Secret Dinner - Easy Turkey Pot Pie

So my hubby doesn't like ground turkey. He's the typical Meat (aka Beef) and Potatoes guy. I mentioned once fixing something with it and he made a horrible face and said "NO!" So I said okay and let it go. Well I DO like ground turkey. Not only is it healthier, it can be seasoned and taste good too.


So I was looking around last night for something quick and easy to fix for dinner with the pound of hamburger I'd taken out of the freezer. I ended up on BettyCrocker.com and found a recipe for "Easy Hamburger Pot Pie." It sounded good and was the perfect comfort meal for a cold January day. So I edited it some and here is MY recipe for Easy Turkey Pot Pie (with ground turkey). Sshhhh don't tell him I used turkey instead of ground beef. He LOVED it! I am still laughing inside. 

I like to try new things. Him... well, not so much. He's not a complainer at all. He'll eat what I fix because it's there, he's hungry and well fixed for him. Just when he's not real crazy about something he really makes no comments at all.


So last night he tasted it and said "this is good". He ate a little bit more and said, "this is something new you've tried that I really like." SCORE! So here is what I made.


1 pound of ground turkey
2 tsp of onion flakes (onion powder or chopped onion would be just as good)
1 tsp of salt
1 1/2 tsp of pepper
2 tsp of beef bouillon granules
1 can of carrots
1 can of green beans
1 can of sliced potatoes
1 can of creamed corn
1 can of cream of chicken soup
2 cups of Bisquick baking mix
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brown ground turkey with salt, pepper and onion flakes. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all the canned vegetables and soup with the beef bouillon granules. 

Add cooked turkey and mix everything well. Pour into a 9" X 13" baking dish sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, mix the baking mix, milk and eggs. Poor evenly over the top of the meat and vegetables.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of crust and return to oven for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

After my hubby went to bed last night I broke down and told my son about the turkey in the pot pie. He didn't care never would have. I told him I wanted an honest un-biased reaction from his dad before I told him. We just finished off the leftovers for lunch today and my son asked me, "have you told dad yet about the turkey?" I told him no but I would... at some point.

Hubby enjoyed it today as much as last night. I have other "secrets" I'm going to experiment on him with. For instance. Who can honestly tell one brand of normal yellow mustard from another? I can't. He swears he can. I'm going to use the more economical store brand of mustard and fill the French's container that is almost empty. We'll see if he notices. I'll let you know.

Do you have a family member with a brand name or food quirk that you think is "all in their head"?

Nature's Bounty!

At work we have a sign on the entrance door to our Home Health Care office that states "Absolutely NO Soliciting At Any Time". Does it work? Sometimes. Do we have to point it out to people who just don't care? Sometimes. But a local berry farm gal came by the office with some goodies and we were SO glad she didn't notice the sign (which isn't as big as it should be, in her defense). She didn't have near enough of these to go around even but I was one of the lucky ones that got to bring this home from work yesterday...

Mmm Mmm (And she will have blackberries ready soon too!)

A quart for $4 gave me enough blueberries for plenty of muffins, pancakes, or maybe even blueberry turnovers. I can't wait to use them! I'd like to know what YOUR favorite blueberry recipe is. Gimme your ideas! =)

After I got home with those beauties above, my dad called with an offer I just couldn't refuse!

My parents have a small garden in the back yard that produces enough for them through the garden season and also just a bit more to share. So today Abby and I took a 12 minute walk to mom and dad's (actually I pushed her in her stroller) and after a great visit with them, and my brother who stopped in just after I got there (I don't get to see you near enough Tony!), Abby and I came back with this...

I love Summer Squash! I'm not a big fan of cucumbers but my hubby loves them.

One more thing I'm going to ask dad to hold for me though... two big 'ole green tomatoes to make a batch of Fried Green Tomatoes! I don't have space myself to grown much, but I can grow a little. So my goal for at least next year is just a few small plants in the very back of the yard.

Do you grow any of your own veggies or fruits? Have any advice or resources to share for small space gardening?

Recipe Card Collection - 2

Today is Recipe Card Collection #2 - Herb Roasted Chicken with Vegetables

Start with your whole, roasting chicken.

I chose a Tyson with the pop-up button to be sure the chicken was completely done.

I like easy. :o)

Next I melted the butter with a mixture of all the herbs and seasonings.

 Chop your onions and vegetables.

You can use smaller red potatoes, halved. I used for large Idaho and quartered them.

Rub half of the butter and seasoning mixture all over the chicken. Then add onion, potatoes, and carrots around the chicken. Pour remaining butter and seasoning mixture over vegetables and chicken.

Bake as directed in recipe instructions and enjoy the aromas as you wait. :o)

The finished results were delicious! I normally don't do any real cooking when my son isn't home, since hubby and I would just have too many leftovers. This is something that I'll back to later though.

Previous Recipe Card Collections:

Card #1 - Enchilada Lasagna

Recipe Card Collection - 1

I have the cutest Recipe Card Collection from The Shabby Princess. It's a holiday collection but most all the cards can be used any time of year. If you want to create your own printable recipe card collection, head over to The Shabby Princess and get your card set today. These would make great printable gifts to start working on now to give as gifts for the holiday season. I'm going to do one card a week (minimum) with one of our family favorites. If you make any and show them on your blog, leave me a comment or email me and let me know so I can come check out your recipe cards too! :o)

Today's recipe, and the first in the collection, is...

It was easy to put together the traditional-style lasagna layers. Gather all your ingredients together.

 

Egg - Enchilada Sauce - Shredded Cheddar Cheese - Stewed Tomatoes - Chopped Onion -

Shredded Mexican Blend Cheese - Cottage Cheese - Minced Garlic - Ground Cumin

Brown ground beef in skillet with onion and garlic; drain.

Add tomatoes, enchilada sauce and cumin; simmer 20 minutes uncovered.

Layer in 9X13 pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes covered.

Uncover and bake 10 more minutes til bubbly. Let stand 14 minutes before serving.

Voila! 

I also wanted to share a pic of my cute Flirty Apron. Oh! And the helper I always have when I'm in the kitchen is pictured with me. She's NEVER far away from food. :o)

If you are interested in a printing out this or other upcoming recipe cards for your own collection, leave me a comment or email me!

Dinner with the Pioneer Woman

I'm not sure how I managed an evening without homework but here I sit not having any to get done tonight. I hope I don't log in tomorrow and find I've forgotten something. *sigh* The day at the office even seemed to fly by fast.

I bought the Pioneer Woman's cookbook about a month ago and absolutely LOVE IT! So many "normal" recipes. I like to try new recipes but hate having to purchase 'not-so-everyday' ingredients. Ree's are not like that at all. If you haven't checked out her cookbook, you need to.

Today I made her Simple Easy Chili (beans optional). I like the beans but hubby don't so I make sacrifices for him. :)  Here are a few of my not-so-professional-as-Ree's photos of my chili.

My ground beef was already browning while I got the rest of my ingredients together. I don't have the little measuring/prep bowls, I just used my Tupperware deviled egg inserts. The little egg holders make it easy to measure out several small amounts of things and have ready to dump into whatever I'm cooking. The bottom right holder held the garlic, which I had already dumped into the ground beef. Here I have measured out the oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, and chili seasoning.

This little chopper from Pampered Chef is the best thing ever for chopping up your ground beef while browning. I use a little circular twist of my wrist with each downward motion and it chops it up great.

 Here is the ground beef with all the spices and tomato sauce dumped in... ready to mix and simmer. One more thing I added not pictured here is the can of Rotel shown above.

And my bowl of Chili with Fritos and shredded cheese. YUM!

And yes, that IS a paper bowl. I am way too busy with work, school, wifing and mothering. It was a paper bowl night. :)

I made dessert from Ree's cookbook too. I've had this a lot but never bothered to make it myself until now.

I always enjoyed my aunt's at family reunions. :)

Tonight the dessert was her Chocolate Sheetcake. We always called it Texas Sheetcake but the results are the same. A delicious chocolate cake with an almost fudgy icing. The picture doesn't even do it justice.

This is Ree's photo of the sheetcake too. Mine is still cooling just a bit in the kitchen. Just follow the link above (or click on the photo) to find Ree's sheetcake recipe.