Monday, March 7, 2016

Freezable Chicken Pot Pie Recipe


Your family will LOVE my neighbor & good friend Elisa's homemade chicken pot pie!

This is so yummy, filling, and easy to make. These are also freezable!




Elisa's Freezable Chicken Pot Pie
Elisa Ludwig

Ingredients:

• 4 Tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
• 1 medium onion
• 2 medium carrots
• 1 stalk celery
• 1/4 C flour
• 2 cups shredded chicken
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme (optional)
Kosher salt & ground black pepper
1/4 C half & half (I use milk)
• 1/4 C frozen peas
• 1 potato, already diced and boiled (or 1 can diced potatoes, drained)
• 2 rounds refrigerated pie crust (or puff pastry)
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 C  chicken broth

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat, then add the onions, carrots, and celery.  Cook, stirring the vegetables around until they start to soften, about 3 minutes.  Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and stir to combine.  Cook the flour-coated veggies for 1 minute, then pour in the chicken broth.  Stir to combine.  Let heat up and bubble and thicken for about 3 minutes.  If it's too thick, add a little more broth.  Turn off the heat, and let it cook to room temperature.

*Meanwhile, roll the pie crusts out slightly and cut out 8 inch dough circles just a bit larger than the pie pan.  Lay the bottom crust in the pan and then fill with the chicken mixture.  Lay a round of pie crust over the top.   Use a fork to seal the edges.  Use a fork to seal the edges.  

Mix the egg with 2 tsp water and brush it all over the surface of the pie crust.  Cut a few slits on top of the pie crust to vent.  

If you're baking the pies right away, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, place the pies on a cookie sheet, and bake 25-30 minutes until crust is deep golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  

If you're freezing them, place pies on a cookie sheet and flash freeze for 45 minutes.  Then cover tightly with heavy duty foil and then in a large zip-lock bag and freeze up to 6 months.  To bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake the foil-covered pies for 1 hour.  Remove the foil and bake an additional 30-50 minutes until hot & bubbly.

*I usually double the batch and only put crust on the top to be a little healthier.

 I would love to hear how you like it!

Enjoy!



©2016 brightsides, all rights reserved.

Friday, March 4, 2016

Best Prices on Pretty Pendant Lighting



Shopping for lighting can be super stressful- between the expense and style, I know first hand it can be daunting.

Pretty much all my upstairs lighting needs to be updated, so I've scoured the interwebs and have found some sweet deals on some of my favorite pendants.  Take a look!



I think it would be gorgeous to use two of these Pottery Barn La Boheme Crystal (above) chandeliers as kitchen island pendants!  What do you think?  They're pretty fancy!
They are HALF OFF right now- $299 + shipping / regularly $499  



Very cool Glass & Metal Cage Pendant!  It's $279 + shipping right now! It's regularly $349. 
All Pottery Barn Kids' lighting is 20% off right now!  




LOVE this Corsica Glass Pendant!  For a more casual look, two or three of these over a large kitchen island would be perfection!  
This pendant is $99.99 + free shipping
Don't worry- the glass is clear on this light- not a smokey gray like it looks in the picture :/




World Market's Four sided Glass Hanging Pendant Lantern $99 + shipping.  Love this light for a back entry way, mudroom, or down a hallway.  



For all you polished nickel lovers, this Hudson Pendant Light is $149 from Crate&Barrel.  I'm very impressed by this price- super reasonable for this high end look :)  Available for in store pickup depending on your area.  



I have this Hadley Pendant hanging over our table in our basement. For $50 more, I would buy the larger one if I could do it again.  These are unfortunately not on sale right now, but they do have sales often!  Ballard sometimes has free shipping and/or 15% off when you sign up for emails.  Pin this and keep an eye out for their next sale :)
$249-$299


If we share the same taste, please check out my Pendant Pinterest board for more ideas!  




©2016 brightsides, all rights reserved.







Thursday, February 25, 2016

Light & Crispy Waffles


If the Waffle Love truck isn't around the corner, these made-from-scratch babies are delicious! 

Mmm.  I love these with whip cream, strawberries and a dusting of confectioner's powder.  I should have posted a picture with them all decked out, huh?  However, they are beautiful all on their own.  Yum!



Favorite Waffles
Favorites, by Grace Ivory Rock

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients well and bake in hot waffle iron.  Top with whipped cream & strawberries.  Or  hot syrup & butter.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy!



©2016 brightsides, all rights reserved.




Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Ranch Cheddar Chicken



My family loves this chicken dish.

It's tender, juicy & flavorful.  And the best part about it?  Your kids can make it for you!
Be ahead of the game tonight and put it to the test!





Ranch Cheddar Chicken

 *1/2 C Ranch dressing
 1 T Flour
4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
1/4 C Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 C Grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees

Mix together dressing & flour.  
Coat each chicken breast with mixture.  
Arrange breasts on a foil lined baking sheet.  
Combine both cheeses and sprinkle over chicken. 

Bake 25 minutes & serve

Delicious with baked potatoes, rice & vegetables!

Enjoy!

*I usually double this recipe for our family of six.



©2016 brightsides, all rights reserved.