Individual Chicken Pot Pies

This is a comfort recipe that bakes up quickly and is enjoyed by our whole family.  I use individual oven ready dishes, but you can easily bake this up in a pie pan. I will give directions for both methods!

Chicken Pot Pie

The Nelson Family

Filling

3 chicken breast halves, diced

1/2 c. celery, diced

1 c. carrots, diced

3 medium red potatoes, diced

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 c. onion....you guessed it...diced

1 T. olive oil

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. refrigerated chicken base or 1 chicken bouillon cube

seasoning salt, to taste

In sauce pan, combine chicken, celery, carrots and potatoes. Cover with water, add salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10-12 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender. Drain.

While vegetables and chicken are simmering, make your sauce.

In a skillet, heat oil. Add onion and cook until onion is clear. Add soup, broth, and chicken base. Bring to a boil then remove from heat. Pour over chicken and vegetables in saucepan. Set aside.

Crust

1/2 cup vegetable shortening

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold water

For 6 Individual Pies that hold 1 c. of filling:

Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork. Roll gently on a floured surface to about an inch larger than pie plate. Using a biscuit cutter or bowl, cut out 6 circles, slightly larger than your oven dishes.

Fill each dish with 1 c. filling and place pie crust on top, pinching the edges and covering the filling. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg white and 1T. water) and seasoning salt.  Place all dishes on a baking sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

2 Crust 9" Pie:
Double recipe.
Mix shortening, flour, and salt together with a fork or a pastry blender until very crumbly. Add as much water as needed to hold together, and mix lightly with a fork. Divide dough into two balls. Roll gently on a floured surface to about an inch larger than pie plate. Fold carefully in half, lift to pie plate, and unfold. Press into pan. Fill with chicken/vegetables and roll out top crust and place on top. Seal edges with a fork or the finger pinch method. Brush with an egg wash (1 egg white and 1T. water) and seasoning salt. Bake on a baking sheet at 425 degrees for 35 minutes or until crust is golden. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

I hope your family enjoys these as much as we do! They really are easy to make. Comfort food, plain and simple.

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Basic Granola & Granola Bars!

Granola is one of my favorite breakfast cereals, but it is EXPENSIVE for what you get! And I don't really care for most store bought ones. They are too sweet. Here is the recipe that I have used for the past 5 years. It is wonderful. I put out a request for a good recipe on a Coast Guard Wives forum and this was one that a friend shared with me. I haven't used another recipe since. It is so versatile. If you don't have one of the ingredients, just substitute it for something you do have. I didn't have wheat germ this time so I used an extra cup of oats. Sometimes I add flax seed and other types of nuts as well.

Granola

7 cups. uncooked oatmeal

1 c. wheat germ

1 c. coconut

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 1/2 c. oil

1 1/2 c. water

1 tsp. salt

1 c. chopped almonds

1/2 c. chopped pecans

raisins and dates as desired

Mix thoroughly and bake in shallow pans at 275 until coconut is lightly browned (about an hour). Add dates and raisins as desired.

Be sure to save 2 cups to make homemade granola bars. Keep reading...

 It is perfect dry as a snack (my kids like eating it out of small cups), with milk for breakfast, or with yogurt (my favorite is peach). It is also amazing in homemade granola bars!

My kids loved these bars. They were eating them up so fast that I had to reserve a few on the side to take pictures of before they were completely gone.

S'mores Granola Bars

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. honey

1/2 c. brown sugar

4 c. granola or uncooked oats

2 c. rice cereal (rice chex broken up, or rice crispies)

1 c. golden grahams cereal (or crushed graham crackers)

1 c. mini/micro marshmallows

1 c. chocolate chips

Heat first 3 ingredients over med-high until they start to boil. Reduce to med-low and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add in granola, marshmallows, and cereals and mix thoroughly. Pour into a 9x13 pan (lightly sprayed with cooking spray) and pat down until nice and level. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and press down with a spatula. Let refrigerate for 15 minutes. Cut into bars.

For basic granola bars, omit chocolate chips, marshmallows and graham cereal. You can add pretzels, nuts, fruits, etc. There are so many possibilities!

Just make sure that if your granola has a lot of sugar in it (like my recipe above does) that you don't use a lot of sugar in you honey mixture or your bars will be too hard. Less sugar keeps them chewy. The original recipe called for twice as much sugar and the first time I made them was a big fat fail. I had to soak the pan with warm water for a couple of hours to get them off. It wasn't pretty.  Less sugar is better. Also, the recipe above is doubled. They are the perfect thickness that way. Again, the first time I made them, they were too thin. Now you can learn from my trial and error :)

{adapted}

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Leaving a Legacy One Stitch at a Time

We are going to time travel to the 1960's today!

This photo was taken in the mid 1960's. My grandmother is on the far left, and my mother is on the far right. I have always loved this photo. My grandmother is an absolutely AMAZING quilter and seamstress. She has sewn hundreds of quilts and dresses over the years. For her birthday this year, I put out a request to all of my family to send me photos of quilts that she made them over the years. I thought it would be neat to compile them into a book from Blurb.com. One cousin suggested that we include photos of dresses too! Awesome.

I titled the book: "Grandma-Made: Leaving a Legacy One Stitch At a Time."

The emails started coming in. Dozens of school photos, birthday party pictures, etc. of the aunts and cousins wearing dresses that either grandma made or helped them make, and photos of the quilts that they STILL have! It has been so much fun to see. One of my cousins could still fit in the dresses that my Grandma made her in Jr. High and so she modeled them and snapped photos! We couldn't decide what was more impressive. The fact that she still had them, or the fact that she could still FIT IN THEM after having a baby and over 15 years have gone by....

I have over 200 photos so far. Each with at least one item that Grandma made. Some, like this photo above....6 items. She made all of these dresses with the exception of one that my aunt made. Not only did she sew, but she taught all of her daughters to sew as well. She had 7 daughters (the youngest wasn't born yet here). Most of their clothes were homemade. Not something you see anymore.

She has left such a legacy in our family. With 7 children, 32 grandchildren and over 20 great-grand children, her priceless gifts have left impressions on us. Each baby receives a hand quilted blanket when they are born. With the great grandchildren, she sometimes sent another one as well that they could play with and drag around the house. One that was tied vs. quilted. When we turned 5 she would send us a twin size blanket for our birthday. Mine was Rainbow Brite Sprite and I still have it! Each year she would send us a new birthday dress. I remember getting mine through elementary school, but if I had requested more she would have made them. When we got married, she quilted us a queen sized one.

I have always been in awe of her and how she found the time to be a phenomenal housewife as well as mother and still have a smile on her face. To this day, she still keeps busy. It keeps her calm. When I call and ask her what she's been up to she tells me all of the things and how busy she is. Usually it's just sorting papers or something, but she likes to always be doing something. Now that I am married with 4 children of my own, I am in even more awe because the thought of sitting down and sewing after the kids go to bed is exhausting! So I usually plop down on the sofa, next to my husband, and watch a movie and blog. Maybe that's the trick to accomplishing as much as her. My Grandma didn't waste a second on the computer....hmm....nah ;)

I have always loved making Kaylee dresses and now that Ruby is here it is time for some matching outfits :) Inspired by all of the fun photos that my aunts and cousins have sent me, I decided to make them their first set of matching dresses and I had so much fun!

I found this fabric awhile back at Joanns for $1.56/yard! I loved the turquoise print and the little retro polka dots so I bought 2 yards. This dress was super quick to sew up. No zippers or buttons. Just elastic. It fits like a glove.

Ruby's is a little jumper. I have used this pattern many many times for Kaylee and just love it. It has super cute pin tuck detailing in the front and 2 buttons, 1 on each shoulder.

I also made Ruby matching shoes and a diaper cover.

I will never be able to finish as many sewing projects as her, but I still have fun seeing how excited Kaylee gets to receive a new dress and maybe some day these fun little dresses will be pulled out and given to their daughters!

Patterns I used:

Diaper Cover: Butterick B5017

Jumper: Simplicity 3808

Peasant Dress: Simplicity 5695

Shoes: Abigail Booties from MakeItAndLoveIt.com

I Pinned It & Made It: Food

It's no secret that Pinterest is just about the coolest thing around! Millions of pins are out there, but do you use the pins that you save? I've heard friends say that Pinterest is a waste of time, and I guess that could totally be true if you have no intention of ever using them, but I think most people intend to go back to those pins eventually....so it's not a waste of time, it's an investment! And my dinner menu and crafting hasn't been them same since discovering Pinterest! So I thought I'd start sharing some of the things that I "pinned" and then MADE! And there have been many of them! I guess I could have created another board on Pinterest for these, but thought it would be fun to share them here.

So here is Collection #1, Food

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

We had this wonderful soup with garlic bread last week and it was creamy and absolutely delicious! I made it with skim milk instead of heavy cream and it was perfect! You can make it in the slow cooker or over your stove.

Skinny Taste: Sauteed Brussels Sprouts

I love roasted brussels sprouts, and these are just as yummy....and cook up quicker!

Homemade Serenity: Re-Growing Green Onions

Did you know you could do this? I tried it, and my onions just keep growing! It's been several weeks and they've grown about 6"! Just trim off what you need and keep the roots in a couple of inches of water.

How Does She? Perfect Dinner Rolls

I made these for Thanksgiving last year and we even put the messages inside of them. This may be a tradition from now on!

Paula Deen: Lasagna Soup

You might have seen this on my blog a couple of weeks ago. I made it and loved it so much that I re-posted it here! I made it with ground turkey and broken pasta pieces.

What's Cookin, Chicago?: Chicken Canzanese

Tonight was leftovers night and this is what we had. It was just as delicious tonight as it was 2 nights ago. Full of flavor and very moist. I will definitely be making this again. I served it over pilaf.

Stay tuned for more "I Pinned it & Made It" collections! And to follow me on Pinterest, click here!http://pinterest.com/alaskanfam/

Homemade Egg Rolls

When I found the recipe for our favorite restaurant's Yum Yum sauce I sent it to my friend, Stephanie, since she and her husband were the ones who first took us to that restaurant. She said that she'd have to try out that sauce with the egg rolls that she makes. I'd been wanting to make my own for some time now, but never knew how simple they were. With a few tips from Stephanie and the awesome recipe on the back of the egg roll wrapper package, I came up with some that rivaled our favorite ones from the Chinese food take-out place down the road. I wasn't sure if that was even possible!

Here's how I did it!

Homemade Egg Rolls
makes 40

2 packages Egg Roll Wraps (20 count each)

1 lb. ground turkey (or pork)

2 packages coleslaw mix (cabbage and carrots)

1/2 lb. bean sprouts

1/2 c. green onions, chopped

1/4 c. oyster sauce

1/4 c. soy sauce

Oil for frying

Non stick spray, if baking

Olive oil, if baking

Sauce for dipping

Brown your meat in a large skillet. Add veggies and cook for 2 minutes. Mix in oyster and soy sauce. Let mixture cool. 

I found these egg roll wraps in the refrigerator produce section near the tofu items. Use 2-3 tablespoons filling for each egg roll. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners. Brush top corner with water (or dab with your finger) to seal and roll up. This prevents the egg roll from opening up during the frying process.

Now I've done these both ways. I REALLY wanted them to turn out the same when baked. But let's face it, nothing is the same when baked vs. fried. The baked ones were delicious though. If you'd prefer to go that route, heat your oven to 400. Arrange egg rolls on a greased baking pan that has been sprayed with non stick cooking spray  and brush egg rolls with olive oil. Bake 12 minutes. 

If you want egg rolls that give the restaurant ones a run for their money....read on....and throw out that New Year's resolution. The ones photographed here are fried...and as I was going through my recent posts I noticed that I have shared a lot of fried/buttery foods recipes. We don't always eat like this! I just like sharing the fun recipes. The ones that bring restaurant foods home...with real ingredients! Every other night of the week is green salad and chicken, etc. boring and not worth sharing the recipe ;)

In a large skillet, heat oil to 350 degrees. Place rolls, flap side down, a few at a time and cook for a couple of minutes, turning occasionally. Drain on paper towels or a cooling rack with paper towels under neath.

They were absolutely amazing! We now know how to make our favorite egg rolls, yum yum sauce, fried rice, fortune cookies....if only I could figure out how to make decent chow mein, we'd never order out for Chinese again! I think I'm up for the challenge! 

Stephanie said that these freeze really well. I placed them in ziploc freezer bags and had pretty good success heating them back up at 375 degrees in the oven for 20 minutes or so.

Enjoy!

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Greenery Wreath {Using a Coat Hanger}

Last week I found these greenery branches down in the basement. I used to have them in vases on the mantel, but didn't envision doing that again so I made a wreath out of them!

I bent a wire coat hanger into a circular shape and twisted the ends to close. Then I laid out my greenery around it to make sure I liked the shape and direction that it was going and started wrapping the stems with wire around the base. And wrapped them, and wrapped, them, and looked at the wreath, then wrapped more sections of them and then wrapped random sections to make sure it was sturdy enough to go through a couple of blizzards this winter/spring.

And here is my result!

I think it looks so pretty and will be perfect for March and April as well!

These branches are very inexpensive at Joann's, especially with one of their coupons. The floral wire is inexpensive as well. I'm pretty sure I spent less than $5 on everything when I purchased the supplies last year.

 

Every time I post about wreaths that I made for our front door I get emails about how I hung it without an over-the-door hanger. The door is metal so I would NEVER nail anything into it. I use a magnetic hook! You can get them in a 2 pack at Lowe's or any hardware store for a few bucks! And they are nice and sturdy! The hook is much tighter than an over the door hanger hook and so the wreath STAYS put.

Little Craft Tote

For Aaron's birthday, my sister, Stacy, sent him the most AMAZING gift. Aaron is super creative and would rather color, draw, and create little projects than do most anything else. She knew that and catered to his creative needs.

Hands down, it was his favorite birthday gift last year.

She sent him this little organizer full of craft supplies. His OWN sharpie pen (he was thrilled), glue sticks for his glue gun (he's had his own since he was 4 years old), magnet tape, glue, googly eyes, ribbon, etc.

She also sent him a little jar of "energy food" which is now gone, but it was m&ms. He keeps telling me that he needs me to refill his energy food.

I kept noticing Kaylee using his craft tote. She created some pretty awesome little pictures and projects with it while he was at school. I didn't think he would appreciate that, so I made her one of her own. When he got home from school she said, "Mommy made one just right for me!"

I filled it with similar items and her own little "sharpie" because she wanted one :)

I added her name on the front just like Aaron's with pink vinyl.  She loves it! Thanks Aunt Stacy!

Lasagna Soup

Looking outside in Ohio right now you would NEVER guess that it is winter! Today is sunny and in the high 50's. It is absolutely beautiful and unusually mild for February. But we'll take it. Even though it isn't freezing and dreary outside, soup still sounds good. I love soups and could eat them every day. That and homemade bread. Yum. Here is a nice kid-friendly soup from Paula. I serve this with sliced baguettes that come in bags from Kroger. They are always available on the day-old rack for .79 and are perfect broiled up for a few minutes then spread with garlic butter.  

Lasagna Soup

adapted

1 pound ground chuck (I use turkey)

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme

1 tablespoon firmly packed brown sugar

1 (32-ounce) box chicken broth

2 (14.5-ounce) can petite diced tomatoes

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups broken lasagna noodles or small pasta

1 (5-ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

In a large Dutch oven, combine ground chuck, onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until beef is browned and crumbles. Drain well.

Stir in thyme, brown sugar, broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add noodles, and simmer until noodles are tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese.

Preheat broiler. Ladle soup into 8 to 10 ovenproof bowls. Evenly sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Broil soups, 6-inches from heat, 3 to 4 minutes, until cheese is browned and bubbly. Serve immediately.

This heats up well for leftovers as well.  Enjoy!

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Create Your Own Geometric Stencil in Minutes!

Geometric designs are all the rage lately in home design, but if you purchase stencils or vinyl it can get pricey. So I am going to show you how I made my own in a matter of minutes!

 I turned a plain dollar store vase into something completely unique and it was so easy to do!

The great thing about making a stencil like this is that you can use ANY shape on your Cricut cartridge or Silhouette layout. I have a Cricut, so I will be referencing that for his tutorial, but I'm assuming the same technique will apply for the Silhouette. The Cricut and Cricut Cake cartridges are interchangeable. I used my Cricut Expressions machine for this project.

Make sure that the "auto fill" option is selected and that your "paper saver" option is OFF.

 I used some inexpensive contact paper for this. No need to use vinyl or a more expensive contact paper. You can find rolls of this stuff in all sorts of funky patterns at the dollar store too. Perfect for stencils.

Cut our your contact paper so that it is 2" larger than your project in all directions. I wrapped mine around the vase and added the inches there. This way you don't have to worry about blank margins.

Choose your design. Something basic. I picked what I thought looked like a jazzed up quatrefoil design.

Set your size. I set mine at 1 1/4".

Set your cutting pressure to "low" or "min" It doesn't matter what your speed is set to. I usually keep mine towards the faster options.

The Cricut will automatically place your designs as close together as it can without over-lapping and as long as the "paper saver" option is not highlighted, it will be nice and uniform.

1.  Here is my stencil after I peeled out the outline.

2.  Save yourself a lot of headache by using transfer tape for your stencil. Cut it to the size of your stencil.

3. Turn over and peel the backing off of the contact paper and your stencil is ready to apply to any painting or etching project.

I chose to do acid etching this time.

4. Adhere your stencil to the vase/project and press firmly.

5. Gently peel away the transfer tape from the stencil. I think the stencil looks so pretty here (if only it was a plain contact paper or vinyl) so that is something to remember for the future. Creating a desing like this and just adhering it to the vase without the etching cream!

6. Apply your etching cream or paint according to the package directions.

7. Wash off your etching cream and remove the stencil.

It isn't easy photographing acid etched projects, but I will just tell you that in person, it looks amazing!

And it was SO easy to do!

GREAT Food Round-Up!

I heard that there is some sort of big game on this weekend :p I'm not into sports, but I do like trying and sharing new recipes. So if you are looking for some fun game food ideas, check these out!

Homemade Corn Dog Bites

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Corn & Bean Salsa

Hot Artichoke Dip

Avocado Bread

Perfect Caramel Corn

Perfect Ice Cream Sandwiches

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches

Homemade Pretzel Bites

Enjoy your Weekend!!