This lighter-version of a favorite comes from Eating Well, and was a great way to feel comfortable eating comfort food. The biscuit topping was a nice surprise, and the dish really tasted rich and creamy. I’m putting in my official request for Lisa to make this again.

What the… did you really just make Chicken Pot Pie?

Lisa says:

Sure did…

Chris says:

But we never…

Lisa says:

…I was craving it! It’s a light version.

Chris says:

Wow, well it looks awesome.

Lisa says:

Just wait until you taste it — it may be light but it’s pretty rich.

Chris says:

Yeah it is! This is so good — though, I have a question.

Lisa says:

Ye-e-e-e-e-e-s….?

Chris says:

Is it still considered light if I have three helpings?

Lisa says:

…. uh-no-o-o-o-o-o.

Chicken Pot Pie

Filling
3 tsp canola oil
1 cup frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 cup carrots, cut into small pieces
10 oz cremini mushrooms, halved
1/2 cup broccoli, cut into small florets
2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups diced cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Biscuit topping
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
1 tbsp canola oil

To prepare filling, heat 1 tsp oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and carrots; cook, stirring, until golden brown and tender, about 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl. Heat the remaining 2 tsp oil in the pan over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and broccoli and cook, stirring often, until browned and the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Return the onions and carrots to the pan. Add 2 cups broth and bring to a boil; reduce heat to a simmer. Mix cornstarch with the remaining 1/2 cup broth; add to the pan and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Stir in chicken, peas, sour cream, salt and pepper. Transfer the filling to a 2-quart baking dish.
To prepare biscuit topping & bake potpie: Preheat oven to 400°F. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and thyme in a large bowl. Using your fingertips or 2 knives, cut butter into the dry ingredients until crumbly. Add buttermilk and oil; stir until just combined. Drop the dough onto the filling in 6 even portions. Set the baking dish on a baking sheet.
Bake the potpie until the topping is golden and the filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

6 Servings

I find myself turning to epicurious more and more often when I have something sitting in the fridge that I just don’t feel inspired by. We had an eggplant from our CSA box hanging out for a few days, and a few minutes at epicurious turned up this recipe from Gourmet Magazine a couple years back. Eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms are oven roasted and then tossed with barley cooked in stock, green onions, and spices, cooled, and tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Delicious!

Oh, happy day!

Lisa says:

What? What?

Chris says:

I figured out what to make with the eggplant, and it ain’t baba ghanoush… not only that, you’re gonna love it.

Lisa says:

Why, is it some sort of grain salad with a bunch of veggies?

Chris says:

How the — what? Hey!

Lisa says:

Man, I’m good. Yum — so is this dish! You’re right, I love it.

Chris says:

I’m still trying to figure out…. whatever. Yeah — I really like the tomatoes… and I’m glad I threw in those mushrooms, too.

Lisa says:

That’s good for the blog, too. It missed featuring shrooms.

Chris says:

If we didn’t know so many picky eaters, I’d suggest we bring this to parties.

Lisa says:

Hey, more for us.

Chris says:

I love the way you think.

Mediterranean Eggplant and Barley Salad
1 1/2 lb eggplant, cut into 1/2″ cubes
3/4 pound zucchini, cut into 1/2″ cubes
6 oz cremini mushrooms
10 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup chopped green onions
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 1/4 cups pearl barley (8 oz)
1 14-oz can reduced-sodium chicken broth (1 3/4 cups)
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp sugar
1/2 lb cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion, rinsed and drained if desired
1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Cook barley:
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 3- to 4-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot, then cook green onions, cumin, coriander, and cayenne, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add barley and cook, stirring until well coated with oil, 2 minutes more. Add broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until all of liquid is absorbed and barley is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Roast eggplant and zucchini:
Meanwhile, toss eggplant, zucchini, and mushrooms with 5 tablespoons oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 3/4 teaspoon pepper in a bowl, then spread in 2 oiled large shallow (1-inch-deep) baking pans. Roast vegetables in oven, stirring occasionally and switching position of pans halfway through baking, until vegetables are golden brown and tender, 20 to 25 minutes total. Combine vegetables in 1 pan and cool, reserving other pan for cooling barley.

Transfer the barley to reserved shallow baking pan and spread to quickly cool, uncovered, to room temperature, about 20 minutes.

Make dressing and assemble salad:
Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, sugar, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and 3 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add barley, roasted vegetables, and remaining ingredients to bowl with dressing and toss until combined well. Eat, eat, eat.

4 Main-dish Servings

We heart larb, and we used to make larb gai all the time, but with Lisa being on a veggie kick lately, we introduced this version into the mix. Instead of chicken, I used a mix of various mushrooms we had on hand — shiitake, cremini, and good old white button. It was delicious! One thing to note is that after sauteeing the mushrooms you should try to get as much excess liquid out as you can — you’ll be adding more liquid via lime juice and fish sauce, and you don’t want to end up with a soupy mess. Also, I noticed this version warranted a greater fish sauce to lime juice ratio than when done with chicken.

How about we don’t talk about this one, and just eat it instead?

Chris says:

I’m *so* okay with that. Also, “om nom nom nom nom”.

Mushroom Larb
1 lb mixed mushrooms (shiitake, cremini, white, etc.), roughly chopped
1 tbsp roasted rice powder
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 green onions, chopped
2 tbsp chopped shallots
3 tbsp chopped mint leaves
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp garlic and red chile paste
cabbage leaves
cilantro

Spray a nonstick skillet with oil and heat to medium. Add in the chopped mushrooms and cook until they release their water and start to brown.
Remove from the heat and put in a strainer to drain excess liquid. Add the mushrooms to a large bowl and stir in the rice powder, cilantro, green onions, shallots, and mint leaves.
In a separate small bowl, mix together the fish sauce, lime juice, chile paste, and cayenne pepper. Taste for desired levels of spicy/salty/sour.
Add to bowl with mushrooms, stir, and adjust seasonings.
Garnish with cilantro sprigs and serve with cabbage leaves to scoop.

I was looking for a dish that would go well with our Korean pancakes, and after a quick interwebs search I came across this dish at epicurious. Rather than the usual sirloin, this recipe uses salmon as the lucky recipient of a tasty, spicy marinade made with soy sauce, onions, ginger, sesame oil, and more. It’s served over a bed of baby bok choy and shiitake mushrooms. I only made slight modifications to the recipe — I doubled the marinade and upped the number of mushrooms. The sauce/glaze is deeelicious.

Yum, this is really good!

Chris says:

Yeah, I really like how the salmon is cooked.. super tender on the inside. And I think that’s the first time our oven’s been set at 500.

Lisa says:

Well mark it in the calendar.

Chris says:

… anyway … I loves me that marinade/glaze. It’s good on the veggies and the salmon.

Lisa says:

You know, that spicy red sauce from the pancakes is good on my salmon, too.

Chris says:

I’m sure that’s good on cardboard. I think we’re going to have to do more Korean recipes soon.

Bulgogi-Style Salmon with Bok Choy and Mushrooms
2 large garlic cloves, peeled, divided
1/3 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese rice wine or dry Sherry
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Asian sesame oil
1 tsp chili-garlic sauce
2 6-oz center-cut skinless salmon fillets
1 tbsp olive oil
5-6 baby bok choy, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide strips (about 3 1/2 – 4 cups)
8 large fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps sliced

Blend 1 garlic clove and next 7 ingredients in mini processor. Arrange salmon in a small glass baking dish. Spoon marinade over, and let marinate 5 minutes.
Preheat oven to 500°F. Transfer the fish, with some marinade still clinging, to a rimmed baking sheet. Roast the fish until just opaque in center, about 8 minutes. Meanwhile, transfer any remaining marinade to a small saucepan. Bring marinade in saucepan to boil; set aside and reserve for glaze.
Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add bok choy and mushrooms; using garlic press, press in 1 garlic clove. Stir-fry until mushrooms are tender and bok choy is wilted, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Divide vegetables among two plates, top with the salmon, and brush with the glaze.

2 Servings

Here’s a recipe from Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook that’s been sitting in the “need to post” pile for a while… we broke out the grill for this one a few months ago. We love the taste and texture of grilled portobellos, and when placed over a bed of greens and garbanzos with a slightly spicy, tangy mustard dressing, they make for a great healthy meal.

Portobello Salad with Spicy Mustard Dressing
Roasted Portobellos:
1/2 cup white wine
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large portobello caps

Dressing:
1/4 cup prepared spicy, smooth mustard
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Salad:
8 cups mixed greens
1 avocado, peeled, halved, pitted, and thinly sliced
1 small red onion, sliced into very thin half-moons
1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Combine the mushroom marinade ingredients in shallow glass dish, then place the portobellos upside down in the marinade. Spoon a bunch of the marinade into the mushroom caps to form a small pool. Preheat a grill to high heat and marinate for 20 minutes.
Grill the mushrooms over direct heat, about 4 minutes per side. When done, remove from heat, and when cool enough to handle, slice and set aside.
Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a bowl, then throw all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and pour the dressing over. Toss to coat.
Place the greens on a plate, top with the portobellos, and serve.

4 main-dish/8 side-dish servings

And now, award time!
I’d like to thank Margot from Coffee and Vanilla for presenting We Heart Food with a Beautiful Blog Award!

Click here to check out the other recipients of BB!