Chicken Pot Pie

When Fall arrives, I happily return to cooking my favorite comfort foods. Fall weekends at our house mean, long, slow, lovingly cooked meals. 

Today I decided to make chicken pot pie. Chicken, when purchased with skin and bones, whole or by legs and thighs can be very economical. Boneless, skinless chicken these days cost as much as nice cuts of beef, so I find ways to use less expensive chicken. 

I boiled 8 chicken legs purchased for under a dollar a pound on sale. I placed the chicken legs in a pot of water (just enough to cover the meat) with half an onion, a couple of garlic cloves, some celery, salt, and Old Bay seasonings and boiled it for about 2 hours. I then removed the chicken and placed in a bowl to cool. I strained the resulting broth, and placed it back into the pot. I added the other half of the onion, sliced carrots, left over (meaning parts of bags, not the whole bag) frozen corn, cut green beans, and peeled, cubed potatoes to the pot. I simmered the veggies for about 15 minutes. I added parsley, pepper, a little salt and a bit of "Better than Bullion" seasoning. I don't often measure my seasonings. I just "season to taste" most of the time. 

Once the chicken cooled a bit, I took the meat off the bones in as large chunks as possible. I threw away the bones, skins and icky parts. 

I chunked the larger pieces of meat with a big knife and added it to the veggies in the pot. 

I added about a 1/4 cup of baking mix (like Bisquick) to the pot to thicken the mixture. 

I added all that yummy goodness to a lightly greased, big, glass baking dish. 

I mixed equal parts baking mix with milk to create the crust. I added a bit of garlic powder, onion powder, and Old Bay seasoning to the batter and poured it over the mixture in the dish. 

As a finishing touch, I sprinkled parsley flakes on the top. I then baked it at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes till the crust was golden brown. 

It was delicious!! 

You can experiment with your seasonings as well as the veggies to find your perfect chicken pot pie. 

It's an easy, economical and wholesome meal. We'll be having left overs tomorrow too! 

"Take out" free zone!

Asian food has always been a mystery of flavors and textures that I love! I am slowly unlocking the mysteries in my very own kitchen.

One of my favorite Asian soups has always been hot and sour soup. I was sure the creation of such a complex mix of flavors and textures must be something so complicated I wouldn't be able to make it at home. I was so sure of this, I had never even looked up any recipes - instead just enjoying the flavors when we went out to eat Chinese food at overpriced local eateries. 

Just before I added the egg drop

I finally found this hot and sour soup recipe and decided to try it myself. 

The clerk at the store had no idea what "wood ears" was. Since it wasn't with the Asian food and the clerk couldn't help me - I gave up and went for canned Shitake mushroom slices instead. This was also my first time purchasing tofu of any kind. 

The finished soup

I already had some home made (regular, not Chinese as this recipe describes.) chicken stock so I used that in this recipe. I also didn't have pork, nor have I ever tasted hot and sour soup with pork - so I decided to use cubed turkey breast I already had. Other than that, I followed the recipe and I was not disappointed. It tasted almost exactly like what I eat at my favorite restaurant. 

my secret family chicken stir fry recipe

I'm sure with some additional practice, and maybe these "wood ears" and Chinese chicken stock - it would be even more authentic. 

I served it with my favorite chicken stir fry recipe - which is mostly improvised with ginger, soy, brown sugar, sesame and chili paste thickened with cornstarch. 

Since I only used 1/2 of the tofu I bought, I'm excited to try another "first" with that this week! 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

diabetic friendly stuffed bell peppers with rice

My daughter's new friend was supposed to come join her in preparing dinner for my husband and I so we could officially "meet" him. Unfortunately, he couldn't make it. Fortunately, my daughter stuck to the plan and made the diabetic friendly bell peppers and rice for us anyway and they were piping hot and ready the moment we walked in the door from our 1.5 hour long commute from Seattle.

Ahhhh.....so this is what the rich and privileged feel like....you know, the ones with personal cooks!

The recipe came from the first website that helped me help my husband manage his out of control type 2 diabetes.  You need to create an account to view the meal planning and its not the easiest to navigate BUT it literally saved my butt when it came to helping him control his diabetes. His doctor says the best way to prevent type 2 diabetes is to eat like you already have it - so everyone should go check it out. It gave us the tools we needed to take his A1C from 13% down to 7% in just 90 days.

So, here's to daughters making dinner for tired Moms and step-dads. AND the bell peppers were delicious. You must know that we always add a meat - this recipe is supposed to be vegetarian but we add hot Italian sausage. We were even able to use the fancy imported Parmesan cheese from the Italian grocer!

ahhh, Italy...how I love thee...

I discovered a legitimate Italian grocery store just steps away from my office today. My husband is part Italian and loves Italian recipes. I thought this would be a perfect way to treat him to a nice treat.

I found this nice recipe for Involtini of Beef with a red wine sauce for inspiration and hit the store on my break. I was immediately overwhelmed with the choices and knew I would HAVE to return for a closer, longer look later. 

From Big Johns PFI in Seattle

For today, I just purchased the items I needed for tonight's dinner:

1. Pasta imported from Italy
2. Imported fresh Parmesan cheese
3. Imported Prosciutto
4. Italian Pomi diced tomatos

Involtini of Beef with a red wine sauce

It was a hit! Flavorful, yet simple. I served it over Italian pasta and with a side of steamed broccoli. I have a tendency to over complicate things I create or make - so I stuck with the recipe on this one and was so pleased with the result.

I'm confident I can create a similar result with less expensive ingredients as well.

I'm excited to see what other Italian culinary experiences I can discover in the upcoming weeks! 

Passed down from generation to generation....

...starting with this one.

My family is weak on the tradition side of things. I have learned to love to cook and explore new things in the kitchen - but all self taught. We do not have "family recipes" that have been passed down. My father was an only child who's parents passed away before I was even born. I am my father's only child. We lived on a working farm which meant most of my time growing up with my dad was spend...well....working. Feeding animals, cleaning up, weeding, watering plants in our family nursery, helping with the feed store my parents owned.

Somehow we did find time to eat, however the kitchen was not a cozy family affair. I do not have childhood memories of baking cookies, pies or family BBQ's. Eating and cooking was not a source of enjoyment in my childhood home growing up with my father and his wife. About the only thing I remember being taught to "cook" as a child was a grilled cheese sandwich, mac n cheese (from a box).

Indeed - the culinary pleasure didn't enter my life till after I was married and had two children of my own to nurture. In fact, I didn't really start to explore and develop my own enjoyment of lovingly preparing a meal for family and friends until the last several years.

As a result, I often joke with my children - this is a secret family recipe, passed down from generation to generation - starting with this one!

I may not be a gourmet chef - but I relish the excitement of exploring new foods and expanding my knowledge of foods, flavors, techniques and being able to share those things with those I love.

I welcome you to explore with me....