Last night was Taco Tuesday. Blah, blah, blah. I’m bored with that. We did have a vegetarian version last night because I thought I had grass fed organic ground beef in the freezer and at 5:30, I realized I didn’t. Back in the single days, it would have been easy to pop over to Publix and pick up a random item whenever the need presented itself but, those days are long gone and hauling 3-4 kiddos to Publix is no longer a simple task. Honestly, I’d rather make do with what I’ve got. Anyway, I had vegetarian refried beans (surprisingly low in fat, by the way) and that is a meat substitute. So, here you have it. We did soft tacos this Tuesday, per Avery’s request.
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Here’s a photo of Gilligan scarfing down a raw bell pepper, his personal favorite…
Tonight’s meal is chicken pot pie. I’m using green beans from our mini garden, organic carrots that I’ve diced, purple hull peas from my parents garden that I had in the freezer, organic celery I’ve diced, diced onions and frozen green peas, rinsed. I’m a dummy and I dumped the green peas and the frozen purple hull peas together into the colander to rinse. The purple hull peas will take way longer to cook than the green peas and now I have to be Cinderella and pick the little buggers apart. Peachy.
The difference between me and Cinderella today is that I’m not putting on a pretty dress, going to a ball or getting a glass slipper from a prince. If I’m lucky, my prince will do the dishes.
Funny story (to me, anyway) is watching my friend from St. Louis cut off the ends of fresh green beans with a knife. I looked over and gasped! “What are you doing, city girl?! You snap the ends off!” She will laugh at this, even if no one else does…
1 lb Chicken breast, boiled (or shredded original rotisserie chicken, skin removed)
1/2-1 onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
1-2 stalks celery, diced
1 potato, diced
6 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 3/4 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
2/3 cup skim milk
1 Pkg deep dish prepared double crust
Preheat oven to 425.
Boil chicken, cool and chop. Chop fresh vegetables, if using. Rinse frozen vegetables, if using. Bring all vegetables except green peas to a boil, then lower temperature to a simmer, and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Add green peas and simmer for an additional 2 minutes. Drain vegetables.
In a stock pot, melt 6 Tbsp butter. Add 6 Tbsp flour and whisk until bubbly. Add salt, pepper, milk and chicken broth. Cook at a low temperature, stirring constantly until thickened and mixture coats the spoon or whisk. Remove from heat.
Stir in chicken and vegetables and pour mixture into bottom crust. Top mixture with second crust and seal edges with fingers or fork (this works better if crust is at room temperature). Place on top of bottom crust and mixture, then gently pry crust from edges. Slowly lift tin from crust. Try to gently patch any holes. Optional: brush lightly with melted butter or whisked egg white for a brown crust.
Bake for 35 minutes. Slice and serve.
Oh my gosh! Dinner is ready at 8:15, past the girl’s bedtime at 8:00 on a school night. First day of school tomorrow. Hey, I never said I was perfect.
A bit of a mess on the plate, but tasty nonetheless.
If you feel overwhelmed by all the nutrition advice, calorie recommendations and diet trends, read these: Fact. Not Fad., Let’s Crunch Numbers!, Help Me To Help You!
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