Thursday, February 4, 2016

Today

I'm starting to understand why so many people dread the dentist.  Growing up as a hard-toothed little being who never had a cavity until age 21, I never understood why on earth people would hate going to the dentist.  There are magazines, books, new toys, stickers, and you get to pick multiple toys out of the wicker toy basket, people!!  And the people there are so nice and you can choose bubblegum flouride.  Or chocolate. What more could you ask for, really...??

Now, after birthing and nursing five children, my teeth seem to have turned on me, and have developed approximately forty seven cavities in the past few years.  Now I, too, have become one of the masses quaking before the bursts of cold air repeatedly aimed at my thenthitive tooth part-th (That's supposed to say "sensitive tooth parts" for anyone who doesn't speak lisp), or cringing while a well-meaning individual pokes my tenderhearted, vulnerable little innocent gums with a teeny tiny sharp needle-like stabber over and over and over.  I totally understand why people avoid the dentist entirely.

This time the dental hygienist sent me home with this sharp little rubberized tool that she wants me to press into my sore gums repeatedly, right where they are tender and press hard.  Oh yeah.  I'm doing that.  "It will hurt but after a few weeks it won't".  SO on it.  Like, wow.  My replacement plan is to let them stop hurting all on their own...thank you very much.

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The Littlest Girl around here is sick; croupy cough for two days and a fever that set in last evening.  Tim and I decided that I should stay in her room overnight last night so that we could close the door to maximize the humidity level, while I would still be able to monitor her cough.  She enjoyed that thoroughly, and cuddled right up to her mama in her bed, and we both actually slept pretty well!

Yesterday I was craving chicken pot pie, but also wanted to make these Triple Chocolate cookies by Pioneer Woman, so I compromised and made chicken pot pie soup, (which is slightly less time consuming when one feels compelled to make the dough if one makes chicken pot pie) and saved me some cookie making energy.  This recipe is DElicious and I must share it.  So were the cookies!!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
  • 3 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 3-4 cup fresh broccoli florets, chopped
  • 2-3 carrots, diced
  • 1 bag frozen peas
  • 2 potatoes, diced
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 32 oz chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2
  • 2 cups milk
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 package pie crust, thawed

Cook onions, celery, and carrots in butter until soft.  (Probably you could add the potatoes to this mix too - this time I added them late and diced and cooked them until they were soft, then added them to the soup.)  Then mix in flour and add chicken, peas, broccoli, spices and heat until warm.  I like my broccoli a little crunchy so for me, this soup is done when the broccoli is like I want it.  I wait until the very end to add the milk.  To make crust strips, unroll thawed pie crust (for one crust).  Cut into strips and lay on parchment paper lined baking sheet.  Bake in a 450 degree oven for 6-8 minutes, until browned.  Remove from oven.  To assemble, pour soup into individual bowls and top with pieces of pie crust strips.  DElicious, I am telling you!!

I doubled it to have plenty of leftovers.  Also, I often use canned chicken breast for recipes like this, but only the Walmart Premium chicken breast brand or Kirkland's brand.  I heartily dislike any other brand I have tried - the chicken otherwise tends to be too soft and gel-like for me.

(this original recipe came from http://www.shugarysweets.com/2013/04/chicken-pot-pie-soup, but mine is modified.)

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