Veggie Pot Pie

I decided to share this with you not only because it was good but because I have absolutely nothing else to write about right now. Hehe. This is one of those "wingin' it" recipes by the way. I kind of make it up as I go along. We ate part of one pie last night and dh had the leftovers for lunch today and the other whole pie made up tonight's dinner with leftovers for lunch tomorrow. My kids ate it all too with glowing reviews!


Veggie Pot Pie
Makes 2 -9in pies

2 boxes Pillsbury refrigerated pie crusts
2 cans 99% FF Cream of Mushroom
1 can Vegetable Broth
1 small bag (10oz?) mixed veggies (corn, peas, green beans)
16oz fresh (or frozen) sliced mushrooms
1/2 head fresh cauliflower (or frozen if you can find it), cut into small pieces
4-5 red potatoes, diced small
1/2 bag Morningstar Veggie Crumbles (optional)
butter/olive oil (or whatever oil you have on hand)
flour
salt/pepper
Rubbed dry sage (spice aisle)
cumin
garlic powder or fresh garlic, minced- whatever you have on hand


In a large saute/fry pan, saute your mushrooms in butter or olive oil on med high heat. If you use fresh garlic, add it now and saute with the mushrooms. Salt to taste (tasting always a must especially when using butter- mmm). Set aside.

Take the pie crusts out of the boxes so they can come to room temp.

In microwave, steam your frozen/fresh veggies until just tender. Potatoes should be just done and a fork should go in easily. Season to taste. If there's one thing I've learned from cooking shows it's that every layer needs to be seasoned.

Heat oven to 425.

Back in your saute pan heat some butter or olive oil (2 tbsp or so) and add your flour (prob. 2 tbsp or so- remember I don't measure) over med heat. Stir until combined and cook for about a minute. Add your vegetable broth and whisk together until you have no more lumps. Add both cans of soup and stir. Add a pinch of salt and pepper and also add a small pinch of your sage and about 3-4 shakes of cumin. (Add your powdered garlic if needed) Stir and taste. Add all of your (drained!!)veggies in. Add the meat substitute if desired and let it all heat together for a few minutes while you prepare the pie crust. (Mmm it's tasting good. Must keep spoon out of pan!)

Cut plastic and unroll pie crust. Place one pie crust in each pie pan, stretch a bit if needed so it comes up the sides. Spoon half of mixture into each crust. Spread it all out and taste again if needed (of course it's needed, must make sure it hasn't gone bad in the last 2 minutes). ;) Unroll the last 2 (one at a time of course) pie crusts and place on top. Pinch top crusts with bottom. Cut 3 slits on top to let out steam. Place on top of a cookie sheet in the oven just in case of spills. Cook for approx. 45min or until bottom crust appears done (I use glass pans so I can see it). If the crust edges get too dark you can use a pie shield thingy or use foil. Let them sit for about 15min or so before serving.

Okay, I think that's everything I did and hopefully I didn't miss any steps. Happy eating!

Yummy New Dinner

For lack of better blogging right now I thought I'd pass on a recipe I tried out tonight. It was really good! It's veg'n (vegetarian) and even the kids gobbled it up.

Penne with Tomatoes, Capers and Olives


Photography: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Styling: Lydia DeGaris-Pursel

The only changes I made were the pasta (just used a 14.5z box of Smart Taste pasta instead of measuring it out) and the basil (had no fresh so I used the Gourmet Garden *fresh* in the tube kind that I keep in my fridge). It was really, really simple to make. In fact the longest part of the process was bringing the water to boil and cooking the pasta!

And here's a little hint for you when mincing garlic- to get the papery skin off really easily, take the flat side of your knife and use it to push down on the clove. I found a photo on the interwebz so you can see what I'm talking about. I think I learned it on Rachel Ray many moons ago. And when you're done and your hands smell all garlicky, rub them on the sink or on the kitchen faucet. The stainless steel will take the smell right off!

Low fat yummy cookies!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

These are cake-like cookies and so good!

Ingredients-
1 box Spice Cake mix
1 15oz can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)

Mix ingredients together and drop by spoonfuls (I used a cookie scoop) onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 min.

**you can also make a cake like this.

My recipe made approx 60 cookies and my nutritional stats for each cookie were 38cal/ 0.6fat/ .29fiber or 1 WW pt each.

Super Easy, Yummy Recipe!!

(I made this tonight adding some apple pie spice and it was yummy! Much like apple pie without all the peeling!)

SUPER-DUPER APPLE CAKE

Cake:
1 box white cake mix (I used a butter cake mix)
1 1/2 cups applesauce (I used unsweetened)

Glaze:
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup of milk

For Cake:
Preheat oven to 350. Spray pan with cooking spray.
Mix cake mix with applesauce until smooth. May take more or less applesauce. Use at own discretion. Pour mixture into a 9X9 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes or until cake tests done.

For Glaze:
Melt butter in a sauce pan. Add the remaining ingredients for the icing, stirring rapidly with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over warm cake.


My notes from tonight are in italics. The other notes are from the original poster.

• The cake mix powder is mixed with applesauce ONLY, do not prepare the cake according to the directions on the box!
• Many people poked holes in the baked cake before adding the topping. It tastes a bit different, but is not necessary. The Glaze is VERY runny, but don't worry, it's supposed to be! Make the glaze right after you put the cake in the oven. It will thicken up a little bit. I dare you to keep your fingers out of it though, it's that good!!
• The recipe calls for a 9x9 pan, but I used a 9x13 and it was great. I've heard the 9x9 can lead to the glaze spilling.
• I added Apple Pie Spice to my cake batter. Probably 1-2 tsps worth (just sprinkled it, didn't measure). It tasted like apple pie without all the work of actually peeling apples! We ate it with vanilla ice cream, yum!!

Yum! (recipe)

I mentioned last week that I had tried out a Paula Deen Strawberry Shortcake recipe but that it was just over the top sweet. So today for our pool playdate/lunch I made my own version and everyone said it was really good. I liked it and it wasn't sickly sweet. So here it is so you can try it out:

quart of strawberries, washed and cut into halves or quarters depending on size
8oz cream cheese (I used light)- softened *you can also use a tub of whipped cream cheese*
1 large tub of Cool Whip or equivalent (I used store brand)
pre-made angel food cake from the bakery

~In a medium size bowl, cream your cream cheese with an electric beater. Fold in your cool whip. If it's not folding together well, you can whip it but you may have to add a bit of milk to thin it back out again.
~Tear off chunks of angel food cake and place in your serving bowl. A trifle dish would work well. Drop spoonfuls of cream cheese mix and top with strawberries.
~Repeat layers.
~Add a few strawberries to the top for decoration.
~Enjoy!

Yum!

It took a little fiddling around (it called for 1 cup of flour initially but I had to add more) but these came out yummy!

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1- 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1- 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP applesauce
1 TBSP sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk, fat free
2 bananas, very ripe and mashed (I used ones from my freezer- defrosted)
1/2 cup chocolate chips, mini

Mix dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Mix until just blended. If it's too thin, add a bit more flour. Use approx 1/4 cup for each pancake (I actually used an ice cream scoop). Makes 12 pancakes (2 per person).