Teaching Kids How to Make Chicken Pot Pie

Today I had a couple students from my book study class over to bake Colonial Chicken Pot Pie.  They all did such a GREAT job and I took a ton of photos.  Sadly, once again I forgot to put the memory stick in the camera and thus missed the photo memory making.

Luckily, I remembered before we cut into my girlie's pie.  We captured the following:

Chicken Pot Pie Colonial Style

Chicken Pot Pie (Print this Recipe)

When all's said and done and the kids move on to life outside our little homeschool I hope they not only take with them a love for learning, but a love for food of all cultures and time periods.  No matter what the region or time period we try to experience it through food.

Thai Cuisine Lemon Grass Cookbook: Red Curry Chicken

When planning the dinner menu for this month, I had a different cookbook in mind for this week, but sometimes well-made plans need to be changed.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore with roasted brussel sprouts and butternut squash

Martha is the Queen!  Some of my favorite recipes are from various Martha Stewart cookbooks.  One book with great, quick cooking recipes is Martha Stewart's Quick Cook Menus.  I've made this Chicken Cacciatore recipe a number of times and it's great for a flavorful crowd pleasing meal.  It's a tasty chicken dinner option when we're following a paleo eating program served alongside roasted vegetables.  A side of pasta is a great accompaniment also, but not for the paleo folk.

Chicken Cacciatore
(I usually double this recipe if we're having company, or if I want to make sure we have leftovers).

Marinade
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup red wine
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Cajun spice for chicken (optional, I use my prepared Baby Bam)
Sliced onions and olives, optional

1 (3 pound) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (or I use boneless thighs, and breasts)
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine marinade ingredients, mix well.  I usually add onion and sometimes olives for added texture and flavor.  Place chicken in a large shallow baking dish.  Pour marinade over the chicken and let sit overnight in the refrigerator.  I'm never this organized, so I let it sit with marinade for at least an hour and it always turns out great.

At this point I usually sprinkle with a little kosher salt .

Preheat broiler.  Broil chicken pieces 8-10 minutes.  Turn over and baste with marinade.  Cook 8-10 minutes longer or until done.  I've also done this meal and baked at 425 degrees for about 10-15 minutes each side.  Check chicken to make sure breasts are done, but try not to over cook.  Use red marinade as sauce for pasta if serving alongside pasta.

Hawaiian Cabbage Chicken Salad

We have a favorite Hawaiian restaurant we frequent for take-out.  Dinners favorites include Teriyaki Chicken and Beef, Korean BBQ Beef, Kalbi Beef and Spam Musubi.  The meals are served with macaroni salad and a cabbage salad.   The cabbage salad is similar to a cabbage salad our family grew up eating.  It's one of our all-time favorites and it's too good not to share.

Cabbage Chicken Salad
(We grew up calling it Chinese Noodle Salad)
I usually double the salad for our family since it's a favorite.

1 chicken breast
1/2 head shredded cabbage
2 chopped green onions
Combine in large bowl.

2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons slivered almonds
1 package ramen noodles, broken (throw away season packet)
Mix seeds almonds and noodles in a frying pan.  Heat and brown a bit.

Chicken, cabbage, onion and noodle mixture

Dressing

1/4 cup water
1/4 cup oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar (I use seasoned rice vinegar)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Mix dressing and pour over cabbage blend.  Make salad a few hours before serving.  It's also great the next day!

So easy and is great for a large group.  Enjoy!

Paleo Dinner: Thai Curry Chicken

The other night I had a Thai craving.  Thoughts of creamy coconut curry and chicken were swirling in my mind.  I had to feed the craving, but I also wanted to stick with paleo eating.  I think this meal fit the bill.

We almost always have chicken breast and coconut milk on hand, so I figured I could throw something together. 

We were all happy with the results. 

I just used the vegetables we had available.  There are many possibilities for variations.

Thai Chicken Curry 

Ingredients

4 large chicken breasts
3 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup diced onion
1 cup sliced carrot
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup mixed peppers, sliced
2 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed
4 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
chile paste (optional)

1 can (full-fat) coconut milk

1)  Heat coconut oil in large frying pan.  Add garlic, coriander, cumin, and curry powder.  Add chicken and cook thoroughly.  Be careful not to overcook, or chicken will be tough.

Full Flavor Spices

Add Chicken

2)  Add carrots, onion, celery and peppers and saute a couple minutes.  Add cabbage.  It cooks quickly.  You want tender vegetables, not mushy veggies.

3)  Add can of coconut milk.  Let heat thoroughly.  Serve.

It doesn't get any easier than this...Paleo Chicken Burger

I made a visit to our local farmstand yesterday.  It's the best!  It's a large outdoor stand just a couple miles from home owned by local farmers.  A great deal of the produce is farmed beind the stand and much of it is organic.  It's all arranged in a tidy fashion, but the best part is the cool jazz playing in the background.  It's vegetable buying mood music.  I buy much more when listening to mood music.

I came home with a huge head of leafy green lettuce, tomatoes, giant avocados, fresh onions, asparagus and a whole lot more!  About 6 bags worth.

Tonight, after a pretty tough workout, I came home hungry, but didn't have a plan.  We needed something quick, yet healthy!  Having the fresh produce on hand made nutrtious meal planning easy.

First, turn on the grill.  Grilling can be super quick.  Turn on the oven to 425 degrees.

What's in the freezer?  Chicken thighs.  Easy.  Defrost chicken thighs while grill is heating up. 

Wash asparagus and lettuce.  Slice, onion, tomato, avocado. 

Place asparagus on foil sheet on grill.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with kosher salt.  Grill.

Love the asparagus!

Next place chicken thighs on grill.  I know there are beef burgers on the grill too.  We have a hungry crowd to feed.

In the meantime, bake sweet potato fries.  I forgot to mention them earlier.  Yummy to have on hand.  Fresh sweet potatoes on the grill are yummy too, but not tonight.

Wait...

Dinner is served.

Yummy chicken thigh burger wrap, grilled asparagus, and sweet potato fries.  Yes!  Mission accomplished!

I hope you can see the chicken under all the veggies.

Chicken & Rice Soup



As promised, here's a blog on our homemade chicken & rice soup.  I make this almost every time we have a roasted chicken in the house.

I grew up in family that didn't let much go to waste.  Perhaps that is why I cringe when I see people throw away bones with meat still left on them.  I think, "There's a whole meal to be created there!"

As I mentioned in an earlier post, you can roast your own chicken at home or use a Costco rotisserie chicken.  If you're using the Costco (or similar rotisserie chicken) don't throw away the carcass or any of that yummy juice in the bottom of the container.  The juice at the bottom and the skin add delicious flavor.

The carcass

Place the carcass in a large soup pot and add water.  Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer.  Simmer for hours, adding water if necessary.

After hours of cooking your chicken stock is ready for the next process.  Why is homemade chicken stock, or bone broth, important? 

According to Sally Fallon, author of Broth is Beautiful, "Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily- not just calcium and magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals.  It contains the broken down material from cartilage and tendons- stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine, now sold as expensive supplements for arthritis and join pain." 

She continues with fish broth, "Broth and soup made with fish heads and carcasses provide iodine and thyroid-strengthening substances."

And to think we throw away all this nutrition!

Simmering Away.

After your chicken carcass has cooled, remove meat from the bones.  Discard bones and skin.  If there is excess floaties on the top you don't care for, just skim that off.  Add chicken meat back to pot. 

At this point, if you want only chicken broth, chicken meat and rice, you can add 1/2-1 cup of rice depending on how much broth you made.  If necessary, add salt and some pepper to taste.  Before the rice, I usually add chopped onion, carrot, celery, and peas to the pot.  Cook for about a 1/2 hour.  Then I add the rice.  I've been using brown rice, and it turns out great.  Cover pot and let rice cook.  This is such a simple clean soup, I usually don't add many seasonings.  The kids love the simpleness of it.

I once made this soup when we were hosting 5 Ugandan girls at our house.  I bought two Costco chickens and just put them directly in my biggest soup pot.  It's a BIG pot.  I cooked the chickens and then just added rice to the broth.  It was a very meaty rice soup.  The girls were crazy for it!  One little girl, after she went for her fourth serving said to me, "Mom, this soup is not good...OPPOSITE!"  She was a cutie!  She loved it.  Who knew a little body could hold so much soup?

Here are some photos of our precious five!

The Ugandan Girls and our Girly- All Girls!

Helping in the kitchen.

Fun times!

Precious Children

After the vegetables have cooked, the soup is ready to be served.

Enjoy!  Your joints could quite possibly thank you!

On The Grill: Roasted Chicken

Roasted Chicken from Costco is a family favorite when we're short on time and want a nutritious, protein-rich main dish that is affordable.  I decided to try roasting a whole chicken on the grill to see how it compared with Costco's chicken.  We may not be buying many Costco chickens in the future.

Roasted Chicken on the BBQ

Heat grill.

Wash the chicken, pat it dry and place in a glass baking dish.

Rub the chicken with Organic Coconut Oil.

After the Coconut Oil, sprinkle with kosher salt, pepper, and Spike seasoning.

Make a foil tray.



Overlap foil and make a seam.



Fold seam twice so juices don't escape.

Open back up and lay flat.



Fold edges up.  My dad taught me this trick.


Place foil on grill.  Set chicken on foil.

Maybe this guy is upside down.

I think he definitely is!!  He's giving me a weird sign with his wings.  Reminds me of a flight attend, "We have rear and side exits." 

I heat the grill on high and then lower to Medium/Low just before I put the chicken on.

Allow to cook for 1 hour 15 minutes or until golden brown.



His wings chilled out.  I wanted them up because I love crispy wings.



This is so yummy!  The meat just falls off the bone.

When you're done with the chicken meat, or most of it, don't throw away the carcass.  Coming up I'll post a wonderful, kid-friendly chicken and rice soup our kids are crazy for!  Today I read about the nutritional value and importance of meat broths and how vital they are to our health.  I'm never going to want to throw a bone away again.  Soup recipe coming up!