Homemade Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Good morning, everyone! I hope everyone's day is off to a wonderful start! As promised, here is the Homemade Chicken Pot Pie recipe that I use (which I got from my mother in law). It is so yummy! I'll get right to it.

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken

1 can cream of celery

2 regular cans of mixed veggies/Veg-all OR 1 large (28 oz) can

1 1/4 - 2 cups* chicken broth (**see tip below)

salt & pepper to taste

1/2 cup OR 1 stick of butter

1 cup milk

1 cup self-rising flour

Step One:

Preheat oven to 350

Boil & shred chicken breast 

**Keep water to use as chicken broth

Step Two:

Mix together chicken, cream of chicken, cream of celery, mixed veggies/Veg-All, chicken broth, salt & pepper. (I do not drain veggies. The recipe called for 1 1/2 - 2 cups broth, but I use closer to 1 1/4.) Pour into greased casserole dish.

Step Three:

Combine melted butter, milk, and flour. Mix well & pour over the top of the chicken mixture. (Note: not every inch needs to be covered)

Step Four:

Bake on 350 for about an hour or until top is golden brown. Let cool & enjoy!

When this was cooling, I decided to go ahead and run to the grocery store. Apparently I left the lid to this Pyrex casserole dish a little too close to the counter's ledge & this is what I came home to find:

Nice, huh? Cash knew he was in trouble immediately when I picked it off the floor. This is my favorite and most used Pyrex dish! Oh well, at least he didn't get the Chicken Pot Pie! :-P

Have a great day, y'all!

♥ Amber

Meal Plan April 7th - 13th, 2013

Good morning, y'all! I meant to get this week's meal plan up yesterday, but it was quite a busy day! I will be so happy when we have officially closed on our house-- I may never want to move again! :-P

I'll get right into it. Here's this week's plan!

Sunday- Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Monday- Leftovers

Tuesday- Chili Cheese Dogs & Pop Chips (Have you ever had pop chips? I tried them for the first time recently & love them! They happen to be on sale this week, so I incorporated them into the menu.)

Wednesday- Pork chops, Mac & Cheese, Veggie (I'm thinking cabbage or glazed carrots)

Thursday- Smoked Sausage, Slow-Cooked Lima Beans, Homemade Cornbread

Friday- Burritos

Saturday- Breakfast or leftovers

Sunday & Thursday's meals were moved from last week's menu to this weeks. We ended up eating at my inlaws' twice, and James took me to Cracker Barrel another night. We've lived here for over a year, and this was the first time we'd been! I used to wish we lived closer to one.. and now that we do, I don't take advantage. It sure was good & worth the wait! ;)

I just put the chicken on to boil for the chicken pot pie, so I will post the recipe along with pictures tomorrow. It makes quite a bit, and since James is working nights again tonight and tomorrow, I figured it'd be a good two-day meal. (Link added here.)

Once I have that done, I need to go grocery shopping. I don't have too much to buy for this week, since we are utilizing our stocked freezer. I've found some pretty good deals, so I plan to add a little more to the freezer for the future weeks. 

Well, I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

♥ Amber

Homemade Lasagna

Good morning, everyone! I promised to share this lasagna recipe if it turned out share-worthy. I made it last night for dinner, and it was delicious! So, here it is. :)

Homemade Lasagna

Ingredients:

-1 lb Ground beef (or ground deer, which is what I used) 

-6 Lasagna/Lasagne Noodles (both terms mean the same thing)- Get the kind that says "No boiling required" so that you don't have to add an unnecessary step

-1 bottle Prego's Tomato Basil Garlic pasta sauce (or your own preferred sauce)

-Ricotta, Shredded Mozarella & Parmesan Cheeses

-Italian Seasoning

**Note: I didn't measure Italian Seasoning or cheeses. I kind of "eyeballed" it. Use your judgement. :) I can say that I still have everything that I need to make another lasagna, minus the pasta sauce (our freezer is currently stocked with frozen deer meats)**

Step 1: Brown & Drain meat while oven is preheating to 375 degrees

Step 2: Stir in pasta sauce and about 1 tsp Italian Seasoning & add 1/3 meat mixture to bottom of a lightly greased casserole dish

Step 3: Carefully spread the Ricotta Cheese on 3 noodles, place side-by-side on top of meat, and sprinkle with Mozzarella Cheese

Step 4: Add another layer of 1/3 meat mixture & repeat Step 3

Step 5: Pour remaining 1/3 meat mixture on top & sprinkle with Mozarella

Step 6: Cover with two layers aluminum foil & bake on 375 for 40-45 minutes. Uncover & cook an additional 7-10 minutes.

Top with Parmesan Cheese & enjoy with a side of garlic bread (I made my own). Yum!

If you try this recipe, please comment below to let me know how it turned out!

Happy Friday, y'all!

♥ Amber

Our Words ♥

"But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgement for every careless word they have spoken." (Matthew 12:36) 

This sheds some new light to that old saying, "Think before you speak." This isn't only true when angry and in the heat of an argument. We often times speak curses over our own lives. Are you waiting for a job promotion? Careful not to get so discouraged that you mutter something like, "I know I'm not going to get it." You are placing a factual statement on your future-- underestimating what GOD can work out on your behalf. Same goes for every situation that may leave you feeling like you're stuck in "waiting," whether it be for a new job, new home, to have children, to pass a test, and so on. It's easy to have a careless tongue when we are anxious, but we have to remember to speak LIFE over our situations. Ultimately, He has the final say so. We just need to trust Him!

♥ Amber

April's Cause Candle: Autism Awareness

Hey y'all! I hope everyone's week is off to a wonderful start! James has been off the past couple of days, and again today, so we have enjoyed some time together & with family.

For those of you who don't know, April is Autism Awareness Month. My business has a Cause Candle each month, and $4 of each candle sold benefits the month's particular cause. This month, the $4 will go to the organization Autism Speaks.

This 18 oz candle comes in the scent Sparkling Citrus  I have been so excited to transition from the cold weather, holiday-type scents to fresh, Spring-type scents like this! This beautiful candle and other scented soy products can be purchased here.

On a not-so-happy note, my poor Brandy's not feeling very well. She's had an upset tummy the past 2 days, and is snuggled up close to me. Poor girl!

Have a blessed day, everyone!

♥ Amber