It’s Friday afternoon and I’m racing through Fry’s Grocery
in Scottsdale, AZ. I
waited until the very last minute to buy everything for the camping trip I had
planned. As I ogle the massive veggie
section of this Fry’s, I start to run down the list of items I need to feed
everyone for the 3 day weekend. I grab
an onion here, a bell pepper there, a few carrots, some celery, and the list
goes on and on. I added in some chicken,
a little pasta, and some stuff to make things saucy! This is going to be a healthy twist on some
serious pot pie flavors.
Fast forward to Saturday night where I’m prepping and
whipping up a casserole that puts most of my others to shame. This casserole has the flavor of a high
calorie dish but the actual calorie count of something much healthier. Learning the balance of fats to veggies to
proteins can be vital when you’re trying to create healthier dishes in your
home. For instance, you can use evaporated
milk in place of half and half or heavy cream (depending on the dish). This allows the dish to stay creamy but with
fewer calories.
This dish is not only healthy, but the clean up is a
cinch. The majority of the dish is
cooked in one pot through different stages.
This not only prevents a ton of pot and pan clean up, but it means
you’re paying more attention to what’s in front of you rather than spreading
yourself too thin across the stove top if you’re not comfortable doing that
every night. And who doesn’t love fewer
dishes?
Cheesy Pot Pie Casserole
Prep Time:
Cooking Time:
Serves: 10
8 oz whole wheat egg noodles
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled, quartered length wise and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 tsp. fresh minced thyme
3 cans low sodium chicken broth (14-16 oz)
1 can fat free evaporated milk (5 oz)
3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (halved length wise)
8 oz light Mexican blend cheese
½ c. frozen peas
¾ c. Panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. parsley
½ tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Salt
1 ½ tsp pepper
1. Bring
a pot full of water to boil. This
will be the only pot you use through the whole dish, make sure it’s a
decent size one. Once boiling, add
in the pasta and cook it al dente (cooked just enough to bite through, but
it’s still firm). This should take
about 5 minutes.
2. Drain
the noodles, rinse until cool and then set aside in a bowl.
3. In the
original pot, pour in the olive oil and turn up to medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, stir in the bell
peppers, onion, celery, and carrot.
Sprinkle them with just a pinch of salt. Cook these until the onions are
transparent and the carrots are just soft enough that you’re not crunching
through them.
4. Toss
in the thyme and stir the veggies for another minute. Transfer veggies to a second bowl.
5. Combine
the evaporated milk and 2 of the cans of chicken broth in the pot. Bring to a boil. Once it’s at a rolling boil, add the
chicken to cook.
6. Once
the chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes or to 155 degrees internally,
pull it out of the liquid. Remove
the pot from the hot burner and shred the chicken into bite size
pieces. Heat your oven to 425
degrees at this point.
7. Whisk
5 Tbsp of chicken broth in with the cornstarch. Bring the pot back to a boil with
remaining chicken broth to replenish what boiled off while cooking the
chicken. Add the cornstarch mixture
once it’s boiling to thicken. After
1 minute, remove from heat and whisk in the cheese until smooth.
8. Throw
in the chicken, the veggies, the noodles, and the peas. Season with 1 ½ tsp salt and 1/ ½ tsp
pepper. Mix it well and pour into a
9X13 inch baking dish.
9. Mix the Panko with the parsley and garlic. Sprinkle on top of casserole. Put in the oven for 15 minutes or until the
top is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling.
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