Chicken Pot Pie

From Tami Stubbs
The Webbs taught Tami to make this wonderful main dish. Brother Webb's pie crust making skills are amazing. The pie we served last night had been previously frozen and it was so good!

4 cups cubed chicken breasts
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter
3 cups chopped carrots
3 cups chopped potatoes
10 oz frozen peas
1/2 t sage
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 t garlic
1 t onion powder
1 TB parsley
1 can mushroom pieces w/ liquid
1/2 c flour mixted with water for thickening

Boise chicken until just past pink. Keep the broth to use. Let chicken cool, then cube. Cut carrots and potatoes. Add to chicken broth, butter, and milk. Let boil for 10-15 min. Add mushrooms. Add seasonings, Add thickening mixture. Let it boil for 5-10 more (until it begins to thicken). Take off stove and add chicken and frozen peas. Spoon into unbaked pie shell. Cover and bake at 350 for an hour and 15 minutes until golden brown. If not ready to bake freeze instead. Pull from freezer and stick directly in the oven. Enjoy!

Rosalia's Pumpkin Pie

Fresh Pumpkin Pie
Makes 2 pies

2 uncooked pie shells
4 cups cooked pumpkin, drained, pureed
2 1/2 cups evaporated milk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 425. Mix all the ingredients, either in a large blender or with a mixer. Pour into pie shells. Bake at 425 for 15 min. and then reduce to 350 for another 45 min.

To freeze pie mix: Place the pie mixture into a bag and seal. (I like to double bag the mixture so that I don’t get any freezer burn.) Place the bag on its side when freezing to reduce bulk. It tends to take at least a day for the entire mixture to freeze hard. It is fine to store the bags upright once they are frozen.

To use frozen mixture: Thaw in refrigerator, on the counter or in a bowl of hot water. Re-blend the pie mixture and then pour evenly into two pie shells. Follow baking directions above.

*This recipe is for pumpkin that has been pressure-cooked. If cooking pumpkin in an oven or microwave, increase the evaporated milk to 3 cups because the pumpkin won’t be as moist. If you use pressure-cooked pumpkin in other recipes, decrease the liquid a little to make up for the extra moisture in the pumpkin.

How to cook pumpkin:
1.Wash the outer pumpkin and cut into pieces that will fit for whatever cooking method you prefer. Since I pressure-cook the pumpkin, I tend to cube into about 4 or 5 inches pieces. Don’t peel off shell.
2.Wash and set the seeds aside. These can be roasted. Place the clean seeds on cookie sheet. Salt as desired and bake at 300, turning about every 5 minutes. Test for doneness after 15 minutes. Avoid over cooking and darkening the seeds. The seeds become crisper as they cool. Store in sealed container.
3.If you pressure-cook the pumpkin, add water to the cooker as recommended in your owner’s manual. Allow cooling before opening cooker.
4.Each pressure cooker is different, but I cook the pumpkin between 10 and 14 minutes. The older the pumpkin, the longer it takes to cook. If the pumpkin is a slightly undercooked, that should be okay; just run it through the blender. Increase the cooking time on the next batch. I’ve found that garden pumpkins (fresher) cook much quicker than store bought pumpkins. Adjust pumpkin cooking time as needed by observing.
5.Drain any water used in cooking and place cooked pumpkin in a strainer so the excess water may also drain away. Once cool enough to handle, the pumpkin shell can be easily peeled away from the pumpkin. Discard shell. Puree the cooked pumpkin to use in pies or other recipes.
6.Try freezing pumpkin in 1-cup measurements to add to breads, etc. Pumpkin is a nice substitute in recipes that call for applesauce.

From the kitchen of Rosalia McKean
Recipe adapted from “The Joy of Cooking”

I tried it today and it tastes amazing. I also made my own evaporated milk-saves on the cost when it's not cheap in the store and a nice way to rotate your milk. It worked great. To make: Mix 1 cup powdered milk with 1 1/3 cups water. You will have to make more than that to have enough for more pies. It will be slightly short of your 2 1/2 cups for this recipe.

Chicken Pot Pie

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 cups milk
1 stick unsalted butter
3 cups chicken stock
1 large onion
1 cup frozen peas (optional)
4 large potatoes
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
1 ½ cup chopped carrots
5 teaspoons salt
12 ounces sliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons ground pepper
1 cup cooking sherry
2 tablespoons parsley
8 tablespoons flour
1 large egg
4-5 large chicken breasts, poached and diced

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove puff pastry from freezer and allow to thaw. Melt butter in a very large pot over medium high heat. Add onion, potatoes and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes and carrots are fork tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add mushrooms, cooking until mushrooms are heated through. Add sherry and cook for 3 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Pour in chicken stock and milk. Bring to a simmer, cook until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken , peas, parsley and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer amount needed to a deep 3-quart dish. Set aside the rest and let cool before freezing.

Roll out puff pastry and cut 1 inch larger then dish. Cut out quarter-size whole in the center. Place puff pastry on filling, making sure it touches the filling all the way to the sides of the dish. Fold over any excess. Whisk egg with ½ teaspoon water, and brush top of pastry, making sure to cover completely.

Place dish in over and bake for 20-30 minutes, until crust is well browned.

For frozen filling: Let filling completely defrost. Place in dish and follow same steps to make crust. The puff pastry sheets come 2 to a pack, so you should have one left over. Cook until crust is browned, 20-30 minutes. Cover loosely with tin foil and cook another 5-10 minutes until filling is hot.

Sausage Potato and Corn Chowder

Jenn Peterson

2 lb bulk pork sausage 2 tsp marjoram
2 C coarsely chopped onion 1/2 tsp pepper
8 C peeled potatoes, cut into cubes 2 17-oz cans cream style corn
4 C water 2 17-oz cans corn, drained
2 tsp salt 24 oz fat-free evaporated milk

In a large pot cook the sausage and onion until the sausage is brown and the onion is tender. Drain the mixture on paper towels. Return sausage to the pot and stir in potatoes, water, salt, marjoram, and pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Add corns and evaporated milk. Heat through.

Freeze in ziplock bags.

Brunswick Stew

Jenn Peterson

1/2 package bacon, diced 1 red pepper, diced and seeded
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 teaspon thyme
6 Tbsp flour 1 bag frozen lima beans
2 tsp salt 1 bag frozen corn
1 tsp pepper 1 bag frozen okra
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper 2 Tbsp parsley
3 onions, diced 1/4 C worcestershire sauce
4 tomatoes or a 16 oz can diced tomatoes


Cook bacon until crisp in the biggest pot you have. Remove bacon with slotted spoon and reserve. Brown chicken pieces a few at a time in bacon drippings. Stir in onions and cook until softened, 5 minutes. Once onion is cooked, return chicken to the pot.

Sprinkle evenly with flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is evenly coated, about 1 minute. Add 4 C water, tomatoes, red pepper, and thyme. Bring to boiling and then cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Add lima beans, corn, okra, parsley, and Worcestershire. Return to boiling and cook 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with bacon.

This makes about 6 dinners for Jenn's family. Add the remaining bacon to the soup before freezing. Simply reheat and serve.

Easy Spaghetti Sauce

Jenn Peterson

1 lb ground beef, turkey, or bison 2 bay leaves
1 large onion, diced 2 Tbsp parsley
2 cloves garlic 1 Tbsp oregano
3 cans tomato sauce 1 Tbsp basil
1 can diced tomatoes 2 tsp salt

In a large pot over medium heat, combine meat, onion, and garlic. Brown meat and drain. Add rest of ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check seasonings and adjust to taste. Serve with pasta.

Freeze leftovers in Ziploc bags. Defrost at least 1/2 of the way and then put in a pot with a small can of tomato sauce. Heat through and serve with pasta.

Lasagna

Jenn Peterson

2 lbs ground beef 2 tsp basil leaves
2 lbs pork sausage (not italian-style) 24 oz cottage cheese
1 1/2 C chopped onion 24 oz ricotta
2 cloves garlic, minced 1 C grated parmesan
2 cans (1 1b each) diced tomatoes 1 C grated romano cheese
2 cans (15 oz each) tomato sauce 2 Tbsp parsley
4 Tbsp parsley 3 tsp salt
4 Tbsp sugar 2 tsp oregano leaves
2 tsp salt 1 1/2 C grated mozarella
2 16 0z packages of lasagna noodles, cooked and well drained

Cook and stir ground beef, sausage, onion, and garlic in 2 large pots until meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain fat.

Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, 4 tsp parsley, sugar, 2 tsp salt, and the basil. Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered 1 hour or until mixture is the consistency of spaghetti sauce.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cottage cheese, ricotta, 1/2 c parmesan, 1/2 c romano cheese, 2 tbsp parsley, 3 tsp salt, and the oregano. Reserve 1 C meat sauce for thin top layer.

In 2 ungreased 9x13 pans, layer noodles, meat sauce, mozzarella and cottage cheese mixture; repeat 3 times. Spread reserved meat sauce over top. Combine remaining parmesan and romano cheese and sprinkle on top. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes.

Wrap second, uncooked lasagna well in plastic wrap and foil. Freeze. When ready to eat, cover in tin foil and cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook another 45 minutes.

Enchiladas

Jenn Peterson

4 chicken breasts, poached and chopped 1/2 C finely chopped onion
4 C light or fat-free sour cream 1/2 tsp pepper
2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup 1/4 tsp salt
3 C grated colby or monterey jack cheese 1 C grated cheddar
3 C grated cheddar cheese flour or corn tortillas
14 oz chopped green chilies enchilada sauce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 9 ingredients; stir well. If using flour tortillas, place about 1 C filling in each tortilla and place in a 9x13 pan, seam side down. If using corn tortillas, heat 1 C cooking oil in small pan. Add tortillas one at a time and cook on each side for about 5 seconds. Fill with about 1/2 C filling and place seam side down in a 9x13 pan.

Pour on enchilada sauce, if desired, cover with tin foil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with 1 C cheese, and bake 5 more minutes.

Freeze remaining filling in ziploc bags. To use, defrost completely and fill tortillas. Cook according to above directions.

Baked Ziti

Jenn Peterson

1 lb ziti or any other shaped pasta
1 lb mozzarella, grated
1 jar good spaghetti sauce
1 package link sausages (not maple)

Brown sausages until cooked through. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Cook pasta in boiling water and remove about 3-5 minutes before cooking directions say. Rinse under cold water. Using 2 8x8 pans, layer starting with sauce, noodles, sausage, and then cheese. 2 layers. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes, or until cheese is browned.

If you are going to freeze this - freeze covered in saran wrap and then tin foil. When you're ready to use bake it at 350 for 20 minutes and then for 15 minutes uncovered.

The Biggest Vat of Chili You've Ever Made

Jenn Peterson

2 lbs ground beef, bison, or turkey 1/2 C finely diced celery
1 medium onion, diced 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 cans tomato sauce 3 Tbsp chili powder
2 cans white kidney beans with liquid 2 tsp cumin
2 cans pinto beans or great northern beans with liquid 1 1/2 tsp pepper
1 can diced tomatoes 2 tsp salt
1 large can diced green chilies 2 C water

Brown meat and onions. Drain off fat. Return to heat and add all other ingredients. Bring to simmer and cook over low heat stirring every 15 minutes for the next 2-3 hours. Serve with chips and diced avocado or serve over polenta.

For Jenn this makes 4 meals. Freeze in ziploc freezer bags.