As much as I like to share my triumphs, I thought today we’d do a little cooking do over. The inspiration for this week’s column was provided by my significant other and my precious friend Jen. Andy Barnett has been subjected to my healthy meals, vitamins, “substitutions” for the last 15 years. Recently when he was describing me to someone that didn’t know me at all, this is what he said: “She likes Target, the Bachelor and vitamins.” Nearly 20 years and this is what it comes to. There you go.

Chicken with sautéed tomatoes was the first real meal I ever cooked for Andy. I finally had my own place, a one-bedroom apartment within walking distance to the West Town Mall, back when it was so good with a brick-and-mortar J. Crew and so much more. Bless my paycheck’s heart. Andy was living, working and going to grad school in Johnson City and used to drive down to see me during the week, even though we saw each other nearly every weekend as well. We now joke (half-truth) with all these years between us and the price of gas we’d probably see each other about once a month. Andy doesn’t like tomatoes. We were off to a good start.

My dear, precious friend Jen has been looking for her “thing” lately. After attending a sweet, well-known local lady’s funeral she decided that she needed a “thing” too. This sweet woman’s thing was sourdough bread, with which she blessed so many. Jen asked if hers could be her lentil salad. We told her no.

Without further ado, with the help of Andy, I’m listing some of my biggest healthy cooking flops and a recipe that is much better than my first, meager attempt. I promise you won’t even know these are healthy.

Our first redo is chicken pot pie. I attempted my hand at a “healthy” version of this very early on in our marriage. Andy called it umbilical cord chicken pot pie. I really don’t need to elaborate.

From the blog Joy Food Sunshine

This Healthy Chicken Pot Pie recipe is made from scratch and has a delicious whole wheat biscuit crust. It is a perfect lightened up weeknight dinner recipe that is cozy and comforting.

2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded (about 4-5 cups)

2 red potatoes diced (about 2 cups)

½ small onion diced (about ½ cup)

Salt and freshly ground pepper

2 ½ tablespoons better than bouillon chicken base

½ cup sour cream or Greek yogurt

Make the sauce: In a small bowl, whisk together flour, onion powder, garlic powder, garlic salt and pepper. Add milk and whisk until combined, set aside. In a 4-quart pan over medium heat, boil water. Add chicken bouillon and whisk until dissolved. Add milk/dry ingredient mixture to boiling water/bouillon. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick (about 3 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

Make the filling: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a deep dish 9” pie plate or cast iron skillet. In a saucepan, sauté potatoes, and garlic for 5-10 minutes, or until potatoes just begin to brown. Add onion, celery and carrots and sauté until soft (about 10 minutes). Add peas, corn and shredded chicken and stir to combine. Pour the sauce into the pan with the filling mixture and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared 9” pie plate.

Make the biscuit crust: In a large bowl combine whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar and salt, stir to combine. Cut the butter into small pieces than add it to the dry ingredients using a pastry cutter or your hands until you have coarse crumbs. Add the sour cream, milk and egg and stir to combine. The mixture will be a a bit tacky to the touch. That’s good!

Putting it together: Divide the batter into 6 pieces and form each piece into a flat round circle. Gently place biscuits on top of the filling in pie dish.

Bake the chicken pot pie on the lower rack in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until the biscuits are golden brown, and the filling is bubbly. Once the healthy chicken pot pie has finished baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Store/freeze: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Thai soup, or as Andy likes to call it “fish shop.” Let me add this was not what it was. As I recall it was some sort of crockpot Thai soup that used coconut milk and had a little kick. While I can’t recall the exact recipe I used, since it wasn’t a fan favorite, I found Slow Cooker Pumpkin Peanut Butter Chicken Soup from the amazing blog Ambitious Kitchen. I’ve added these ingredients to my grocery list for next week and will report back. Fingers crossed.

The next one is both a win and a loss. A very tasty recipe that everyone in my family loves, is always a big hit when made for others, and the loss comes from a former player of Andy’s eating a few too many of these yummy treats which includes my go to ingredient, flax. You can probably guess what happened. Eaten in moderation, these are fine and will cause you no gastro distress. Eat an entire plate and you are taking your chances.

This recipe is a mix of different ones I’ve used and tweaked over the years.

1 cup natural almond butter (aka the runny kind)

1/2 cup honey (if local even better)

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I always use Enjoy Life for a dairy free option)

Healthy serving of ground flax (about 2 tablespoons)

1. Heat a pot to medium heat.

2. Add all dry ingredients to a bowl and mix.

3. Prepare an 8” x 8” pan with waxed paper.

4. Heat nut butter, honey, and coconut oil in pan, stirring constantly until melted and blended.

5. Pour hot mixture into bowl with dry ingredients, stir until combined.

6. Pour into prepared pan, chill in fridge for thirty minutes to an hour.

7. Cut into squares and store in fridge.

Have you had any epic recipe fails/flops? Do you have a recipe that’s so good, you’ve made so many times, you could make it blindfolded in your sleep? What’s your thing? Please don’t be shy, share. I can’t let vitamins, reality television and shopping be what they remember me by.

Jessica Barnett is a Southwest Virginia girl married to a Greeneville native, a mom, personal trainer, certified fitness nutrition specialist, runner, herbivore and ice cream lover. To learn about working with Jessica, prospective clients may email jcbarnett616@gmail.com.

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