A Valentine's Day With No Pie

I had every intention of a post today filled with adorable pictures of my girls in cute Valentine's Day garb and gleeful pictures of me scarfing delicious pie.

Alas, Cupid had different plans.

Back story: For the last two years, Alexia and I have taken our girls to a local pie shop for bakery treats, yummy pie, and Valentine's Day celebrating. It's such a sweet tradition, and this year was going to be even sweeter because there are now four little girls to join in on the fun instead of two.

That's where that sneaky Cupid comes in. He came a little early this year, and instead of shooting us with arrows filled with love, he got us with a nasty virus - RSV to be exact. Apparently this virus is pretty common, but when babies get it, things can get scary if it gets into their lungs. After a three-hour trip to Urgent Care (three hours! the irony!) with Mia on Tuesday night, it quickly became obvious our Valentine's tradition was going to be coming to a screeching halt.

And then I got sick, too. If being sick sucks, being sick when your kids are also sick might be the worst torture I can think of. Props to Mike for taking over for a day or two, because I was miserable, complainy, and not feeling romantical in the least. (And despite all that he still bought me roses! He's a keeper I do believe.)

Luckily, I was still able to bribe with candy persuade Anna to put on some of her Valentine's Day gear so I could get a few pictures. Despite having a crusty eye (is my child the only one whose eye starts oozing green crud when she gets any sort of cold?) I think she pulls the look off well.

Here's one of my little patient. RSV or not, she's cute.

Fingers crossed we're all on the mend. Poor Mia has been sick more times in her short life than I can remember Anna being her first two years. Her cough is getting better, and she's slowly returning to the smiley, relaxed baby we're used to. Mike and Anna, other than her eye, seem to have avoided this round of yuckiness so far, knock on wood.

And we're hoping for a rain check for next week. Because after this week, Mama needs some pie.

Fix Me A Chicken* Pot Pie!

One of the very best things I did for myself before Mia made her entrance into the world was to fill our freezer with food. There were many, many items on my "Things To Do Before Baby Arrives" list that I did not get around to, like finish the baby blanket I started knitting six months ago or get Anna out of diapers. But with about two weeks until her due date, I began stockpiling freezer containers and doubling our favorite recipes. Chili, spaghetti sauce, beef and barley soup - it was such a huge relief those first few weeks to know that my family was going to be eating a healthy meal that didn't require much more than heating up.

The night before my water broke, I tried out a new recipe for chicken pot pie - mostly because it made two and I was excited to hoard even more food for my freezer. I also really, really love all things pie. Chicken pot pie was always on my list of favorites growing up, but for some reason the idea of baking one just seemed like it would be way too difficult. Even after mastering Beef & Cheddar Pie, I assumed chicken pot pie would just be more hassle than it was worth.

I was wrong. It's actually not that hard. And it's so, so good.

I should first admit, though, that this recipe calls for store-bought pie crust. Maybe someday I'll tackle my fear of pie crust, but for now I'm happy to buy it. You can definitely use homemade if you're super talented like that...just stop showing off, would ya?

This is comfort food at its finest, and will always remind me of the last meal I prepared before we became a family of four.

Chicken Pot Pie

What you need:

I apologize in advance for these pictures. They're terrible.

2 cups diced, peeled potatoes
1 3/4 cups sliced carrots
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup butter, cubed (the original recipe calls for a full cup, but it's still plenty rich!)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dried thyme
3/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk
4 cups cubed cooked chicken (from 3-4 chicken breasts)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen corn
pastry for two double-crust pies

What you do:

1. Place potatoes and carrots in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain and set aside.

2. In a large skillet, saute' onion in butter until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, thyme, and pepper until blended. Gradually stir in the broth and milk. Bring to a boil, then cook and stir for two minutes, or until thickened. It might start out kind of lumpy, but keep stirring! Add chicken, peas, corn, potatoes, and carrots. Remove from heat.

I know. Doesn't look that appealing. I promise, it gets better.

See? Told ya!

3. Line two pie plates with pastry. Fill with mixture. Top with remaining pastry and seal edges.

4. Bake one potpie at 425 for 35-40 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes before serving. Cover and freeze remaining pot pie.

Ummmm. Mine got a little overcooked. But still delicious!

To use frozen pie: shield edges with foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake at 425 for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 75-80 more minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Mike and I have been known to fight over the leftovers.


What's your favorite comfort food?
Are you as obsessed with freezing meals ahead of time as I am?

Will I ever finish that baby blanket?

Happy Wednesday!

*I realize that the original quote from "The Breakfast Club" is actually turkey pot pie, but it just didn't work. But on that thought, this would be a great recipe to use leftover Thanksgiving turkey!

Summertime in Northern Michigan

Ok. I'm about to throw a whole lot of vacation pictures at you. I kind of wish I could make a slideshow and then force you all to sit there while I went through them one by one telling funny stories and trying to make  you understand how amazingly awesome these two weeks were. But I don't even think the pictures would do any justice (as much fun as you would have listening to my boring stories of dunes and waves and parades and fireworks and, well, you get the point) because this vacation truly was perfection. It was such a nice blend of family and friends and laughter and sunsets and cherry pie - all the things in life that make me happy.

And here are some of the pics snapped on my phone (and some from Mike's and some from this guy Steve who seemed to be following us around...)

Mike and Anna walking at sunset; playing on the beach at Crystal Lake; hiking Sleeping Bear; sunset at Lake Michigan
wine tasting at L. Mawby; more sunset; cherries on the beach; Uncle TJ and Anna
the pier at Frankfort (times two); waves; looking for fish
more waves; the dunes; don't worry - it's juice!; sunset at Crystal Lake

And while it seems like I have a lot of pictures, looking through them I realized that we busted our good camera out a total of about three times. My iPhone filled in here and there, but overall most of the really good stuff is captured only in my head. So I guess I'll be forced to share those slides only with myself, on the days when I need a sweet reminder of how lucky I am and how much I have to be thankful for.

Happy Tuesday!

Her Soul Crawled Out From Its Hiding Place

One of my favorite books is Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God. Janie, the main character, goes through a couple of rough marriages and relationships before she finally meets the man she is meant to be with - Tea Cake. Janie starts wearing blue, because for the first time in her life, someone she loves has expressed a preference for what she wears: "Tea Cake love me in blue, so Ah wears it."

I have a point, I promise.

I never was too interested in experimenting in the kitchen. My mind is definitely filled with awesome memories of decorating cookies at the holidays with my mom and sister, and I certainly always enjoyed eating the delicious food my mom put on the table, but I wasn't ever that inspired to whip something up myself.

That all changed when I met Mike.

The old saying about the way to a man's heart being through his stomach? Yeah, you can say that again.

I quickly learned that the surest way to bring a smile to Mike's face was to present him with food. And I don't know about you, but when I discover I have the ability to bring joy to someone I love - well, I'm gonna bring it. It started off simple, usually involving fifteen phone calls to my mom from the aisles in the grocery store to make sure I was buying the right ingredients. And sandwiches. Lots and lots of sandwiches.

One day, I stumbled across the Food Network and happened to catch an episode of Rachael Ray's "Thirty Minute Meals". That, my friends, is what I like to call a game changer. Because I found her website, and then my mom bought me a few of her cookbooks (perhaps to avoid all the annoying phone calls?), and I subscribed to her magazine, and before I knew it Rach had me exploring the worlds of Italian parsley and EVOO and all things Yum-o! Full disclosure here - while I love her cookbooks and her magazine and often look recipes up on her website, I have a really, really hard time watching her on television. I know she has lots of haters, but the girl expanded my cooking horizons by about a million, so I give her props, even if I can't stand the sound of her voice.


And then she published a recipe for a beef and cheddar pie in her magazine, and the angels sang and Mike's stomach did a happy dance and the circle was complete.

This recipe, for what we now call "meat pie", probably gets requested the most when I ask Mike what he would like for dinner - if anything, it's a close second to BLTs (see - back to the sandwiches!). When I first invited our friends the Mansours over for dinner, this was on the menu. And, no joke, Mike said to me, "Wait. I have to share my meat pie with strangers?" And the last time I made this, again no joke, he told me that when he dies he would like to be buried in meat pie.

So now, I would like to share the recipe with you. It's definitely not healthy, although I suppose you could reduce the amount of cheese and use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef. It is delicious, though. If you don't believe me, just ask Mike.

Meat Pie


Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 large onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
1 large baking potato, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup dark beer - I've used Newcastle and Bell's Best Brown, anything in your fridge will work
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Salt and pepper
2 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed but cold
1 large egg yolk, beaten with 1 tablespoon water


1. Preheat the oven to 375. Once you have all the veggies chopped up (for me, this is the longest/most annoying part), throw them into a big skillet with the meat. Over medium-high heat, break up the meat with a wooden spoon and stir everything up until the meat is no longer pink and some of the liquid has evaporated, probably about 15 minutes.

Lower the heat to medium, and then add your beer. Let that cook for about 10 minutes.

Throw in the cheese, 2 teaspoons of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Give it a good stir, and then remove from heat and let cool. 

2. On a floured surface, roll out one of the puff pastry sheets so it's about 12 inches round. Place it on a deep-dish pie plate or a 10-inch oven-proof skillet. I use a skillet - I tried the first time to use just a regular pie dish (not deep) and it didn't all fit. I've also used a 9x9 Pyrex, but for me the skillet is the way to go.

Roll the second piece of pastry into an 11-inch round. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the meat mixture into the skillet. 

Lightly brush the edge of the crust with some of the egg wash, then put the second sheet on top. Crimp the edges together, and trim them if you need to.

3. Put the whole pie on a baking sheet. Brush the top with more of the egg wash, and cut an "x" in the middle. You can also get a little fancy here and cut out some shapes with your leftover pastry. Sprinkle it liberally with more salt and pepper. 

Bake for 45 minutes. I usually check it about halfway and throw some foil on top if it's starting to get too dark. Let it rest for about 15 minutes, and you are ready to enjoy!

I try to serve this with a salad, but Mike usually laughs it off as he's asking for seconds. It's also really good heated up as leftovers the next day - if you have any!

Even Anna gives her seal of approval.

Oh yeah - the original recipe can be found here.

I hope you enjoy!

Happy Friday!

What recipes do you make to bring it? Please share!