a christmas dinner

The other night Addie asked me at least two times during the day, "Mom can you make a Christmas dinner?" I wasn't quite sure what she was asking for but I knew what groceries I had and what was planned for dinner, so I improvised. Here's a chicken pot pie with a Christmas twist (prior to going into the oven).

One of my friends asked me for the recipe so while I sat down to type it up for her, I thought maybe others would like the recipe too. It was taken from a magazine but I've made quite a few of alterations to it. It's become one of our favs!

2 tbsp. olive oil

3 cups of chopped yukon potatoes

1/2 large onion

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup of dry white wine

2 cups of chicken broth

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup peas (I use frozen)

meat from rotisserie chicken (I usually pick one up from Costco)

1 package/box of pie dough (I'm sure you could find a pie dough recipe if you wanted to make it "from scratch.")

1 egg beaten

1. Heat oven to 375. Then spray your bake ware with olive oil. (I usually spray a large family corning ware bowl with olive oil or I've also used individual ramekins too.)

2. Heat the oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes, onion and salt and pepper to your liking. Cook covered, stirring occasionally until tender, 10 to 12 minutes.

3. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually stir in the wine and broth and bring to a boil.

4. Add chicken, carrots, peas and let boil a few minutes longer. Then simmer and start to prepare your pie crusts.

5. Once you've placed the mixture in your pie and made your top, (I just used cookie cutters for the stars, but you could use whatever you want or even do a lattice) then lightly brush with beaten egg and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. 

blackberries

Our first crop of the year has been blackberries and the kids have had blackberry-stained fingers, toes, and mouths!

I was able to make three desserts with this year's crop and I think there might be a few stragglers left over for snackin'! 

I made two blackberry "cobblets" and the yummiest lemon blackberry cheesecake!

Mine looked exactly like this! Here's the link to the recipe. 

And good ol' Martha passed this recipe on to me. Here it is! 

P is for...

We were so busy with letter P! We read two books on penguins and did a fun fingerprint activity. Each page had a sentence such as, "Two little penguins diving in the water." So Addie would put two fingerprints in the water and I would add the beak and feet (love the black ink mustache in the picture). We also did another penguin counting activity and then we got ready to have some lunch. Addie earned a free pizza from our library, so we took advantage of her coupon! Later that night I made pesto chicken pasta and a peach pie! I love my pesto chicken pasta and concocted the recipe when I first moved in with Kevin. It's been on the dinner rotation ever since. It's super easy and I thought I'd share the recipe, so here it is...

1 bag/box of penne pasta (I love Trader Joe's organic whole wheat penne pasta.)
2 chicken breasts
1 7ounce container of pesto
3/4 cup of olives
1/2 cup of sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup of pine nuts
butter
garlic powder
parmasean cheese

I boil up the noodles, while the chicken (lighted seasoned with garlic powder) is being grilled on the bar-b-q. Then I chop olives and sundried tomatoes. Next I sautee the pine nuts in a little butter, just until they're a light brown. And after dicing up the chicken I mix it all together with the pesto and serve with parmasean cheese on top!

A Recap of March

I can hardly believe that tomorrow is the last day of March. I know I haven't posted much this month, so here are some highlights from this third month in 2011.

On the 15th I turned 31. Sadly I have no pictures, but I can tell you good memories were made. Kevin and I went on a much needed hot date! The next night, we had a great dinner with our friends Michelle and Ryan. I also got to see family in Oregon, which included a shopping trip with my dad and dinner with my mom. I got many calls, cards and of course Facebook posts. (Also known as MyFace according to Kevin.) All in all, I am loved and I couldn't ask for anything more on my birthday.

Kevin started our garden this month. I love this about him.

Helping Daddie water the garden.

Bentley sunning and sniffing the freshly laid manure.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

My first try at making Mustard-Glazed Corned Beef & Cabbage. 

Addie and Daddie have a new tradition after bathtime.

Paawwcorn!!

And for a little DIY...with the inspiration from my friend Meg, I discovered Mod Podge and spruced up Addelyn's old white letters in her room. See Addie Ann's Nursery, for some before pictures.

And the new book shelf, didn't exactly happen in March, but I've been wanting to post this for a while now.

Addie's original crib had been recalled so Kevin took the old parts and recycled or "repurposed" them into a new piece of furniture!

Turkey DinDin

Our Thanksgiving was quiet but relaxing, which gave me another year to practice the art of cooking a Thanksgiving dinner. I followed a new recipe this year and to my pleasant surprise the turkey was great! Some of you have asked for the recipe so here it is...

Marinade:

• 1 1/2 cups Dijon mustard
• 3/4 cup soy sauce
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (do not discard lemon rinds)

Turkey:

• 1 (15-pound) free-range turkey
• 2 bunches fresh poultry herbs
• 2 to 3 cups hot water

To make marinade: Combine ingredients in a bowl. Whisk until smooth and creamy.

To make turkey: Preheat oven to 350°.

Clean out cavity of the turkey and rinse well, inside and out. Pat dry and place turkey in a large roasting pan. Pour the marinade over the turkey.
Tie turkey legs together and cover tips with foil. Stuff cavity of turkey with lemon rinds and one bunch of poultry herbs. Place the second bunch of herbs in the roasting pan. Place turkey breast-side up in roasting pan. Insert thermometer in the thickest part of the breast. Cover with foil and roast for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, add hot water to the bottom of the pan. Stir to make gravy for basting. Baste turkey and cover with foil. Roast turkey another 30 minutes and repeat basting process. Continue basting every 15 minutes until the thermometer reaches 180–185°, approximately 3 to 4 hours.
Remove turkey from oven and place on cutting board. Cover turkey well with foil to keep warm. Let it rest 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
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