Homemade Chicken Potpie

Not to toot my own horn, but this was the perfect Thanksgiving Kick-Off  I could ever do. ;)  Using my much loved recipe book from The Food Nanny, I attempted this daunting task of making my very own homemade Chicken Potpie.  Note: At first it seemed daunting, as I have never made pastry dough before--or even a pie!--but it was surprising SIMPLE.

 My family, especially my husband, loved this meal.  Such a guy's meal right? Meat and potatoes hugged with flaky pastry dough.  I mean come on.  My kids helped me make everything, that's me rolling the pastry dough and my daughter (5) taking the picture!  I loved everything about this meal, and I hope you will too!  Give it a try, it's really not as hard as it looks and delicious!

ingredients

PASTRY for a double-crust pie:

2 1/2 cups flour

1 t salt

3/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) chilled butter, cut in small pieces

4 to 6 tablespoons ice-cold water

FILLING

2 small bone-in chicken breasts (about 1 pound)  *I didn't have bone-in, so I just used regular de-boned chicken breasts

3 Yukon gold or russet potatoes, diced

2 carrots, sliced crosswise

2 t chicken bouillon granuels

1/2 t salt

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup cold water (or broth)

1/2 cup frozen peas

instructions

1. To make the pie crust, stir the flour and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the shortening and butter with a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle with the ice water, a tablespoon at a time, and stir with a fork to moisten all the dough. Gather the dough into a ball with your hands. Divide the dough in half. Roll out one half on a lightly floured surface and fit it into a 9-inch pie dish (deep-dish is ideal). Roll out the other half and set aside.

2. Put the chicken breasts in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat, cover, and simmer until tender, about 18 minutes. Remove the chicken to a cutting board or plate.

3. Add the potatoes and carrots to the hot broth and return to boiling. Decrease the heat, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, tear or cut the chicken off the bones into bite-size pieces, discarding skin, fat and gristle. Remove the vegetables from the simmering broth with a slotted spoon and set aside with the chicken pieces.

4. Measure the broth and add water, if necessary, to make 2½ cups. Return to the pan and simmer, stirring in the bouillon and the salt.

5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

6. Stir the flour into the cold water in a small bowl or measuring cup. Stir into the broth and increase the heat to medium. Stir constantly until the broth thickens.

7. Add the chicken to the broth along with the potatoes, carrots and peas. Stir to combine. Pour the filling into the pastry-lined pie dish. Cover with the top crust, seal and flute the edges, and cut a slit in the top for the steam to escape. Bake 40 minutes, or until the crust is light brown. Serve immediately.

microwave caramels.

if i had known sooner how easy these are to make, i would be a much plumper individual. i'm going to have to limit myself to how often i can use this recipe... :)

ingredients:

1/2 cup melted butter

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup pecans, optional

directions:

spray 8x8 pan with Pam. combine all ingredients in a large glass bowl. stir well. cook, uncovered, in microwave on high for 7 minutes. allow to cool for 5 minutes. stir again. pour into pan. cool completely in refrigerator. cut into squares and wrap in waxed paper. {to make as a dip for apples, reduce cooking time by one minute.}

and then immediately share them before you eat them all by yourself.

note:

i burned my first batch. in my microwave i only needed to cook it for 5 minutes.

sausage frittata.

this was our general conference breakfast on sunday. i didn't have a non-stick skillet, so it took lots of elbow grease to scrub the remains out of my pan, but it was worth it :)

ingredients:

1/2- 1 lb ground pork sausage

2 cups cubed cooked red potatoes (i used frozen hash browns bc i was lazy)

8 eggs

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato

2 green onions, thinly sliced

directions:

cook sausage in large non-stick skillet over medium heat 4-5 minutes or until hot. stir in potatoes. beat eggs, cheese, salt & pepper in a large bowl with wire whisk. pour over sausage mixture. cook over medium-high heat 2 minutes, occasionally lifting edge with spatula and tilting skillet to allow uncooked egg to flow underneath. (do not stir.) reduce heat to medium-low; cover. cook 14-17 minutes or until eggs are set. top with tomato and onions. cut into 8 wedges to serve.

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

Who doesn't like Cream Cheese?! My husband's cousin posted the recipe of these cookies on Facebook and I just HAD to make them. And want to know the best part? Eggs are not required!! So feel free to feed your kids all the dough you want with no worries!

Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 5-6 oz cream cheese, softened
  
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups plus 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line baking sheets with parchment

Cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the Vanilla.

Sift together dry ingredients and then add them to the butter mixture. Beat until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips.

*original recipe suggests chilling the dough overnight but I made them right away

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake 12-14 minutes or until edges are looking light golden brown.

Cool for 5 minutes on cookie sheets before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes approximately 60 cookies.

***With it being autumn now, I just thought of putting a little bit of cinnamon in it next time I make this batch. Sounds enticing!!

Enjoy!

[Cook Challenge: Fruits Of Your Labors] GARDEN SALSA

fruits of my labor . . . dish #2

Hate salsa?  Me neither!  I love it!! :)  And if you are a big fan, like myself, you'll love this garden salsa recipe from my cute sister-in-law, Bonnie.  It's perfect.  And a fantastic way to use your fresh produce from your garden to share with others.  (FYI: I used my own green peppers and tomatoes from my garden!)

ingredients
2 1/2 c. tomatoes, chopped
1/4 c. tomatillos, chopped
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/4 c. green peppers, chopped
2-6 jalapenos, chopped (how spicy do you like it? you can de-seed if needed)
1 lrg clove of garlic, minced
2 T cilantro, chopped
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
1 T freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 lime)

instructions
Combine everything in a large bowl.  I suggest doubling it.  You'll bring out the best flavor if you let everything marinate together in the fridge before serving.