Recipe Review: Chicken Pot Pie with White Sauce

I was looking online for ideas for freezer meals, and a website suggested chicken pot pie.

I made this highly rated recipe from the Taste of Home website.  The recipe makes two pies, so I made one for our family and one for a friend.

To keep things easy, I used refrigerated Pillsbury pie crust and frozen mixed vegetables--I cut the green beans in half for a better size.  I cubed and boiled red potatoes with the skin on (2 cups is about 1-1/2 large red potatoes).  I purchased salt-free chicken stock instead of broth (stock has a richer flavor).  I followed the recipe and LOVED the white sauce that goes into the pie.

I appreciated that the recipe including instructions for freezing the pie and baking it later.

This is not low calorie -- it's definitely comfort food (lots of butter!).  But just a slice fills you up.  I want to try this again in the future using coconut milk for a dairy-free recipe.

Recipe: Easy Lasagna

I do the cooking on Sundays, and lasagna is one of our favorites.  This is an easy lasagna that takes a little over an hour to make.

You will need:

8 to 12 oz. chicken sausage
8 oz. ricotta
1 egg
9 sheets no boil lasagna (I typically use a whole wheat lasagna available at Whole Foods)
approximately 1-1/3 jars pasta sauce
8 oz mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese

1.  Brown the sausage.  I like to use my crinkle cutter to mince the sausage after I cook it.

2.  Mix together the ricotta and the egg.

3.  Grease a square baking dish.


4.  Assemble the lasagna

1/3 jar sauce
3 sheets lasagna (they will overlap)
half of the ricotta
half of the sausage

repeat

top with 3 sheets lasagna and 1/3 jar sauce

NOTE:  You want to use enough sauce to cook the pasta, without using too much sauce

5.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes

6.  Remove from oven.  Top with the shredded mozzarella.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.

I typically like to shred my own cheese since I think it melts better.  But pre-shredded cheese is certainly more convenient.

7.  Put under the broiler until cheese is brown and bubbly.  I love the flavor that the browned cheese adds to the lasagna.

8.  Let sit 10 minutes before serving.

You can experiment with different brands and flavors of ingredients until you find your favorite combination.  I'm still experimenting to find mine!