Must be Santa and a Chicken Pot Pie

If you know me at all, you know I LOVE Christmas! I always have. I would beg my Dad to get the decorations out as early as possible and spend all day placing the little trinkets, and wreaths, and angels, and nutcrackers around the house. Growing up we had a hodge podge of old decorations from before I was born like a ceramic white tree with blue plastic pieces that you stuck in the branches and then it lit up,  handmade ornaments, paper angels with ripped wings, smooshed wreaths that needed sprucing up every year, and I didn't care how new or old it was, the more decorations the better. I would personally thumb tack lights around my sister and I's windows and climb on chairs to hang plastic mistletoe. I was only satisfied when the house was covered in a Christmas explosion. Every year my poor Dad would spend hours outside wrapping lights around bushes and climbing the ladder to hammer lights across our roof just for my sister and I to delight in. Finally we would journey out to a shopping center Christmas tree lot and pick the perfect tree. My parents were all for a nice big tree but our downstairs ceiling was only so tall and the goal was to get one so the angel almost touched the ceiling....or at least that was my goal. So we would pick our tree, put it in the pick up truck and head home. Once home my Dad would eye up the tree and the ceiling situation, then trim some more, eye up again, and trim some more. Then he and my Mom would try and get the tree in the stand while they bickered about how someone wasn't holding it straight. Once the tree was finally placed we could add all the ornaments. Of course the good ornaments get front and center placement while the older, uglier ornaments go in the back...of course.

I loved these traditions. It was always such a magical time of year. We would bake cookies with Mom in the kitchen and wear aprons that were too big for us and make a huge mess. I would lay in bed every night and pray to Santa and Jesus to bring me all the gifts I wanted. Then that amazing day came....Christmas Eve!!!
We would eat cookies and my Mom would go pick up wings and a party sub and we would munch all day on sweets and snacks, watching movies, and listening to Christmas music. My sister and I loved "sleigh ride" and would gallop around the house like we were horses over and over and over listening on repeat and cracking imaginary whips.
One Christmas eve my sister and I were attempting to fall asleep in her room together but we just couldn't sleep. It was the same thing every year. We would stay up talking about what gifts we hoped to get and couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard we tried. We are laying there and begin to hear a sound coming from the air duct in the floor. It is a rustling sound and some low voices. All at once we both sprung up out of bed and ran over to the vent and put our heads on the floor listening. It was paper, paper rustling and being cut. Who was down there? Was is Santa? Was he bringing our gifts already?
We listened some more and heard the voices again. Very familiar voices. It was Mom and Dad! What the heck were they doing down there?! Don't they know Santa could be here any minute!
So I yell down the vent; "HEY! MOM AND DAD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
silence. then "uh we are just watching TV"
"BUT I HEAR PAPER AND CUTTING?!"
"oh we are just helping get things ready for santa. he can't wrap everything all by himself."
"REALLY?!"
"yes - go to sleep!"
"CAN WE COME DOWN?"
"no go to sleep"
"OK"

I think the conversation through the vent went on a bit longer than that because I was one stubborn kid...but at some point my sister and I looked at each other a little confused and crawled back in bed.
I think that was the beginning of realizing that Santa might not be real. Either way we tried to accept that Mom and Dad were just doing a little prep work, closed our eyes, and waited for morning and all those wonderful presents Santa (or my parents) was bringing.

So I made this recipe several days ago and wanted to share. I have been in the mood for comfort food with the snow we have already gotten and it being the holiday season and all. So I found this awesome recipe for chicken pot pie casserole. I added a half cup of diced carrots and a half cup of diced celery too. I highly suggest doing that, but here is it.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie Casserole Recipe

By Peggy Trowbridge Filippone

• 4 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1-1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 large chicken breast halves)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried sage, divided use
• 1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme, divided use
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, unthawed
• 1/2 cup finely-chopped sweet onion
• 1/2 cup roasted red peppers, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups homemade biscuit baking mix, (or Bisquick®)
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1-1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup strong chicken broth
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
• 1 cup fine-shredded Cheddar cheese

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Pour melted butter into a 9- by 13-inch glass casserole dish and swirl to evenly coat the bottom.

Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch chunks. Spread evenly over the bottom of the casserole. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of the sage, 1 teaspoon of the thyme, then the pepper. Top with the frozen mixed vegetables, onions, and roasted red peppers.

Whisk together baking mix, onion powder, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon the sage and 1/2 teaspoon thyme. Using a large dinner fork, stir in milk just until combined. Slowly pour over the chicken and vegetable mix.

Whisk together chicken broth and condensed chicken soup until combined. Again, slowly pour evenly over the baking mixture. Finally, top with the Cheddar cheese.

Bake the casserole for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings 

Holiday Edition: Its Thanksgiving Dah-Blame-it!

My mother was notorious for forcing second and third helpings on guests at dinner and at times on my Dad, sister, and I. She wouldn't boast about her food or put it down like some adorable plump Grandmas do.."oh now this isn't my best pudding but I guess its edible"....she just wanted you to eat and eat a lot of it. ....And she wondered how I became so round as a kid.....
Now one of her specialities was her mashed potatoes. She really made some creamy, fluffy, wonderful mashed potatoes. She used to make a really lovely spread for Thanksgiving actually.  Of course we had the turkey and stuffing, but we always did stove top. I don't think she liked the idea of stuffing the dressing inside the bird. We usually had some simple corn from a can, probably green giant. There were always rolls in one of those big clear plastic bulk bags from the grocery store and she would warm in them in the oven and it was a good as fresh baked bread to us. Gravy of course but she always got several jars of turkey gravy from giant and we didn't care, we always loved all of it. OH OH cranberry sauce from the can in that slimy jelly cylinder, which I loved. I started bringing my green bean casserole and if you remember my post from last year, apparently I was the only one who liked that one. Lastly was Mom's mashed potatoes. That was one of the only things she did from scratch and like I said, she did it well. That big beautiful yellow tinted glass bowl would come out on the table just steaming with its white fluffy buttery peaks of potato glory.
We all sat down at Mom's big oval wooden table, where she probably laid out some festive fall place mats with pumpkins and leaves on them, which we were NOT allowed to get one drop of food on. Fresh baked cookies and a pumpkin pie lingered on the edge of the table teasing us. We got out Mom's yellow ceramic plates with the brown painted flor de lis on them and started piling on the food.
Sometimes it was just the four of us and we would sit and eat all fast and furious and be done in 15 mins and Mom would always comment about how it took all morning to make this silly meal and 15 mins to eat it and would huff at Dad for finishing first.

Well one year she was determined to serve Dad some more mashed potatoes after he had finished his meal. I don't know what got in to her, but she was just funny like that sometimes and she probably just found it amusing to force some more food on him. I remember her asking if everyone liked the food and wanted more and I remember her asking Dad a few times if he really liked the potatoes. I don't think she was very proud of them that year. She either made them runny or lumping. Now of course Dad said he liked them, that he liked them a lot. The next thing I know Mom is up at the stove grabbing the pot of extra potatoes and walking over to Dad with it. She says "well have some more then". I think she was convinced that he didn't really like them. He said he was fine and he did like them. She has the spoon full of potatoes now out of the pot and hovering over his plate. "well then you should have some more, are your sure you liked them" she said.
"Yes Connie, I liked them, they were just fine, I liked them fine."
"Well then have some more if you sure you really did like them."
And finally Dad exclaims...
"Connie! I liked the Mashed Bah-Dah-Blame-Potatoes!!"

Now my Mom wasn't the only one with little sayings. When Dad wanted to curse so bad but couldn't because little ears in the corn field were near, then Dah-Blame-It was his go to. My sister and I even wrote a song called "Dah-Blame-Daddy" once after he accidentally backed into a parked car at the Burger King in the Manassas Junction and yelled; "Dah-Blamed-it, Where'd that car come come!?"

Well to drive home his love, on this day, for my Mother's mashed potatoes, Dah-Blame had to come out. I I think everyone at that table knew once and for all that he liked those potatoes.
He got an extra helping, Mom sat back down, and we all finished our meal.....Dah-Blame-it!

In honor of the holiday I made an interesting turkey meat loaf that I am calling Thanksgiving Meat Loaf.
I made it with a really nice homemade and simple squash casserole. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Turkey Meatloaf

1lb Ground Turkey
2 med mushrooms (baby bella is best)
1 Tsp fresh rosemary
2 fresh sage leaves
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup small diced red onion
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp minced fresh garlic
salt and pepper

Lily helped

mix all ingredients together and make into a loaf. Place on a baking sheet or roasting pan and cover with tin foil. Cook at 350 for about 30 mins. Check and give more time if needed.

I also made a simple country gravy with bacon grease, flour, and milk and poured that over top.

Squash Casserole

3 med yellow Squash chopped
1/2 med red onion chopped
1/2 cup light sour cream
1/2 cup light cheddar
1/2 cup light mexican blend cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper

Saute Squash on med with olive oil until barely soft. Add onion and cook till all are nice and soft. Turn off heat and mash a little with a potato masher. In a bowl mix the rest of the ingredients and then add veggies from the stove. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and cook on 350 for about 25 mins.

Lily says "Cheese! I liked this casserole!"