JemJam

Chicken Pot Pie

I have loved chicken pot pie since I was a little girl, I am not sure that I know a person who doesn't like it. Do these people exist in our country??  

I started making CPP a few years back, I used Joy of Cooking's recipe but, it was a bit labor intensive for me to make often with an infant under one arm. This past Xmas, my husband's mother gave me the Pioneer Woman Cooks, I had not heard of her but, there's lots of pictures in there, so I felt that I would give her recipe a try. I omitted peas because that is on the no travel list of my digestive system and teeth, and throat. Eww. Anyhow, I used fennel (started from seed in our garden!) instead and it gave such a great flavor to the filling.

 

It takes longest to cut all of the veggies than it does to cook the filling. I used chicken thighs (from a local farm), I boil them and I use that water for stock--$3.50 saved, which will be used for a future fennel purchase. Here is the filling complete with me adding thyme (also our home grown) last.

 

For topping, I no longer make a pie crust, I use a biscuit recipe. I never make the biscuits, I nab the closest, most unsuspecting person that is able to read and measure ingredients--they never see it coming. Thanks red-haired brother!

 

While the pot pie is in the oven, I call on my best spoon cleaner under 48 inches...

She approves and all is well and eaten ferociously.

 

Biscuit Time

About every 2 weeks (sometimes more), the kid and I make biscuits.  She, like myself as a child, is eager to help in the kitchen. 

She helped me measure the dry ingredients, all while insisting on using her set of spoons.

Tiny fingers are excited about pulsing.

Never fret, I cut the butter.

Okay, she insisted on making imprints, which meant I had to scrape and re-roll the dough.

We use every bit of dough possible, so I use a large and a tiny cutter.

So far, so good!

They look great!

The babe is really good, she even retrieved a tin that we use for baked goods, I am teaching her to use a spatula.

The biscuits were a little cracked on top, but, when handled too much, it happens.  They tasted great, we don't use condiments and we don't need them!

I took all of these pictures with my phone and I am too lazy to crop and edit them, eh, you get the message.


 

Daughter Dearest

So, I made the wee one a new dress, this style is really not my thing, as it is long, but, I figured that I'd give it a shot since she wears what I tell her she's too young to care. She was a little upset that this was not a skirt, I even warned her days ahead that I was sewing a dress.  In retrospect, I wear skirts 6 days out of the week in the summer, the seventh day is either a dress (99% of the time) or a pair of shorts, the same is lil' ornie's preference, so I should have anticipated the fight.

 
 

There was some griping, and requests to give away the dress to our houseguest (her 23-year old uncle), to which I did not oblige.  Arguing ensued, mommy won...

She loves butterflies and I had this fabric stashed away since last summer for just the right garment, I really am not big on animals on clothes--birds and butterflies are the current exceptions. This dress was perfect for the rainy day, hence the yellow wellies. 

Should I make a few more for her?  Never mind the arguing, it's in her blood to argue and mine to win, which won't happen for many more years, because butterflies don't belong in nets.

Oh, and because they are getting some attention, here's another shot of our boots!