Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuits

Serves: 6-8

• 3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or whole rotisserie chicken)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3 cups diced potatoes
• 1 cup diced carrots
• ½ cup sliced celery
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 (15-ounce) can English peas, rinsed and drained, or frozen peas
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 recipe Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, or 1 can refrigerated flaky biscuits

1. Preheat oven to 475º F.
2. Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces. Drizzle olive oil into large, heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken and cook until lightly browned and no longer pink. Remove from Dutch oven to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Set aside.
3. Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, garlic and chicken stock to Dutch oven. Stir consistently. Cook until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender. Reduce heat to medium-low and add back chicken.
4. Melt butter in 3-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and then slowly pour in milk, whisking constantly. Remove from heat and add salt and pepper. Pour into Dutch oven with chicken and vegetables. Add in English peas, stirring til well-combined. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and set aside.
5. Prepare Southern Buttermilk Biscuits and place on top of chicken pot pie mixture in baking dish. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper on top of biscuits.
6. Bake 12-15 minutes until biscuits are golden brown and cooked through.
7. Remove from oven and allow to rest for about 3 minutes. Serve warm.

Recipe Credit: Add a Pinch

Saucy Hungarian Red Potato Goulash with Smoked Sausage and Savory Caramelized Onions

Serves about 4

• Olive oil
1 (14 ounce) smoked sausage, sliced on the bias into thin medallions
2 tablespoons butter
2 onions, quartered and thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
• Salt
¾ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons paprika
6 medium-size red skin potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½” thick circles (about 2 ¾ lbs)
1 ½ cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preparation:

-Place a large, deep, non-stick pan (or even medium non-stick pot) over medium-high heat, and add in about 1 tablespoon of oil; once the oil is hot, add in the smoked sausage medallions, and caramelize them for a few minutes until they become a deep brown color; remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

-To the same pan or pot, add in the butter, and allow it to melt; add in the sliced onions, and caramelize those in the butter and sausage drippings until a rich, golden-brown, about 5-7 minutes; next, add in the garlic, plus a couple of pinches of salt, the freshly cracked black pepper and the paprika, and stir to combine with the onions; saute just until the garlic becomes aromatic.

-Next, add in the sliced potatoes, and fold them into the caramelized onions/garlic to coat them well; add in the chicken stock and stir to combine, then push the sliced potatoes down into the stock/onion mixture as much as possible to allow them to cook evenly; cover the pan/pot with a lid that is askew to allow some steam to escape, and simmer on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring gently once or twice during this time; then, uncover the pan/pot and allow the potatoes to continue to simmer for another 10 minutes, or until they are tender and the sauce a bit thickened, stirring once or twice during that time. (It’s perfectly fine for some of the potatoes to break up in the sauce as it helps to thicken it, just take care not to break them too much.)

-Finish the Goulash by adding the caramelized smoked sausage back into the pan/pot, as well as the parsley, and gently fold those in to incorporate; add a little drizzle of olive oil in, and add a couple more pinches of salt and pepper, if necessary; serve hot with bread, if desired.

Recipe Credit: The Cozy Apron