Smiley Chicken Pot Pie

Well the muffins were really yummy but a complete failure in terms of getting Liam to actually eat a vegetable. Apparently he wasn't fooled. He licked a couple of muffins. He blew on them when the were hot. But, he refused to actually take more than a nibble.

I love them. They taste overwhelmingly of bananas to me, but to Liam it seems they taste like Brussels sprouts because he ain't buyin' it.

Today's experiment in attempting to get Liam to eat a vegetable was Chicken Pot Pie with a smiley face. I thought they turned out really cute but his response? "Oooohhhhh!" Then he said, "No. No smiley face" and he got in his car and drove away.

I am pretty sure he hasn't eaten in a week.

Regardless, the chicken pot pies were yummy and comforting. Since I made them in little ramekins they were just a small bite which is perfect for someone like me who can only eat a few ounces at a time. (More on that later.)

I've made chicken pot pies all my life I think. My mother makes excellent chicken pot pie with home made drop-biscuit-type crust, but I decided to do it the easy way and use refrigerated pie crusts.

This recipe is going to be more of a dump recipe because I've been making them so long that I no longer measure. So all these measurements are approximations and you'll need to adjust them according to your own instincts.

Smiley Chicken Pot Pies

1/2 cup of sweet peas
1 carrot, chopped fine
1/4 cup of onion, chopped fine
1 medium potato, chopped fine
1 chicken thigh, shredded
1/4 cup of milk
2 cups chicken broth, with 1/4 reserved
1 refrigerated pie crust
6 ramekins
1 tablespoon butter
2 cloves of garlic mashed or 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
grated nutmeg, to taste (I love nutmeg with chicken so I used about 1/4 teaspoon.)
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
Some vegetables for garnishing
A sprinkle of shredded cheese

In a large pan, melt the butter and add the potatoes and carrots. Let these cook for a few minutes and then add the onions and peas. When the onions just begin to turn brown add 1/4 cup of chicken broth. Next add the nutmeg, garlic, salt and pepper. Let this cook slowly over medium heat, adding 1/4 cup of chicken broth at a time until the vegetables are tender. The consistency will be sort of lumpy paste like, as you want the potatoes to be kind of stewed/kind of mashed.

Meanwhile preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the pie crusts and use something (I used my 1 cup measuring cup) to cut out the circles for the top and bottom of your ramekins*. Line the bottom of each ramekin with one circle and pre-bake until a little brown.

At this point your vegetable mixture should be softly cooked and slightly juicy. Add in that remaining 1/4 cup of broth and the milk. Stir together. It should be almost soupy but the vegetables shouldn't be swimming in the liquid. (I took the above picture before adding the milk and extra broth so it will be soupier that this.)

Remove ramekins from oven and fill almost to the top with the vegetables and chicken. Be sure that you don't leave the juice out of the ramekins otherwise your little pies will be too dry. Also don't overfill your ramekins or the contents will boil over and drown your pie crusts. You can't tell in the above picture but there is quite a bit of juice underneath those veggies.

Using a knife or fork make some vent holes in the top of your pie crusts. This allows the steam to escape while baking. I just use my knife to make an "X" (again see the * below).

Lower the heat on your oven to 350 degrees and bake your pies for approximately 20 minutes.

When the ramekins are cool enough to eat, garnish with tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, carrot sticks,shredded cheese, green onions slices or anything else you have on hand to make the eyes, nose, mouth and hair.

*Disclaimer: I've never been good with pie crusts so there is probably a better, prettier way to do this. This is a basic, lazy, unedumacated way.

Hang one! Late breaking news...Liam is eating the muffin I put on his plate with his chicken pot pie. PRAISE THE LORD THE SPIRIT HAS BEEN LIFTED!!!!!

Veggie-Sneak Muffins

It has been quite a while since I have blogged for several reason that I will go into later. But for right now I want to get this recipe down before I lose the paper I wrote it on and forget it.

(Singing an ode to the muffins.)



I decided to try and use muffins and a Vegetable-Delivery System for my increasingly picky toddler. As of this posting all I can regularly get him to eat is corn and green beans. In about 1998, I remember Cooking Light doing a recipe make-over for Morning Glory muffins that removed a lot of the fat and sugar by adding in vegetables, applesauce, apple butter, molasses and several other ingredients. I've moved about 25 times since I had that original recipe and couldn't find it on the internet. Instead, I just started combining aspects of muffin making from my Joy of Cooking cookbook and about 6 different recipes I found online for zucchini, carrot and Morning Glory Muffins.

Since I didn't want to buy out the grocery store just to make these muffins I pretty much used what I had on-hand. I keep flax seed and coconut in my freezer just for this kind of cooking emergency.

Veggie-Sneak Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoons baking soda
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vanilla or banana yogurt
1 cup mashed banana (2 whole)
1/2 cup to 1 cup chopped prunes (I get lazy chopping them and use 1/2 cup)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste - we like cinnamon)
3 tablespoons ground flaxseed
1 zucchini, shredded
1 cup carrots, shredded
1/2 cup shredded coconut
2 eggs
1/4 to 1 cup of milk (depending on how dry your mix is)

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together the dry ingredients in one large bowl.

Mix the wet ingredients together in another bowl. Add milk slowly while you incorporate the dry and wet ingredients together. You don't want the batter too runny or too dry.

Combine by making a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Muffins shouldn't be over-mixed like a cake mix. Instead they should be lightly mixed so gently incorporate the wet into the dry. When it is mixed walk away from the bowl. Resist the urge to keep mixing. The light mixing is what makes little "chunnels" in your muffins. As you can see from the picture here, I over-mixed. What can I say? I had a "helper" and he was making me crazy. I probably added a tad too much milk. Baking at this altitude is new to me and every experience is hit or miss.

Spoon batter into muffin tins lined with paper cupcake liners. I guess you could just grease and flour your muffin tin but I hate cleaning muffin tins so I use liners.

Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes until the muffins are springy when you touch the top - think mattress commercial, not Temper-Pedic mattress but regular old mattress.

If you overmix your batter your results will look like this. Do as I say, not as I do. Umkay?


You think if I frosted these with cream cheese frosting it would make them cupcakes instead of muffins? And would that defeat the purpose of trying to make them healthy? I mean they already have a whole cup of brown sugar instead of molasses. What's a little more sugar and cream cheese really gonna hurt?

Pinto Bean and Hen Soup

I came up with the idea for this very, very, very, very easy soup several years ago. It was a dark and cold winter's night and I was scouring the kitchen for something to flavor some pinto beans in my slow cooker when I came up with this idea.

Pinto Bean and Hen Soup

1 frozen Cornish Game Hen
1/2 bag of dried Pinto Beans, washed and picked
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves of garlic, crushed

Mix all the ingredients together in the slow cooker. Cover with water and let cook for 8 hours on low.

After 8 hours, carefully lift the hen out and allow it to cool for a bit. Remove the skin and pick the meat off the bones. The meat is very tender at this point and should shred easily. Add the meat back to the soup and eat with crackers or hot buttered cornbread.

Note: I've tried this with chicken thighs and chicken breasts but the meat is so much more tender when you use a hen.

Knitted Teddy Bear Hat Pattern

I am deviating a little today to post a knitting pattern that I created this week. Last winter was our first in Denver and it was C.O.L.D. And I do mean COLD. It was so cold the that even the Canadian geese were complaining and quacking about moving on to Mexico.

(Note: The hat is Batman approved. Batman even paused in his rescue of dirty laundry to pose in his Teddy Bear Hat.)

I found tons of cute hats on ravelry.com but none that would satisfy the following requirements in one pattern:

1. Must be sufficiently adorable and babyish looking.
2. Must be funny enough to embarrass him in high school.
3. Must have ear flaps.
4. Must be worsted weight because I wanted to finish in a few days time.

I think I achieved all of this with my Teddy Bear Hat.

For extra warmth, I am planning to sew some fleece around the inside.

Teddy Bear Hat (pattern by Toni)

Finished hat is approximately 19" and fits my two year old.

Materials:
100 yards of worsted weight yarn (I used Madeline Tosh DK Superwash Merino in Fig)
One set of US 7 double points
One US 7 circular (you could knit the whole hat on the DPN's. I just didn't want to do so.)
One US 8 circular
One stitch marker
Tapestry needle for finishing

Gauge:
20-22 sts over four inches

Using larger needle to keep CO from being too tight, CO 95 sts.

K1, P1 around. Join into a round by knitting the last st and 1 st together. This makes a nice and smooth join. Place marker.

Switch to smaller needles and knit the remaining 94 sts in K1, P1 rib for 3".

Purl the next round. (This purl row will give better definition to the fold.)

Knit the next round and continue knitting in St St for 4 inches from Purl row.

Begin Decreases:

Round 1: *K10, K2tog* around. Knit any remaining sts on this row and all subsequent odd rows.

Round 2 and all even rounds: Knit

Round 3: *K9, K2tog* around

Round 5: *K8, K2tog* around

Round 7: *K7, K2tog* around

Round 9: *K6, K2tog* around

Round 11: *K5, K2tog* around

Round 13: *K4, K2tog* around

Round 15: *K3, K2tog* around

Round 17: *K2, K2tog* around

Round 19: *K1, K2tog* around

Round 20: K2tog around

Draw yarn through remaining 8 sts and pull tight.

Weave in end.

Ear Flaps:

To determine where to place ear flaps, I laid my hat down flat and placed coil-less safety pins where I thought they should go. In other words, I eyeballed it.

Fold hat up at Purl row.

Pick up and knit 12 st with RS facing you.
K 9 rows in St St.
Row 10: Dec 1 sts on each end.
Row 11: Purl
Repeats rows 10 and 11 until 3 sts remain.

Use these 3 sts to knit a 12" i-cord. BO.

Repeat on other side for second ear flap.

Teddy Bear Ears:

Lie hat flat and decide where you want your ears.

I placed mine 3 sts down from the crown of hat.

Pick up and knit 12 sts - picking up through the entire stitch, otherwise it will make a hole.

Knit 7 rows in St St.

*On next even row, dec 1 st at each end. Purl next row.*

Repeat those two rows (bet * and *) until 6 sts remain on needle.

On next RS row, *Inc 1 st on each end of needle. Purl following row. *

Repeat those two rows (bet * and *) until 12 sts are on needle.

Bind off.

Sew back of ear onto hat and then sew up the sides.

Weave in the ends.

Keema Matar

I am in love with this dish. I am so in love with it that I want to marry it, except that I am already married. Well, that and I like having an attractive husband and as my father would say about this dish, "I've thrown up better looking things than that."

But he eats Twinkies dipped in catsup so what does he know?

This dish is minced beef or lamb with peas and mint. It sounded like a really bad idea when my husband first asked me to make it. I was of the opinion that mint is strictly for chocolate, ice cream, and bourbon, not freaky meat dishes. But I decided to try it anyway.

And that was just the beginning of the rest of my life.

I serve Keema Matar with plain yogurt (Horizon Cream Top is my new favorite) and naan bread that we buy at the Indian grocery, but you could serve it with basmati rice or Hunza rice.

Keema Matar (Collected from trial and error with several different recipes)

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 two inch knob of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon salt
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lamb, or a mix of both
10 baby carrots cut into quarters
1/2 cup of green peas
1 tablespoon chopped mint (I use dried)
a generous handful of chopped cilantro


In a deep pan heat the oil over medium heat.

Add the onions and ginger and fry until onions are slightly golden.

Add the garlic, turmeric, ground coriander and salt. Fry for a minute or so.

Add the sliced tomatoes and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly so the spices do not burn.

Add the minced meat and carrots. Brown the meat, breaking up any lumps. This takes about 10 minutes and also breaks your tomatoes into tiny pieces.

(At this point try not to faint from delight at the great smell coming out of your pot.)

Add the fresh cilantro and mint. You can also add a diced fresh green chili now if you like spicier foods. We have a toddler so I skip the heat.

Voila! Keema Matar! It's so easy and quick that it has become our go-to busy night dinner.

Nobody's Gruel

Gruel has a really bad reputation. It sounds like something that is a mixture of pig slop and horse puckey that you could use for Spackle. In literature and movies, we feel sorry for kids like the young Jane Eyre and poor little Oliver Twist because they are so starving they're willing to eat gruel but can't even get more of that horrible mess.

But thanks to my friend Susan, Super-Mommy to Thom-O and Sugar Magnolia, I have discovered that I love gruel. Gruel is nothing more than real oatmeal. "Real" meaning not the rolled oats two minutes in the microwave stuff that comes in an envelope with a ton of weird powder at the bottom. No, real oatmeal is that stuff that is teeny little bouncy, pearly, and shiny whole grain. When it is cooked properly it is chewy and nutty tasting and is a great breakfast.

I make mine on Sunday night and then microwave it all week long. It's really good enough to serve as a bread-pudding type of dessert if you add enough brown sugar - not that I would do that...very often.

We have a large gigantic ridiculously over sized slow cooker because some chick at a party once told my then-single husband that slow cookers are great as long as you don't buy a small one. So he went out looking for the largest slow cooker available. I think it is probably big enough to feed China and still have leftovers, so you might need to adjust this recipe to your cooker.

Here's a funny thing I noticed recently about buying steel-cut oats. If I buy the McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal it costs about $9 per can at Whole Foods. But if I buy the Whole Foods brand of organic steel-cut oats it is $3 per can. Why? I have no idea because I haven't opened my can of Whole Foods brand yet. Just something to ponder.

Obviously you can add any fruit that you want to this as long as it is a dried or hard fruit. Bananas would not do well in the slow cooker for 8 hours but apples do fine. Nuts are best added after cooking.


Slow Cooker Real Oats Oatmeal (Collected from trial and error)

2 cups steel-cut oats
8 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon of apple pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped dried apricot
2 apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup raisins

Some slow cookers need to be sprayed with non-stick spray first. I've found that if I use enough water mine does not.

Mix all ingredients into slow cooker. Give a stir. Set on low heat and cook for 8 hours. Keep in mind that I have added one cup of water for every hour that I plan to cook the oatmeal. So if you want to let your slow cooker do its thing for more than 8 hours (i.e. you're sleeping in) add another cup of water for each extra hour.

In the morning, wake up starving because you have smelled this goodness cooking all night. Don't stop to pee or brush your teeth. Just head straight for the slow cooker and dish up some oatmeal. Add milk or cream (to thin), some banana slices and a few chopped walnuts. Eat.

Oh and be sure to drink plenty of water all day long because real oatmeal is packed with fiber. Without tons of water you might find yourself in an uncomfortable situation later.

Before.

Cheese Buttons

Cheese Buttons are a great party nibble. They are small enough to tote around on a cocktail napkin with a green-apple-tini or a fancy umbrella-laced drink, easy to make, unusually delicious, and will make your guests think you are a very talented gourmet who spent forever slaving in the kitchen.

In reality, we never have parties and I just make these for us to keep in a cookie jar to nibble on at will. I don't even like martini's apple or otherwise; but IF you are the type to have parties with martinis and fancy umbrella drinks, cheese buttons would look nice with your spread.

I make mine in the food processor and doing so creates a light, smooth dough. The texture would be more rustic without a food processor, but I believe they would still taste great.

Remember that you can easily change quantities in this recipe.

Be careful not to "whiz" (the scientific term) the dough for too long in your food processor. You want to whiz it long enough to form a lump of dough. If you keep whizzing it after that lump forms the dough will get hot, melting the butter and cheese and creaming everything together. Then it is a mess to work with. So be careful.

Cheese Buttons (Collected and adapted from Southern Living - I think)

1 small package extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese (2 1/2 to 3 cups)
1 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 stick of butter (margarine isn't great but is okay. It makes a different texture and taste)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whiz together all of the ingredients in your food processor. When a lump of dough forms in the bowl it is ready. The lump should form in about a minute. If it doesn't then you need to add a tiny bit more flour. Do so a LITTLE at a time until the lump of dough forms.

Drop rounded teaspoon-full balls onto a greased cookie sheet (or use non-stick aluminum foil). Do not press flat. Bake for 10 minutes. They will stay a yellow-orange color when baked so don't wait for them to turn brown. Brown cheese buttons are like yellow snow - yucky to eat.