Chicken Pot Pie

     This is the most amazing recipe for Chicken Pot Pie ever!  The No Fear, Easy Pie crust found here   just melts in your mouth and the filling is seasoned to perfection!  

     I first saw this in Paula Deen's cookbook and really loved it but I made a few changes to get it to the consistency I wanted.  It is made with some convenience foods and some fresh so it minimizes the time needed to prepare it.  To make it easier you can make the pie dough (this is made in a mixer and it sooo way easy!)  the day before and put it in the fridge.  

     Be sure to have some cooked chicken on hand either from a rotisserie chicken or baked chicken.  (I buy 10 lb. bags of chicken legs and thighs and boil it and then take it off the bone.  Then put it in 2 cup portions in a ziplock bag and freeze them.)  This comes in very handy for a recipe like this when you want to grab a bag and be ready to cook.

     I purchased a Wilton Jumbo Muffin Pan.  This one has 6 cups and is larger in size for a individual dinner portion like this.  I have made this recipe in a regular muffin pan and a 13 x 9 pan.  I found that I wanted to make the recipe with more juice in the individual cups because they have a greater proportion of crust in them than a square cut from a 13 x 9 pan.  If you change to the 13  X 9 pan size you might want to add more veggies or even some diced cooked potatoes to give more volume to the filling.

Here is this amazingly good recipe!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 10.5 oz. can Cheddar Cheese Soup (condensed)
1 10.5 oz. can Cream of Celery Soup (condensed)
3/4 cup milk
4 cups cooked deboned chicken
1 medium onion, diced
12 oz. frozen mixed green peas and carrots 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper 

     Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 
    

 In a medium pan add diced onion and cover with water.

Boil onion for about 5 minutes until tender.  Drain water and add the remainder of the ingredients.  Stir often until mixture is hot.  Remove from heat.

     Roll out No Fear, Easy Pie Crust on a floured surface until it is about 1/8th inch thick or about the thickness of a pancake turner. 

 For the Wilton Jumbo Muffin Pan I use a round plastic large margarine lid (3 lb size)  to cut around for the bottom crust.  It is about 6 inches in diameter and I cut 1/2 inch wider around it with a butter knife. A 7 inch circle is just right so anything you want to use to help cut it is great.

       I used a 4.5 inch cottage cheese lid for the top crust.
If you want to do a lattice woven top, use a pizza cutter to cut the circle into strips and lay them on top of the filled muffin cup.  

 Use a 1/2 cup measuring cup to place filling in the jumbo muffin cup.  Place top crust on and place in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Make 5 to 6 Jumbo Chicken Pot Pies. 

   

  

This recipe was shared on these great sites!
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Made in a Day 
Anyonita's Nibbles 
The Country Cook 
The Wondering Brain 

No Fear Easy Pie Crust

Easy Delicious Pie Crust! 

     Since this is October and a time for all things scary, I thought I would address a fear that a great number of cooks have to deal with periodically throughout their cooking careers.  PIE CRUST!!  There I said it.  Do you break out in a cold sweat when you are ask to make a pie for Thanksgiving?  Do you look through hundreds of recipes trying to find the ONE  that will work and not leave you apologizing after the dinner? Well - you have come to the right place.  

     This crust is so very forgiving and bakes up nicely. It is not a flaky texture but more of a tender crispy kind you get at the store bakery.  The dough holds together well.  You even make it in a mixer bowl so you don't need special tools to cut in the ingredients.  It tastes great every time and will not disappoint you OR scare you!  Here it is, you can thank me later!  

     No Fear Pie Crust

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup margarine
2/3 cup Crisco (or high quality vegetable shortening)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tablespoon salt 
1 Tablespoon dry milk powder (nonfat)
3 cups pastry flour
1/2 cup ice water

Begin by making sure the butter, margarine, and shortening are at room temperature. (I usually put mine in the microwave for a few seconds on defrost but you have to be very careful not to liquify them!).  Add these all to a mixer bowl and cream using the paddle attachment.  When they are light and creamy, add the sugar, baking powder, salt, and dry milk powder.  Mix together then add 1 1/2 cups of flour and mix until all flour is incorporated.

  Then add the water (I add ice to the water and mix it then pour off the needed amount into another measuring cup) and the remaining
1 1/2 cups flour and mix until blended.  

     Remove dough from the mixer bowl to a large piece of plastic wrap and completely cover with wrap.

  Chill in fridge until it is firm and cold throughout.  (I usually put it in for an hour or a half hour in the freezer).  Turn out on a floured counter and roll out until it is about 1/8th inch. 

      (I make it about the same thickness as the side of my pancake turner).
This dough is a dream to work with and you can roll out the scraps again and it will still be great!

     Cut to desired size and use directions from filling recipe for time and temperature.  This makes one 9-inch two crust pie.  See my Chicken Pot Pie Recipe for time and temperature guidelines for that size of pie.  (Also see it for an amazing pot pie recipe!). (This will be my next post!)

          So now you can go ahead and have a nice scary Halloween and not have to worry about having nightmares full of failed pie crusts!  
     I would love to hear your comments!  

This recipe was adapted from The Lion House Cookbook

This recipe was shared with these wonderful sites!
Buns In My Oven
The Recipe Critic 
Kitchen Meets Girl 
What's Cooking Love 
Mommifried 
My Personal Accent 

The Country Cook
Kitchen Fun With My Three Sons 
Made in a Day 
The Wondering Brain

Come and share your wonderful work and ideas with us!  Link up and browse through!

Welcome to the Four Seasons Blog Hop

A party where we can celebrate the greatness that each season brings to our lives.

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Light, Crispy Glazed Donuts

I am excited to bring you this amazing recipe for glazed donuts!  Through the years I have tried many recipes that promised to be great but just didn't quite work out.  It was so very exciting to make these and with a few changes in the process, they are the real thing!  They are airy and light and you will seriously want to eat the glaze without the donuts!  (But really, don't do that it's so good on the donuts themselves!)

I do have a funny story (but not funny at the time).  Last year I was making these donuts and had to run a quick errand after I had cut them and set them on sheets to raise.  When I returned I saw to my horror that there were little foot prints in the flour on the counter walking up to the cookie sheet and one donut was pulled off the cookie sheet.  I had forgotten that I was babysitting my daughters little chihuahua and didn't put her in her bed when I left.  I had to throw away, clean up, and start all over.  It was a sad day.  Don't do that will you?

Glazed Donuts

To start with, mix the first 7 ingredients together in your mixer bowl until blended then add 2 cups of the flour.  

 Mix the next 3 cups of flour in and then let it mix slowly for about 2 to 3 minutes more. 



 

Add more (about 1 cup) flour until the dough forms a sticky ball on the dough hook. Continue to knead the dough for about 5 minutes.









Coat a large bowl with oil and place the dough in it to rise.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.  When dough has doubled in size it is ready to roll out. 

 Flour the counter well and carefully put the dough out of the bowl.  Handle dough gently to leave as much air in it as possible. 

 Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut donuts out with either a donut cutter or a large biscuit cutter and a small one for the hole. 

 Now this is the important part!!! Flour the back of some cookie sheets very well.  This is key if you want to keep those puffy well risen donuts from collapsing when you move them.  I use about 1/4 inch all over and maybe more.  I make sure the sheets are very clean before putting flour on them and then the flour can be used again after the donuts rise on it.  When you have a good layer of flour the turner you are using can easily slide under the dough and move it without sticking to it. 

 Let the donuts rise until they are doubled in size. 

  Gently lift them one at a time and carefully shake some of the extra flour off.  Place the dough in hot oil.  I use my electric fry pan and set the dial to between 375 to 390 degrees.  Pans can vary so cook a sample or a donut hole to see how fast it cooks and then adjust the temperature.  Try not to let extra flour slide into the pan with the dough as this will slow down the pans ability to heat.  An extra wide turner like this one is helpful to pick them up also!

Fry them for about 40 seconds per side then turn I use a metal fry daddy slotted spoon. 

When they are done, remove them to a cooling rack to drain.  While they are still quite warm, dip them in your saucepan of glaze turning to coat both sides.  With 2 forks lift them immediately out of the glaze and set on a rack that has been set inside of a cookie sheet so that the glaze will drip onto the pan.  (this glaze can be used again by reheating it).


Now you have perfectly delicious bakery donuts!  

   

This recipe was adapted from All Recipes Crispy Creamy Doughnuts here.

Light and Crispy Glazed Donuts

2 Tablespoons instant yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup shortening
5 cups all purpose flour (I add 1 more cup)
4-6 cups oil for frying

Mix the first 7 ingredients together in your mixer bowl until blended then add 2 cups of the flour.  Mix until blended.  Mix the next 3 cups of flour in and then let it mix slowly for about 2 to 3 minutes more. Add more (about 1 cup) flour at a time until the dough forms a sticky ball on the dough hook. Continue to knead the dough for about 5 minutes.

Coat a large bowl with oil and place the dough in it to rise.  Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place.  When dough has doubled in size it is ready to roll out. Flour the counter well and carefully put the dough out of the bowl.  Handle dough gently to leave as much air in it as possible.  Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut donuts out. 

 Flour the back of some cookie sheets very well. Place the cut out donuts on the floured sheet. Let the donuts rise until they are doubled in size.    Gently lift them one at a time and shake the extra flour off.  Place the dough in hot oil.  I use my electric fry pan and set the dial to between 375 to 390 degrees.

  Pan temperatures can vary so cook a sample or a donut hole to see how fast it cooks and then adjust the temperature.  Fry them for about 40 seconds per side.  When they are done, remove them to a cooling rack to drain.  While they are still quite warm, dip them in your saucepan of glaze turning to coat both sides.  With 2 forks lift them immediately out of the glaze and set on a rack that has been set inside of a cookie sheet so that the glaze will drip onto the pan. 

Donut Glaze

2/3 cup real butter
4 cups confectioners sugar
3 teaspoons real vanilla
4 to 8 Tablespoons hot water (I use about 6)

Melt butter in a small saucepan.  (Make sure it is big enough to dip the one donut at a time and turn it but small enough to keep the glaze deep).  Wisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Add just enough hot water to make the glaze thin but not watery.  Keep the glaze on low while you are cooking the donuts.  If glaze hardens reheat it to keep it thin for dipping. 

This recipe was shared on these great sites! 
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Pint Sized Baker 
A to Zebra Celebrations 
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Kitchen Meets Girl 
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Recipes for my boys 
What's Cooking Love? 
My Personal Accent 
The Country Cook 
The Wondering Brain 
Happy Kids Inc. A gut and a But

Family Time! Part 2- What do your Kids Really Want for Dinner?

Part 2---

In part 1, we talked about the really important reasons why you would want to make family sit down dinners at home part of your life.  It really does give your kids more than just a healthy meal.  It can be life changing for all of you.  But how, you ask, can I possibly do that when we have so much going on and so many other "things" to do?  I hope this part 2 article will help you get some ideas to lesson the stress and give you some doable ways to begin. 

If you are anything like me and my family it seems like life gets busier with each passing year.  So to help you with that, I put together a couple of top ten lists of things to do that will help simplify cooking for a family.  Also, to help you see the effects that eating together can have.  List #1 was in the 1st part of  "What do your kids really want for dinner?". 

List #2 - 

       Plan what you make and make what you love!

      
          1. Right now, go get a pen and paper and write down as many 
              meals as you can that you like to make for your family.

          2. Each time you try something new ask your family to rate it.
              I tell mine that because this is a trial recipe, they can be
              completely honest.  I really want to know what they think. 
              (I brace myself for honest reactions!!)  Ask them to rate it on
              scale of 1-3.  1=dislike, 2=ok, will eat again, 3=great! loved it!

          3. Write their preferences on the recipe so you can remember who
              loves it and who just likes it etc.  Now add it to your list from #1!

          4. Rotate making each one's favorite meals.  Or if you make one 
              person's fav. main dish, make another person's fav. side dish.
              That way everyone is happy!
   
          5. I LOVE lists!  At the beginning of each month I try to sit down 
             for just one hour (as opposed to worrying about each and every
             day for the next 30 days! and write each day of the month down
             the side of a notebook page.  I include the date and day of week. 
             (That makes it easier to see special occasions or prior
             commitments and plan around them.)  

          6. Variety is the spice of life!
              It is surprising how many meals you forget to put in your
              rotation through the years.  I still have favorites from my
              college days that we still enjoy and are very easy and frugal.
  
              Use your list from #1 above to help you fill in a dinner
              meal for each day.  This way you get a lot of variety 
              because you aren't just getting to the end of the day and thinking
              "What's in the fridge we could have for dinner?"  

              Does this sound like too much work?  It becomes fast and easy 
              when you do it with a list of meals you have made but also;

                  1. You don't have to stress every night (or all day long) over
                      what to have for dinner.  It is all thought out! NO Stress!

                  2. If you aren't in the mood for the meal plan for the night
                      no problem!  Switch!  Because you have planned to have
                      all the ingredients for so many meals at the first of the 
                      month, you can easily look at your list and just Switch!

                  3. Shopping is much more effective and easy because you
                      have a plan and a list!  You save money because you 
                      don't have to make a store run and end up picking up
                      extra impulse buys.  As you fill in your dinner schedule, 
                      make a line down the page for another column to list
                      any ingredients you don't have on hand.

            7. Make Doable Meals!  Be kind to yourself.  As you schedule 
                your month, fill in busy days with meals that are simple to 
                prepare.  Have a freezer meal that just needs to thaw in the
                microwave or pull out some salmon, thaw it, sprinkle with
                seasoning and bake for 10 min. with a green salad, dinner is
                ready!  Don't over schedule yourself!

            8.  Get a good freezer and use it!!  I know a few women (working
                and not), who spend a couple of complete Saturdays a month
                making freezer meals so they don't have to cook when they
                get home each evening.
  
                That is great for those that it works for and I applaud them,
                but it doesn't work for me.  I can't remember a time
                even now that my children are gone that I felt ambitious
                enough or had a whole days time to devote to making
                meals.  

                Much easier for me was to double or even triple meals
                as I make them.  I was already getting all the ingredients
                out, mixing and cooking them so it just didn't take much
                longer to make an extra recipe and freeze it.  Even now that                         it is just my husband and I most of the time, I haven't lost
                the desire to cook nice meals because I know that my efforts 
                tonight mean that I get a night or two off in the future and it
                it so great to have 2 or 3 nights off a week that way!

            9. Get the kids to pick meals they can learn to make and be in
                charge of!   Here is a link to a great recipe that even young
                children can help with.  Bubble Up Pizza by The Country Cook.
                Another fun recipe kids really love is found on my site, 
                Ragu Enchiladas, and they could help with these also.
               
     This is where I hope you won't judge me but I only have 9 in my top ten list..but I hope these ideas are as valuable to you as they have been to me!
The important message here is that eating together as a family is invaluable.  It sets the stage for more open communication and creates the feeling that being together is important and that we like each other!  

     If all these ideas don't work for you please feel free to pick the ones that do and then improvise your own!  You will soon learn that what your kids really want for dinner is...
                                           YOU!


I would love to hear any ideas you have that would help others with busy lives find ways to have sit down meals together!  I love your comments!





This has been shared on these wonderful sites!  
Mandy'a Recipe Box
Buns in my Oven
Anyonita's Nibbles
What's cooking Love?
The Country Cook

Blackened Salmon

I love cooking fish for a couple of reasons. I love the flavors you can add to it.   It may seem expensive but when you come down to it, smaller portions are quite filling.  So it really isn't as costly as it sounds when you hear the per pound price.  The second reason is that it is so easy and fast to cook.  I love it when it only takes a few minutes to bake and you have a fabulous dinner!  This recipe is no exception! 

     We love this spicy but not too strong mix. I have to admit I am kind of a whimp when it comes to spices so this is mild but still has a kick.  (You can adjust the heat by increasing the cayenne pepper if desired.) 

     If you love it like we do, you can make up a bottle of the spice mix and have it ready to use anytime.  This saves tons of time when you need dinner in a hurry!

Blackened Salmon

1    Tablespoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1    teaspoon  garlic powder
1    teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried basil 
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

4  boneless, skinless salmon fillets (about 6 to 8 oz. each or one 24 to 32 oz. piece)
4 to 6 Tablespoons melted butter 

If your fillets still have skin on one side, remove it by cutting just under the skin with a fillet knife.  Then, if needed, cut the large fillet into individual portions.  Begin by brushing the entire fillet with butter and then sprinkle both sides with the spice mix.  Try to use all of the spice mix so it is well coated. Pour a little butter on top of the spices on one side of the fish.   Heat the pan on medium to medium high until hot and then add the salmon to the pan putting the buttered side down first.   Turn the heat down to medium and brown the fish on both sides.  Turn it over and cover.  Cook until fish flakes easily, checking often and turning if needed.

This recipe was adapted from All Recipes here. 

This was shared on these great sites!
A to Z Celebrations 
Wonderful at Home