Perrin’s Delicious Chicken Pot Pie

This recipe was shared by a friend.  Perrin states that this recipe takes a little time, but it is WELL WORTH IT!!  It is an all-time favorite in her family. Great on a cold, Winter day.. 1¾ hours | 1 hour prep SERVES 6 -8

1 cup potato, diced

 1 cup chopped onion

 1 cup celery, diced

 1 cup chopped carrot

 1/3 cup melted margarine

 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

 2 cups chicken broth

 1 cup half-and-half 1 teaspoon salt

 1/4 teaspoon pepper

 4 cups chopped cooked chicken

 2 pie crusts (either store bought or your own recipe)

 Preheat oven to 400°F. Sauté onion, celery, carrots and potatoes in butter for 10 minutes. Add flour to sautéed mixture, stirring well Cook one minute stirring constantly. Combine broth and half and half Gradually stir into vegetable mixture Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly Stir in salt and pepper; add chicken and stir well Pour into shallow 2 quart casserole dish and top with pie shells Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly and cooked through.

 

Crockpot Oyster Stew

Oyster stew is a traditional Christmas Eve recipe. This version is easily made in your crockpot. You can serve this as your guest wait for others to arrive, or while the rest of your meal is finishing up.  Prep Time: 20 minutes Cook Time: 4 hours Ingredients:

 •8 cups whole milk

 •1 small onion, minced

 •2 cloves garlic, minced 

•1/2 bag  frozen hash brown potatoes

 •1/2 cup butter

•2 pints fresh oysters OR 2 (8 oz.) cans whole oysters, drained, reserving liquid

1 large can of cream of mushroom soup

1 large can of mushrooms,drained

•1 tsp. salt

 •2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

 •1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

 Preparation: In 4 quart crockpot combine milk, onion, garlic, mushroom soup,drained mushrooms, and thawed potatoes and cook, covered, on high for 1-1/2 hours. Toward end of this cooking time, in large heavy saucepan, melt butter and add oysters with liquid. Simmer on low until edges of oysters curl, about 4-5 minutes. Add salt and Worcestershire sauce to the oysters and stir well. Add oyster mixture to crockpot, cover, and cook on low for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle with chives and serve. 8 servings

 

The Devil’s name is “Candy”

I hope everyone else fared much better than I did on their healthy eating programs when Halloween started rolling around.  I had lost 74 pounds and managed very well to keep temptation at bay and to keep my home a “controlled environment.”  A place that is void of all sugary treats and/or other misc. food items that would throw me off track. All went well until….Halloween.

Who would have thought that a big bowl of “fun size” candy bars would have had so much power over me? I swear they talked. Calling my name constantly. And I answered nearly every time. It would have been bad enough if I had endured only a day of it, but I set the bowl out 3 days in advance. Even had to fill it up again on the night of Halloween.  Shameful, but true.

Halloween has left me 5 pounds heavier. I could have continued to binge, but decided to get up, wipe the chocolate from around my mouth, enroll myself back into Weight Watcher’s, before the next couple of holidays roll around. I might have lost a battle, but I haven’t lost the war.

The battle rages on….