All sorts of things are happening

 in the background.  It is going to be a few days of deliveries over the next few days and a couple of days next week,

I have ordered a day bed for the study/craft room with a trundle bed underneath so that we have somewhere to put the littlies if they want to stay over, which means I need to haul my backside into gear and get said room sorted out in readiness for the new addition to be put in. It will also be used as a settee in that room as we have a TV in here as well.  Will just then have to sort out some new bedding, quilts, sheets, pillows and a couple of cushions as well.  However they may well have to wait until we are off restrictions.  Once the room is tidied out and the new additions in, that means the study/craft room is very much completed, apart from said bedding, cushions, and maybe a rug.  It will be nice to have this room organised and my desk sorted and not looking like a bomb site.  Hopefully then I can get to the serious issue of doing my crafting.

The units that we are waiting for in respect of the kitchen are due at the end of next week as well.  OH seems to think he can get the sink in before then but we shall wait and see.

Last night I set about making pie filling to make chicken pie for tea tonight, so that I could then let it go cold and go in the fridge overnight.  This recipe is loosely based on a Chicken Pot Pie recipe.  However I do not use cream as I like a brown gravy for my meals.  I am not keen on white gravies!

Ingredients:

about 1 oz butter

One medium onion I only had a large one so used 1/2 a chopped onion

2 medium carrots sliced

1 stalk chopped celery

2 cloves of minced garlic

Pinch mixed herbs

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried parsley

pinch of salt

Good sprinkling of white pepper

Veggie seasoning

1 tablespoon Redcurrant jelly

1 tablespoon Beef Gravy Powder

1kg cubed chicken breast

1 pint of stock (I Used ham stock)

4 teaspoons of Arrowroot or Cornflour - if not thick enough keep adding more until the gravy thickens to where you want it.

Mixed frozen veg about 6oz

Pre-prepared pastry to cover pie dish.

I ended up getting two pies out of the meat mixture.

Method:

In a pressure cooker saute onion, carrots, celery and garlic in butter until veggies are starting to soften.

Add thyme (fresh if possible) or just a little dried, Parsley, salt, pepper the cubed chicken and the stock.  I used ham stock.

Set to High Pressure (on my pressure cooker there is a pre-programme which brings the pressure cooker up to steam at which point you have to lock a lever and then process for 10 minutes, followed by letting out the steam at the end, and taking the lid of fairly quickly.

You then need to return to the saute or simmer function on your pressure cooker (if it has one).  At this point you can shred the chicken with the aid of two forks, however, I kept mine in cubes.  The mixture does thicken up a lot whilst pressure cooking.

You can then thicken up the mixture further with the addition of some cornflour or Arrowroot, slaking it down in a little water first.  I used a whisk to stir this in with. Get this reasonably thick.

At this point add in your frozen veg, simmer for 5 mins and then turn off.

Make your normal shortcrust pastry mixture, roll out  and line a pie dish and then add in half the mixture to your lined pie dish.

Put your top on the pie, crimp the edge, make a vent hole in the top for any excess steam, and then brush with a little milk for a golden finish.

Bake at Gas Mark 5 for approximately 45 minutes until golden brown.  I got two pies out of this mixture.  One for the freezer as well. Not bad for reduced chicken   chunks 1kg for approx £4.

Dinner all plated up for tonight.

It was very tasty.

I normally have cold hands apart from when it comes to making pastry.  They then go inextricably hot and I get in a right two and eight with the process.

For the best part  my Mum taught me how to cook however we hit a bit of a hiatus with pastry.  I had been taught a different method at school and got on fairly well with it until my Mum told me I was doing it all wrong and insisted I did it her way.  I naturally make very short pastry like my Gran (My mum's mum) and I am lucky if I manage to keep the pastry together for rolling out. As a result I get very anxious when it comes to making pastry and I prefer to be on my own when I do.  It is a silly thing really as you would think that with cold hands I had the ideal implements for making pastry but it is the only time they go hot!  I need to play a bit more in any event.

I grew up eating pies and pastries etc. courtesy of my mum, OH however is not keen on pastry and seems to think that we are only going to have what he likes to eat for tea.  However I fancied chicken pie.  He has grumbled a lot but I think has been pleasantly surprised in that he enjoyed it although freely admitting he is not a pastry fan and I think he will eat it if put before him again.  Well he had better, I have another pie in the freezer.

As an aside and purely by chance, one of the pie dishes I pulled out of the cupboard was indeed my mum's pie dish that she used for our meat pies when we were at home.  Made me wonder whether she was looking down on me, pulling her hair out saying Patricia No Not that Way!  Made me smile anyways.

Take care.

Pattypan

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