Wednesday, May 23, 2012

My (easy) chicken pot pie

I have one recipe, one meal, that I have made it a habit of making when I take a meal to a family.  It's the easiest but yummiest chicken pot pie.  I have made a quadruple recipe before when I had several families to prepare for.  It is also fairly inexpensive.
So here it is.....
Ingredients-
frozen chicken breast (how many depends on your taste, the more chicken you want in your pie the more you should cook.) use a kitchen knife and cute your chicken into cubes.
bag of frozen mixed vegetables
can of cream of chicken soup
chicken stock or bouillon cubes
8 oz. sour cream
2 frozen pie shells (they come 2 per package)
flour (this is for thickening, so I just sprinkle until it's where I like it)

1. In your crock pot cook your chicken, soup, vegetables, and stock.  I like to put this on in the morning, on low, and it's usually done early in the afternoon.
2. Turn the crock pot on warm and add the sour cream.  Once that is mixed in begin to add flour a little at a time until the sauce is thickened.
3.  Add the filling into the bottom pie shell, top with the second pie shell.  Pinch the edges all the way around, and piece a few holes in the top.  Bake according to directions for the pie shell, maybe adding a few minutes.

Tada!!! Enjoy yourself a nice dinner that even the kids will love.  I like to pair this dinner with brownies from scratch.  Makes a yummy combination!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Going natural...

I have spent the last several months making some changes in our home.  I made these changes for a few reasons, but mostly to reduce cost.  Most of the ingredients are inexpensive, naturally occurring products.  The start up cost of all this has been less than $20.
This website says you only need 3 products to clean your whole house!  I have found several more "recipes" that require other ingredients, but this is a great place to start.
I created a pinterest board and named it "saver" where I have been saving all my recipes.

might have to try this one.
















One of the first cleaners I made was the all purpose cleaner.  It is very simple, but cleans well and has lasted quite a while, although I did double it for my bottle.
1 teaspoon liquid dish soap
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups water



Then I made the dish detergent, but still haven't decided if I like it.  If any of you have tried another or have any good tips, please leave a comment.  I do like that I don't have to spend $4 on the store bought version though!
The next product I tried is AMAZING!!!!  I used it on my shower door once and haven't had to clean it again in about 3 weeks.  I let it sit for about an hour before I rinsed it off and it came off with little "scrubbing".  Please, if you don't try any of these other cleaners, try this one!  It is wonderful!





The last product I have switched is my laundry detergent.  I was very hesitant to do so because of Selah's eczema.  I wasn't sure how her sensitive skin would react.  So far, so good, but I will update soon, after I'm sure.
I used Michelle Duggar's recipe, although I'm sure it's not her original, but I got it out of her book (thanks PJ!).
This is the one that spent most of my $20 because of the 5 gallon bucket and container to dispense the soap.  I took about a week to find the exact one I wanted, found it at Walmart (good ol' WM).

But I haven't been limited to cleaning products in my natural switch.  I really began in late December when I started using olive oil as a facial cleanser and moisturizer.  I tried after reading a friends blog and thinking it would be worth a try.

The other care product I switched recently is shampoo!  I never thought I would try it, but that is one of the things I really hate spending money on.  So I started with the basic, baking soda shampooing but the other day I ran across this post that I found to have so much information and things I might like to try.
all crafts 6 Home Recipes For Hair  {naturally beautiful hair}

I am writing this post thinking that you probably will not even care about what products I use in my home, but I am so pleased with how it's going so far.  And I am on the verge of meeting my monthly grocery budget  for the first time in so long.  I do, however, hope this post interests you enough for you to begin some research on your own.  It's worth it!

*photos are not mine, but borrowed from corresponding website.