An Old Fashioned Favorite

{Photo Courtesy of Food Network}

If anyone else out there is a Food Network junkie like me, you probably know of Paula Deen's odd, but amusing obsession with butter. The sweet southern momma gets a maniacal look in her eyes when she talks about, smells or sees butter. I believe she's even had a show or two dedicated to the yellow sticks. Nonetheless, it turns me off a bit from trying her recipes. I'm no health freak, but that sheer amount of butter can be a little excessive. Uh, unless you're making desserts, of course :)

Well, I came across a quick and easy Paula Deen recipe for chicken pot pie and instantly thought it'd be a great meal for a cold winter night. Since it is a Paula recipe, I got to work and slimmed down the butter and fat content. I will say what I ended up with was still quite divine and simply delicious. Hubby agreed and we just finished the cold leftovers for a lazy Saturday lunch. Though the original recipe calls for a stick of melted butter, I reduced that to 3 tbsp and still ended up with a crunchy and golden top that's almost pastry-like. I've renamed my version:

Chicken & Biscuit Pot Pie

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup carrots, peeled & thinly sliced
1/2 cup sweet onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
3 cups chicken broth*
1/2 tsp thyme
1/8 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups reduced fat instant biscuit mix
1 cup skim milk
3 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Over medium-high heat, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add dash of thyme, salt and pepper. Add chicken and reduce heat to low to bring broth to a simmer. Cook chicken for approximately 10 minutes. Do not overcook chicken as it will become tough and will also cook additionally in the oven. Remove chicken and place on plate to cool for several mintues. With your hands, shred chicken along the grain into small bite-size pieces and place aside. Reserve the broth.

In a medium sized skillet, heat 1/2 tbsp butter over medium-high heat. Saute onions, carrots until onions are translucent, approximately 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and continue to saute for an additional 4 minutes. Once heated through, stir in peas and chicken and remove from heat.

Place chicken mixture in a greased 2-quart casserole. Mix the cream of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth, and season with dash of salt & pepper and 1/2 tsp thyme. Pour soup over the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with 1/8 tsp garlic powder.

Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 40-45 minutes.

*The chicken broth is used to flavor the chicken while its cooking. Since only 1/2 cup is used for the sauce, reserve the other 2 1/2 cups for another recipe.