Christmas Dinner

This is a little late, but back in December I hosted a pot luck dinner (I would have made everything, but with a 3 month old...I opted for help this year!) for our friends. I have wanted to post about it and share a few pictures for awhile, but I am just getting around to it now!

As usual, we all had a great time and Aiden was so good! He went to bed around 8:30 and the rest of the night I was able to share a glass of wine with my girlfriends! He is the only baby right now, but he gets a lot of love from everyone!

I made the turkey, stuffing, gravy and bread. Everyone else made amazing food, including a loaded lasagna (seriously this is probably the best lasagna ever, and I make a pretty wicked lasagna!), corn bread, meatballs, mashed potatoes, a veggie dish, ceaser salad, and much more!! For dessert a friend of mine made a tray including this fabulous pumpkin bread. I didn't think I liked pumpkin, but damn this bread was good!

FOOD!

Enjoying dinner

Dessert

 

Girls :)

My card display

Our tree <3

I seriously love my group of friends! We always have such a great time when we get together. In the summer we hang out all the time, but then the winter comes and we all become a little dormant! I am hoping to make this a yearly tradition and this first year went over really well. We already have our next big event planned. We are all going snowtubing at the end of January. And I am thinking we are going to let Aiden have his first sleepover at my moms. I am really looking forward to a solid 8 hours (he sleeps great, only getting up once...but I really want 8 hours!), but I am also really sad about leaving him. Hopefully it goes smooth!

Turkey:
I made a big turkey so I would have leftovers to make pot pie. I use a big roasting pan, stuff the turkey, season with seasoning salt and pepper. I put about 1" of water, garlic and onion around the turkey and cook at 350*F for 20min/pound of turkey. I also have a meat thermometer I keep in the oven to make sure it is cooked.

Stuffing:
I don't really have a recipe, I just mix everything together until I get the right taste! I break up a loaf of cheap white bread into small pieces, add chopped onion and celery, salt, pepper and sage. I then mix in melted butter. I seriously LOVE stuffing...even uncooked!! Whenever my grandma has turkey dinners she always puts some uncooked stuffing aside for me. AMAZING!!!! (yeah I'm weird like that!!)

Gravy:
Once the turkey is done I remove it and use the drippings to make gravy. I use Bisto (it is a dark gravy, but I love it with beef, chicken or turkey) and strain to make it smooth.

Chicken/Turkey Pot Pie

I am finally going to post about this amazing chicken (or turkey) pot pie I have been promising you!

Two weekends ago I hosted a potluck Christmas dinner with out friends. It turned out great!! I have some seriously good cooks as friends J I made sure to buy a BIG turkey (16 pounds!) so I would have leftovers to make pot pie. I was able to make a double batch and freeze two big bowls.

This past Sunday I had my grandparents over for a Christmas lunch and we had individual pies. Tonight I used the rest (from that big bowl) and made a large pie (using a bought pie shell). I do make my own pastry which I used on Sunday and for the top of the large pie.

So if you are hosting dinner, make sure you buy a large turkey so you can enjoy this seriously delicious meal!

Chicken or Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients:

-          ¼ cup butter

-          ¼ cup flour

-          salt & pepper to taste

-          2 tbsp finely chopped onion

-          3 cups chicken broth

-          2 carrots, thinly sliced

-          2 celery sticks, thinly sliced

-          2 potatoes, cubed in small pieces

-          3 cups sliced mushrooms

-          2 tbsp butter

-          ½ cup peas

-          ½ cup corn

-          3 cups cooked & diced chicken

-          Pastry (see below)

Directions:

1.      Melt butter in large sausepan over medium heat.

2.      Blend in flour, salt, pepper and onion. Gradually stir in chicken broth. Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened.

3.      Add carrots, celery and potatoes. Cook until fork tender.

4.      Meanwhile, in a small frying pan, cook the mushroom in the butter until soft.

5.      Add mushrooms, peas, corn and chicken to vegetables mixture. Mix well and pour into casserole.

6.      Cover with pastry and slash to allow steam to escape.

7.      Bake in preheated 400^oF for about 40 minutes or until pastry is golden brown.

Pastry
**Note: I make this right on the counter. It is messy but makes a great pastry!

Ingredients:

-          ¾ pound cold butter

-          3 cups flour

-          1 tsp salt

-          2/3 cup water

Directions:

1.      Cut butter into small cubes using a knife

2.      Cover with flour and salt. Using a pastry blender (or two knives) cut butter and flour together until well combine, but still dry and rough.

3.      Slowly add water and mix (I use my pastry blender to start, but finish with my hands) and roll into a ball.

4.      Flour surface and roll and fold dough a couple times. Refrigerate for 15 minutes and repeat roll and fold process.

5.       Dough is ready to use.