Chicken Pot Pie Bundles

Chicken pot pie is one of my absolute favorite foods. I remember back when I was in high school, my mom would buy those Marie Calendar's individual chicken pot pies, and I'd eat one at least once a week when I would get home from soccer practice. It was like my 'pre-dinner' meal. That was then I could pretty much eat whatever I wanted. Sigh. 

The problem with chicken pot pie is that generally it's packed full of calories. Which, I suppose, is what makes it such a fabulous comfort food. I've tried my fair share of chicken pot pie recipes, and nothing has really done it for me. Until I came across the recipe I'm sharing with you today! This recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Bundles has all the savory taste of traditional chicken pot pie, but a fraction of the calories. These bundles are packed full of veggies, and they are perfectly portioned. And because each one of these fabulous bundles is so low in calories (approximately 180 each), feel free to have more than 1 - your secret is safe with me.

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 large carrot, peeled & diced into 1/4 inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 small onion, diced into 1/4 inch pieces (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp freshly chopped tarragon, or 1/2 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• pinch of ground pepper
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 4 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 cup frozen petite peas
• 3/4 cup frozen corn kernels
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 12 egg roll wrappers (NOT wonton wrappers - get the big egg roll wrappers!)

How to:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Heat some olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add carrots and onion to skillet, stir frequently and cook until softened - about 5 minutes.
• Add garlic, mix, and cook for an additional 1 minute, stirring frequently.
• Add in chicken, tarragon, salt, and pepper. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink - about 5 minutes.
• Add in peas and corn and heat until thawed, about 2 minutes.
• Whisk together chicken broth and cornstarch in a separate bowl. Add chicken broth to skillet and heat to a simmer. Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes, stirring gently to mix.
• Gently place an egg roll wrapper in each cup of a 12-cup muffin tin. Let the sides of the egg roll wrapper extend over the sides of each cup (see picture).
• Fill each cup with a generous 1/4 cup of skillet mixture.
• Top with Parmesan cheese.
• Gather the sides of each egg roll wrapper and press together to seal each bundle. It helps to wet your fingers with a small amount of water so the bundles seal better. 
• Brush the tops of each bundle with olive oil. 
• Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until bundles are browned.

I found it helpful to fully 'seal' the bundles after I brushed them with the olive oil. These individual pot pies took a some time to prepare  (mostly the prep work - cutting up raw chicken always takes me forever), but the end result was SO worth it. I've never cooked with tarragon before, so I wonder if this is where all the fabulous taste came from. As soon as I added the tarragon to the skillet, my kitchen began to smell amazing. I'm going to find a way to include this magical spice into a few more recipes. 

The original recipe I worked from can be found here.

Enjoy!

Crab Wontons

Growing up, I despised shellfish. This is weird, because I'm originally from Massachusetts, where everyone loves lobster. It's an unspoken rule that everyone from New England is supposed to love all things seafood. Not me. I thought that shellfish generally had an odd texture. Couldn't eat it without wanting to gag. Yep, I'm the weirdo that used to shudder at the thought of lobster, shrimp, and crab.

Then I moved to Maryland and met Jake. On one of our first dates, he decided to 'treat' me to some steamed jumbo crabs, smothered in Old Bay. You know, the way true Marylanders eat crab. It was too early in our relationship for me to break it to him that I wanted to vomit just looking at those bright red crabs sitting on the table, ready to be cracked open. I sucked it up and dug into those crabs. 

Needless to say, I didn't vomit. And wouldn't you know, 3 years later, I LOVE crab. I can honestly say I haven't tried lobster in about 10 years, but I'd be more willing to give it a whirl now. 

I found this recipe for baked Crab Wontons, and had to try it. It worked out perfectly, since I had some leftover wonton wrappers from the last time I made Lasagna Cupcakes. This recipe is a healthier version of those delicious crab rangoons you can get at any Chinese food restaurant. 

Ingredients:

•  wonton wrappers
• 2 Tbs ricotta cheese*
• 8 oz. soft cream cheese
• 1 scallion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup crab meat, drained**
• glass or shallow container with some water

How to:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and spray generously with cooking spray.
• Combine ricotta, cream cheese, scallion, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, and sugar in a medium sized bowl. Mix until smooth.
• Fold in crab meat.
• Place a wonton wrapper on a working surface. Place 1-2 tsp of the crab mixture in the center of the wrapper.
•  Dip your finger into your water, and wet two adjacent sides to the wonton wrapper. 
• Fold the wonton wrapper up on itself so you form a triangle.
• Push the air out by pressing around the filling.
• Seal the sides together by pressing them together.
• Place crab wonton on prepared cookie sheet.
• Repeat with remaining wonton wrappers and filling.
• Lightly spray the tops of the wonton wrappers with more cooking spray.
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are browned. 

*The original recipe calls for sour cream, but I substituted ricotta, as I didn't have any sour cream on hand. I think my version came out pretty good! Alternatively, I believe mayonnaise would have also been a suitable alternative, if you don't have sour cream on hand. 

**I used a 4 oz. can of crabmeat, which you can find in the aisle with canned tuna fish. Ideally, I would have like to use fresh lump crab meat like a true Marylander, but I didn't have any. Blasphemous, I know.

I served these Crab Wontons with my Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce. They were delicious! The baked wonton wrappers are so light and crispy, and they taste SO good with the dipping sauce. These would make a hot great appetizer for any party!

The original recipe can be found here.

Enjoy!

Lasagna Cupcakes

Ask and you shall receive. An overwhelming 82% of you wanted to see this recipe, according to my first poll! I love this recipe. My favorite thing about it is how each 'cupcake' is perfectly portioned, and because the recipe uses wonton wrappers instead of actual lasagna noodles, the end product isn't super heavy, like traditional lasagna.

I found this recipe on Betty Crocker's website. The original recipe uses soy protein crumbles, but I opted to use italian sausage instead.

Ingredients:

• 36 wonton wrappers (I used Nasoya brand)
• 1/2 pound italian sausage
• 1 jar (24 oz.) of your favorite pasta sauce
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

How to:

• Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cook sausage over medium-high heat until browned and crumbled, and combine with pasta sauce. Set aside.
• Combine ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and egg in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Spray 12 regular-sized muffin cups with cooking spray.
• Place one wrapper in the bottom of each muffin cup. Top with a heaping spoonful of the sausage/pasta sauce mix. Add a heaping spoonful of the ricotta cheese mixture on top.
• Repeat layers again (wonton wrapper, sauce, ricotta).
• Cover with another wonton wrapper, and top with some more of the sausage/pasta sauce mix.
• Top with some mozzarella cheese.
• Spray some aluminum foil with cooking spray, and cover muffin tin with aluminum foil, sprayed side down.
• Cook for 15 minutes.
• Uncover and cook for an additional 12-15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
• Let stand for about 15 minutes before serving.

I like to serve my lasagna cupcakes with some extra marinara sauce on the side. I find this recipe is perfect when you're having a lot of people over (it's easy to double or even triple this recipe), and it's much less messy than traditional lasagna.

I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions!