random bites.

YO! wow. just wow. i am overwhelmed with the outpouring of love everyone left on my last post. each and every comment was taken to heart and i have also received so many emails and have forwarded them all to momma b. it gives me the chills when i think about the support this community offers. i have heard from so many people—many who i didn’t even know read my blog. thank you for reaching out and taking the time to say something!

as you may have figured, a lot of things these past 5 days have gone unphotographed. i have eaten a lot of sweets. like.. a lot. and i have eaten a lot of casseroles.. but that is no surprise, right? i have managed to snap a few photos here and there, so i have decided to do a mish-mash post of random eats that i caught on camera.

last friday, i left off letting you guys know that i was going to make a redemption st. patrick’s day meal since i didn’t get to make it on actual st. patrick’s day. (that seems like eons ago now!)  well, redemption is sweet.

i made my own recipe for sweet potato shepherd’s pie (which is, of course, a casserole in pie’s clothing)…

and then i tried my hand at irish soda bread for my first time ever!

it was so easy! and used no yeast.. i have had a few yeast flops so i am glad i didn’t have to try to mess with it. the recipe was the easiest ever—only 4 ingredients. flour, baking soda, salt and buttermilk. i used this recipe and used all whole wheat flour.

dinner success.

   

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i recently tried a new type of probitoic drink (similar to kombucha) that every coconut lover NEEDS in their life.

kevita. i got it at whole foods and it is $3 a pop. a friend of mine works at whole foods and gave me this one as a sample, but i think she was just trying to hook me for future purchases.

the nutrition label is a lot like that of GT’s kombucha..

 

and it tastes awesome. if you like coconut, that is. this one was mango coconut and it was definitely sweeter than GT’s kombucha, but the coconut flavor was nice and mellow. if you are in the market for some bacteria in your belly, give this a try. i liked it.

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i made heather’s banana chocolate chip cookies last night.

i ate four.

okay, five.. counting the one i had for breakfast.

i brought the rest to work. these are too dangerous to have in the house. you should probably make them.

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i made taco soup in the crock pot last night and i am eating the leftovers for lunch right now.

 

i added quinoa to it today. pretty sure you could add quinoa to anything to bulk it up and make it more delicious. i am on a quinoa kick, no doubt.

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and now, the best thing i want to share is my recipe for chicken pot pie casserole. SO DANG GOOD. and easy!

this recipe makes 8 BIG servings.

ingredients:

• 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup sweet potato, diced small
• 1 cup russet potato, diced small
• 1 cup celery, diced small
• 1 cup carrots, diced small
• 2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 2 cups pearl onions, thawed
• 1 lb bonesless, skinless chicken breast, diced small
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tsp TJ’s 21 seasoning salute (or similar spice blend)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 1/2 cups milk (i used skim)
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 TB cornstarch
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa (yield 1.5 cups cooked)
• 4-5 sheets whole wheat fillo dough

directions:

in a large pot or deep saucepan, bring your broth to a boil (fact: i just typed “bring your brother to a boil”—sorry brother.)

slice and dice those veggies and add them all to the broth once it is boiling.

cover and let the veggies cook for at least 8 minutes. they should be fork-tender. remove the lid and add your chicken.

cook the chicken in the broth & veggies, stirring occasionally.

once the chicken is cooked through (about 8 more minutes), turn the heat to low-medium and use a slotted spoon to dish veggies & chicken into a bowl.

 

next, combine the milk and flour in a bowl with a whisk.

add the cornstarch

pour mixture into the broth.

add all of your seasonings at this point. cook over low-medium heat until it is nice and thick.

add your chicken & veggies back into the pot.

mix well.

add your quinoa.. which you should have cooked by now. you have, right? hope so!

pour mixture into a 13×9 baking dish.

get your fillo dough ready!

don’t be worried if you tear it to shreds.. just make sure you get a couple layers of dough covering the casserole dish.

bake at 400 degrees for about 15-18 minutes, until the dough is nice and flaky.

time to dig in!

nutrition info per serving (based on 8 for the entire recipe)

 

delicious. comforting. healthy. amazing.

that’s all i’ve got for now! since i am behind on blogging, you can expect a few product reviews and giveaways in the near future. stay tuned.

Qs~

1. how comfortable are you with cooking/baking with yeast? me=not at all.

2. what meal screams “COMFORT FOOD” to you? this may be strange, but toast with butter dunked into cocoa (made with milk and nesquik—this is part is crucial) is the thing that is most comforting to me. we call it “cocoa and toast” and i grew up eating it for breakfast several times a week. and yes, i learned this from my sweet momma b! love you mom.

xo. janetha g.