The Last Dinner

Tonight's Dinner:
-Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pie
-Yeast Rolls
-Broccoli Casserole

For several months now, I have been getting a monthly copy of Southern Living. We have tried several recipes but none deemed worthy enough to make again. We have tried some pasta concoction, potato au gratin casserole, and other recipes that had strange combinations of spices and vegetables. But tonight, we found a recipe we'll have to use the repeat button on.

Since Justin is leaving me for a few days, and tonight is his last night in town, I thought he deserved a good, homecooked meal. Don't get me wrong though, I made the chicken pot pie, but he made the yeast rolls. He wasn't sitting and watching his wife struggle to juggle 3 intense items at once.

Double-Crust Chicken Pot Pie

This pie does take quite awhile to prepare (around 30-45 minutes) and even longer to bake (55-60 minutes). We started preparing our meal around 4pm and everything was ready to eat by 6:15.

Southern Living's Chicken Pot Pie Recipe (with a few modifications)

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 medium leeks, sliced (we used regular onions)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1(14.5 oz) can chicken broth
• 3 cups chopped cooked chicken
• 1 1/2 cups frozen cubed hasbrowns with onions and peppers (we did not have hash browns, so we used fresh potatoes, chopped them up, and seered them with onions and peppers)
• 1 cup matchstick carrots (we grated ours)
• 1/2 cup cholled fresh flat-leaf parsley (we used a tsp or two of parsley flakes)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed (we used regular pie crust)
• 1 large egg 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add leeks, and saute' 3 minutes. Springle with flour; cook, stirring constantly, 3 minutes. Whisk in chicken broth; bring to a boil, whisking constantly. The consistency will become similar to condensed soup. Remove from heat; stir in the chicken and next 5 ingredients.
2. Roll each pastry sheet out on a lightly floured surface. Fit 1 sheet into a 9-inch deep dish pie plate; spoon chicken mixture into pastry. Place remaining pastry sheet over the filling and fold edges under, pressing the edges with tines of a fork sealing to top and bottom crusts together. Whisk egg and 1 Tbsp of water together, brush over the top of pie.
3. Bake at 375 on lower oven rack 55 to 60 inutes or until browned. Let stand 15 minutes.

Along with dinner, we had yeast rolls, broccoli casserole, and enough carbs to last us a 10k and beyond.

Yeast Roll Recipe:

• 5 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 6 eggs

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, brown sugar, salt, yeast and 3 teaspoons aniseed. In a saucepan, heat water and butter to 120 degrees F-130 degrees F. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add five eggs; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until nearly doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 22 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place 2 in. apart on grease baking sheets. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Beat remaining egg; brush over dough. Sprinkle with remaining aniseed. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks.

(Please note the wooden spoon. Hand made by Justin!)

The broccoli casserole is a recipe that Justin's family likes to make. Since our broccoli plants are producing, we thought we'd make use of our home-grown vegetable. Unfortunately, in a casserole with mostly cheese, butter, and rice, is the only way Justin will eat his greens.

I may not have Justin with me for the next three days, but at least I know I'll be eating well. We had plenty of left overs that will sure hit the spot for the next couple of nights! :)