RECAP

Potato boats

(With sliced apple sails)

I find this recipe works best with pre-baked and already cold potatoes. 

4-6 baked potatoes, cut lengthwise

Scoop out potato, being careful not to tear the skin

Mash scooped out potato with milk, butter, sour cream  (whatever your normal routine is)

Add 1-2 cooked, diced chicken

Add 1 cup of chopped broccoli

Add at least 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar (or other) cheese

Spoon cheesy potato mix back into hollowed potato skins. Top with more shredded cheese, if desired. 

Bake at 350 until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

This was a loooooooong process, but totally worth it for taste. Next time, I think I'll use pre-made crust and leftover turkey (Mmmmm, thanksgiving, I'lm looking at you!)

Pie Crust

(From Smitten Kitchen)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup cold vegetable shortening, cut into small bits
1/4 cup cold vodka
1/4 cup cold water 

Mix 1 1/2 cups flour, salt and sugar in parge bowl (with food processor, if you have one. I don't.) Add butter and shortening and mix with pastry blender until all broken up (dough will resemble cottage cheese curds and there should be no uncoated flour). Add remaining cup flour and mix to combine.

Sprinkle vodka and water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix, pressing down on dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together. Divide dough into two even balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 45 minutes or up to 2 days.

Chicken filling

1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup potatoes, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
pinch of black pepper (optional)
1 bay leaf
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
1 cup frozen peas
2 cups cooked turkey or chicken, chopped

Several hours before serving:Melt butter in a saucepan (medium heat). Add onion, carrots, potatoes and celery and cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Stir in flour and whisk, keeping the pot on medium heat, about 2 minutes. Add seasonings and stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly, until it thickens, about 5 minutes.

Remove bay leaf. Stir in peas and chopped turkey or chicken. Cover and set aside to cool, then refrigerate until cold. The cold filling will be quite thick.

45 minutes before serving:Preheat oven to 425°.

Spoon filling into 9" pie crust shell. Place second pastry layer over top of pie and seal the edges. Make vents in the top of the pie with a knife or fork, for steam to escape.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes, then reduce heat to 325° and bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until pasty is golden brown and filling is bubbling.

For Elliot's birthday, we made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes. They were awesome. I added a bit of lemon flavour to the vanilla muffins. Delish!
 

Chocolate cupcakes  

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

  1/4 teaspoon baking soda

 2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

 3 tablespoons butter, softened

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup milk

 Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa and salt. Set aside.

  In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition, then stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk; beat well. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.

   Bake for 15 to 20 minutes at 350 or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean. 

White Cupcakes

 

    1 cup white sugar

    1/2 cup butter

     2 eggs

     2 teaspoons vanilla extract

     1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

     1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

     1/2 cup milk

Cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth. Pour or spoon batter into a greased 9x9 pan or lined muffin tin.

  Bake for 15-20 minutes in the preheated oven. For cupcakes, bake 20 to 25 minutes. Cake is done when it springs back to the touch.

For lunch, we served the kids (and parents) homemade mac & cheese - but without the french toast topping I usually do. I put more shredded cheese on top. It was devoured!

Strawberry syrup

I made this to blend with my crockpot yogurt, but that batch didn't turn out. I am still sad about it. But the syrup has been good on pancakes!

Frozen strawberries, drizzled with honey, defrosted in the microwave, then mashed into oblivion.

Robot Man

The boys were fussing at breakfast time. I was going to put some crackers on a plate for them, but as I poured them out, a shape emerged. Add some peanut butter, honey and raisins and VOILA!

And finally, here's this week's grocery list. Nothing truly amazing to add from last week - except that we made do with only a $30 trip for essentials - used up lots of beans and frozen goods from the freezer. My favourite was fish chowder made in the crockpot - threw in butter, onions, potatoes and frozen chopped fish, covered everything with water, added salt, pepper and lemon dill seasoning... cooked on low all day then added a can of milk before serving. Yummy! A bit thin, so next time I wouldn't use as much water. I also loved the apple-cheddar-turkey meatballs I made. Loosely followed A Year of Slowcooking's recipe, but baked in the oven on 400 for 20 minutes instead. YUM!

And yes, cheese was on sale for $4.44 per 500g block. I bought 7. Looking forward to turkey dinner next weekend, too. The butter Chicken recipe is new - out of a jar, but we haven't had it before. Let's see how it goes! And last night's tofu stirfry was tasty. I made a Thai sauce with (unmeasured quantities of) ginger powder, chopped garlic, fish sauce, red curry paste, lemon juice, water and sesame seeds.