Chicken Pot Pie

Quick and easy and very tasty! For a healthier version omit the bottom crust and make it with only a top crust! Sometimes I use cooked Quinoa (another delicious grain that cooks in only 20 minutes!) instead of brown rice. For a vegetarian version I also have used a can of white or Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained, instead of a can of chicken and make a white sauce with soy milk instead of cream of chicken soup. Delicious either way! Don't be afraid to substitute in recipes! I do it all the time! Keeps life interesting!


Chicken Pot Pie

Pie crust (enough for top and bottom crusts)
2 cups cooked brown rice (I like to use my leftover rice for this)
1/4 cup diced onion
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen Country Trio Vegetables-carrots, corn, and green beans
1 can Cream of Chicken soup**
1 tsp. Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning
1/2-1 cup milk
1 (5 oz.) can chicken
salt and pepper to taste

-Prepare pie crust. Roll out bottom crust and line 9 inch pie plate. Set aside.
-Saute onion in olive oil until tender crisp. Add cooked brown rice, frozen vegetables, soup, seasonings, chicken, and milk. Cook until heated through.
-Fill unbaked pie crust with chicken mixture. Roll out top crust and place on top. Seal edges and cut slits for steam to escape. Place on baking sheet with sides to catch any spills. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until crust is golden.

**Instead of using Cream of Chicken soup you can make your own white sauce: Melt 2 T. butter in a pan. Add 2 T. flour. Whisk for about a minute. Pour in 1 cup milk (regular or soy). Whisk until boiling. Salt and pepper to taste. Add to vegetable mixture.

Pink Cloud

This is a very pretty and very sweet salad. It's almost more like a dessert! It is very quick and easy to make. Sorry about the picture quality. My camera flash is broken.


Pink Cloud

21 oz. can cherry pie filling
20 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 can Eagle Brand milk
2 cups small marshmallows
12 oz. Cool Whip

Mix first four ingredients together and then fold in Cool Whip. Chill for 3-4 hours.

Galette des Rois

It's a tradition in France, the first sunday of January, and during all the month, to eat the La Galette des Rois, a round cake where a little charm (la fève) is hidden. Whoever finds this charm inside is King or Queen for the day and wears a crown (une couronne).

GALETTE DES ROIS

Pour 6 à 8 personnes

Ingrédients ;
2 pâtes feuilletées
1 jaune d’œuf

Pour la crème aux amandes :
200 g d’amandes en poudre
80 g de sucre glace
100 g de beurre
2 jaunes d’œufs
1 verre à liqueur d’eau

1. Préparez la crème aux amandes : versez les amandes en poudre dans un mortier et pilez-les pour rendre la poudre encore plus fine. Ajoutez aux amandes pilées le sucre glace, les jaunes d’œufs, le beurre ramolli en pommade et non fondu. Ajoutez le verre à liqueur d’eau. Battez bien la crème qui doit être très mousseuse.

2. Préchauffez le four ther.7.

3. Déposez délicatement une des 2 pâtes sur une plaque du four humide, mais pas graissée. Etalez la crème aux amandes sur cette abaisse jusqu’à 2cm du bord. Humectez cette bordure de 2cm avec un pinceau.

4. Posez la 2ème pâte délicatement sur la 1ère. Faites adhérer les bords en les pressant légèrement du bout des doigts. Incisez tout le pourtour de petits coups de couteau. Badigeonnez la surface de jaune d’œuf. Dessinez des arabesques avec la pointe du couteau, faites 2 ou 3 incisions profondes sur le dessus pour permettre à la vapeur de s’échapper pendant la cuisson.

5. Placez dans le four chaud (ther.7) sur la plaque à mi-hauteur. Laissez cuire sans ouvrir la porte du four pendant environ 30 minutes. La galette doit être gonflée et dorée. Laissez refroidir sur une grille. Servez tiède de préférence.

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Ingredients :
2 pie crust dough
1 egg yolk

For the almond cream:
1 ¾ cup of grounded almonds
1/3 cup of powder sugar
0.4 cup of butter
2 eggs yolks
2 Tbsp of water


1- Prepare the almond cream: put the almond powder in a bowl and crush it for making the powder finer. Add the ice sugar, the eggs yolks, the butter at room temperature (not melted). Add the water. Mix all the ingredients to obtain a very foaming cream.

2- Preheat the oven 401 ° F

3- Put delicately one of the 2 baked crusts on a humid plate. Spread the almond cream on it from 0.8 inches side. Moist this border with a paintbrush.

4- Put the second pie on top. Press lightly the border with your fingers. Make small incisions in all around the border with a knife. Distemper the surface with the egg yolk. Draw arabesques with the head of the knife, and make 2 or 3 deep incisions on the top for the steam could go out during the bake.

5- Put into the oven and let bake without opening the door for around 30 minutes. The galette must be puffed and glazed. It is better to serve it lukewarm.

Cool Whip Cream Frosting

I thought I should post this frosting recipe separately because it's definitely one I'm going to be using again in the future. I like it so much better than the super sweet regular cake frosting. And the great part...you can even decorate with it using cake decorator tips! Not to mention it is soooo easy to make! I'm hooked!

Cool Whip Cream Frosting

1 (12 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with mixer until well blended. Add Cool Whip. Mix well. Spread on your choice of cake.

Lemonade Party Cake

"As refreshing as a glass of lemonade!"
I found this recipe on the Betty Crocker recipe site. I made it for my son's birthday today and it turned out really good. A nice change in flavor from the usual birthday cake. This recipe is meant to be a 9x13 cake pan but I baked it, removed from pan, cut it into my cake shape (a sailboat), and THEN poked the holes and put the lemonade glaze on. It turned out great! I just made sure that I poured the glaze on nice and slow so that it didn't run all over the place. I also frosted it with a Cool Whip Cream frosting instead of the heavy cake frosting. It was a perfect compliment I thought. This would be a fabulous cake for a shower, luncheon, or any occasion.

Lemonade Party Cake

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® lemon or yellow cake mix (I used lemon)

Water, vegetable oil and eggs called for on cake mix box

1/2 can (12 oz. size) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed (3/4 cup)-I used about 2/3 cup because of some of the reviews I read saying it was too runny

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 container Betty Crocker® Whipped fluffy white or fluffy lemon frosting (I used Cool Whip Cream Frosting)

Yellow colored sugar, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Make cake as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool 15 minutes.
2. Mix lemonade concentrate and powdered sugar. Pierce top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork, wiping fork occasionally to reduce sticking. Drizzle lemonade mixture evenly over top of cake. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen cake. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.
3. Spread frosting over top of cake. Sprinkle with sugar. Store covered in refrigerator.

(Photo from Betty Crocker website)


Cool Whip Cream Frosting

1 (12 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese and powdered sugar with mixer until well blended. Add Cool Whip. Mix well. Spread on your choice of cake.

Muffins for anything

My mom used to make these for us as kids, and now my kids love them. They are pretty basic and you can throw just about anything in them. I like to add chocolate chips, or pecans, or both. My kids love them (the non-nuts version), and they freeze pretty good too. I doubled the recipe and got 3 and a half dozen.


Mix together:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 cup brown sugar

add and mix together:
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Add and mix:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

stir in any extras, like chocolate chips or nuts
pour into muffin cups, bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Peanut butter and chocolate cookie bars

Hannah had to make cookies for her Achievement Days activity and we made these bars... they were so yummy. I happened to have a peanut butter cookie pouch on hand so I used that to make my peanut butter cookie dough. The recipe is on the back of the pouch (Betty Crocker).

~Peanut butter cookie dough

~Press into a sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 to 18 minutes (until edges are golden brown). Cool about 10 minutes.

~2 cups chocolate chips.

~Microwave the chocolate chips until melted and smooth. Spread evenly over cookie pan.

~Refrigerate about 30 minutes until chocolate is firm and set. (I actually had to refrigerate mine longer, about an hour to get it to set all the way).

~Cut into bars.

Rice Krispie Wreaths

Of course you have to make a few of these quick and easy treats sometime during the holidays! We made them for Family Home Evening a week ago. You can always make them with corn flakes instead of Rice Krispies for more of a "leafy" look. Enjoy!

Rice Krispie Wreaths

3 tablespoons margarine or butter
1 (10 ounce) package regular marshmallows
1 teaspoon green food coloring
6 cups Rice Krispies Cereal
Red cinnamon candies
Prepared frosting

In large saucepan, melt margarine over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in food coloring. Add Rice Krispies cereal. Sir until well coated.
Using 1/4 cup dry measure coated with cooking spray, evenly portion warm cereal mixture. Using buttered fingers, quickly shape into individual wreaths. (I found it was easier to wet my hands, form a ball with the Rice Krispies mixture, and then poke a finger through the middle to spread out the center. Didn't stick at all.) Dot with cinnamon candies. Use prepared frosting to hold candies in place.

Snow Balls

Snow Balls

1/2 Cup (1 stick) butter

2 TBS white sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/4 Cup sifted flour

1 Cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Cream butter and sugar. Blend in vanilla, flour and nuts. Chill dough. Shape into small balls and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While still hot, roll in powdered sugar. Coat and then roll again in powdered sugar. Makes about 10-12 balls.

Chicken Posole

Chicken Posole

Ok, I had to steal the picture from Family Circle because I never think to get pictures until the recipe is proven and GONE! This one was a HUGE hit! I made a big crockpot full and fed it to my visiting family and then our friends for our Family Home Evening dinner group and everyone asked for seconds and the recipe! I got the initial idea from Family Circle, but tweaked it quite a bit because I either didn't have the ingredient it called for or it just didn't sound good to me so here goes! Enjoy!

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (or 1 TBS garlic salt)

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cooked and cubed

3 cups barley (I washed and soaked mine over night to make sure my soup was ready after church the next day because we have 8:30a church and everyone would be starved by noon so I started it before we left)

1 TBS onion salt or 1/2 pkg onion soup mix

1 tsp dried oregano

2 chicken bouillon cubes

4-5 cups water (depends on how thick you want your soup or how far you need it to go!)

1 can Ro-Tel with jalapenos

1 large can petite cut tomatoes

1-2 TBS lime juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Put all ingredients on a large slow cooker/crockpot and cover. Cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 5 hours. If you soak your barley and cook your chicken before hand it may only be 2 hours or until the flavors are blended, the barley soft and the soup warm.

Bean and Barley Soup

We have 25 pounds of barley in our food storage that we try to rotate into our meals. We like to grind it up and use it as flour in some of our baking but I also wanted to find a really good soup to make with it. I combined a few recipes I found while searching around online and came up with this soup. It is so good! The boys had seconds and Coen had thirds and was licking his bowl clean...literally! It has a secret ingredient...curry! Just enough to add a yummy flavor without it actually tasting like a curry dish. The only difference I would make would be one less beef bouillon cube. It seemed just a little too salty to me. But I'll put the recipe down as I made it and you can see what you think. Of course you could easily make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth instead of the beef. I give this recipe two thumbs up!


Bean and Barley Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 carrots, sliced very thin
1 celery stalk, chopped
4 oz. (half of an 8 oz. container) mushrooms, chopped-I used baby bella mushrooms
8 cups water
4 beef bouillon cubes
2/3 cup uncooked pearled barley
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup (about 3 big leaves) kale, chopped very fine--could use chopped cabbage or spinach if you don't have kale but kale is so good and so good for you!

In a large soup pot, saute onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, and celery in olive oil. Add all other ingredients except for kale. Mix and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 min. or until barley is soft. Stir occasionally. Add kale during the last 15 minutes of cooking time. If too thick, add more water. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Austin's Peppermint Crisp

This afternoon while the rest of the family was "busy" taking Sunday afternoon naps, Austin (my almost 7 year old) was busy in the kitchen. Without any help he whipped up this recipe all by himself. He was going for a cheesecake and this was going to be the crust. But since we didn't have any ingredients for the "cheesecake" part, he decided to roll it out and bake it like we sometimes do with regular pie crust leftovers. The only part he had help with was putting it in the oven! I was quite impressed! Did I mention that the only other things he makes are oatmeal, toast, and sandwiches? This was his first baking experiment. It was kind of like a cookie/shortbread mix. And the little sprinkle of peppermint chips he threw in were really good! He calls it...Peppermint Crisp. He wanted to make sure I put it on my recipe blog in case he wanted to make it again. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to remember how to make it. So here is the recipe according to Austin. Like I said, I was not in the kitchen so these measurements are his own. Give it a try! It's actually really good! Good job Austin!

Peppermint Crisp

1 stick of butter, melted
1 cup filled to the top and then another one filled up half way of sugar (1 1/2 cups)
2 cups filled to the top of flour
4 big spoons of water (4 Tbsp)
Andes peppermint baking chips (about 1/2 cup)

Mix together and roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thick. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.