When the weather gets rough, the formerly-tough get cooking.
We didn’t get anything like the folks along the Atlantic, but it’s been enough for me. I have ventured out in blizzards in my youth. Hell – the Tahoe years would find us driving down into Kings Beach in blinding snowstorms to hit the liquor department at Safeway. Or Kings Beach Liquors. We always tried to be prepared for catastrophes, but sometimes we consumed everything we had before the catastrophe was over. I’ve been through typhoons, tornadoes, earthquakes – and blinding snowstorms. As with many things, today, I can say I’ve been there and done that – no need to do it, again.
Nah… if it’s snowing outside with winds gusting like hell, I’m more than happy to be indoors – and even happier to be in the kitchen where it’s always warm. I am no longer compelled to go out and embrace Mother Nature at her fiercest. At some point, the wisdom of old age has to kick in. Besides, I want to be around long enough to start collecting my Social Security before those bastards in Washington figure out more ways to take it away. [countdown date=2018/06/30-16:00:00] Only [timer] until that first check![/countdown] But who’s counting?!?
One thing I did this morning was organize the freezer. It’s been a while since any attention was paid to it – and it showed. It’s not all that big – which is good – because if I had more freezer space I would use more freezer space. And then I’d have even more stuff to try and organize. I knew I had a pie crust in there, and in my cleaning, I found another. That settled the dinner question – a double-crust Chicken Pot Pie! And there was a small Maple Walnut Cheesecake in there. Dessert is ready, too!
Looking back over past entries, it seems I always make a Chicken Pot Pie when it’s snowing outside. It’s pretty much the ultimate comfort food – and they’re so easy to throw together.
I don’t really use a recipe for a pot pie of any sorts, but our friend Ann sent hers down a while back, so here it is. I made a bit of a variation on this. I had turkey stock in the freezer, so I used it. And fresh carrots, celery, and peas in place of the frozen mixed.
Here is Ann’s recipe. It’s pretty classic.
Nursie’s Pot Pie
Nursie said she originally got this from a pie crust box.
- 1/3 c butter
- 1/3 c flour
- 1 very small chopped onion (or to taste)
- 1/2 c chopped green pepper, leave this out if you want to
- 1 1/2 c broth, chicken for chicken pie, beef for beef pie, and I use veggie broth for pork pie
- 1/3 cup milk
- 2 c frozen mixed veggies
Cook the onion and green pepper in the butter for a bit, whisk in the flour and add the liquids, cook until thickened. I season with salt, pepper, herbes de Provence, but you can use what ever sounds good. A little celery seed isn’t a bad addition, and with beef I use garlic and mushrooms instead of the green pepper. Add 2-3 cups chopped leftover roast whatever and the vegetables. Mix well and dump into the pie crust.
Bake in a two crust pie at 425 for 30-40 minutes and enjoy.
No shit, this is delicious. You can use whatever veggies you have around including leftovers. It is a great end of the week and I don’t want to cook sorta dish. But it is good enough for company! Anyone want to come to dinner?
Tomorrow is just going to be freezing cold and windy. No snow in the forecast. It’s back to work and back to reality. And I should be able to drive right over the snow in the driveway.
Life is good!