What’s cooking at Novo & Gwen’s kitchen on the first weekend of 2022?

To veer away from our usual favorites, my husband and I decided to try the all-American comfort food—Chicken Pot Pie! And since we’re trying to be more “daring” this new year, we did it with a twist!

Instead of making the pot pie out of flour, we used potatoes as edible containers. Thanks for the inspiring recipe I got from one of my favorite food blogs, Life in the Lofthouse!

This homemade potato recipe isn’t very demanding. I’m pretty sure most of the ingredients are already some of your kitchen staples.

• 6 pieces U.S. Russet Potatoes
• 2 cups cooked chicken (diced)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/2 cup onion (chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1/2 cup celery (diced)
• 1/2 cup carrots (diced)
• 1/2 cup green peas
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

How to Make the Baked Potato Pots

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Rub the russets with oil. Wrap in tin foil.
3. Poke a few holes on the wrapped potatoes.

4. Bake for one hour or until tender.

5. Once cooked, scrape the potatoes to make a pot.

6. Mash the scraped potatoes.

7. Place the mashed potatoes inside your baked potato pot.

The secret to this recipe is getting the right kind of potatoes. There are so many varieties of potatoes and choosing the right type for your recipe is crucial. If you’re going to make baked potatoes, it’s best to go for russets, the most famous of U.S. potatoes.  Russets have a hearty skin and a light fluffy center, which make them the perfect choice for making the edible pots for our creamy chicken sauce!

How to make the Chicken Sauce

1. Melt butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.
2. Add onions, carrots, garlic, celery, as well as salt and pepper. Cook and stir until vegetables are crisp-tender.  This will take about 5 minutes.
3. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables. Stir for a minute.
4. Add chicken broth and milk while whisking. Make sure the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.
5. Add the green peas and cooked diced chicken.
6. On low heat, let it simmer for 5 minutes.
7. Season with salt and pepper.
8. Place the sauce in your baked potato pots.

Since I am a self-confessed carnivore, this recipe is a great way to make me eat veggies because the vegetables are wonderfully mixed with the delicious creamy sauce.

Why potatoes over the typical crust made of flour?

More than just trying to be “experimental” in the kitchen, hubby and I decided to use potatoes as the edible pot for this recipe because of the nutritious benefits of potatoes.  Potatoes are fat-, sodium- , and cholesterol-free. Plus, these starchy foods are an excellent source of vitamin C, complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, iron, and vitamin B6. A medium-size potato also offers more potassium than a medium-size banana.

It was certainly a satisfying and healthy new dish to start our year right!

U.S. potato products in three forms – fresh, frozen, and dehydrated – are available in supermarkets nationwide. Check the label to make sure you’re getting high-quality U.S. potatoes.

For more information on U.S. potatoes and Potatoes USA here in the Philippines, you can visit their Website, and like and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

#CookingWithPotatoes #EverydayPotatoes #PotatoNutrition #PotatoesUSA #PotatoesUSAPHL #TeamPotato #PotatoPower #USPotatoes