Adulation Chicken Casserole

A low fat/low salt take on chicken pot pie with a unique sauce, not gravy.

½ raw chicken breast (1 piece) and 2 thighs, skin removed, boned and cut into thumb-sized pieces. You want good sized chunks!

1 lbs pkg frozen mixed vegetables for soup

1/3 cup diced yellow onion

small can mushroom pieces drained

3 cups low sodium chicken stock divided

¼ cup white balsamic vinegar

2 tbs all purpose flour

¾ cup No-Fat Cream Cheese

1 sm packet of no sodium chicken bullion (Herb Ox) optional

1 pkg Pillsbury Croissant dough They now sell one without the cuts!

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DIRECTIONS:

Spray a deep skillet with butter flavored cooking spray: Start the chicken pieces to cook over a medium-high heat. 2 – 3 minutes for each side. You only want to change their color and put an edge of brown on them then remove.

Add onion and mushrooms to pan. Cook until the onions are turning transparent and water has cooked out of mushrooms. 3 – 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove.

Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar. This will steam up and loosen any grease or particles that are stuck to the pan. (keep your head back – the fumes will be concentrated) Use spatula to help. Since I used a non stick pan I keep several wooden tools handy (remember to clean these by hand NOT in the dish washer) Return the onions, mushrooms and chicken to pan and add 2 of the 3 cups chicken broth.

While that's warming up, in a medium sized bowl mix the No-Fat Cream Cheese with flour and bouillon powder, if too thick add a few tablespoons of No-fat half and half or skim milk. Make sure it is well incorporated with as few lumps as possible. Use a whisk if you have one. Then stir in the last cup of chicken broth.

Add the package of frozen mixed vegetables to the pan and stir in the cream cheese mixture. As soon as that comes to a boil, cover and reduce the heat way down to just a simmer. Let it do its magic, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray. I used an oven proof glass.

With just about 3 or 4 minutes left of simmering time, open the croissant dough and unroll onto a sheet of wax paper. If you want to cover the whole dish with crust, then place a sheet of plastic wrap over the dough and roll out with a rolling pin until it is the right size. Be sure to cut out a few slits for steam to escape. Feel free to be creative with this. I choose to cut out shapes with a large cookie cutter but didn't plan it very well as you can see from the picture.

Pour chicken mixture into the baking pan. The mixture will have reduced around the meat and vegetables. Place the cut out pastry on top, careful as it will be difficult to reposition.

Bake for 17 – 19 minutes or until the pastry is lightly browned. Remember everything on the inside has already been cooked.

Since this is meat, vegetables, and bread I suggest a small green salad with cut up celery maybe some frozen peas. You want a strong green for the color and a good crunch for texture.

For desert, keep it simple. Either tropical fruit chunks or fruit cocktail in juice (drained) mixed with two tablespoons of no fat unflavored yogurt and sprinkle a bit of rice crispies on top. Now then your meal is balanced with color, texture, savory and sweet, as well as temperature.

Observe when this is served. Make mental notes of comments. Your Master's eyes will tell you if He is pleased. Many Master's prefer to not use many words of praise – never EXPECT praise! You will know that you have nourished and comforted with a warm and healthy meal.