Easy Chicken Pot Pie (Campbell's)

Ingredients
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup milk, divided
1 package (12 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, corn, peas), thawed (about 2 1/4 cups) (I used frozen soup veggies)
1 cup cubed cooked chicken or turkey (3 boneless/skinless breasts, shredded instead of cubed)
1 egg
1 cup biscuit baking mix
Seasonings of choice, to taste

Instructions

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Stir the soup, 1/2 cup milk, vegetables and chicken in a 9-inch pie plate or ovenproof skillet (8x8 baking dish).  Season the mixture with salt and pepper (and seasonings of choice).
Stir the remaining 1/2 cup milk, egg and baking mix in a small bowl.  Spread the batter over the chicken mixture (the batter is thin but will bake up into a perfect crust).
Bake for 20 minutes or until the topping is golden brown.

Original recipe (black text) and picture from: campbells.com
My changes: purple text

O

Creamy Herb Chicken

For The Chicken: 
4 chicken breasts (pounded 1/2-inch thin) 
2 teaspoons each of onion powder and garlic powder 
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley 
1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme and dried rosemary* 
salt and pepper to season 

For The Sauce: 
4 cloves of garlic, minced (or 1 tablespoon minced garlic) 
1 teaspoon fresh chopped parsley 
1/2 teaspoon each of dried thyme and dried rosemary 
1 cup milk or half and half
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 
1 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water until smooth 

Instructions 
Coat chicken breasts with the onion and garlic powders and herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper. 
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts until opaque and no longer pink inside (about 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness).
Transfer to a plate; set aside. 
To the same pan or skillet, heat another 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté garlic, with parsley, thyme, and rosemary, for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. 
Stir in milk (or cream), season with salt and pepper to taste. 
Bring to a boil; add the cornstarch mixture to the center of the pan, quickly stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly.
Reduce heat and simmer gently for a further minute to allow the sauce to thicken more. 
Return chicken to the skillet.
Sprinkle with extra herbs if desired. Serve immediately. 

                                                      
Notes 
*If you don't like Thyme or Rosemary, substitute these with Basil and Oregano, or use Tarragon.
**For a dairy free option, I find Cashew milk the best in flavor. You can also use almond milk or rice milk. Yes, heavy cream can be substituted! 


Original recipe and picture from: cafedelites.com

Dijon Rosemary Burgers

Burger Mixture:

1 lb ground beef (preferably 93%) 

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

1/4 cup onion finely chopped (plus 2T more for onion lovers)

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

3 tsp soy sauce

2 tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped (¾ -1t dried, broken and slightly crushed)

1 tsp kosher salt (omitted due to soy sauce)

Sauce Mixture

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp soy sauce

Instructions (suggested changes at bottom)

1. In a large bowl, combine all Burger Mixture ingredients and form into 4 patties. Place patties on a cooking tray.

2. Place the drip pan in the bottom of the cooking chamber. Using the display panel, select AIR FRY, then adjust the temperature to 370 degrees and the time to 15 minutes, then touch START. 

3. When the display indicates “Add Food” insert the cooking tray in the center position.

4. When the display indicates “Turn Food” turn the burgers.

5. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the Sauce Mixture ingredients.

6. When the Air Fry program is complete, check to make sure burgers are at least 145 degrees, then

brush the burgers with the sauce and top with cheese slices.

7. Using the display panel, select BROIL, then adjust the time to 3 minutes and touch START.

8. When the Broil program is complete, remove the burgers and serve hot on toasted buns.

My air fryer is the Instant Vortex Pro 9-in-1

Our ground beef was 80/20 and boy did it draw up! 

That being said, it was still very juicy and tasted delicious.

For cooking I followed the directions to the letter for the first two burgers only to discover that was too much time! Have not tasted them, they are currently in the fridge looking unattractive in their storage container.  

Adjustments for the other two burgers (that we ate).

• Made the patties thinner. 
• Kept the temp at 370° but reduced the time to 12 minutes. 
• Turned food when the oven indicated I should do so. 
• When adding the sauce I poured roughly 1½t on and used the back of the spoon to evenly cover the top of the burger. 
• Turned the Air Fryer to broil for 2 minutes since the burgers were in the oven as it heated to 400° (broil temp)
• No cheese added to the burgers while in the air fryer (added it to the bun at the tail end of its toasting time)

picture from instantpot.com

Original recipe can be found at https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/vortex-plus-dijon-rosemary-burgers/ 

Spicy Honey Chicken

1-1/2 lbs of Boneless Skinless Chicken thighs, about 4 nice size thighs
2 Tbsp of Neutral Oil or Light Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, thinly sliced
2 Cloves of Garlic, minced
2 tsp of Ginger Paste or Chopped Ginger
1 Tbsp of Chili Paste, I prefer Sambal Oelek
3 Tbsp of Low Sodium Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp of Honey
2 tsp of Rice Vinegar or Distilled White Vinegar
1/2 cup of Chicken Stock or Water
Freshly chopped Scallions, optional
Touch of Salt and Pepper, to taste

1) Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper (not too much salt) and sear in one tablespoon of the oil over medium high heat until it develops some color on both sides, then remove to a plate.

2) Add the remaining tablespoon of oil then add the onions, cook for a few minutes, then add the ginger and garlic and cook one more minute, stir in the chili paste for the last 30 seconds.

3) In a small bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, honey, vinegar and soy sauce, pour in the skillet, add the chicken back in, then cook on medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens and chicken is fully cooked through. Serve with some rice and steamed veggies for a delicious weeknight dinner!

NOTE: You can absolutely make this recipe using bone in, skin on chicken drumsticks but you will need to cook the chicken in the sauce for a lot longer, so simmer in the sauce with the lid on until the chicken is cooked through and then cook uncovered the last 5 minutes to chicken the sauce.

Recipe from: laurainthekitchen.com

Crispy Oven Roasted Bone-In Chicken Breast

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt (1/2 tsp if the chicken is brined) (omitted)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (or granulated garlic)
1/2 tsp black pepper (freshly ground) (California Seasoned Pepper)
1 tsp dark chili powder (omitted)
1/2t Old World Seasoning (or to taste)
1/2t Justice (or to taste)
1/2 cup cooking oil (e.g. canola or vegetable oil)
Instructions
If possible, prepare the chicken brine and brine the chicken breasts for 2 to 4 hours. (didn't brine)
Preheat oven to 400F.
Dry chicken breasts with a paper towel and rub with olive oil all over.  Mix spices (of choice) together in small bowl. Evenly sprinkle salt and spices on each side (and under the skin) and gently pat to make sure the seasoning properly adheres to the surface of the chicken.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Fit a cooling rack inside the baking sheet and set aside.
Heat 1/2 cup of cooking oil (you can use olive oil or any other oil you prefer) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken breast skin side down on the skillet and cook for 2 minutes. Flip and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
Transfer the chicken breasts onto the baking sheet, skin side up. Pour about 1 Tbsp of the cooking oil from the skillet over each chicken breast.
Bake at 400F for about 45 minutes, until internal temperature of the meat reaches 160F.
Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.
Notes
I recommend that for optimal results you should bake the breasts to 160F internal temperature instead of 165F. As I mentioned in my How To Bake Chicken Breast post, my experiments showed that internal meat temperature keeps rising by 5 degrees during the 5 minute rest period. This will ensure that the meat is safe to eat and is optimally tender and juicy.

Original recipe (in black) from: cravingtasty.com

Maple Glazed Ham Steak

INGREDIENTS
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cooked ham steak, about 1 lb.

DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, whisk maple syrup, brown sugar, vinegar, and mustard.
In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add ham steak and cook until golden, about 4 minutes per side.
Pour maple syrup mixture into pan and cook, turning ham a few times until fully coated in glaze.

picture from delish.com

Original recipe (that includes kale and black-eyed peas) from: delish.com

Instant Pot Dijon Dill Chicken

• 2-3 lbs of chicken thighs or breasts, boneless/skinless preferred (I used thighs and kept them whole. If you use breasts, slice them up a bit so they aren’t massive in size) (3 breasts, didn't slice)
• 1/2 stick (4 tbsp) of salted butter
• 2 cups of chicken broth (I used 2 tsp of Chicken Better Than Bouillon + 2 cups of water) (1t Penzey's Chicken Soup base)
• 1/2 cup of Dijon mustard, divided in half
• Bouquet Garni to taste
• Justice to taste
• Florida Seasoned Pepper to taste
• Juice of half a lemon (you can add the juice of a whole lemon if you want it even more lemony)  1 Small Lemon (4 oz.) = 3 tablespoons fresh juice, 1 Medium Lemon (5 oz.) = 4 tablespoons fresh juice, 1 Large Lemon (6 oz.) = 5 tablespoons fresh juice
• 4 tbsp of cornstarch + 4 tbsp of water to form a slurry
• 1/2 cup of fresh dill, chopped/ripped up (you can use more if you wish but using FRESH dill over DRY is a massive and beneficial difference here) (used dry dill 1T while cooking 1T after cooking)

If you don’t mind a much thinner sauce and want to skip out on cornstarch slurry, leave it out! Or sub in arrowroot!
This sauce goes WONDERFULLY over some white rice or brown rice!

1. Add the broth and 1/4 cup of the dijon mustard to the Instant Pot and stir until combined. Season chicken with Old World Seasoning on both sides, add the chicken to the pot and top off with the butter (Note: If you want the sauce to have an even stronger dill flavor, add the dill in now rather than waiting until Step 6)
2. Secure the lid, hit “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” High Pressure for 8 minutes. Quick release when done (For two chicken breasts set the cook time according to the size of your chicken breasts. For fresh: 8 minutes for small (7-8 ounce) chicken breasts, 10 minutes for medium (10 ounce) chicken breasts, or 11 minutes for large (12 ounce) chicken breasts.)
3. Remove the chicken with tongs, transfer to a serving bowl and set aside
4. Go back to the Instant Pot, hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” and then “Sauté” and adjust so you’re on the “More” or “High” setting. Add in the lemon juice and the remaining 1/4 cup of dijon mustard. Stir until melded
5. Once bubbling, add in the cornstarch slurry and stir immediately. After a minute of bubbling, hit “Keep Warm/Cancel” to turn the pot off. As the bubbles die down, the sauce will have thickened significantly. Let it cool for about 5 minutes
6. Stir in the dill and then pour the sauce over the chicken (Note: If you already added the dill in Step 1 and still want more, simply stir in however much more you’d like to the sauce now)
7. Enjoy over some white rice or brown rice which will pair with and sop up that luscious sauce so beautifully! Also goes great over pasta, zoodles and some veggies!

Original recipe (in black) from: pressureluckcooking.com

picture from pressureluckcooking.com