Chicken pot pie

When I made the decision to start eating things that were better for me, one of the first books I bought was Eat This, Not That!  Some people (skinny people who can eat whatever they want and not gain an ounce) are always highly critical of overweight people and the food options they choose. "It's not so hard to eat healthy, dumbass," they say, condescendingly.  "Just don't eat Big Macs and fries every day."  OK, yes, Captain Obvious, we all know that certain foods are most definitely bad for us.  But it's really hard, especially when eating out, to know sometimes how bad something is for you.  (I'm hoping that will change once all chains will be forced to put calorie counts on the menus!)  And some menu items are most definitely eye opening.  I read Eat This, Not That and was sick to my stomach at how obnoxiously high in fat some menu items are, even some that look innocent and healthy, like a grilled salmon salad.  Sometimes you really have no idea how much crap (usually, butter and cheese) they put in this kind of food. No wonder we are all fat.

After reading that book, I went and bought Cook This, Not That!, which basically offers healthy recipes you can make at home to replace those high calorie versions at restaurants.  Compared to some of the other eating healthy books I own, these authors are more likely to tell you to use full fat cheese, butter, peanut butter, and milk and just use less of it.  That's one way to go I suppose.  The recipes I've tries so far have mostly been great, with the mac and cheese the only disappointing one.  Totally not enough cheese in that.

Recently, I made the chicken pot pie out of this book for the second time and I think it came out even better than the first time.  Here it is below, with my alternations.  (Click the link if you want to see the original recipe from the book.)

Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped into smaller pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups stemmed and quartered white or cremini mushrooms
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (leftover or pulled from a store-bought rotisserie chicken)
1/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, warmed
1 cup 1% milk
1/2 cup fat free half-and-half  (I used Land O' Lakes)
1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup frozen corn
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 reduced fat version crescent roll tube (like Pillsbury)
2 egg whites, lightly beaten (I used Egg Beaters instead, which is basically the same thing)

How to Make It:
*Heat the butter in a large saute pan or pot over medium heat. When it's melted, add the onion and carrots,  and cook until the onion is translucent and the carrots begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, using a wooden spoon to ensure the vegetables are evenly coated with flour.  Let cook at least one minute to cook the flour.

*Slowly pour in the chicken broth, using a whisk to beat it in to help avoid clumping with the flour (having the broth warm or hot helps smooth out the sauce). Add the chicken. Once the broth is incorporated, add the milk and half-and-half and simmer for 10-20, until the sauce has thickened substantially and lightly clings to the vegetables and chicken. Depending on your milk and half and half, this may take even longer.  Just be patient.  It'll thicken!  Stir in the peas and corn. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

*Preheat the oven to 375F.  Take the crescent roll dough out of the tube and break it up into four pieces. Roll out each piece to make a 6" square.

*Divide the chicken mixture among 4 ovenproof bowls* (I used my ramekins). Place the pastry square over the top of each bowl and trim away the excess with a paring knife; pinch the dough around the edges of the bowl to secure it. Brush the tops with the Egg Beaters and bake until golden brown, about 15-25 minutes.

Makes 4 servings
The original recipe has 350 calories per serving.  I'm not sure what it is with my alterations!

Fresh from the oven!  It'll be hot!

Mmmmm tasty

*if you didn't invest in ramekins like I did, just put the whole thing into a 8x8 glass baking pan and roll out the pastry to make one big crust for it, dividing it into four portions once cooked.