nutritionbitsandbobs

Epicurious: a play on words derived from epicurean, defined as one with refined fondness of food or wine…and curious.

If you don’t know by now, I love anything with butternut squash Soup for the Soul, World Famous.  Add fresh garlic and sage and I’m ready to get the chopping board out!  I love other squashes too, Delicata being my all-time fave.  Acorn squash is quite tasty and I really like spaghetti squash as well.

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Tonight I’m making Skillet Chicken Pot Pie with Butternut Squash.  Click this link for the recipe.

Here are the ingredients I need to start:

The chopping is always the part that slows you down, but for some reason it’s my favorite part of cooking.  I suppose due to the mundane, thoughtless labor involved.  Nothing is hot on the stove yet, so you don’t have to worry about burning children.  Plus it looks pretty all piled up together, waiting to become something exquisite…hopefully.

I’m using sliced onions instead of pearl onions and organic red kale.  Isn’t it beautiful?! For step-by-step instructions on cutting a butternut squash, click here: How to Chop Butternut Squash.  Be sure to remove the tough stems from kale before chopping.  Remove stems from sage, stacking or rolling leaves to chop.

Epicurious reports that one serving contains 260 calories and 14 grams of fat.  I did my own analysis and estimate 350 calories and 22 grams of fat per serving.  One serving is 1/6 of the dish.  As always, I use fat-free chicken broth.  Regardless, this is a low-calorie, low-fat meal.  I think we may have room to add a reasonably-portioned dessert!

Preheat oven to 425°.  Heat oil in skillet over med-high heat.  Add onions, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.  Reduce heat to med-low.  Add garlic and sage to skillet and cook, stirring occasionally until garlic begins to brown slightly, about 2 minutes.

Add kale and season with salt and pepper.  Cook until kale is wilted, about 4 minutes.  Sprinkle in flour and continue to cook, stirring constantly, about 4 more minutes.  Stir in broth, 1/2 cup at a time, then add squash.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 8-10 minutes.  Add chicken to skillet and stir.

Unfold pastry and smooth creases.  Place over skillet, allowing corners to hang over sides.  Whisk egg and 1 tsp water in a small bowl.  Brush pastry with egg wash.  Cut four 1″ slits in top to vent (I forgot to do this and it worked out fine).

Bake pot pie until pastry is beginning to brown, 15-20 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 375° and bake until pastry is a deep, golden brown and crisp, 15-20 minutes.

I followed the recipe and used an eight inch, seasoned, cast iron skillet.  If I make this for my large family of six again, I think I’ll buy a larger skillet and double the recipe.   I have anxiety about under-feeding people.  If someone asks for more and there isn’t extra, I get upset.  This is more of a southern mindset as opposed to a dietitian’s disposition.

Meals should consist of three to four carbohydrate servings (usually three for women and four for men).  The puff pastry certainly doesn’t add up to three servings, so a nice baguette might be a nice addition to complete this meal.  A fruit salad would also be an excellent side!

We decided on the extra bread…hard decision.

Sliced, drizzled with olive oil and topped with torn, fresh basil from our mini garden.  Thanks owed to my adorable assistant, Macy!

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