Turkey Pot Pies with phyllo crust

Turkey Pot Pies are one of my favorite things to eat....now, I'm not talking about the cheap freezer versions. Real homemade pot pies are the best!
I found a great recipe for them using phyllo dough. I used homemade phyllo dough, but it is probably easier and more tasty to just buy the stuff!

Cook some mushrooms and 1 Tbsp. thyme in 6 Tbsp. butter over medium heat until browned. Stir in 1/2 C. flour and cook for 1 minute.

Deglaze pan with 1/2 C. cooking wine. Add 2 C. chicken broth and 1 C. whole milk. Cook until thick. Add 2 tsp. lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 2 C. chopped cooked turkey or chicken and 2 C. cooked assorted veggies (whatever suits your fancy). 

Divide mixture among 4 personal baking dishes. Place these on a foil lined cookie sheet. Lightly brush phyllo dough sheets with melted margarine. Roll into loose tubes. Form the rolled phyllo dough onto the top of each personal pie. Bake till golden and bubbly. 400* for 20 minutes. Cool a bit before serving.

Sauerbraten roast beef

I love lazy Sunday cooking! It is so nice to put a roast in the crock pot and set some rolls out to rise while at church. Coming home a few hours later with famished kids and having dinner just a few steps from being served.

This is a yummy way to make a roast.

Brown a roast cut into 2 inch chunks in a couple Tbsp. olive oil for about 5 minutes. Place beef in slow cooker.

In a frying pan, combine 1 Tbsp. fresh minced ginger and 2 Tbsp. tomato paste cooking for 1 minute.

Deglaze skillet with 1 C. red cooking wine (or alternative). Whisk in 1 and 1/4 C. beef broth, 1/2 C. red wine vinegar, 1 tsp. cardamom, 1 Tbsp. dry tapioca, and 1 tsp. kosher salt. Simmer for 5 minutes. Pour over beef mixture adding a satchel (homemade with cheesecloth and string) of 2 Tbsp. pickling spices tied up. Cook on high for 2 and 1/2 hours. Add 6 carrots cut up, 4 stalks of celery, and one onion. Stir in 10 gingersnap cookies, crushed. Continue to cook on high till veggies are tender.

Serve over warm mashed potatoes.

My cat plays Fetch!!

One of my Sons came home for the holidays and while he was here, he taught my cat to play fetch!

I have never seen a cat behave so much like a dog. Not only does she play fetch, but she opens doors, tackles legs, and chases off dogs that come close to our property.

Her name is Figaro or Sylvester depending on who you talk to.

As much as she is dog-like, some things remain innate.

Wizard of Oz

Our Young Women in Excellence program sported a Wizard of Oz theme. We had lovely decorations; a 'watch out for tornadoes' sign along the path of tornadoes, a 'Lollipop gang' poster along with giant lollipops, winged monkey place mats and a rainbow of values table for displaying the young women's projects.

The food table was fun as well including melted witch punch, witch repellent (water), Ding-dongs (the witch is dead), and melted witch cupcakes. The cupcakes are a basic chocolate cake mix with a surprise filling that is white.

The recipe is fairly simple and easy to make. Make the cake mix according to directions on the package and fill each cupcake 2/3 of the way full. Drop a tablespoon of the following mixture on top. 4 oz. cream cheese, 2 Tbsp. butter, 1/4 C. sugar. Add 1 egg, 1 Tbsp. flour, 1/2 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 C. chocolate chips, and 1/2 C. coconut. Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes. Cool and frost.

I also made a ruby slipper for each girl. The slipper pattern can be found online. These were placed on a boxed candy wrapped in yellow brick road paper and tied with a cute saying.

 

Crumpets!

Crumpets anyone?

This breakfast takes some time for rising, but is well worth the wait!

Serve them warm with lemon curd, apricot, or chokecherry syrup!

3 tsp. yeast

3 tsp. sugar

3/4 C. warm water

1 C. milk

3 eggs, beaten

3/4 C. melted butter

3 C. flour

1 and 1/2 tsp. salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Mix milk, eggs and butter and add to yeast mixture. Mix flour and salt together and form a well. Add wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Cover and let double. Heat griddle to med/low. Grease griddle and rings. Fill 1/3 full. Cook 3-5 minutes, flip over and cook for 3 more minutes. 

If you don't have english muffin rings, you could probably use a large mouth jar lid.