Chicken Pot Pie
I don't know about you but I'm a sucker for comfort food. I really love it when it's cold outside. One of my favorites is chicken pot pie. There is just something about all those yummy veggies and chicken mixed together in that delicious creamy sauce. Then you add crisp pie crust to it and it's comfort in one dish. We don't eat it often but when we do I'm one happy person. Here's the thing; I like my pot pie full of veggies. I want them about to burst out it's so full. I do not like to cut into a pot pie to find lots of sauce and just a little of the good stuff. So this recipe is full to the brim. I hope you love it as much as I do. This is a very versatile dish. You can even switch up some of the veggies. You don't have to add the potatoes either. If you do take any veggies out or the potatoes just make sure you add more of one veggie to keep the fullness of this recipe.
Chicken Pot Pie
Crust:
2 Store Bought Pie Crust (my favorite is Immaculate Baking Company)
1 large egg, beaten for egg wash
Filling:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 onion, diced
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
3-4 diced roasted red potatoes (cube them and roast with olive oil at 425 for 25 minutes)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup heavy cream
3-4 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup frozen peas or green beans
Preheat over to 400 F.
Grease a pie dish and put one pie crust on the bottom.
Heat the butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion, carrots, celery and garlic and cook until tender (5-10 minutes), stir occasionally. Whisk in the flour, herbs, spices and cook for about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth slowly while whisking. Then whisk in the heavy cream. Whisk until there are no lumps and then simmer over medium-low heat for 10 minutes or until sauce thickens. Stir in the shredded chicken and frozen peas. Remove from the heat.
Pour filling into the pie shell; mounding it in the middle. Put the other pie crust on top. Trim the overhanging pieces or seal them by crimping them to the other pie crust. With a sharp knife, slice a few slits in the center of the top crust. Using a pastry brush, brush the crust and edges with the beaten egg.
Bake for 45 minutes on a rimmed baking dish, or until the crust is golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes, cut into slices and serve.
Can be frozen for up to 1 month. This makes a great item to make ahead and pull out on a night that you don't have time to cook. It also makes a great dish to take to a new mom or someone in need of a meal.
You can make this with a gluten free crust. You could use a dairy free milk instead of heavy cream but it will change the flavor and won't possibly be as creamy.
Let me know if you make this. I want to know what you think. Find a quick video on my YouTube channel.
Moon Cake
Does your child learn through movement and tactile activities? My youngest so does.
Cooking with your kids is such an easy and fun way to learn. Plus this is a fun Friday activity.
Moon Cake 🌕
Bake a round cake to show the “full moon”. 🌕When you are ready to eat, cut it in half for the “half moon”. 🌗Later cut so a “crescent moon” remains. 🌘Finally, eat it all to represent the “new moon.” 🌑
Grease a 9” round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350. Mix “moon sand” right in the pan:
1 1/2 cup organic flour
1/2 cup organic cane white sugar
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1 tsp salt I like this one... https://amzn.to/34293c3
Form 3 craters in the moon- one large, one medium and one small.
Add 5 Tbsp. oil (I use Thrive avocado...link in comments) to the large crater.
Add 1 tsp baking soda to the medium crater.
Add 1 tsp vanilla to the small crater.
Pour 1 Tbsp. vinegar into the medium crater and watch it bubble like a volcano. When the volcano stops, add 1 cup of milk. Mix everything together to form the moon’s surface.
Optional: add 3/4 cup chocolate chips (moon rocks) into the batter.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. When cool, sprinkle with powered sugar (moon dust).
Cooking with your kids is such an easy and fun way to learn. Plus this is a fun Friday activity.
Moon Cake 🌕
Bake a round cake to show the “full moon”. 🌕When you are ready to eat, cut it in half for the “half moon”. 🌗Later cut so a “crescent moon” remains. 🌘Finally, eat it all to represent the “new moon.” 🌑
Grease a 9” round cake pan. Preheat oven to 350. Mix “moon sand” right in the pan:
1 1/2 cup organic flour
1/2 cup organic cane white sugar
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1 tsp salt I like this one... https://amzn.to/34293c3
Form 3 craters in the moon- one large, one medium and one small.
Add 5 Tbsp. oil (I use Thrive avocado...link in comments) to the large crater.
Add 1 tsp baking soda to the medium crater.
Add 1 tsp vanilla to the small crater.
Pour 1 Tbsp. vinegar into the medium crater and watch it bubble like a volcano. When the volcano stops, add 1 cup of milk. Mix everything together to form the moon’s surface.
Optional: add 3/4 cup chocolate chips (moon rocks) into the batter.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. When cool, sprinkle with powered sugar (moon dust).
Do you cook with your kids? 🧑🍳👩🍳For more recipes and homeschool info join other women making this parenting thing work here.
By the way you can grab my free guide for a month of dinner ideas here.
This recipe was adapted from My Father’s World curriculum.
Easy Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
Do you use the Instant Pot? I resisted buying one for a while maybe because I was a through and through crockpot girl. Then my mother in law offered one to me so I thought why not. Here's what I like it for cooking meats quickly and still having them be tender. You can even throw frozen meat in there. I make rice in there and I'm excited to explore more options soon. Here's the Instant Pot I have.
Here's my go to Chicken Thigh Recipe in the Instant Pot. These are so easy to make, full of flavor and tender. I use both boneless and bone in chicken thighs. Your choice!
Easy Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 25 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
12-14 Bone In or Boneless Chicken Thighs
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tsp. Garlic
2 tsp. Smoked Paprika
2 Tbls Avocado Oil, I use Thrive Market
1 cup Water or Broth
Instructions:
- Lay the Chicken on a large plate or cutting board. Season one side of each chicken thigh (you could do the other side now but I do them in the Instant Pot).
- Turn the Instant Pot on to Sauté feature. Start putting the seasoned side down without crowding the pot. Brown the thighs 2-3 minutes on the first side. While they are browning if you haven't done so, season the other side. Flip and brown the other side 2 minutes. Take them out and set on the plate. Do the rest of the thighs like this.
- Remove all the thighs from the pot and add the water or broth to the pot. Scrape the bottom with a silicone or wooden spoon to get all the browned bits off. Cancel the Sauté function now.
- Add the trivet and all the chicken thighs on top. Seal the lid and pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
- When the Instant Pot is finished cooking, do a 10 minute natural release. Then release the rest of the pressure with a quick release.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and serve or put in the refrigerator for later.
These are so easy to make and I usually serve with rice and a veggie. Keep it simple! You can even make these earlier in the day and be ready to heat them up for dinner later.
Meals Made Simple so You Can Save Time
How are feeling about being in the kitchen right now? Do you dread it or is it a place you find comfort? Either way I'm going to show you how to simplify it so that you are in there for less time but still getting healthy meals on the table. I have been meal planning for the last few years and have found a way to cut down my time spent on planning, shopping, and cooking. I was tired of not knowing what I was going to cook and found myself making excuses not to feed my family healthy meals. Now I have more time and my priority of feeding my family nourishing food happens. We feel better and are the most well we have ever been. It's given us a better quality of life. It only gets easier as I go because of the rhythm I have created doing it.
So here are my tips for meals made simple:
Meal planning:
- Once a week take about 30 minutes to an hour to plan out your meals for the week, especially dinners. If you are just starting out, you may want to fill in breakfast and dinner. At this point, we have a certain rotation of items for these two meals to keep it easy. Write down all your meals somewhere; for me that's a paper planner. Then make your grocery list for what you will need for the entire week ahead. I love to use these: Knock Knock All Out Of Pad Grocery List
Here's a few tips on meal planning:
- Don't forget to take inventory while you are doing this. You may have something you need already in your fridge or pantry or you may be able to work with something you need to use to create a few of your meals.
- Look for quick recipes...30 minutes or less. I use Pinterest and actual cookbooks. Here is my Pinterest Boards for you to take a peek: Pinterest. I have a lot of recipes on there.
- When possible double a recipe or make enough food for at least one night of leftovers and some lunch for the week.
- Keep staples that you use often stocked. Don't overbuy what you don't need. A cluttered pantry makes it hard to cook in my opinion. I have been using Thrive Market to keep stocked and have healthy ingredients delivered straight to our door.
Grocery shopping tips:
- Now it's time to grocery shop! I have found the grocery to be less crowded toward the end of the week, especially Thursday. I prefer to go in the morning. If this isn't possible for you, try to find a time when the grocery will be less crowded. When you go in with your list stick to it, this saves me time and money. I can usually get through the grocery with a week's worth of groceries to feed a family of 5 in about an hour. I also just started giving Thrive Market a try for staples and snacks to save time too.
Time Saving Tips:
- When chopping veggies for one meal chop enough for any other meals you have that week.
- Prewash any fruits and veggies you can to be ready to pull out.
- Prep what you need before you begin cooking. Get all your ingredients out.
- If possible, cook dinner in the late afternoon to heat up later. I love doing this! It gives me extra time to sit before dinner and relax a bit.
I hope you found these tips helpful. This is what is currently working for me during this season of my life. What tips do you have? Comment below. I would love to hear from you. I'm sure you have something I can add in that will help me making it even more simple.
Also check out my YouTube channel for recipes. Grab your free meals made simple month of dinner ideas here.
