Pi Day Recipe

Since being diagnosed with cancer, I've tried eating cleaner, greener, healthier...all the buzzwords that represent the way we are supposed to eat these days. The bottom line, I just want to decrease chemicals and high fructose corn syrup and gmos and processed foods while increasing whole foods in my diet. In other words, I buy the ingredients to make soup instead of opening up a can. I mix up olive oil and vinegar, maybe some dijon and honey and create my own salad dressing instead of buying one with words I can't pronounce.

I am far from perfect on any of this. I've noticed my diet slipping into convenience and mindless eating lately. So, in light of my refocus on healthier eating, I will from time to time blog about a recipe I attempted for dinner. I know this is a common struggle, the "what's for dinner" daily torture, so maybe my recipes may help some of you.

Probably not. But, I'm going to try anyway. The pictures aren't going to be Pioneer Woman quality since I used my handy Iphone 5, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Yesterday was March 14th or otherwise known as pi day (3.14... get it?) or better yet, pie day! I decided to makeover the Impossibly Easy Chicken Pot Pie recipe from Bisquick. This is a simple recipe--open up a can of cream of chicken soup, add frozen veggies, mix up some Bisquick, milk and an egg and bake it for 30 minutes.

Of course, my goal was to make it a tad more healthier and forgo a bit of chemicals and processed foods.  The ingredients for cream of chicken soup include modified food starch (this is an all-encompassing term which makes me wonder, what food is the starch from and how is it modified?), soy protein (a food my naturopath advised me to avoid because of my estrogen positive cancer), and MSG ( a flavor additive in processed food with controversial health concerns). By mixing up a few ingredients that I've selected myself, I can avoid all of this in my food.

If you haven't made a "cream-of" soup before, it is quite simple. There are many recipes online for this. All I do is take 3 tablespoons of olive oil or butter (most times I use olive oil, but last night I mixed in a bit of butter) and 3 tablespoons of flour (check your labels to make sure it's not bleached or enriched if you want to avoid more additives). I then whisked it smooth as it heated. Then I added 1/2 cup of chicken broth and  1/2 cup milk (any kind will do; I used organic non-fat milk), whisking constantly as it simmers for about 2-3 minutes. You'll notice the sauce will start to thicken. I like to use lots of spices when I cook, not only for the added flavor but the nutritional benefits, too. I added about a teaspoon each of garlic, thyme, onion powder and turmeric, and seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Turmeric is a healthy anti-inflammatory and turns whatever you add it to golden yellow. I use it often in soups and sauces.

Since I doubled the recipe, the sauce didn't fit back into the measuring cup, so I added the rest to the pie plates.

I rinsed out the pan and sauteed about 1/4 cup of onions. If I had to do it again, I would have sauteed the onions first. Then I realized I needed to cook the frozen chicken, so I emptied out the onions from the pan into the pie plates, threw in the chicken, added enough water to cover the bottom, sprinkled on a bit of salt and garlic, and simmered with the lid on while I worked on the topping.

Because I didn't remove all the sauce when I sauteed the onions, it burnt to the side of the pan. I was hoping it would add a flavor component to the chicken, just like the chefs say on TV.

Here again is a place where I had to decide if I was going to make this meal using entirely whole ingredients or take a shortcut. If I had allowed for more time,  I would have googled how to make a Bisquick-like mix. Some days, even the thought of searching through Google was more than I wanted to do. (We can blame Daylight Savings Time on my afternoon energy crashes this week.)

So, I chose to use this instead:

 It's not perfect because it has enriched flour as its first ingredient, but after that, all the ingredients are recognizable (i.e. Whole Wheat Flour, Rolled Oats, Yellow Cornmeal, Wheat Bran, Oat Bran, Sugar, Salt).  Bisquick uses only enriched white flour (which is why the mix is so white), and then adds partially hydrogenated soybean and/or cottonseed oil (which contain trans fats, the worst kind of fat you can consume) and dextrose (a modified sweetener often used in processed foods). The Trader Joe's version has sugar listed low on the ingredient list, but even this could have been left out if I made this myself.

The multigrains in the Trader Joe's version were a plus, something I would not have accomplished entirely from things I had on hand. Yet using whole wheat flour or another whole grain flour to make this mix without any added sugar would have just taken these four ingredients.  Next time.

To make the dough, I used 1 cup of mix, 1 egg and 1/2 cup milk and stirred it up until most of the lumps were gone.

Now that the chicken was cooked, I cut it up into small pieces and added it to the pie plates, along with as many frozen and fresh vegetables as I could fit in (broccoli, peas, carrots, corn, green beans), and then stirred in the sauce and onions. I gently placed the dough on top, trying to cover as much of the surface area as possible. I had a bit of sauce left over, so I poured it onto the crust at the end. I'm pretty sure this could have ruined the entire dish, but I was in a daring mood.

I put it into a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. I filled up the small pie pans too full and some of the sauce bubbled over. Next time, I'll make this in a deeper casserole dish, but last night only a pie would do, because of course, it was Pi day.

So, here it is out of the oven. It's not fancy. The whole grains makes it look less appealing than the white flour which turns golden brown when baked. I'll call it rustic. It smelled wonderful.

We ate in shifts last night because of various activities and one kid sick, but no one complained about the taste. (Which is sort of like a compliment, right?) Actually, Nathan said it was good and went for a second piece.

 Becca was excited to eat when she came home, but was confused why the pot pie looked like it was untouched. (The other dish was empty and in the sink soaking). Finally, Ben woke up from his nap because a cold has been dragging him down, but even though he was hungry, he wasn't sure if he'd like it. I spotted him having a second serving when he didn't know I was looking.

The original recipe makes four generous pieces, of which my boys had two. So, if you have teenagers or more than four to feed, plan on doubling the recipe, which is what I do automatically these days.

Here is a copy of the recipe in an easier-to-read format.

Chicken Pot Pie
serves 4

1/4 cup onions
3 TB butter or olive oil
3 TB Flour (whole wheat, multi-grained preferred)
Various spices (onion powder, garlic, tumeric, thyme), 1 tsp each
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk (your choice)
1 cup cooked chicken, cut into small pieces
about 2 cups of frozen and/or fresh vegetables
1 cup baking mix (homemade is best)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400°
1.Saute onions in a small amount of olive oil until brown. Remove from pan.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil or butter over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons of flour and whisk until smooth. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth while whisking, and slowly add 1/2 cup milk. Turn down heat and whisk constantly as it simmers and starts to thicken, about 2-3 minutes. Add spices, salt and pepper. Pour sauce into pie plate with the vegetables, onions and cooked chicken. Stir.

3.Mix up 1 cup baking mix, 1 cup milk and egg, stirring until most of the lumps are removed. Pour over top of vegetables and chicken, gently spreading to edges.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

So What if We Need Community

 When I was in high school literature class (aren't you amazed I can remember back that far?) we were discussing the poem, "No Man is an Island" by John Donne. Our teacher was trying to get us to understand what it meant, but his requests for deep thought were left empty by our juvenile disinterest. I remember it today because he tried so hard for us to understand the meaning of the poem, that we all need each other. Humans do not thrive separated from each other.

I follow, along with 52,000 others,  Jess Connolly on Instagram (@jessaconnolly). She's the coauthor of Wild and Free, a book I started reading last summer and misplaced but am confident will show up at the perfect time when I need to hear what it says. Ask me how I know this.  But, here's my point. Last weekend Jess ran her first marathon. At mile 14 she called her husband in tears, and many of her friends changed their plans to run with her, to support her in this fearful, difficult place.

She spoke aloud the lies Satan was whispering, "You are so needy."

"You are so emotionally weak."

"You can't do anything alone and you always need help."

She continues in her reflection on Instagram, "After a few miles and a lot of prayers, the Lord stirred up some truth in me. So what? So what if you were made for community?"

Yes! So what? We all need community. We are not designed to live life on our own.

When I first started this blog and titled it Running my Race after the verse in Hebrews, my friend Wendy shared with me a story about a middle school boy who was struggling to finish his race at a track meet. A group of kids joined him and encouraged him to finish. She said she doesn't remember hearing the cheers for the first place finisher, but everyone cheered for this selfless act of support by his teammates. We shouldn't need to run our races alone.

A single lady in my bible study moved for the second time in a few months. She agonized about asking for help, again. She wanted to do it all by herself, but the reality of her overwhelming task wouldn't allow her. She reached out to our pastor, and he organized a few guys to help, including himself. She felt utterly grateful. Yet, if I asked the guys who helped, they probably felt equally blessed. Yes, it was inconvenient. It was hard work. Still, something about helping someone lighten her load just a little bit lifts a person's spirits, too.

We all need each other.

My community did the heavy lifting when I was in the midst of my cancer treatment. My family would have suffered more than they already were if I was too prideful to ask for help. Sometimes, we need to risk and do the asking. Other times, we hear the need and run alongside someone to encourage them through that dark place. Both parts are essential.

Besides my bible study groups, I'm also a part of a prayer group. These families have become my family as we pray for each others kids, marriages, extended families, work, you name it. We officially meet once a month, have dinner and pray for each other, but that connection continues throughout the month as we send out prayer requests anytime, knowing our friends will stop and pray for that need. These are the type who would drop everything and run with me if I needed help on my 14th mile.

What about you? Do you have a community, someone to run along side when you are weary or fearful or bone-tired? Sometimes finding that group is difficult. It takes risk. I remember talking with one of the ladies who had planned on joining our Sunday morning bible study. She was nervous, never having done anything like this before, afraid she didn't know enough of the bible to fit in. I encouraged her. She risked. The whole group welcomed her, like they do every new person who joins. Now that she has been attending for several months, it is clear she has given us all more than we ever gave her. That's the beauty of being part of a community.

No man is an island. So what if we need help to run our race. We are meant for community. Where can you find yours today?