Traditional Pot Pie recipe

This is a recipe for a traditional style pot pie. I have made this recipe big enough to make two 9" pies at once. One for dinner, and one to freeze for a lazy day. 

Picture not of my pie, I do not have a professional camera, posted to give you an Idea on what your pie can look like. 

Ingredients:

6 oz      Frozen corn
5 oz      Frozen peas
5 oz      Frozen Green beans
4 oz      Fresh Mushrooms
1/4 c     Finely Diced onions
2 C       Diced potatoes
4-5 C    Diced Chicken breast Cooked and sprinkled with Garlic pepper.
2           9" pastry doughs


Sauce Ingredients:

1/2 C    Butter
1/2 C    All-purpose Flour
1 tsp     Basil
1 tsp     Thyme
32 oz    Chicken Broth
4           Chicken Bullion cubes w/ herbs


Direction: Combine first 7 ingredients in a large bowl, divide between two 9” pie dishes.  In a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, Basil, & thyme until smooth. Gradually add broth and bouillon cubes. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Divide and Pour over vegetable mixtures.

Roll out pastry to fit top of dish. Place over filling; trim and flute edges. Cut slits in top. Bake at 450° for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Yield: 6-8 servings. Per pie

How to cook frozen pie: Preheat oven to 375 Cover edge of crust with tin foil to prevent over browning (may cover whole pie if desired). cook for 60-70 min until center is fully heated (160 degrees)

Please feel free to try out this recipe, comment with any changes you made, comments, questions, or your favorite traditional pot pie recipe. Enjoy!

Our Little Fathers Day Celebration

Fathers day, Just like any other day except we get to go ecstatic for any amazing male role models / figures in our life. I apologize in advance for not taking photos today to share with everyone.

Today, I started some beef jerky for my husband. I say some, But I am curing 4 lbs of some amazing beef to soon be transformed into jerky that will not have a long life span in my house.

My husband is an amazing father, my boys are so lucky, as am I. He took the boys on the 4 wheelers, the older two are now of age to ride the little 50 by themselves. We have very a very hilly piece of property, so they only get to ride with strict adult supervision. I BBQ'd both lunch and dinner for my husband. It is very rewarding that the sides to our main dish are fresh, straight from our garden. We are finally settling into our lives. We also fired up the hot tub (heat off of course since we live in Texas and Texas doesn't need any more heat) and the kids (all 4 of them, husband included) have enjoyed swimming with the jets on and playing together, yay for being able to get the kids off of video games! Earlier this month, as an early fathers day gift, I paid off all but one credit card and cancelled all of them. I am done owing other people money, doing the best I can to pay off that other card quickly so I may be free of Credit card debt. :)

Right now, I am sitting out on the hot tub deck, watching my two oldest sons Jaden (age 7 1/2) and Demitrius (age 5 1/2) swimming and using their imagination to make long lasting memories imprinted deeply so they may forever reflect on them.

Two other people I want to recognize for fathers day that have been a huge positive influence on me in my life would be my Papa (Grandpa Gore) and Grandpa Wilken. They are both positive and inspiring to me. I really wish that everyone was as lucky as me in this aspect.

Although my biological father does not have anything to do with my life, I pray that his chemo and radiation is healing him and he can regain strength. I also hope that today he was spoiled by his loved ones and is able to enjoy himself.

And to any other fathers out there that take the time to be a positive influence in a childs life, GOOD FOR YOU and you too are my hero. Happy Fathers Day to you all.

CORN! ... And more about my garden.

     Today, after spending a quite boring day at the farmers market selling my organic skin care, my son Jaden and I went down to our garden and harvested 37 ears of corn. YAY! I then was thinking, maybe I didnt plant enough corn after chucking it. Boy was I wrong! I blanched* the corn, froze a dozen corn on the cobs and then took the other 25 ears of corn and removed the corn off the cob after blanching them and filled a gallon size bag half way standing up! then I lay the bag flat and froze it flat :).  Enjoy these pictures of the corn I took today...

My garden is completely organic, and boy are the weeds loving it too. I am very pleased and impressed with my corn harvest, I am not impressed with the cucumbers I picked out this year, they are too bitter, and I am not completely impressed with the beefsteak or black krim tomatoes. I guess it is because I have never had Black krim tomatoes, but I am not a big fan. I am defiantly going to order some Celebrity Tomatoes next time, and some different cucumbers. we will see how our watermelon does. it is vining everywhere, but i guess I planted late, they should have fruits already. I am still learning, mostly I need the experience and that will come with time. 

Does anyone have any Gardening stories you want to share? I would love to read about them. 

* Blanching -- When you take the corn (or other veggie) and boil it in water for 7-10 min then submerge it in ice water for 7-10 min before freezing it. Plus I had read that blanching also kills the enzymes that produce bacteria in the food, therefore boiling them will kill any bacteria that may be on it therefore making it more sanitary. 

 

DIY Cracked Skin Balm

HA! I am sure you thought I was going to reveal my recipe for may AMAZING cracked skin balm that anyone can purchase by going to www.dezarae.net. Alas, I am not. What I am going to do for those of you that enjoy making things on your own, I am going to share a basic recipe with you, one that you may customize and make it your own. If you do decide to order, Know that I only use USDA certified organic oils in my products.

Cracked Skin Balm
skeleton recipe

1.5 oz Coconut oil
1.5 oz Beeswax
1.5 oz of an extreme moisturizing butter (mango, shea, or cocoa are a few)
0.3 oz of any of your favorite skin loving oils (you can do the .3 oz of one type or divide it between a couple.
0.2 oz of a fragrance or about 10 drops of your favorite essential oil, essential oil blend.

DIRECTIONS: Take a pot, fill it over half way with water. (I am sure you have already guessed we are making a home made double boiler.) Take a glass jar like a measuring cup ( at least 2 cups worth for this recipe) and add in all the ingredients above. (if using essential oils, wait to add them until you have the oils melted.)

Once all the oils are melted, and fragrance or oils are added, pour liquid into your favorite container. I use 2 oz twist up tubes you can find at any online cosmetic container store. Fill your container and the balm will harden as it cools.

This is PERFECT for those summer days where the elements are drying out your feet in those flip flops, or those winter days where your elbows and chapped area's on your skin need some TLC.

My son Demitrius says Thank you for reading! Comments are welcome!

If you have any questions feel free to contact me!