Whipped cream

I bought Market Pantry heavy whipping cream at Target. It expires very soon, and I wanted to try making my own whipped cream. There was a recipe on the box.

Tonight we had $6 left to our name and I noticed we were somehow out of powdered sugar. So, after picking up our new glasses, we stopped at Giant.

The powdered sugar was $1.50. Then I grabbed some Swiss Miss Dark Chocolate Sensation (because it was $1.25 for the box). And fearing we didn't have enough milk at home grabbed an aseptic carton of vanilla rice milk. The bill was $4.24.

I had left the mixing bowl and beater of my kitchen aid mixer in the freezer.

We poured in:

- 1 carton (2 cups) heavy whipping cream

- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar

- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

And beat on medium-high until peaks formed. Delicious!

And the cocoa? The cheap Swiss Miss, rice milk, vanilla coconut milk AND unsweetened almond milk.

Chicken vegetable pot pie

Yes, we're still eating that chicken. I worked again this afternoon so we cheated a bit on this one.

- store bought pie crust

- almond milk

- Campbell's cream of potato soup

- vegetables

- potatoes

- garlic powder 

- curry powder

- paprika 

I took an old butter wrapper and greased a deep dish pie pan. I preheated the oven to 410 degrees.

Next, my husband microwaved some potatoes and I put the bottom pie crust into the pie pan.

We plopped in the soup, then a half can of almond milk. I sprinkled in leftover chicken and frozen vegetables (carrots, spinach, cauliflower, and peas). 

Next I added the spices, a quick sprinkle of the paprika and garlic and probably about a tablespoon of curry powder. We added more chicken.

The potatoes went on top of that and then I topped with the second crust. Into the oven she went, covered with aluminum foil. 30 minutes with foil, then 15 minutes without. I then lowered the heat to 350 and did another 15.

The result was scrumptious but a tad saltier than I'm used to these days.

Chicken stock

As directed by several friends, I left my chicken bones and uneaten parts in my crockpot, adding lots of water.

For two days.

I don't have a sieve or cheese cloth so I took my colander, lined it with a thin disg towel and strained it that way.

My yield was 8 cups, which I poured into yogurt containers to freeze.

Chicken leftovers

The chicken I made in the crockpot turned out very yummy, if you like chicken. Personally, chicken on its own doesn't excite me.

Tonight's dinner excited me much more. We took some of the leftover chicken and made fajitas of romaine lettuce, cheese, chicken, black beans, and salsa. 

Mom's Cream of Wheat

- slightly more than 1/3 cup cream of wheat

- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk

- 3/4 cup vanilla coconut milk

- 1 tablespoon local raw honey

- about 1 cup strawberries

- about 1 cup homemade applesauce (local apples)

Boil the coconut and almond milk with the honey and strawberries. Add cream of wheat. Continue to boil about two minutes while stirring constantly. (The cream of wheat will stick to the strawberries making a kind of fruit nugget. I like these.)

Let simmer on low while casually stirring until desired consistency. Stir in applesauce before serving.

Real Food's Chicken in the Crock Pot

I'm making a variation of this today:

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2011/02/25/recipe-the-best-whole-chicken-in-a-crock-pot/

And hope to attempt my own stock tonight.

Lamb sausage skillet

Leftover potatoes from Christmas.

Diced.

Leftover fresh arugula & spinach.

Sautéed in butter.

Lamb sausage.

Seasoning: raj el hanout & low sodium soy sauce