Tasty Tuesday

I searched long and hard for a good chicken pot pie recipe that didn't call for some type of cream soup, since cream soups are dairy. This recipe is pretty much amazing! The original recipe calls for mushrooms, and although I'm a HUGE mushroom fan, I did not think they went well with this pot pie. I also added some green veggies into the recipe just for some color. :) I confess that half of the time I end up using a frozen veggie blend and then adding my own potatoes. It just depends on what I have and how much time I have. The other night I made this using left over turkey from Thanksgiving, and it was really good.

Chicken Pot Pie

Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup lard

6 tablespoons cold water

Filling
1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste

2 tablespoons finely chopped onion

3 cups chicken broth

3 cups cooked chicken, chopped

2 carrot, finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

2 potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 cup frozen green beans or peas

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in lard until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll one ball out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place bottom crust in pie plate. Roll out top crust and set aside.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C.)
3. In a large saucepan, melt 1/2 cup butter. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and onion. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly until smooth and thickened. In a separate pan, saute mushrooms in 3 tablespoons of butter, then stir into saucepan. Stir in chicken, carrot, celery and potatoes. Mix well and pour into bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown, and filling is bubbly.

NOTE: I just make my crust at the time I'm making the meal, rather than keeping in the fridge over night. Having it cold makes it a little easier to roll, but you can just put it in the fridge while you're chopping your veggies and mixing everything up.

I have done a few variations on this recipe. The other night I had not potatoes, so I just did two cups of chicken broth instead of three, so that the filling wasn't too runny.

MAKE AHEAD: This is one of my staple, make-ahead meals. I will make up a double batch of this at the beginning of the month. Somehow, this ends up easily making three pies. I split the filling into three quart-sized freezer bags, and put it in the freezer. My husband likes the crust only on top, so on the day I'm ready to serve, I make my crust. I put the frozen mix in the pan (the ziploc bags will easily rip down the side so you can get the block out) and pre-heat the mix with the oven. Once it is thawed, I lay the crust over top and bake per instructions. If you want a crust on the top and bottom, you can thaw the mix in the fridge during the day.

This meal is one of the easiest ways to get my three-year-old to eat veggies without hiding them in a meal!

One of Those Days!

Today was one of those horribly frustrating days! My daughter was sick yesterday, so I never made it to the grocery store as planned. Well, today she woke up feeling well, and the sale on her almond milk ends today, so I had to go to the store! I rushed around trying to pull together a decent grocery list since today was also pay day, and we could get some meat while we were out.

First, I tore up my house, my car, my coupon folder, everything trying to find my rainchecks from a Publix sale two weeks ago. I found them in the first place I'd looked my third time through the pile! grrr! So, I loaded the girls into the car to head to Sam's just in time for their open-shopping hours (not the special member hours). The overall goal was to hit a few stores and be home in time for lunch.

Halfway to Sam's I realized that I'd forgotten to go to the bank, and there was now no convenient location to go to. No problem, I'll just swing out of the way on my way home. I'll just use a debit card at the grocery stores and take out the remaining cash later.

We got to Sam's, found a dry cart...ok, so the lady at the door handed me some paper towels so I could dry off the girls' seats, and headed for the first of the three items on my list. We got our oatmeal, our chicken broth, and our two packs of chicken. Check, check, check. We watched the fire cook the rotisserie chickens (as required an activity at Sam's as stopping to say "hi" to the lobsters at Publix). Then we headed to the lines...the most dreaded part of Sam's. For what I think may be the first time ever there was a cashier standing at the top of her line waiting for a customer to check out. How exciting! I still had two more places to go, and this just cut down some time for me! She scanned all of my items, and I reached in my wallet for....where's my debit card!? grrrr!! I had no idea where my card was, but it wasn't in my wallet. So I had to do one of those embarrassing moments and tell the lady I couldn't pay. I was so frustrated, because although this was a "quick" trip to Sam's, our total time just wasted was about 40 minutes.

I called my husband once in the car to figure out where my card could be. He told me I could swing by his work and pick up his card. That was still more convenient than going to a bank! So we drove to his work, picked up his card, and went back to Sam's. When I returned to Sam's I spent easily 10 minutes trying to find a cart with straps to buckle my escape artist into the shopping cart. This time we got in and out of the store with our goods! Still frustrated with myself for wasting time, I hurried on to Publix, as we were no approaching lunch time and were nowhere near home.

I got the girls into their "car" cart at Publix and hit the aisles. I wasn't in my regular Publix, so it took me a few moments to find what I needed. I got everything in my cart, totaling right at $30, and realized that in my treasure hunt earlier this morning for my rain check, I had pulled out my Winn-Dixie ads from my coupon folder. My Winn-Dixie ads had a $5/$30 coupon that I had planned to bundle into my transaction. Now I was really hopping mad. I wanted to blame everyone in the world, as if they could have some part in my stupidity. My husband tried to offer comfort by saying I was distracted by my daughter being sick. But I knew better. No matter how organized I try to be, and no matter how un-distracted I could make myself, I still mess up...and usually royally...and I just get so frustrated when I'm so stupid! So, now what could be $10 worth of groceries was getting ready to cost me $15. My husband said just put everything back, and we'd go back tonight with the coupon to save the $5. So, once again, I just wasted another 40+ minutes in another store! This is not turning into a very productive day!

While on the phone with my husband, he said I could come eat lunch with him since I had to return his debit card anyway. There are two cafeterias on the campus where he works, and we usually eat at the smaller one because they serve chicken and french fries...an easy-please with kids! But today we decided to eat at the the other because that is my husband's preference. Well! That was $2 more, and the food selection was terrible in my opinion! Nothing was very kid-friendly, the chicken pot pie did not look appetizing, and it was much harder to get something allergen-free for Emma. I ended up being disappointed and frustrated that something that should have been a special treat ended up seeming like another waste of time and money. My husband ended up showing up to lunch 25 minutes after we settled down, so we really didn't get to spend much time with him either.

Isn't it amazing that once something starts the ball rolling down hill on a given day, that the whole rest of the day seems to just roll down hill with it? I'm hopeful that nap time will allow me to relax enough to take my focus off of my frustrations and problems, and place the focus back on the blessing God has given me and on my children and their needs.

Caring for Sick Babies

Like any mother, I hate it when my babies are sick. My three-year-old woke from her nap yesterday with a low fever. I should have known something was wrong, because she'd been irritatingly whiny the last day or so. Today she's been just pathetic. Laid out on the couch, paci in the mouth, tv coming on periodically, running a bit of a fever, and trying not to go to sleep. I even put her in her room for a while, and she wouldn't go to sleep, but I can tell she can barely keep her eyes open. Both girls are currently napping.
I love that she is old enough to tell me what is bothering her! Although, when first asked if anything hurt, she replied, "My foot," because her sister was sitting on it. I noticed she wouldn't drink more than two sips of anything before setting her cup aside...this is unusual for her. She chugs anything I put in her cup! So I asked if her throat hurt, and from there she mentioned a few other things.
So is it coincidence that my kids only get sick on Mondays after being in the church nursery on Sunday? Just a thought I've had each time the get sick, because it seems to be the way it goes.
I'm hoping it's nothing like the flu, although she does seem to be pretty achy. Anytime I touch her she whines...okay, correction, anytime her sister touches her--maybe that's not so unusual anyway. :)
I'm currently in transition between pediatricians. I've paid one off and found one I want to switch to, but haven't actually visited the new pediatrician yet. I hope I don't have to meet him so soon! I really hate taking my kids to the doctor. If they were sick when we walked in, they probably will be when we walk out!
One nice thing about her being sick is that she wants to just sit and cuddle. Although, little sister isn't appreciating it so much! My little one is such a cuddle bug, and isn't use to competing for my lap or for being held because my oldest is content to bounce all over the house when she's awake! So, in the end, I've had once sick, cuddle bug, and one whiny, "neglected" cuddle bug.

Partying with Allergies

Well, birthday party season started tonight and will come in full swing in June. Living around a school, everything--including the births of planned children--revolves around the school calendar! June is awful on the wallet when it comes to birthdays. Tonight we attended the first birthday party of the year. Last year I got away with taking an Oreo or something and my daughter not caring because she was too busy playing. Now, she's getting a better understanding of birthdays, presents, and yes, cake. How do you tell a child, "We're going to a birthday party, but you can't eat anything because you're allergic,"? Well, I do, all the time!
To try to make parties more relaxed and comfortable for my daughter, I prepare party-type foods that she can enjoy with her friends without appearing too different. Preschool parties are pretty simple, but add into the equation the older siblings of her preschool aged friends, and my daughter becomes more aware of the fact that her food is different. She knows foods will make her sick, and she'll tell people that, but it's highly frustrating when an older child makes negative and mocking-sounding comments about the fact that my daughter isn't eating the same thing everyone else is eating. It makes me want to find the parent and tell them to correct their child! That kind of negative peer pressure could be the cause of my child trying a food that would make her sick!
Okay, off that horse! Today we went to Toys R Us and picked out every imaginable boy toy under $10 and put it in the cart. When we were done, we lined them all up on the floor, and my daughter picked out one toy for her friend. To her credit, she picked out the cheapest toy of them all (she doesn't get that from me!). Then we put all of the toys back, and I let her pay for the gift.
We came home, and while the girls ate lunch, I made cupcakes for my daughter to take to the party. Well, the weather today was GORGEOUS! (72!) so we played out in the dirt--attempting to dig my garden plot--while the cupcakes baked and then cooled. During nap time I frosted and decorated the cupcake so that looked all nice and party-ish. She was so excited about the party tonight.
We got to the party, and she told several people that she had cupcakes because the other food would make her sick. One of her food-allergy buddies was there tonight. It has helped her understand her allergies to realize that she has friends who can't eat certain foods either. Tonight's party was easy, I only had to supplement cupcakes. Most parties require a full meal! Pizza, chips, crackers, cheese, ranch dressing dip, ice cream, cake, cookies--so many party foods and she can't have any of them! But she's just as satisfied with her pb&j and home made cupcake or similar treat.
I'm looking forward to her birthday, and not needing to worry about a single food item on the menu. I'm also eager to see what people think of the food selection available when you have to eat such a restricted diet!

A Family Affair

For the last few days, my mother has been in town along with my 7-year-old brother. I never know how to respond or react to my mother. We never got along when I was growing up, and even once I became an adult. Our relationship has greatly improved since I had children. I've always heard that grandchildren will do amazing thing to the attitude of one's parents, and this is true. My brother adds an extra level of required patience when my mother visits. He is a poorly disciplined boy being raised in a home of much strife and conflict. I pity him, but somehow still fail to have the necessary patience sometimes to demonstrate the love he so desperately craves. I did better with him until my own children came along, and I became concerned about the influence that both he and my mother were having on my children. While trying to love and guide my brother, I am trying to protect my children from following his poor example of open disrespect, disobedience, and dislike of my mother. These are behaviors that my father has instilled in him, and my mother has been left to endure and take care of. On the reverse side, my mother has never had the real patience or temperament for handling children, and as she's gotten older, her patience has thinned even more. Due to a lack of love, respect, and care being shown to her by the "men" in her life, she has lost the desire to love, respect, and care for them. It is a very sad and devastating circle to watch cycle. My home growing up was rarely a happy one, and for my brother those happy memories will be even more scarce. I long so frequently to make life better for him. I fear what he will be as a teenager, an adult, a husband, and a father. He has been taught that he can behave however he wants, treat people however he wants, and do whatever he wants, and that this is his right because he is male. He has been taught that violent behavior is acceptable and even expected because he is a boy. He has been trained to treat my mother like dirt on the floor who is there to wait on him hand and foot. He has been taught to tell my mother to shut-up and that he doesn't have to listen to her if he doesn't want to. If only my father would stop, understand, and care about what he was doing to the future women in my brother's life--that this behavior is just not extended to the wife that my father seemingly detests. I have had to closely monitor my brother with my own daughter because of this, in fear that he may (intentionally or not) harm her in some way.

I pity my mother. I am not trying to say that my father is the only bad person here. As the saying goes, "It takes two to tango." I'm not going to sit here and try to decide who started what and who's to blame, but I do know that my mother once loved my dad and did try to do what he wants, and now she dislikes and disrespects him as much as he does her. My mother grew up in an emotionally unstable atmosphere without the love of a man. She grew up being abused, both physically and emotionally, by the men in her life. When my dad said he loved her and asked her to marry him, she was so excited that she said, "Yes!" I have tried to come up with a way for my mother to get away from my dad, if even for a short time. Sadly, she has found her own escape. She has become addicted to Korean dramas online. She's obsessed. Her whole existance now revolves around her obsession with these dramas, and more with the men in these drama. She doesn't seem to really recognize how deep she is sinking into this obsession, but everyone else around her is concerned. The last two times she has been here to visit, we couldn't even carry on a conversation with her because she was so engrossed with these dramas. The grandbabies that she desperately wants to see and spend time with become a nuisance to her because they are interrupting her tweets, dramas, music videos, and whatever else she is involved in. These men have become a fantasy to her. My heart absolute breaks for my mother. All she's ever wanted was a man to truly love her.

It's scary how history could repeat itself. I sought the same thing when I chose to get married. My sisters and I grew up without the love of a man in our lives. All we have wanted is a man to love us. I know my husband really does love me, but that is by the grace of God that I met and married the right man. My youngest sister is now in a dating relationship, and as with each of us, her biggest fear is that she will marry a man like her father and will live the rest of her life in the same misery that we grew up surrounded by.

So all of this weight and burdened shared just for the sake of sharing, but also to ask for prayer for my family if and when anyone should think of it.

Tasty Tuesday

I LOVE to be in my kitchen....well, until it's time to clean it up! I love to cook and bake, and I'm more of an experimental cook/baker. I take recipes as suggestions, and rarely do I follow a recipe exactly as it is written.

My friend, Brandi, over at Raising Arrows will periodically have a segment called "Tasty Tuesday." It just like the sound of having an alliterated title, so I decided to carry it over with my recipe posts...though I won't allow this to restrict me to only posting recipes on Tuesdays!

Today I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes that I discovered, and my family enjoyed, this past winter. I have a daughter with multiple food allergies, so most recipes I post will have been adjusted to suit her needs. When applicable, I will include a link to the original recipe.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon almond milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (may be omitted if using vanilla-flavored milk)
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, and vegetable oil. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for approximately 10 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Note: The original recipe calls for 1 cup pumpkin and one egg. I use an extra 1/4 c pumpkin in place of the egg. You can use 1/4 c of any pureed fruit or veggie. You can also use a marketed egg replacer. My preference is Ener-G egg replacer.

We inhaled these cookies! I would usually make a triple batch and put some up in the freezer, but they still didn't last very long!

Food Allergies

My oldest daughter has multiple food allergies: dairy, eggs, and bananas. It was quite a challenge as I learned to deal with these allergies. We discovered her dairy allergy when she was only three weeks old. I was breastfeeding her, and she was having horrible constipation issues, had a horrible rash all over her body, and was having acid reflux. The first thing the lactation consultants suggested was to remove dairy from my diet. I did, and with a few days she was pooping more easily and had no acid reflux issues. It took a little over a week for the rash to clear up. After a while, I slowly worked dairy back into my diet. As long as I didn't eat large amounts, it didn't seem to phase her--unless I ate cream cheese. I don't know what's in cream cheese that's so different from other dairy, but if I only had a little bit, she broke out and became fitful.

Banana we noticed when she was around eight months old. You know how you mix fruits into their cereals when they're babies? Well, I put a little banana into her cereal, and as I moved the spoon toward her she became instantly congested. I didn't really notice it then, but it was something I realized upon reflection. When she took a bite she started gagging and it seemed she couldn't swallow--as if her throat had swollen shut. So, I scooped it out of her mouth and I didn't feed her any more. I asked her pediatrician about it at her next appointment. The pediatrician said it was highly unlikely that she was allergic to bananas, but if it seemed to happen again, then just don't feed her bananas anymore. So, I tried again and we had the same reaction. Thankfully, removing the bananas from her seemed to be enough to clear her up. We did not have to make an ER visit.

We discovered her egg allergy just before her first birthday. I was making some cookies and let her lick the beater. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer, so I have that funny, mushroom shaped beater. Well, anywhere that the beater touch her face her skin broke out in hives. So along with her routine twelve-month blood work, we also had blood drawn to test her sensitivities to the dairy and egg.

Needless to say, I now always have Benedryl with me as well as an EpiPen.

I have learned that many people do not truly understand what a dairy allergy is, and what it is like to cook for someone with a dairy allergy. When you mention to someone that your child is allergic to dairy, the first thing they think of is milk. Some people go beyond that and think cheese and yogurt. But for those of you who haven't really had to think about this, let me add in some things that, to me, were essentials in the kitchen that I have had to learn to live without: cream cheese, butter, sour cream, cream of mushroom soup, cream of chicken soup (and any other cream soup). And no, Lactaid can not be served to someone with a dairy allergy. It is still milk.

I have found numerous recipes through the blogs of other mothers trying to help their children eat a balanced and healthy diet while trying to work around allergies and the natural tendency of children to have picky eating habits. I wanted to join the ranks and share recipes that I have found or come up with to help other mothers. I will do my best to site where I have found the recipe, but some may be recipes that I wrote down, but don't remember where it came from.