Cooking with Nadine: Vegan Chik'n Pot Pie

  
Seeing as this is a meal most desired in the winter months, I am a little late to the game to discovering....Vegan Chik'n Pot Pie!

As I'm writing this, it's cooking in the oven and my mouth is absolutely watering! I tried a similar recipe before, but it was too soupy, the dough was too yeasty, and there was no flavor!
   But these ones, these one's I cannot stop taking a bite of the creamy, thick stew-y, flavorful filling! Plus, since I have extra filling, and since I usually have left overs: I totally make the left-overs into a Vegan Chik'n and Dumplings!

Best part? It's ready in an hour!


Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package Quorn chik'n cutlets (or 4 Vegan chik'n cutlets of your choice), diced
1/3 cup non-chicken seasoning
3 Tablespoons flour
2 cups vegetable broth
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon basil
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 package frozen vegetables (I prefer a mix of corn, carrots and peas)
1 package of 2 pre-made Vegan Crusts (or vegan crust of your choice)

Instructions:
Pre-heat your oven to 400°F

1) In a large pot, drizzle oil in pot and add diced onions. Turn stove onto medium-high heat and saute onions. Add garlic and diced Quorn Chik'n.
2) Add non-chicken seasoning and mix, then add flour and mix together with mixture in pot. When no flour sticks to the pot, add vegetable broth and whisk until combined. Add in bay leaves and other seasonings.
3) Let simmer for 10 minutes. Add in frozen vegetables and let simmer for 10 more minutes.
4) While mixture is simmering, prepare crusts in a 9-inch pie dish or in individual pie tins.
5) Once mixture is ready, scoop a cup of the mixture into the prepared pie dish. Place in oven for 25-30 minutes.
Enjoy!

Recipe: Orzo Risotto

Risotto is typically made with rice but this recipe uses pasta instead. Really yummy but does take time to make so be careful of that. The recipe says to use shrimp but you can use anything you want I typically use chicken if it's for the main dish. you don't need to use exactly four cups of chicken stock; if you run out use what you have. I got one container of stock and was a little bit short but it still came out fine. I say just try to cover the orzo then let it cook off. This is a Costco cookbook but ingredients can come from anywhere.

Shown with chicken

2 Tbps olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups uncooked orzo pasta
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup grated parmesan
4 cups meat:shrimp, chicken, turkey (optional)

In a large sauce pan (2 qt) heat olive oil and butter. Once the butter has melted and the oil is hot, lightly toast the orzo. Add the onion and saute until soft. Add the minced garlic and saute until fragrant.
Add the wine and cook, stirring until nearly evaporated. Add 2 cups of broth and allow to absorb. Stirring constantly. Repeat with the remaining 2 cups of broth and the pepper.
Remove from saucepan and stir in the parsley, Parmesan, and meat if desired.

Notes:
It can take about 40 minutes to make. Mostly because the orzo can take a while to absorb the chicken broth.