What's for dinner?

Even though we're in the north of the southern states ... and it's still rather warm, September just means autumn to me and heart-warming meals! I found this FANTASTIC new chicken at the deli the other day -- not usually a fan of deli chicken -- made by Boar's Head and it's called EverRoast. I had them cut about an inch slice off it and used it for the chicken pot pie. Super simple to make.



Ingredients:
1 pie crust - make your own or go to the refrigerator section and buy one (optional)
1 pkg frozen puff pastry, thawed at room temperature about an hour
a pound or a bit more of chicken, cooked and cubed
heavy cream
chicken stock
vegetables
chicken
salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, rosemary, sage (any or all of these work well with this dish)
butter
1 egg
flour

We like lots of crust, so I started with a pie crust in my pie dish and baked it at 425 about 10 minutes to give it a head start. Then you need veggies -- I used baby portabella mushrooms, green beans and carrots ... oh, and some little pearl onions I had in the freezer.

Saute the mushrooms in a bit of butter.
Slice the carrots and cook in 2 cups of chicken broth for about 10 minutes.
Slice the green beans into pieces and cook in water for about 5 minutes.

In a saucepan, melt a couple of tablespoons of butter (don't let it brown), and stir in a couple of tablespoons of flour. Slowly add 1/4 - 1/2 cup of heavy cream and the chicken broth from the carrots. Continue stirring until the sauce thickens. Stir in your vegetables and chicken and whatever herbs you wish to use.

Pour into pie pan.

Open one package of the puff pastry, unfold one piece and cut into strips. Lay strips across the pie plate, then go crossway weaving with over/under. I had some little pieces leftover so I just put them on the top. There's no such thing as too much pastry with pot pie!! Brush the whole top with the egg beaten with a teaspoon of water (this makes it brown that lovely color).

Bake at 475 degrees F for about 15 or 20 minutes until the top is golden.

Enjoy!!

Breakfast Update

I've now had a couple of weeks of eating breakfast -- helped along by taking some medication in the morning that requires food in order to work -- and I must admit that I'm kind of liking how I feel as the morning progresses! The breakfasts aren't always the lowest calories, but at least they aren't donuts!

One of my favorites is oatmeal -- old fashioned cooked, not instant packet. I usually put some fruit (raspberries and blackberries are my favorites) in the bottom of the bowl, and a couple of teaspoons of brown sugar. Put the oatmeal on top and stir it all up ... trust me, this is goooood!

I also love little quiches that I make in custard cups without the crust and I use real eggs and fat free half and half for these -- spinach, cheese, and mushrooms are still my main ingredients.

Scrambled eggs with cheese and topped with salsa is a really simple breakfast to whip up.

And, finally, there's always the multigrain bagel with cream cheese and Nova salmon topped with a little slice of red onion.

I think I'll keep working on this habit :)

Better Breakfast Month

I've always been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day -- and every single diet or better-eating program stresses the same thing ... then why is it so darn hard to get in the habit of eating breakfast?! I've tried so many tips and tricks, all to no avail. The sad fact is that food is the last thing on my mind when I wake up in the morning! However, in the interest of working towards better eating habits this month, I'm going to have some food within an hour of getting up in the morning.

Breakfast today - using my new Pampered Chef 8" skillet, some Egg Beaters, mushrooms, cheese and spinach and I'll have an omelet in no time!

It's Cherry Popover Day, too ... oh my! Have you ever had a popover? Lovely air filled muffins, crusty and crispy on the outside and melty-butter sweet on the inside! Made with beef drippings as the fat instead of butter you'll have the English traditional Yorkshire Pudding! The secrets to great popovers -- hot pan, hot fat, batter rested for a few minutes. Saying that, here's a recipe for cherry popovers that you can add to your breakfast (though it probably won't be the "better" part of the breakfast, it will sure be the "best"!

Cherry Popovers

Melt 3/4 of a stick of butter in 8" or 9" oblong pan or in individual muffin cups.

Combine:1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 t baking powder 1 t salt and 3/4 cup cold milk. Let batter rest about 10 minutes.

Pour batter over hot butter in hot pan. Mix cherry pie filling with 3/4 cup sugar and divide on top of muffins or spread over top of batter in single pan.

Bake 325 degrees for 50 minutes until puffed and browned. Serve immediately with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Asian Noodles

If you haven't yet tried Pampered Chef, go online and look for someone in your area! It's a line of stoneware, cookware, and gadgetry that is unequaled! I've been buying it for years and have never seen a piece of Pampered Chef that I didn't love ... So, I went to a Pampered Chef party a couple of weeks back and this time instead of stoneware I decided to give their titanium-coated skillets a try. As that little Taco Bell dog says, "I think I'm in love!" Got two pieces, the 8" skillet and the HUGE deep wok-style skillet. Wooohoooo ... I can flip an omelet again! and I made my favorite Asian Noodles without everything ending up all over the stove top! Stacey is my Pampered Chef person -- click on this link to see my new skillets! And don't forget to order your cinnamon and Asian spice while you're there -- best cinnamon I ever tasted!

Here's my recipe for Asian Noodles:

6 oz boneless pork tenderloin or chicken breast cut into 2" x 1/4" strips
Marinate them covered for 10 minutes (can be more) with a mixture of
2 T Chinese rice wine, dry sherry, or good table white wine
2 t hoisin sauce
1/2 t cornstarch

Combine 3 T dark soy sauce, 2 T oyster sauce, 1 T low-sodium soy sauce and 1/2 t sugar. Mix with whisk or fork. Set this aside.

For wok cooking, you want to put ingredients in from the longest to cook to the most delicate. I generally use broccoli, mushrooms, and bamboo shoots and whatever else might be leftover in the refrigerator. Chop the vegetables up into bite-sized pieces and set aside. You also want 3 cups of chopped Napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage)

Cook 1 pound of fresh Asian-style wheat noodles. Drain, rinse with cold water and drain again and set aside. The rest of the preparations will go fast ...

Heat a couple of teaspoons of olive oil (my favorite), canola oil or peanut oil in your wok over high heat. Stir-fry broccoli, mushrooms and bamboo shoots until the colors are bright and they smell wonderful. Put them on a plate and set aside.

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil on high heat and stir-fry cabbage for 2 minutes -- it will wilt a lot!. Set aside, wipe out the skillet and ...

Heat another teaspoon of oil on high and toss in a teaspoon of minced garlic and stir for about 10 seconds. Add pork or chicken mixture (sauce included) and stir-fry about 3 minutes. Put the meat with the cabbage.

Now you're really hungry and the smells are fantastic! Last step! Wipe out your wok and heat 1 tablespoon of oil on high heat. Stir in reserved cooked noodles and stir-fry about a minute. Add a cup of chopped green onions and the soy sauce mixture, cooking about a minute. Add the pork or chicken back in, stir to combine, and feed the hungry masses.

Today's Lesson Learned

We're on the weight control patrol today. Last night I ate some sorbet -- ok, I ate a lot of sorbet. Granted it was fat free and real fruit, etc., but it was still sugar. So why should I be surprised that today I can't get sweets off my mind? Well, I'm *not* surprised! I think I get it ... I think I get it ... If I say this often enough maybe I really will get it. I am addicted to sugar ... if I don't eat sugar, I don't crave sugar. conversely, if I *do* eat sugar, it sets up a craving for me. So, having (hopefully) learned that lesson today, I'll stay away from refined sugar this week and work at getting control of this food thing!

Weighing In

My weigh-in this week wasn't as much fun as last week, but considering how much I didn't do the right things, it wasn't nearly as bad as I was afraid it was going to be. New stepdaughter and family arrived on Monday ... in the middle of the night Monday I was downstairs on the computer (not unusual) and somehow (I'm thinking alien influence) any time I opened my mouth I found an Oreo in it!!! Needless to say the next morning I had one bad sugar hangover. And that of course set me on the wrong road for the rest of the week. The positive thing for the week, though, is that I wasn't filling myself with sugar, just some bad carbs and not balancing my nutrition. It was a little challenging to stay on routine when it was way more fun to be playing with babies :) ... On to another week :)

New book news!

If you've ever ventured into the world of romance, more than likely (and hopefully!) you've read some of Christina Dodd's fantastic writing. She has now expanded her genre into the world of paranormal romance with the first in a new series, "Storm of Visions". I'm totally excited to see this as I've never read anything by her that wasn't great! You can read more about the book at Barnes and Noble.