So while you may have thought I gave up on this Blog, I have not. I have been out of town, working on and off, for the past two weeks. So where does that leave my family eating when I am gone? I have to admit that, for the most part, the time that I am away I generally plan the meals as if I will be in town. However, since Mike does not walk in the door until 6:30, and the rest of the crew is babysitting Matthew or doing homework we usually switch to some go to meals that are easy and quick. In my world I am away on business, in yours it could be anything from a parent teacher meeting, a sick child at home, or a night out with your spouse.

Knowing that I was going to be away, I had a plan. For two weeks Jessica (daughter #2) has been asking for Chicken Pot Pie. I was going to need chicken, so I roasted an extra chicken, when I made  Friday night dinner.

Sunday, I pulled out the chicken and de-boned it. I decided to prepare the chicken pot pie without baking it off. This way when the kids came home from school on Monday, they could place it in the oven and the puff pastry would bake off fresh. A hot fresh dinner would be on the table in about 30-40 minutes. 

If you have never made chicken pot pie, I would say the hardest part is cutting the ingredients into pieces, and by the way you have everything you need in your home. Recipe will follow.

OK Monday night complete. As I think I have mentioned in the past, we try and rotate from a meal with meat or chicken to a dairy meal. A friend of mine called me last week to discuss dinners for the week and while she still can't get everyone to eat one meal she is getting close. She mentioned that they are having burritos for dinner and wanted to know what we were having. Funny, that's my Tuesday night plan. Burrito night in our place, is more like a make your own taco/burrito. Main ingredients: Tortilla (flour, corn, carb lovers, spinach..whatever you like), ground meat, chicken, tofu. In our home we use Morningstar Crumbles, flavored with Chili powder and cumin. At dinner we place the crumbles in a bowl, and the condiments around. This is the part where each person at your table can decide how they want their dinner. You may have a child that only eats the crumbles in a tortilla alone, or one that likes it with cheese and salsa.  Any way you wrap it, it's good, because it's the way you like it. Some other condiments, may be guacamole, cilantro, black beans, corn, re-fried beans, sour cream, cheddar cheese, Spanish rice, and the list can go on and on. 

Now the hard part, I confess, I bought a package of Hot Dogs and frozen fries for Wednesday night. While Hot Dogs are not the most nutritious, I feel better knowing that the dogs we buy are kosher, and therefore if it says beef it is beef. That's not to say that it is not filled with preservatives, but life needs hot dogs at times. Along with the hot dogs, I bought a bag of cole slaw. Somewhere along the way I started making cole slaw, I made up the dressing and it has become a staple. I have friends that are on the Atkins diet for years and I modified it so they could eat it. So now hot dog night has fresh veg!!!! Ah I can rest easy.

Finally got home today, just in time to shop and cook for Shabbat, oh and is it really Rosh Hashana next week???? Time to break out the honey and the apples.

Don't you just love fall? It makes Good Food In Good Time even better.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 Tbls Magarine                                                   3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
1-2 Carrot thinly sliced                                        2 Cups Chicken Diced
1 Stalk of Celery thinly sliced                             1 Potato Diced
1 Medium Onion chopped                                   5 Tbls Flour
2 1/2 Cups Chicken Stock                                   1/2 Tsp Pepper
1 Tsp Fresh Rosemary Chopped (optional)         1/4 cup Frozen Peas

1 Sheet Puff Pastry

Place oil and Margarine in a large hot pan. Saute Onion, Carrot and Celery until just soft. Next add diced potato and cook until potato softens. Add Flour and mix over heat just until the flour cooks about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock,  to pan and stir. There should not be any clumps at his point. Add Pepper and Rosemary. Salt to taste. Cook until thickened. Add Frozen Peas and chicken and heat through.

Pour Chicken and vegetables into an oven proof dish and set aside. Open the sheet of puff pastry and roll out to thin a bit. Place the pastry over the top of the chicken and vegetables and seal on the edges. Pierce the middle. Bake in the oven at 400 degrees until top is golden brown.
Enjoy!!!!

Cole Slaw

1 Bag of pre-shredded Cole Slaw Mix     
3 packets Splenda
1 tsp Lemon Juice
2-3 Heaping Tablespoons Mayonnaise
3-4 shakes of Hot Sauce (Optional)
Pinch of Salt and Pepper to taste

Open bag of Cole Slaw
Add remaining 4 ingredients and mix through. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Store for 2 hours or overnight.