Chicken Pot Pie

We had some leftover chicken, so my mom taught me how to make a chicken pot pie. We used bread dough as the crust. It takes a little effort, but the result is awesome!


Bread Crust
3 cups flour
1 package quick-rise yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups hot water (about 120 degrees)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey

Filling
2 cups cooked chicken, cut in half-inch cubes
2 cups frozen peas and carrots mix
2 cup frozen potatoes O'Brien

Gravy
2 cups cold water
2 chicken-flavored bouillon cubes
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 tablespoon onion salt

Method
Prepare crust by mixing all ingredients together in a big bowl. Once well mixed, kneed with your hands 5 minutes, adding flour as necessary until you have a smooth ball of dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let it rise 45 minutes in a warm place.

Meanwhile, assemble filling ingredients and set aside. Prepare the gravy by placing all the gravy ingredients in a small pot. Heat on medium high stirring briskly with a whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Once gravy has thickened, remove from heat and pour over filling ingredients. Stir to mix well and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.Once the crust has roughly doubled in size turn out on a well-floured bread board or counter. Divide into two parts, one about 2/3 of the dough and the other 1/3. set the smaller piece aside. Using a rolling pin, roll the larger piece out to a 12 inch circle and place in an un-greased, 10-inch glass pie dish. One inch of excess dough will hang over the edge. Add the filling. Roll out the smaller piece of dough to an approximate 10 inch circle and place over filling. Roll the excess dough back over the edge, twisting slightly to form a decorative edge. If desired, brush the top with a mixture of 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon hot water for a crisp brown top and bake for 30 minutes, until heated through. Allow to sit 15 minutes before serving. Serves 4 to 8 people.

Ideas Sprouting!

We had a great first meeting for this years 4H Young Entrepreneurs' club. I had to think of a new idea. Last year, I had do-it-yourself kits to make bubble gum, hand-milled soap, and artisan cheese. I like do-it-yourself kits, so I'm working on a d-i-y sprout kit and possibly sprouts already grown.

I found out that you can get as much nutrition in one ounce of sprouts as you would in three pounds of the full grown vegetable. I like that I would only have to eat an ounce of broccoli sprouts, instead of three pounds! I ordered some packages of seeds meant just for sprouting. I got alfalfa, and a salad mix of alfalfa, broccoli, and radish. My goats eat alfalfa because it's high in protein, and it helps them make tons of milk. Some sprouts like radish are spicy, and sprouts like broccoli have anti-cancer properties.


I followed some instructions on the internet of how to grow sprouts. They said to soak them in a jar overnight, drain out the water, and just wait. It mostly worked. After six days, my sprouts looked like their sprouts. but definitely not like the ones I see in the store. I found out from another site that they were overcrowded, and probably too cold.

I'm trying another batch now with just half the amount of seeds, and placing them where they will be warmer. I'm also looking for an edible fertilizer that I can add to the soaking water. Hopefully that would help the sprouts look tall and green! I will report back with my results!

Looking Forward to Fun in 4H in 2011

Even though it's just January, thing are starting to get going in 4H. It always seems like a lot of work to plan out a speech for Presentations, and new recipe for the Home Economics contest, and something new to sell for the Young Entrepreneurs table at Sunday Market.

I did try to do a bit of everything last year, which 4H seemed to like, and gave me an award for being an 'Outstanding First Year Member'. Wow! I got a medal for having fun! I like 4H!