Remember my new resolution to try a new recipe every week? Well, so far week one has gone great! Last night I made Chicken-Not-Pot-Pie from Rachael Ray’s cookbook 30 Minute Meals.
I’ll be quite honest with you, I like Rachael Ray, but I rarely make her recipes. The biggest reason for that is that she uses a lot of “weird” ingredients – not items that I typically have in my pantry. And they tend to be on the pricey side. I really hate to buy a whole jar of roasted red peppers for 3 bucks just to use 2 for this recipe. I tend toward recipes where I only need to buy one or two items to complete it. However, when I can figure out what all the ingredients are, I really like the taste of her meals.
Chicken – Not – Pot – Pie
4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 branches fresh rosemary, leaves stripped from stem and chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste, or crushed red pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar rubbed into chicken to tenderize
1 large, round loaf crusty peasant bread, top cut off and inside scooped out
1 can artichoke hearts in water, drained
2 whole roasted red bell peppers, jarred, drained
1/4 medium Spanish onion, sliced thin
2 plum tomatoes, sliced
1/4 pound provolone, smoked provolone, or rustico with red pepper cheese
A handful of pepper salad, pepperocini, or pepper rings
Baby greens or baby spinach
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Heat a griddle pan over high heat. Cook chicken, coated with rosemary, pepper, and balsamic vinegar for 5 minutes on each side. Remove from heat.
Place the chicken in the bottom of the hollowed-out loaf of bread. Pile any antipasto combination you like on top – artichokes, peppers, onions, tomatoes, cheese, pepper salad, greens, etc. Drizzle olive oil down through the pie. Sprinkle with salt and pepper or crushed red pepper, to taste. Place the lid back on the bread. Cut into wedges and serve. Feeds up to 12 as an appetizer, 4 as dinner.
How I changed it a bit: I marinated boneless, skinless chicken tenders in the the balsamic vinegar, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper for one hour before cooking. I do not care for rosemary, so I left that out. After I cooked the chicken, I chopped it up. I also did not put cheese on my sandwich. I did not know what peasant bread and Spanish onions were so I used Italian bread and a red onion.
This was really good. And I used the leftovers to make a super delicious chicken salad for lunch today. There were so many flavors and marinades working that I didn’t even need salad dressing.
I’m not so much a fan of Rachel Ray. I don’t like her recipes and I don’t think she’s very creative.
Did you see the sexy pics of her in that men’s magazine in her bra and apron? That’s not why I don’t like her, I just thought of it… LOL
She’s on my list of people to take down, along with Martha
he he he
I can’t even read your post after seeing that picture since I can’t stand that woman. She was much more bearable in the early seasons of her first show when she more low-key and subdued. But I do wish I had a buck for every freaking time she said “EVOO, extra virgin olive oil.” I’d be loaded now. Yeah, I always thought using an acronym meant you didn’t need to explain what the letter stood for every freaking time.
Wow. I feel so much better now.
I’m thinking about pot-pies now.
Your poor old dad is really hungry for a pot pie
(hint)
Love,
Dad