Chicken Pot Pie

Crust:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
cold water

Put butter, flour, and salt in a medium size bowl. Cut flour into the butter with a pastry blender or two forks. Add cold water, a little at a time until you are able to make the dough into a ball. Handle the dough as little as possible and don't get it too wet. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the pie. I like to make the crust a few hours ahead of time to cut down on prep right at dinner. (This is for a single crust pie. Double it if you want a bottom crust.)

Sauce:
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried sage, marjoram, or thyme, crushed
1/8 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup milk

In a saucepan cook onion in butter till tender. Stir in flour, salt, sage, marjoram, or thyme; and pepper. Add chicken broth and milk all at once. Cook and stir till thick and bubbly. (Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book.)

Filling:
1 cup cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
1 potato, parboiled and cubed
1 carrot, diced
1/3 cup corn
1/2 cup green beans or 1/3 cup peas (or both)
(or 1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables)

Method:
Add filling to sauce and spoon into pie plate.
Roll out crust on floured surface. Place on top of pie filling and seal edges. Using a fork, make several holes in the crust for steam to vent. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Cherry Glaze

We don't usually use cake mixes, but I was planning to make

these cupcakes for Ruby's party later in the week,

so I picked up a Private Selection Vanilla Bean mix at Smith's.

I like that line (no trans fat, fast, easy, and pretty good),

and this time I tried the glaze recipe on the package,

only with cherry instead of lemon flavoring.

It reminds me of the cherry glaze at Daylight Donuts.

Cherry Glaze

1/3 cup butter

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp artificial cherry extract

2 -4 TBSP water

1. Melt butter in medium saucepan. Remove from heat.

2. Stir in powdered sugar and cherry extract.

3. Stir in hot water, 1 TBSP at a time until smooth and consistency of thick syrup.

I made ours purple for Ruby.

Dear c jane,

Thank you

for picking me to win your giveaway!

The lullaby album sounds wonderful.

And if it can help any of my little ones

(or me) to fall asleep at night it will be

worth it's weight in chocolate.

Sleep and chocolate are two things

that I never seem to get enough of.

Sincerely, Jenny

Rebecca's Chocolate Caramel Delights

1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup melted butter

Mix together. Put half of the mixture in an ungreased 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile,Heat these together until melted:

14 oz bag caramels (about 48)
1/2 cup whipping cream

When flour/oatmeal mixture if finished baking, take out of the oven and sprinkle with
12 oz bag milk chocolate chips

Top with melted caramel mixture.

Sprinkle remaining flour mixture on top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

This is from my friend Jenny's mother, Rebecca. They are sooo good.

Crazy Tacos

This recipe originally called for hamburger, but tonight I tried it without the meat and substituted pinto beans. I'll give the directions for either option.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef OR 2 cans pinto beans and a TBSP canola oil
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 6 oz. cans water
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp garlic powder
1/4 onion powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cup rice, cooked
corn chips

Toppings:
avocado
grated cheese
tomatoes
lettuce
black olives
green onions
sour cream
taco sauce or salsa

Directions:
Brown ground beef in large skillet,
OR heat oil in pan and add drained, rinsed pinto beans.
To meat OR beans, add:
tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and cumin.
Simmer for 30 minutes, then stir in 1 cup cooked rice.
Serve with tortilla chips and toppings.

From my roommate, Alisa.

Pasta with Garlic Zucchini

Ingredients:
1 package wacky mac
3 TBSP olive oil
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 large zucchini, cut into strips
1/2 cup water
onion powder
6 grape tomatoes, cut into strips
3/4 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
Boil pasta according to package directions.
Meanwhile, heat 2 TBSP olive oil and add garlic. Cook for 3 minutes.
Add zucchini, cook for a minute or two, then add water and onion powder.
Let sit on medium heat for 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and 1 TBSP oil.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Stir in pasta and cheese.
Serve.

I adapted this recipe from Nie Nie's cooking blog.

You could use any pasta, Stephanie uses whole wheat spaghetti, I was hoping that the colors and shapes of the wacky mac would appeal to my kids and be easier for them to eat. Except for Ruby, they still thought it was gross, but not too gross to eat when told they wouldn't get a snack if they didn't eat it. That's saying something.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

Cafe Rio Style Creamy Tomatillo Salad Dressing

Place the following in a blender:
3 fresh tomatillos, cut into quarters
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 cup buttermilk (or make w/dry buttermilk mix)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 package of dry Ranch Buttermilk Dressing Mix
1 cup fresh cilantro (abt. one bunch)
5 stalks (1/2 bunch) of green onions w/ends
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 to 3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed cayenne pepper
4 tsp. sugar or other sweetener (you might want to taste it w/out first)

Combine well in blender and refrigerate at least one hour.