A pot pie for ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday

Bayou-Style Pot Pie
Favorite Brand Name Slow Cooker Casseroles and More Copyright 2002

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 can (14 ½ ounces) stewed tomatoes, undrained
8 ounces fully cooked smoked sausage or kielbasa, thinly sliced
¾ teaspoon hot pepper sauce or to taste
2 ¼ cups buttermilk baking mix
¾ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Heat oil in medium ovenproof skillet over medium-high until hot. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add chicken and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, sausage and hot pepper sauce. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat 5 minutes.
3. While chicken is cooking, combine baking mix, thyme and black pepper. Stir in milk. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls in mounds over chicken mixture. Bake 14 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and cooked through and chicken mixture is bubbly.

Makes 4 servings.

This is another recipe I made as a result of cleaning out the freezer. I had one small package of boneless chicken thighs I needed to get rid of and there wasn't enough meat in there for it to go it alone. I knew I wasn't going to buy more of them either. Although I loved the Bourbon Chicken I made with boneless chicken thighs, they're just too much trouble to work with, since they have so much 'yuck-yuck' running through them.

This recipe was okay. My son loved picking out the green peppers and eating them. My husband ate plenty of it but seemed suspicious of it. I thought it was okay, a little lacking in flavor and not quite what I was in the mood for, but it was satisfying enough. The peppers were bought marked down, both meats were already in my freezer, and the Bisquick was on sale for a buck so it was a frugal meal. It also had enough veggies in it to include it in Sweetnick's ARF/5-A-Day Tuesday.

Question of the Day: Are you cooking anything special for St. Patty's Day?