• 1 Tsp olive oil
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, cubed
• 4 Tsp butter
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1/4 cup whole milk
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 Tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed

Now let’s play:

Cut the sheet of puff pastry into quarters, and bake in a 400F oven for 15-20 minutes or till it’s all puffed up. Meanwhile, heat up olive oil in a saute pan while seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper. Saute chicken till juice runs clear. Take out chicken and set aside. Melt butter in the same pan. Saute diced carrots with parsley, oregano, and a pinch of salt for 5 minutes. Dust in flour and whisk till it’s fully combined with the carrots. Pour in chicken stock and whisk vigorously till there is no lump. Stir in the peas and milk. Bring it to boil. Then turn off the heat. Stir in chopped onion.  Wait for 5 minutes. Season to taste. Place one square of puffed pastry on a plate, slit the top open, serve the chicken mix in and out the pastry as the pastry is a serving device (about 4 servings).

After-play thoughts:

Chicken pot pie always brings the cozy feeling as it’s one of the home-cooking classics. This recipe puts an elegant twist on the classic dish, and fool-prove.

Get ready:

• 1/4 lb smoked bacon, cut in chucks
• 2.5lb beef stew meat
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, diced
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 3 14oz cans of tomato sauce
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 large russet potatoes, cut in 1/2 inch wide stripes
• 1.5 lb baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lb frozen green peas
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Heat up a 7 qt dutch oven w/o the lid on medium high heat. Season stew meat generously with salt and pepper. Sear the meat in batches until gold brown on all sides. Set meat aside. Saute the onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Put meat back into the dutch oven. Pour in the chicken stock. Scrap off the brown bites on the bottom of the dutch oven with a wooden spoon. Add tomato sauce and bring to boil. Cover with the lid, turn down the heat to medium, and simmer for 2-3 hours until meat is tender but not falling apart. Fold in sliced mushrooms and stir until they are slightly cooked. Fold in the frozen peas and cook through. Serve immediately (6-8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

Baby bella mushroom has more flavor than the white button mushroom, but you can substitute it with the latter if so desired. Also, it’s better not to fold in the peas before mushrooms. Otherwise the peas will be overcooked while the mushrooms are barely cooked.

Get ready:

• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tsp olive oil
• 2Tsp butter
• 1 can (10 3/4) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 pound frozen green peas
• 2 cup cooked long grain white rice
• 2 pounds of flounder fillets, fresh or thawed and seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 Tsp dried cilantro
• 1 Tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper

Now let’s play:

Turn the heat to medium high. Melt the butter together with olive oil. Saute diced onion (add a pinch of salt) until soft. Add garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the condensed soup, frozen peas, and rice. Mix together. Cook till peas just thawed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat. Pour the mixture into a 9*13 baking dish, and even out a bit. Layer seasoned flounder fillets over the rice mix. Double-layering and overlapping are fine and recommended, but make sure they are layered evenly. Sprinkle white wine, dried cilantro and oregano over the flounder fillets. Cover with foil, and bake it in a 350F oven for 45 minutes. Then let it cool for 15 minutes before serving (6-8 servings).

After-play thoughts:

I created this dish when my husband was on a week-long business trip and I felt I need a break from everything. It’s easy, light, elegant, and yummy. It was exactly what I wanted.