Chicken Pie

This is one of those meals that I know will light up my husband's eyes when he gets home! Chicken pie certainly falls under the comfort food category at our house! I am not a pro at pie crusts and you may use your favorite pastry recipe but I included the one I typically use for chicken pie. This is one of the chicken recipes that I use leftover turkey.

Crust:
2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup milk

Mix flour, salt and baking powder.
Cut in softened butter. Mix in milk. Roll out dough.
Place in two ten inch pie pans. Save some dough for top crusts.

Filling:
2 cup cooked cubed potatoes
4 cup cooked diced chicken (or turkey)
2 cup corn
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Mix. Place filling in pie crusts.

I added some carrots as well, I like the added color.

Gravy:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup broth
1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping tablespoon flour

Whisk all together. Pour over filling. Place top crust. Crimp the edges.
Since I had more filling and used my deep dish pie pans, I didn't have enough pastry dough for a top crust. Should I mix up more? No, time to get creative. Grab some cookie cutters and we'll have us some hearts...
and stars!
Now one pie for supper and one for the freezer!
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Toasty golden brown and smells delicious!

Baking Day!

We woke up with cool temperatures! Eighteen degrees! I was so glad that I had planned to bake today! Nothing like a cold day to make be glad that I'm a homemaker and get to stay in the warmth and make the house smell yummy!

It is such a time saver to make several recipes, while I'm "in the mess"! Today I made three white bread recipes. I don't usually make white bread, as we greatly prefer whole grain bread. But I wanted to do some experimenting and get some pictures before I posted some new recipes on the Home Joys newsletter and the blog.

Here is the results! Wish I could send the taste and smell to you as well! You just need to come visit! Now I have some bread for the freezer, as well as some to give for gifts this week!

Miracle Bread. As good as it looks! We had to cut into these to have with our soup at lunch!

Country White Bread. Look for this recipe soon!

Pumpkin rolls. These taste wonderful but are a little harder dough to work with. I want to adjust the recipe a little more.

Sweet Potato Crunch

Even if you don't like sweet potatoes, you need to try this recipe! One recipe makes a large amount. If you are not feeding a crowd, the recipe can be easily halved. Or just freeze half for later.

6 cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup brown sugar
4 eggs, beaten
1 stick butter, melted
2 tsp vanilla
Mix all together. Spread in 9x13 pan.
Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cup nuts (or less)
1/2 cup and 3 T butter, softened
1/2 cup and 3 T flour
Mix topping ingredients. Sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Filling (Or Stuffing or Dressing)

1 lb bread cubes (I save old dried bread crusts, rolls, cornbread, etc in the freezer for this)
1 stick butter
1 1/2 cup celery ( I don't always have this.)
1 small onion
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp sage
1 T parsley
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Saute chopped celery and onion in butter. Mix with bread and seasonings. Beat egg with milk and mix into bread. Put in greased 9x13 pan. Cover. Bake at 325 for one hour.
This can easily be frozen ahead.
For turkey and filling casserole, add 3 cups cooked chopped turkey and mix well before baking.
Our favorite way to make filling is fry it in a skillet on the stove instead of baking. It only takes about 15 minutes and it is crunchy and "oh, so good!"

Easy Roast Turkey

Years ago, my mom found this in one of Emilee Barnes' books. It is so easy to have a moist turkey with this slow cook method! My husband hated white meat until I used this method. If you wish your turkey skin to brown, do not cover the turkey. I usually cover it because I think I get more broth when covered. In fact, I usually get so much broth that I need to get some broth out with my baster mid-way through the roasting time so that it doesn't spill out over into the oven.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Remove the gibblets. (They will be inside the cavity somewhere in a white bag.)
Wash turkey well, dry turkey with paper towels. Salt the cavity.
Rub outside of turkey with olive oil.
Stick meat thermometer into the turkey. (I skip this.)
Place breast down on a rack in your large roaster. (I don't have a rack, and it works fine.)
Roast one hour at 350 degrees to destroy surface bacteria.
Adjust heat to 180 to 200 degrees for a turkey of any size. Roast one hour per pound.
Once the turkey is done, it will not overcook. You can leave it in the oven for an additional 3 to 6 hours and it will not overcook.

Just a tip: if you have a newer oven, if may have a safety mechanism that will turn off the oven automatically after twelve hours. Since for me, this is usually in the middle of the night, before I go to bed, I turn off my oven, then quickly turn it on again. Then I don't have any surprises in the morning!

I usually get a very large turkey (over 20 pounds) because I like to have lots of leftovers. I was told that turkeys over 20 pound have a greater to meat to bone ratio. I'll chop up the cooked meat, put it in pints and use it for any recipe calling for cooked chopped chicken. A great time saver! But this size turkey can be a real pain to thaw! I can barely fit it into my fridge! I found a simpler way, that I think is rather safe. I place the turkey in a large ice chest, and fill with cold water. The turkey will thaw faster if the water is changed often. I sit in on the counter next to my large laundry sink. It is rather easy to pull the plug on the ice chest, drain out the water, and then refill several times until it is completely thawed.

Note: A reader just told me that she uses an large electric roaster for her turkey. No cluttering up your oven for those long hours!

Reader's Share - Pizza Variations

Two Pizza Topping ideas from Crystal -

Chili pizza. I made my chili a little thicker than usual and spread it on the crust and added cheddar cheese. It was a hit.

Chicken Bruschetta Pizza. I spread the crust with pesto then add chopped chicken, diced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

Pesto Recipe:
3 cups fresh Basil
1/2 cup Italian Dressing
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
Process all in blender. Can be frozen or refrigerated.

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza - Louise

1 pkg.active dry yeast

2/3 C.warm water

1 3/4 - 2 cup flour

1/4 C.veg. oil

1 tsp.of oregano, basil, marjoram

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp onion salt

Toppings:

4 cups mozzarella cheese

l large onion (chop)

2 med green peppers (chop)

1/2 tsp. oregano, basil, marjoram

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 cup Parmesan cheese

1 can (28) oz. diced tomatoes

2 oz. pepperoni

1 lb. sausage cooked, drained

Dissolve yeast in water. Add 1 cup flour, oil, seasonings. Beat till smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth, elastic, cover, let rise until doubled. (1 hr) Punch dough down-roll out into a 15" circle. Transfer to a well greased 12" heavy skillet (oven proof - I use a cast iron skillet) Let dough over the edge. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella cheese. In another skillet- saute onion, green pepper and seasoning in oil until tender. Drain. Layer half of mixture over crust. Layer 1/2 of Parmesan cheese, sausage and tomatoes. Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozarella cheese. Repeat layers. Fold crust over to form an edge. Bake for 20 min. at 400 degrees. Sprinkle with pepperoni and remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake 10 -15 min. Let stand 10 min before serving.

Peanut Butter Granola

I have adjusted this recipe for the last several years and we think it is about perfect. It makes a large batch but doesn't last long at our house. Our three year old is usually up at 7:00 asking for "oatmeal". We all like to eat it with my homemade yogurt. The peanut butter flavor is very mild but we think it adds just the right touch.



Peanut Butter Granola

1 cup oil (I use coconut oil.)
1 cup honey
1 cup peanut butter
12 cups rolled (old fashioned) oatmeal
2 cups wheat germ
2 cups coconut
2 cups sunflower seed

Heat oil, honey, and peanut butter together until smooth. Mix dry ingredients together. Pour oil mixture over dry ingredients and mix well. Spread in two jelly-roll pans. Toast in 275 degree oven for one hour. Stir every 15 minutes.

Tips: I place one pan on the upper oven rack and one on the lower rack and switch them each time I stir.

Variations: After cooling, raisins or other dry fruit may be added, but we usually don't. You may also add nuts to the recipe. Just substitute one of the ingredients such as wheat germ or sunflower seeds, or some of the oatmeal.

I buy most of the ingredients at our local bulk food store. Raw wheat germ and raw sunflower seeds are much cheaper then toasted. I figure I'm going to toast them in the recipe anyway!