Tummy Time: Chicken Pot Pie

Wanna play a little game? Okay. You know you're overly-domesticated when...

 

a. Your Valentine's Day and Christmas gifts in the same year were kitchen goods - and you loved it!

b. Your style Pinterest board has at least one apron picture on it.

c. Your version of an impulse buy is the list of ingredients for chicken pot pie.

 

The answer?!? Okay, all the above, but today, we're focusing on C!

 

See, here in Northern Alabam, we are finally being teased with weather that has been staying consistently below 90 degrees {which in case you didn't know, means Autumn is here. I'm serious} That and the accompanying cool breeze has this girl pining for the piping hot comfort food that gets basically sworn off for the sake of survival during the summer. So I thought I'd be a sweetheart, and share with you!

 

This is one of my all-time favorite foods I make here at home, and will always be my personal proof that Pinterest is awesome! {despite being pretty close to a complete waste 95% of the time}

 

I modified this recipe from one of my favorite food blogs, The Girl Who Ate Everything. Which really just means, I left out the onion. {However, I actually made it both ways and, while I prefer with, if you happen to have a husband who prefers without, it's basically the same}

 

Here is a picture of my beauty. I wouldn't brag except, it's pretty much the easiest thing. Ever. Seriously, if you have somebody to impress, and they appreciate comfort food, I suggest this approach. 

 

And here's how I did it...

Ingredients

1 lb. boneless chicken breast, cubed
16oz bag frozen peas and carrots {If you can't find them together, just buy them seperately}
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
32oz carton of chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
Unbaked pie crust {I use the refrigerated kind, any brand will do}
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine chicken, veggies, and broth in a pot and bring to boil. Boil for 15 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and veggies are tender. Reserve 1 3/4 cup of the broth and drain the rest. Set aside.

In a heavy bottom pot {I use my dutch oven, but any saucepan would do} melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour and seasoning until combined. Slowly add milk and reserved broth, whisking constantly. Simmer over medium-lo heat until thick.

}Pearl of Wisdom: This mixture of butter and flour is called a Roux {pronounced "roo"} and it's a common thickener for homemade sauces and soups, so if you can master it here you have given yourself a new tool - and you'll sound super smart. Bring on the Alfredo Sauce!

Meanwhile, bake bottom crust for about 5 minutes, just long enough to keep it from getting soggy under all that creamy goodness. Combine broth mixture with chicken and veggies and pour filling into bottom crust. Cover with top crust and cut several slits in the top.

{I used a pie pan that had cute ridges around the edge, but you could achieve the same look by pinching the dough into little crimps all the way around, which is good since you want the top and bottom crusts to stick together anyway}

Bake for 25-30 minutes, then let sit for 10 minutes when it comes out so all the goodness stays inside when you slice it up and eat it. Ta-da! That's it.

If you would like to see the original recipe, you can find it here.

Enjoy, and bring on the comfort food!

You owe me a pop

This is what precious looks like...when it's napping in your arms.

If you've been following this blog for any amount of time, you've probably noticed that parenting has been a catch and release battle over here. I get on a routine/method/thiswayisgoingtowork high and then when lifegetsbusy/Babywon'ttaketoit/itdoesn'twork I crash a little. Don't get me wrong, being a Momma in general has been incredible! I love each and every {though perhaps not every minute of the} day! But I have had to let go of some of my preferences for the sake of baby's greater good i.e. trying to force him into routines that he wasn't ready for.

So, after just over six months, I felt like we were ready for some change. I found myself, both of us really, just floating around during the day, holding him during all of his naps, and just basically not feeling...steady...or purposeful. {It should be noted here that I am aware that this is the preferred method of absolutely awesome people, and in no way am I trying to suggest that routine is for everybody - just definitely for us. I knew you'd understand} Since he's a big(ger) boy now, I finally got my wish and implemented a little structure into our day. Because, besides the fact that I'm a person who craves order, I felt it was really good for him too. To have a general peace in his little baby mind that he will eat again, he will sleep again, there's no need to get out of control because he knows {in a very primitive baby way} that his needs will be met right around the same time everyday. Plus, with him napping like a big boy in his crib, I can get more of my work done while he sleeps, leaving me more undivided attention for him while he is awake.

And guess what - it worked like {almost} clockwork! For a grand total of 3 days. On that third day, in a conversation with a {completely wonderful} friend of mine, I made that stereotypical mistake of celebrating this little victory. Then, when the next day, Baby woke up at a different time of the morning, didn't nap as long as usual, needed to be held to nap at all in the afternoon, there was a tempting little, nasty thought in the back of my mind. I jinxed it.

And then the Truth smacked me and my little superstitious self right in the face. Really? You now have some kind of cosmic power to alter reality? You, a little human being, have charted the course of this day simply by sharing, and being excited about, your story? Riiiight.

And then it just snowballed. Because I realized that not only did I have no part in the day that didn't go as planned - I had very little to do with the days that did! True, I charted and upheld and trained and basically did my part, but it was only by the grace of God, blessing those efforts, that anything came of them at all. Silly Lucy.

There are no such things as jinxes. There are simply days that don't go in the same nice order that all the other days do. There are stuffy noses and new teeth, and sometimes there are days when a fella just needs to be cuddled by his Momma. And you know what, it was basically awesome, in it's own snugly way.

So this morning, I challenge us all to free ourselves from "worldly wisdom," and rest in the amazing sovereignty of our Sweet Lord. Isn't he amazing?!? Whew, so incredibly glad for {yet another} reminder that I am not in control. Maybe I'll get it...someday.

Dear Boogaboo,

 

Can I just start out by saying how freaking precious you are? You should know that I honestly cannot get enough of you! And also, at your six-month appointment yesterday, when you tried to destroy the whole roll of crinkley paper and potentially choke yourself to death by attempting to shove ripped up fistfuls in your mouth, all while I tried to have a serious conversation with your doctor about poop, yeah, that was pretty hilarious. Not the potential choking part. Obviously.

 

Anyway, you won't stay asleep at night all the sudden. I mean, I'm not taking it personally or anything, but it's kind of a bummer Dude. Not only because I'm not staying asleep either, although that's pretty super unfun, but because now we're probably going to have to start sleep training. I gotta say, I didn't really see this coming. Your night sleeping skills have seemed reasonably stellar, until recently.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not afraid of a little Ferber Method. Mostly, it just occurred to me that we probably need to stop snuggling during your naps. And that sucks. When you're a bit older, you should know you will not be allowed to use the phrase "sucks" but I'm your Mom, and the fact that my snuggling period may be over sucks. Cause, it's probably confusing, to snuggle during the day then make you sleep in your crib at night. Oops.

So, you little big boy you, will you puhlease let me cuddle you when you're awake? I know you're kind of independent right now, but Mommy is a physical being, and she needs to feel your chubby check against here's every once in a while. So when your motor skills grow up a little, promise you'll hug onto my neck the way you accidentally do now, and I promise to let you play outside with dirt and stuff. I think that's fair.

In closing, I love you much, little boy. I honestly can't stand it. If you need me, I'll be the one standing over your crib secretly watching you smile in your sleep.

Just us and Billie Holiday

 

I don't know about you, but I tend to have seasonal music modes. In the summer, I'm eversoslightly addicted to Country. I do the whole window down, driving thru back roads like I'm one of those music video cuties in checkered button-downs who always have that perfectly tousled hair. (Please tell me you know what I'm talking about?) Winter is primarily taken up by Christmas music, then I usually switch over to Classical when the Yuletide time has passed. Spring is a bit of a toss up, a little bit of this, a little bit of that. Usually Acoustic Rock of sorts. Hootie and the Blowfish, Jim Croce, etc. But Autumn? Autumn is for Jazz and Swing. And for taking advantage of the first overcast day to get cozy, watch Sweet Boy check himself out in his mirror, heat up leftover coffee, fold laundry, and get you Billie Holiday on.

Autumn Cleaning?

The "Goodbye, have a nice life!" Pile

I don't know if it's just a case of "great minds" or what, but I seem to be stumbling on a lot of lovely lady bloggers who are currently along journeys to simplify their lives. Whether that means getting rid of excess clothing, letting go of overcomplications in their lives, or even pressure to blog, many of us seem to be "cleansing" right now. I know I am. Maybe it's the change of seasons?

Out of apparently nowhere, I went on a bit of a tangent around my house. We'll call it "The Great Purge." Don't get me wrong, I've gotten rid of things before, and I even occasionally purged, but there always seemed to be some kind of invisible line that said, "This far you may go, but no further!" which robbed me of real, dramatic freedom from my things. I introduced myself to the line, its name is "Good." It also goes by, "But I miiiight use it someday!"

See, the truth is, it's not that I have too much stuff in a general or realative sense. In fact, when I told my sister I was getting rid of stuff, she said she was actually surprised I had enough stuff to get rid of anything, ha. It's true, I'm still a bit of a newlywed, and H and I are still collecting the things that fill a home. But I guess what I realized is that I've allowed things to come into our home to fill those spaces just to fill those spaces, instead of because I actually love them! And, before we get all worked up about "loving stuff," the love I'm talking about is {obviously?} not the same "love" I hold for God, or my husband, or my baby, etc,etc. I'm just talking about an enjoyment. A happiness in looking around your home and being satisfied with the things you see. Make sense so far?

Anyway, when I looked around I saw a lot of "good" and "but I might use it eventually" that was crowding out the "love" and "I actually use right now." Most of it was stuff I just had to have at the time or things I thought I loved. It's actually a little shameful how many things I decided to part with that I actually registered for and received as wedding gifts. Sheesh. I also seem to be "collecting" furniture. And when I say furniture, I really just mean castoff things that "have character" i.e. things that have lived thier lives and probably deserve to retire. And, there are a few things with true potential, too. The thing is, I'm finding I have a "someday" problem. "Someday when we're in a bigger house, I'll need it" seems to be my mental refrain these days, and that's just not fair. Sure, we plan on ending up someplace else. But right now, we live here. So unless I want H to turn me into "Hoarders" and end up on television, I need to learn to let go and live in the house that I actually live in.....and maybe he'll reward me by buying me a quirky, overstuffed office chair when we do move to our someday house, haha.

So, all this is to say that come this Saturday, I am having my first ever very own yard sale! I've participated before, but never had one in my very own yard, so I'm very excited! It seems like the perfect end to a journey of comfy minimalism and self discovery.Okay, maybe not the end....maybe just a pit stop.