A Touch of Sanity...: Chicken Pot No Pie in the Slow Cooker

Sunday, January 25, 2015

Chicken Pot No Pie in the Slow Cooker

Baby it's cold outside...makes you want something warm and hearty. Don't want to work for it? Who does? It's Sunday and I'd rather be spending time with my family. So I dropped this into the crock-pot and wham bam...done in 4 hours and it's snuggle up by the fire good!

What you need...
12 oz. package frozen carrots
12 oz. package frozen peas
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 onion, chopped
small handful chopped parsley
2 cups quinoa
2/3 cup organic half & half
4-5 chicken breasts - (I used drumstix because I had them and just had to pull the meat off when they got done)
3 cups low sodium chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
handful of fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
a few fresh bay leaves
kitchen twine

Turn slow-cooker to high (obviously all slow cooker cooks differently, mine doesn't cook that hot, so I almost always use high). Dump in all the veggies & parsley. Add quinoa, broth, half & half, salt & pepper and stir to combine. Load in all the chicken on top. Tie rosemary, thyme & bay together with twine and place right on top. Cover and cook for 4 hours. Remove lid and stir to combine while breaking up the chicken with tongs, they will fall apart. If you would like to remove them, chop and return to the pot you can. Dish out and serve it up!

If you are looking for a topping or a real pot pie presentation, grab a bag of cauliflower rice or frozen cauliflower. I use 2 bags frozen cauliflower, add it to a glass dish with a lid, add 1/4 cup water, cover and steam in microwave for about 10 minutes. Remove lid, mash it up VERY well with a potato masher, allow steam to rise off so it isn't mushy! Drain any remaining water - you want it to be as dry as possible! Once it has cooled for about 10 minutes, add 1/2 tsp Herbs de Provence and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese, stir to create your topping.

Add the chicken & quinoa filling to a casserole dish or ramekins, top with cauliflower mixture, spray the topping with Olive Oil Spray and bake at 400F for about 15 minutes until your topping has crisped up just a bit! YUM!!!!!