OH MY VEGGIE POT PIE

I made this recipe Saturday night and it was AH-MAZING so I decided to share! We couldn't wait to dig in so the picture was taken after dinner. Sorry about the bad lighting in most of my pictures, its those energy saving bulbs again... Anyway, I thinkI got the recipe off of Keeper of the Home's blog so she is who I'm going to credit for it. Neil immediately said this recipe was a keeper. I didn't add chicken to it this time, but I think next time I will so it can be a solo meal. It really isn't hard and I thought it was fun to make it because it looked so complicated, but it's not! Just some chopped veggies and some chicken broth! The sweet potato biscuit crust is SSSSOOO GOOOD. It made me want to just make sweet potato biscuits and I don't really like sweet potatoes! Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy!!!!!

(I call it Oh My Veggie Pot Pie because that is what I said when I took my first bite! Oh My!)

Piled-high Veggie Potpie

(Don't be intimidated by the fairly long list of ingredients- it's really quite easy, and because it's so hearty and full of veggies, you don't need to make much else to go with it!)

Filling:
1 cup each chopped onions and chopped red bell pepper (I've used celery instead)
2 cloves garlic, minced (more is good, too)
2 1/2 cups veggie or chicken broth (I use homemade chicken broth)
2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes (I don't peel mine, just wash them well)
1 cup sliced carrots
1 1/2 tsp dried rosemary (I've also used Italian herb mix- oregano, basil, rosemary)
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
1 cup sliced asparagus pieces or sliced green beans
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed (frozen corn works also)
3 Tbsp flour (any kind is fine)
1/4 cup chopped, fresh parsley
However much cooked chicken you have- it can be 1/2 cup or several cups- both taste fine, and it's still a filling meal either way!

Biscuit Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour (again, whatever you usually use- I use spelt)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp butter, softened
3/4 cup cooked mashed sweet potatoes (very easy- I take a large one and peel it, and toss it in a small pot with boiling water before I start making the filling- once it's done, I drain the water, leave it in the pot and use a fork to quickly mash it)
3/4 cup milk, plus extra for brushing top of crust (oops, I usually forget to brush the crust)

1) Add some butter to a med. sized pot. Saute onions, pepper (or celery) and garlic, until softened.

2) Add 2 cups of the broth (save 1/2 cup for later), potatoes, carrots, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 12 minutes. Stir in asparagus and peas. Cook 3 more minutes.

3) In a small bowl, mix 3 Tbsp flour with remaining 1/2 cup of broth until smooth. Add to mixture, and cook until bubbly and thickened. Stir in parsley. Transfer to a casserole dish.

4) During the 12 minutes (see #2), I make my crust. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Whisk sweet potato mash and milk together, then add to flour mixture. Stir until a soft ball forms. Personally, I find it a bit too gooey to roll out (although that's what the recipe says to do), so I just form it with my hands and lay it in pieces on top of the casserole. You could also add a bit more flour to make it easier to roll out. Brush with milk.

5. Bake for 20 minutes (I baked it at 350), until crust is golden and somewhat puffed up.

Random Updates

I haven't written in awhile because I've been busy with random things going on. So I just thought I would update you guys on the not so significant activities that have kept me busy lately.


This picture is one of the many reasons why I got my hair cut a few weeks ago.
Yes, this is hair, MY HAIR, cut from our vacuum cleaner. I occasionally have to cut mass amounts of hair from the belt of our vacuum cleaner because it gets clogged up and makes a horrible high pitched squealing sound. At first I thought the squealing sound was because of the quality of our carpet. NOPE! Its my hair. So, I said enough is enough, I'm chopping it off, my hair that is. Well, I didn't actually say that and it wasn't actually because of the vacuum that I got my hair cut, but I think cutting my hair has helped. I hadn't cut my hair in a YEAR and have been wanting to get it cut since the fall. I wisely decided to wait till winter was over before exposing my neck to the elements again. So, yes my hair is chopped, twice actually which makes me feel SO HIGH MAINTENANCE, but if you don't like something you got to try and fix it right? Anyway its much better now.


I made these cinnamon/sweet rolls for a Bible/book study I'm in with a few other young wives.













We had the study at my house and we meet in the morning so I decided to make some breakfast food for us to munch on during our time together. This was my first time to EVER make any kind of pastry from scratch. I'm use to the canned cinnamon rolls that you pop out, bake, and put on the pre-made icing. But I decided to be bold and daring and try it from scratch. It actually wasn't that difficult, but yes it was time consuming. They were kind of a bust at first. Neil tried one and said they didn't actually taste very sweet!!!!!!!!! Well since that was the whole point of them I didn't serve them and quickly made some muffins. But I have served them to others and eaten plenty of them myself since and I made a 'sweet glaze' to put on them which is delicious! So they have been redeemed and there have been many compliments! One guy declared himself a 'sweet roll connoisseur' and said they were the BEST he had ever eaten! So that was VERY encouraging!

Also in the kitchen I had another first. I cooked a WHOLE chicken and made broth!


I had a coupon from EarthFare for a 'free' dinner. If you spent $10.00, which is not hard to do because its a pricey store, since its an organic store, you got a 'free' dinner of a whole chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots. So I used my coupon and got those items. Well, what you may not know about me is that I'm SUPER grossed out by chicken which is weird since its the only meat I'll really eat. But I'm SUPER paranoid of getting salmonella so I wear gloves when handling any raw chicken. Don't even get me started on dealing with a whole chicken and its bones and insides... My gagging reflexes start flaring up just writing about it. Well anyway I broke down and thought it was time for me to be a 'big girl and wife' and cook the chicken and make chicken broth. I even had to rinse the chicken out myself! I asked Neil but he said he thought it was something I should do... So I held my breath and tried to calm down my gagging reflexes and away I went. It wasn't too bad, still not my favorite thing to ever do, but there wasn't much to clean out and I just put the chicken in my crock pot with some spices and onions and carrots and let it do its thing. We had quite a bit of chicken meat!! Out of a two or two and a half pound chicken I was able to make two HUGE meals that we ate off of for two weeks! Not to mention the chicken broth/stock which was super easy and made quite a bit. I still have a 32oz left to use whenever I need it! So it was SUPER cost effective to do this and not real time consuming since I used my crock pot and I boiled the broth while I made dinner one day. However, I'm still not sold on doing this because I'm not sure my stomach can handle this method!

And lastly, my friend Rebecca asked me to make her some more burp cloths! I was happy to oblige! Here are my four latest creations:













The first two are my favorites because I love making the little rosettes! I love having something pop off the fabric and I can't stop loving the first fabric. I do actually feel greed rising up in me saying I HAVE TO HAVE THAT FABRIC! Which is weird and wrong in SO many ways! I feel like I didn't get to be as creative as I wanted with these because I couldn't think of anything fun to do with the last two, I was running out of time because I gave myself a deadline, and I'm trying to teach myself that 'less is more' sometimes. Anyway, I still love making them and have been thinking of branching into other baby related items so we will see!!!!! For the two of you that read the blog, Lacy and Lauren, if you had made it to the end, thanks for hanging in there!

A Tiny Glimpse

I babysat for a friend on Monday who has a 4 month old. It was only for a few hours, but I think it gave me a tiny glimpse into staying home with a baby. The baby girl started crying right after her momma left, but I think it was because it was her nap time. I figured out how to settle her down and not be intimidated by her crying. I had to keep reminding her and myself that she was going to be okay. Some of her crys were the hard, silent type where her face would start to turn red and I would have to tell her to "BREATHE!" and she would and we'd start over. She fell fast asleep and it was so sweet to hold her and rock her. While she napped, I did a few things around the house and had my quiet time, but I didn't get to everything-like I had planned, naive' and overly ambitious I guess. She was suppose to have a good, long nap for about an hour to an hour and a half, but she only slept for 45 minutes. Then I was a little late in feeding her because I got her bottle too hot, so I was consoling her and trying to cool down her bottle at same time. I fed her and burped her and then we played a little which mostly consisted of me carrying her around the house and talking to her. I was able to sit her up and read to her and play with some of her toys for a little bit, but she didn't last too long. She started crying again because she was getting tired. Maybe since she hadn't slept well for the first nap? So I held her and rocked her till she fell asleep and every time I would try to lay her in her pack 'n play she would wake up and cry! I thought it was kind of funny and it felt like a game-which i was losing. Then, her momma came and picked her up and it was all over, just like that.

Through all the tears (hers, not mine), holding, napping, feeding, consoling, playing, and walking around there was still a very present silence throughout my house. Since I'm an extrovert silence isn't always a welcomed presence for me. And I thought, "So, this is what its like being a mom of a baby. This is what my days could consist of: no other adult, no other person to talk with or get the 'to do' list done for me, or hold the baby girl because my back is starting to ache." Now, I know this is not a perfect picture, it is after all just a tiny glimpse into a small part of a young mother's day. But I can see where even through the all joys of motherhood this could get hard and tiresome. However, I will welcome it any day and there is a longing in my heart for this stage.

Even though this is only for 3 hours this morning, my eyes have been opened to the world where so many of my friends live currently and I understand. No, I don't understand fully and I may never understand fully, but on this day I feel like I scratched the surface of understanding and I just want to encourage all my 'young mother friends' that you aren't alone and what you are doing matters and pleases the Lord because this is where he has called you presently and he desires your faithfulness to rest and trust in Him and His faithfulness.