Food, Family, Fun

I feel like I have done lots and lots of cooking in the last week.  Last Monday, I made pot pie...with rabbit!  I had 5 of DD's meat rabbits in the freezer and cooked 2 of them which gave me enough meat and broth for 3 pot pies (yeah!  freezer food!)

Here is one before it was baked for supper.  I'll include the pot pie recipe at the end (you can definitely make it with chicken or turkey and it is delicious).  The recipe was shared from one of my piano families.  I'm so excited to start giving lessons again today.  It feels like forever since I have seen some of my students.

Also on Monday afternoon, we got to Skype with Yuliya (our exchange student daughter) from her new dorm room in Kiev, Ukraine.  She wanted to know what I was doing and when I hesitated to tell her, she guessed that I was making chocolate meringue pie (her favorite food when she was here).  Unfortunately I had to confess to cooking rabbits.

I did more cooking towards the end of the week when DD arrived home from college.  Roast beef with carrots, mashed potatoes, homemade noodles, homemade crescent rolls - her favorite meal!  Also chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese filling!  And on Monday before she left we had grilled pork chops, twice baked potatoes, and more crescent rolls.

I also took rolls and raspberry pies to my mom's for the family reunion.  And a great creamy vegetable dip that my sister loved and she managed to snag the leftovers.

It was great to see everyone.  Some of the little cousins managed to locate some of dad's baby kittens.

These kittens now have names...........meet Lollipop, Kit Kat, and Sugar Baby.

Here they are with their mother.  Lollipop has long enough hair to give Howard Stern a run for his money.

Much fun was had, card playing, fishing, and more.  Tucker, the golden doodle, managed to give swimming in the lake a try.

He's cute even when he's wet.

We got a stop in at Hamilton to visit Missouri Star Quilt Company on the way up.  Cousins joined in and bought some supplies for some great projects.  I can't wait to see them!  The only sewing I've managed to do in the last week was to bind a couple of quilts for my mom.  I got one of them from Pam on Thursday evening and managed to put the last stitch in the binding just as we were parking in front of Missouri Star on Saturday morning.  (ok, I confess to asking DH to slow down while driving into Hamilton so I could get it done.)

Also, earlier in the week, I had a Tuesday evening date with the hubs.  I took him to eat at the Mexican restaurant in town and after that, he took me to test the moisture of the corn in the field!  (This is what constitutes a date for a farm wife!  I didn't have to cook!)

He just can't wait to get started.  It's still a little wet, but maybe by the end of the week this week.  Apparently he's done everything he can to get his combine and equipment ready, so today he is helping friend work on his combine.  Boys and their toys!

Of course, the really exciting thing that rocked our world was the earthquake in Oklahoma Saturday morning.  Not realizing what it was, at first I thought I was getting sick to my stomach.  Then I noticed the tea cups that hang in the china cabinet swaying back and forth.  

Recipes:

Creamy Vegetable Dip
8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
2 T. mayo
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. dried dill
1 red bell pepper, diced small
1 carrot diced small
2 green onions diced
salt & pepper to taste

Whip cream cheese and mayo until smooth.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Cover and refrigerate 1 hour.  Favorite sister (only sister) was taking the left overs home and planned to add little shrimp to it.  It would be good with crab meat as well.

Pot Pie:
Short cut pie pastry
2 cups flour
2 t. sugar
1 1/4 t. salt
2/3 c. oil
3 T. milk

Combine flour, sugar, and salt.  Mix oil and milk together with a fork and pour over flour mixture.  Mix until flour is moistened.  Make into a ball.  Save out 1/3 of the dough for the top and press remaining dough in the pie pan.  Add filling.  Crumble reserved dough with some salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, onion powder, or any other spices you wish.  Sprinkle over pie.  Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or until golden.

Filling
10 oz pkg. frozen peas and carrots
1/3 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup chopped onion
salt and pepper
1 3/4 cups broth
2/3 cup milk
2 1/2 to 3 cups cut up cooked chicken, turkey, or rabbit

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in flour, onion, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly until thickened.  remove from heat.  Stir in broth and milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring frequently.  Boil 1 minute.  Stir in meat and veggies.  Remove from heat.  Pour into prepared pie crust and continue as above.

Enjoy!
Christi