Chicken Pot Pie

After making the pie crust, I needed to make the chicken pot pie filling. I'd never successfully made a chicken pot pie before, but I knew it needed chicken (obviously) and some mixed vegetables. I thought I'd throw some chopped onion in as well for additional flavor, and since there were already carrots and onion in the mix, I thought some celery would also go well. However, since I didn't have any, I substituted celery seed. I also threw in some oregano and bay leaves for good measure. The primary difference I made this time was that I just used gravy instead of using cornstarch and some combination of water, stock, milk, or cream as a thickener. I'm not sure why that made such a huge difference since gravy is basically drippings, corn starch, and some combination of water, milk, or cream, but it really did. Once the filling was complete, all that remained was making the crust. Although there's a wide variety of crusts available, I wanted to make an all butter pie crust, or pâté brisée, because that's what I think of as going with chicken pot pie, and I have it say, it was worth the effort! The entire apartment also smelled delicious while baking this pie!

Chicken Pot Pie

by CJ Huang

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
	1 pound			chicken, cooked and shredded
			2	onions, chopped
		1/2 teaspoon		oregano
			2	bay leaves, crushed
		2 cups		gravy	I wanted a drier pot pie so that not all the filling would come out, but if you wanted a more moist filling, you could add more gravy.
		1/2 teaspoon		celery seed	I didn't have any celery, but you could use 3 stalks (chopped) instead.
	12 ounces			mixed vegetables	I used carrots, corn, green beans, peas, and lima beans.
		1/4 teaspoon		pepper
			1	pie crust, bottom crust prebaked, top crust unbaked	I used carrots, corn, green beans, peas, and lima beans.

Methods:

1. Mix onions with gravy and cook until onions are translucent.
2. Add all remaining ingredients except pie crust and mix well over medium heat.
3. Pour filling into prebaked bottom crust, and form unbaked top crust over filling.
4. Poke some holes with a fork or cut some slits in the top crust before baking.
5. Bake at 350F until warmed through and top crust flaky.

Chicken Pot Shepherd's Pie

Combine chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie into one warming and flavorful dish.

Lisa's Beef Stew

I'm happy to introduce Lisa at Home to 4 Kiddos today! I first found her since she hosts Try a New Recipe Tuesday, and you're always sure to find something tasty there. I also love how she always gets her kids involved in whatever they're making and teaching them about making food. :) Without further ado, let's welcome Lisa as she shares her Beef Stew!

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I am so grateful to be a contributing a guest post today! As CJ mentioned, I’m Lisa. I blog over at "Home to 4 Kiddos," where I write about lots of things, including our homeschool journey. I also host a weekly recipe linkup called "Try a New Recipe Tuesday." :)

A hearty beef stew with all your odds and ends - sure to please on a cold and blustery day.

Salmon Chowder

A creamy and chunky salmon chowder hearty enough for a meal. Delightful in some bread (or just plain) bowls!

Fried Rice

A quick, easy, and tasty way to turn odds and ends into a delicious meal!

Brunswick Stew

Brunswick stew, a tomato based stew with vegetables and meat, is a traditional dish popular in the American South. It's also surrounded by controversy.

Beefy Vegetable Barley Soup

With all this cold weather lately, I think soup was called for. I recently made some beef stock, and I thought this soup would be an excellent way to use it! Not is was this soup tasty, but it was also quick and easy - taking less than 15 minutes, and even then, the majority of the time, you could be doing something else. Another option is to make this soup into a stew by adding some potatoes and beef. If you were to do that, you could easily throw everything into a slow cooker and let that do all the work for you to enjoy later in the day. However, I didn't use any meat, so it didn't take long to get this soup on the table. However, I did add some barley to give the soup some extra substance, but you could eliminate that or add more depending on your goals. Give this soup a try on any cold day, and it will be a quick and easy way to warm yourself up! And, like most soups, this recipe is highly flexible, and you could add or remove a wide variety of materials.

Beefy Vegetable Barley Soup

by CJ Huang

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
			1	onion, chopped
		1 cup		barley, uncooked
		1 teaspoon		Italian seasoning
		1 teaspoon		oregano
	1 pound			vegetables, chopped	I used carrots, peas, green beans, corn, and lima beans.
				water or beef stock

Methods:

1. Combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.
2. Simmer until barley cooked. (I turned off the heat soon after it reached a boil and just let the carryover heat do the rest.)

Notes: You could also throw everything into a slow cooker and let that do all the work, especially if you add meat, but since I didn't, it was pretty quick and easy to cook on the stove.

Stir Fried Snow Peas

I had a batch of snow peas that needed to be used, but I was feeling lazy, so I went with a very simple cooking method. Following this recipe, you'll be able to get some tasty and delicious snow peas on the table in under 10 minutes! Continuing on with the laziness, I'm going to go straight to the recipe without further ado...

Stir Fried Snow Peas

by CJ Huang

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
				snow peas
				ginger, minced
				garlic, minced
				soy sauce

Methods:

1. Heat oil with garlic and ginger until fragrant.
2. Add snow peas and soy sauce, mixing well with garlic and ginger. 
3. Cook until tender-crisp.

Buttered Peas

These peas are a quick and easy way to bring a bit of spring to the table. Although fresh peas will taste best, frozen peas are a tasty alternative. I've tried canned peas in the past, but I can't say I would recommend those, and in fact, I think my previous dislike of peas originated from the unpleasant taste I found with the canned peas. Don't be fooled by the quick and easy materials and methods list, this recipe really shows off the flavor and sweetness of the peas! I've had steamed peas before, and whereas they were not bad, the richness of the butter sauce really adds another dimension to the peas and makes them taste that much better.

Give these peas a try and see what you think!

What are some of your favorite ways to eat peas?

Buttered Peas

by CJ Huang

Highlighting the sweet flavor of peas quickly and easily. Perfect for almost any meal.

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
				peas
				butter
				seasonings	optional, I used salt, sugar, paprika, and corn starch.

Methods:

1. Melt butter and add seasonings to taste.
2. Add peas and cook until finished, stirring occasionally.

Chinese Vegetable Stir Fry with Pork

It's time for another stir fry! This time, I thought I'd go for a more "traditional" stir fry, with vegetables like water chestnuts, snow peas, and baby corn. Baby straw mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms would also be a good addition to this stir fry, but I didn't have those, so I didn't use any. One of the great things about stir fries is how flexible they are. All the vegetables used can be substituted, eliminated, or increased. Another bonus is the fast rate they can be completed. My materials and methods are below, but feel free to add your own twists! This meal took no more than 15 minutes to finish.

What are some of your favorite stir fry combos?

Chinese Vegetable Stir Fry with Pork

by CJ Huang

A quick stir fry with water chestnuts, broccoli, carrots, corn, peas, and pork.

Materials:

Mass	Weight	Volume	Number	Material	Notes
				pork, stir fry strips
				baby corn
				snow peas
				snap peas
				carrots, julienned
				water chestnuts, sliced
				broccoli, florets
				ginger, minced
				garlic, minced
				soy sauce
				roasted garlic oil

Methods:

1. Heat ginger, garlic, and roasted garlic oil until fragrant.
2. Add in pork, and cook until mostly done.
3. Add soy sauce.
4. Add in carrots and water chestnuts, then broccoli, followed by the snap peas and snow peas, finishing off with the baby corn. (Generally, you want to add the vegetables that will cook faster first.)
5. Cook until finished.