Deanna's Daughter

Waverly called for me in the middle of the night because she was sure there was a fly in the bedroom and she didn’t want it to land on her while she was sleeping.  I looked for the fly, I listened for the fly, there was no fly.  Waverly however, was more than sure there was a fly and was not going to sleep until this was sorted out – thankfully, Marlow hadn’t awakened during all of our conversation.  So, I had an idea,… and then spent the next several minutes wrapping Wavey’s sheet around her head like a hoodie, tucking her blankets in and making sure her animals were covered so that the ‘fly’ didn’t land on them either.  I asked her if this would do and she replied, ‘Yes!…can I go pee now?’.

As I mentioned, I didn’t realize that I hadn’t posted Chicken Pot Pie.  Similar to Mom’s Beef Pot Pie, it’s easily adapted to the ingredients that you have on hand and you can either use leftover chicken or start from scratch – whatever you have time for.  This is the outline for what I do and to be honest, it’s lovely when put into a casserole with a pastry crust on top, but I usually take the easy route and basically make a chicken stew to have over potatoes, sometimes with a salad.

Last night, I wasn’t home so Brock and girls had leftovers, and tonight, Brock won’t be home and I don’t know what the girls and I are going to have yet…

Chicken Pot Pie

1 large onion, finely diced

2 T. olive oil

2 T. butter

1/4 c. flour

2-3 c. chicken broth

1 can (370 mL) 2% evaporated milk (you can use milk or cream but this seems to be creamier with less fat)

1-2 t. ‘Better Than Chicken’ bouillon

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2-3 c. cooked roast chicken

3 sticks of celery, finely diced

4 good sized carrots, finely diced (if you’re in a hurry, pre-cook them for a couple of minutes in boiling water before adding)

2 c. frozen peas

Since we always have this with potatoes, after I’ve prepped the ingredients I put the potatoes on to boil while I cook the pot pie filling (if you’re going to make a crust and bake it, then wait with the potatoes).

Saute the onion in the oil and butter for about 5 minutes until it’s softened then add in the flour and cook for a minute or so while stirring so that there’s no trace of flour left.  Slowly add in the broth while continuing to stir, and then add the milk and continue to stir until it begins to boil and thickens slightly before turning down the heat.

Add in the bouillon and pepper to taste, then the chicken, celery and carrots and once everything is heated through, add in the peas and simmer for a couple more minutes.  At this point dinner is ready, but this can also be frozen once it’s cooled completely or you can put it into a casserole, cover it with a crust or even puff pastry (thawed) and bake at 375 for 30 to 40 minutes.  If you decide to freeze some filling for later, make sure it’s thawed completely before putting in a casserole and covering it with a crust for baking.

This is definitely one of the girls favorite meals!

On Wednesday while I was making the Zucchini-Bacon-Macaroni Pie I also made the marinade for Thursday’s Sake Pork Tenderloin which we had with a mini Greek salad and new potatoes with lots of butter (as requested by the girls).  And I can’t seem to get enough pie so I also happened to whip up a Strawberry Rhubarb Pie on Thursday morning and then found myself buying enough peaches at the market (where we had to go for the potatoes) for perhaps another peach dessert this weekend…we’ll see.

Friday was leftovers, Saturday we were all invited to our friend’s 10th Anniversary celebration so by Sunday (today), I definitely felt like cooking.  This cake was for lunch, borrowed from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman, and we’re having Chicken Pot Pie for dinner which I’ll have to post tomorrow – I didn’t realize it wasn’t up yet!

Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

1/2 c. sour cream

3 eggs

2 t. vanilla

2 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. cocoa

2 1/2 t. baking powder

1 1/2 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

2 t. instant espresso powder (I used instant coffee)

3/4 c. butter, softened

1 c. sugar

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 c. grated zucchini

1 c. slivered almonds

1 c. chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease your bundt pan.  In a small bowl whisk together the sour cream, eggs and vanilla and in a medium bowl mix together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and espresso powder.

Using your electric mixer, combine the butter and both sugars and beat for about 3 minutes until the mixture is fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add in one third of the flour mixture and mix well, and then half of the sour cream mixture and mix well, scraping down the sides of the bowl in between additions.  Continue with the flour mixture, then sour cream mixture and finish with the last of the flour mixture.

Make sure it’s all well combined and then stir in the zucchini by hand, followed by the almonds and chocolate chips.  Scrape the batter into your bundt pan and smooth out the top and then bake for about 50 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning it out onto a platter.

We had this warm with lunch and it was awfully good…

Brock and I were bantering about something when he stopped and said something to the nature of, ‘well, you don’t have to be so sassy about it!’.  Marlow immediately intervened and explained to her Dad, ‘Dad, you KNOW that Mom is always sassy!’.

Mom made dinner for everyone on Sunday and actually whipped up a turkey with all of the trimmings – crazy! I know! but it was such a treat!.  We then had leftovers for the next couple of nights but tonight I’m making Zucchini-Bacon-Macaroni Pie and will serve it with carrots from the garden and probably some beet pickles – I made a new batch a couple of weeks ago and will probably do some more next week.

This recipe is an old one from Mom and since the girls love their dates, and of course chocolate, I knew it would be a hit.  I cut it into slices and wrapped each separately for the freezer so that I’d have some easy, portable treats.  Enjoy!

Chocolate Date Loaf

12 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped

1 t. soda

1 c. hot water

Put all into a small bowl and mix well and allow to cool a bit before you use it.

1 c. sugar

2 T. softened butter

1/4 c. cocoa

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. salt

Preheat oven to 350, grease a loaf pan and get out your electric mixture.  Cream together the sugar and butter and then add the cocoa and mix well.  Add the egg and vanilla and beat it all together.

Add the flour and salt alternately with the date mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and mixing well once everything is in.

Pour into your prepared loaf pan and bake for about 1 hour – make sure a toothpick comes out clean in the middle.