Chicken Pot Pie

The weather is freezing! We're having our first truly cold week. I had to break down and turn the heat on one day last week, but now it's pretty much on permanently (well, until Friday--it's supposed to be back up to 60 degrees).

Last night, all I wanted to do was get home and make warm comfort food. I decided during the work day that I was in the mood for chicken pot pie. There were a couple of more "homemade" recipes with fresh vegetables and fancier ingredients that sounded good, and perhaps I will try them sometime.

But for tonight, I went with the familiar... the chicken pot pie my mom used to make. Which, incidentally, is also the easiest and fastest to deal with. Perfect for a weeknight.

I knew my mom always made chicken pot pie with Bisquick, but I hadn't ever made it before and didn't know the recipe. I went searching on the Betty Crocker website and found quite a few variations. Since we always try to make healthy substitutions whenever possible, I decided to go with the reduced-fat version. I picked up a box of Bisquick Heart Smart at the grocery store.

I cut up the chicken breasts and boiled them in chicken broth for about 20 minutes. I let them cool for a little bit, then shredded them before moving forward with the recipe.

This meal was so easy. And pretty tasty, too. We'll be making this again for sure.

Reduced-Fat Chicken Pot Pie
(Source: www.bettycrocker.com)

Ingredients:
- 1 cup shredded, cooked chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 1 bag (12-16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
- 1 can (10 3/4 oz.) condensed 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup (I used Campbell's Healthy Request, which is also reduced sodium--we never notice the difference)
- 1 cup fat-free (skim) milk
- 1 cup Bisquick Heart Smart mix
- 1 egg
- Oregano and thyme (I added these dried herbs for more flavor)

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 400°F. In ungreased 2-quart casserole dish, mix chicken, vegetables, soup and 1/2 cup of the milk. Microwave on high for 4 minutes; stir.

2. In small bowl, stir Bisquick mix, the other 1/2 cup milk and the egg with fork until blended. Pour over chicken and vegetable mixture.

3. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
High Altitude Adjustment (3500-6500 ft): In step 1, increase milk to 2/3 cup. Bake about 35 minutes.

The recipe says you will get 6 servings out of this. We only got four (we each ate a quarter of it).

With six servings, the nutrition information is (per serving): Calories 220 (Calories from Fat 50); Total Fat 6g (Saturated Fat 1 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 60mg; Sodium 650mg; Total Carbohydrate 28g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 7g); Protein 14g

With four servings, I recalculated the calories and fat (per serving): Calories 330, Total Fat 9g. Even with eating 1/4 of the pie, this is definitely a healthy meal! Pair it with a salad and you are doing pretty well for yourself.