Collard Greens Pot Pies

You already have a favorite pot pie recipe?

OK, but mine’s better.

Yours was passed down for generations? Oh, that’s sweet…

But mine’s still better.

Why?

Because mine is stuffed with collard greens, of course!

This slightly bitter, hearty green breaks up the richness of the traditional dish but leaves the classic pot pie flavor as the star.

And best of all, you’ll leave your meal feeling great when you think about the massive amount of greens you just ate…

The bottom line is, I win for best pot pie!

And if you make this your new favorite pot pie recipe, then you’ll be a winner too!

Collard Greens Pot Pies

servings: 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup coarsely chopped celery
• 1 cup coarsely chopped carrots
• 1 cup coarsely chopped yellow onions
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 pound collard greens (8 to 10 leaves), coarsely chopped
• ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups milk
• ⅓ cup chopped parsley
• Two 9-inch pie crusts (not baked)
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon water
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (1 ounce)

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Sprinkle the chicken on all sides with 1 teaspoon of the salt and ½ teaspoon of the pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and cook, turning once, until brown on both sides and cooked through—10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside to rest.
2. Turn the heat down to medium; add the butter to the pan and cook until melted. Stir in the celery, carrots, onions, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt; cook until the vegetables are soft and tender—5 to 7 minutes.
3. Stir the wine into the vegetable mixture, scraping with your spoon to release any brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook for a few minutes until most of the wine has evaporated and then stir in the collards and nutmeg; cook until the collards are wilted and soft—3 minutes.
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Add the flour to the pan with the vegetables, stirring to combine well; cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in the stock and milk. Bring the liquid to simmering and then simmer until the mixture becomes thick—3 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add the chicken and parsley to the thickened vegetable mixture, stirring to combine.
5. Spoon the vegetable mixture into four 3½-inch oven-safe bowls (like a French onion soup bowl), dividing equally. Lay the pie crusts on a work surface and then from each crust, cut 2 rounds sized to fit generously over the bowls. Place a crust on each bowl and crimp it to the edge. Whisk the egg and water in a small bowl and then brush this wash over each crust. Sprinkle the Parmesan evenly over the tops, reserving a bit to add before serving if you wish. Use a small sharp knife to cut a couple of slits in the top of each pot pie. Bake the pot pies until the crust is brown—about 30 minutes. Dust with the reserved Parmesan and serve.

Keep It Simple:

• The white wine can easily be replaced with chicken stock or even water.
• The nutmeg gives the dish a special but subtle flavor and really compliments the greens. But you can leave it out if you don’t have it on hand.
• You can bake this dish in 1 or 2 large casseroles (or deep-dish pie plates) instead of in individual bowls. If you need to, be creative and piece the pie crusts to cover!
• Make this an under-500 calorie meal by baking or poaching your chicken with no oil and using a reduced-fat milk instead of whole. It will all still be creamy and delicious and you won’t feel as bad about having seconds (or thirds in the case of my husband).
• Make it ahead! Once you have put the crust on, stop! Cover the pot pies with foil and then freeze for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to dig in, heat your oven to 400°F and put the pot pies in with the foil still on, bake 40 minutes, remove the foil, and then add the egg wash and Parmesan and cook for 20 to 40 minutes more, depending on the size of your dish. (If you don’t have freezer-to-oven casseroles, use disposable pans.)

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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Mushroom + Beef Sloppy Joes

Check out my OUTRAGEOUSLY good sloppy joes...

These Mushroom + Beef Sloppy Joes are from my book Meat On The Side.

If you're looking for amazing comfort food that's also good for you, you owe it to yourself to give them a shot.

The secret is that the sandwich filling is half meat, half veggies! No need to feel guilty--you can eat up and enjoy!

Mushroom + Beef Sloppy Joes

servings: 4 Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
• 8 ounces ground sirloin
• 1 pound portobello mushrooms, stems discarded, caps finely chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sriracha or other hot sauce
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
• 4 hamburger buns
• Finely chopped dill pickles, for serving
• Sliced pickled banana peppers, for serving

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sirloin, breaking up with a spoon or spatula, and cook until it has browned, about 5 minutes. Then, if the skillet is too dry for sautéing the mushrooms, add a bit more oil. Stir in the mushrooms and cook until they are brown and tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the bell peppers, onion, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and the black pepper to the skillet and stir to combine. Cook until all the veggies are tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, molasses, vinegar, sriracha, and the remaining1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl.
3. Add the tomato paste and thyme to the mixture in the skillet and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes. Then stir in the tomato sauce mixture and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the veggies and meat and all the flavors come together, 5 to 7 minutes more.
4. To serve, spoon the sloppy Joe mixture onto the bottom half of each hamburger bun, dividing it equally, and dot with some pickles and banana peppers before adding the bun tops.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in Meat on the Side!

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Red Cabbage + Raspberry Grilled Cheese

So great being on The Wendy Williams Show today! Check out the clip--and the recipe!--for my Red Cabbage + Raspberry Grilled Cheese.

Red Cabbage + Raspberry Grilled Cheese

servings: 2 Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cups lightly packed shredded purple cabbage (12 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ cup raspberry jam
• ¼ cup champagne vinegar
• 8 ounces Fontina fontina cheese, sliced
• 4 slices sourdough bread
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cabbage and salt and cook until tender but not mushy, —3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the jam and vinegar and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and the cabbage is completely tender, —2 to 3 minutes more. Remove the skillet from the heat.
2. Heat a second large skillet over medium-low heat. Butter 1 side of each slice of bread. Place 2 pieces of bread, butter- side- down, on a plate. Top each with 3 alternating layers, : first of cheese, then cabbage, and then the rest of the cheese, dividing them equally, and then finish off with another slice of bread, butter- side- up. Place the sandwiches in the skillet and cook them until browned on the bottom, —3 to 5 minutes. Then fFlip them over and cook until the other side is has browned and the cheese is has melted, —3 to 5 minutes more, gently pressing the sandwiches as they cook. Cut in half and serve.

Notes:

• You can really customize this sandwich: just use what you have in the pantry. Any sliced bread works fine, you can substitute any jam flavor that you like, and instead of champagne vinegar feel free to use red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
• Purple cabbage is also known as red cabbage and may be labeled that way.
• I can usually find purple cabbage freshly shredded by the store in my produce section. You can also use green cabbage for a similar taste but a slightly less exciting color.
• Because of the sweetness of the cabbage and the fact that it’s a grilled cheese, this sandwich should be a hit! Not convinced? Use half that amount of cabbage mixture for super- picky eaters; the cheese will melt all around it, mostly concealing our little secret.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

Find more recipes like this in Meat on the Side!

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Spicy Brussels Sprout + Lentil Soup

So great being on The Wendy Williams Show today! Check out the clip--and the recipe!--for my Spicy Brussels Sprout + Lentil Soup.

Spicy Lentil + Brussels Sprout Soup

servings: 4 Makes about 8 cups of soup

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ½ cups yellow onion (1 medium onion), finely chopped
• 1 cup red pepper (1 large pepper), finely chopped
• 1 cup carrots (about 3 medium carrots), finely chopped
• 1 cup celery (2 stalks of celery), finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt *check
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 8 cups veggie or chicken stock
• 1 ½ cups brown or green lentils
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts (7-9 large Brussels sprouts), shredded (2.5 cups packed)
• 1 ½ tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce*
• 1 avocado, pitted + chopped into ¼- to ½-inch dice
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat, and add the onion, peppers, carrots, celery, garlic, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and the pepper. Cook this mixture until the veggies are tender—about 7 minutes.
2. Then add the stock, lentils, 1 ½ cup packed shredded Brussels Sprout, chipotles, and another 1 teaspoon of salt to the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook 35-40minutes until the lentils are al dente. Taste soup and add salt if necessary and more stock or water if soup is too thick
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, toss the remaining 1 cup of Brussels sprouts, the avocado, lime juice, and remaining ½ teaspoon of salt together until well combined.
4. To serve, divide the soup into serving bowls and top it with the Brussels sprout mixture from Step 4 and some cilantro.

Notes:

• Puree or finely chop the entire can of chipotles in adobo and use 1.5 tablespoons for this recipe. Store the remaining in the bottom of a Ziploc bag in the freezer and cut of tablespoon amounts as needed.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking

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