“3” YR BLOG ANNIVERSARY! LET’S CELEBRATE! WITH A “CHICKEN POT PIE” RECIPE

“We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing things, because we’re curious, and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths” by Walt Disney
 

Today is a special day for me….can you guess why? I’m celebrating “3” years of blogging. It’s my Blogiversary! I am amazed and blessed everyday at the amount of my readers that have visited. I have 150 countries and over 56,000 people who come back to visit and read my story as well as my recipes each week. My heart overflows with thanks for reading, subscribing, commenting, and liking what I write. I had no idea how this blog would impact so many people, including myself. Since I have started this blog every one of you has made me feel that I have something important to say and share. My passion for writing, my family traditions, recipes, and new experiences have given me confidence, and motivation. Blogging has given me the opportunity to share my personal stories, create friendships, and give me support. I am looking forward to new experiences, with new recipes to share. I hope that you will continue to come back as my journey of, year “3” continues! There is so much more to be accomplished! So let’s celebrate!

It is time to move forward, and I promise I will be giving my best whenever possible. I have come up with a few new ideas for this year, and the first thing I can think of is what I like to call “Wordless Tuesday.” I know some of you might be familiar with Wordless Wednesday, but I love to change things, and being my regular post is on Friday, to break up the week I thought it would be fun to post this on Tuesday. Hence forth “Wordless Tuesday” would be once a week, but contain no stories or information, just a delicious recipe! 

 Another plan I would like to implement is to have “Interviews.” An interview of a special person once a month. This person could be a blogger, an activist, an entrepreneur, or an expert on some specific topic. The members of my blogging community will get preference, so get prepared to be interviewed. These interviews will be based more on the personal life of the person, their recipes, and the traditions their family had when they were young, plus some fun question, ex: What type of Vegetable would you be? So let me give you the breakdown…Every Friday I will post my story, information, and my recipe, then every Tuesday will be known as “Wordless Tuesday” with just a delicious recipe, and finally once a month (have no date yet) will be a “Blog Interview Day.” If you would like to see something different or have an idea, please comment below and let me know what I can do to make your stay more enjoyable. 

Some people could eat a pie morning, noon, and night: meat pies, sweet pies, or savory pies. Any dish with a melt-in-the-mouth crust, and a satisfying filling is my kind of pie! I have been making pies for many years, and I guess you can say that I am passionate about pies. If I had to name my favorite pie, it would be almost impossible. National Pie Day is January 23rd. Remember, you don’t have to wait for January 23rd to make a pie…any day is a good day for a pie!

This week the weather people are predicting a Polar Vortex again, which means very cold temperatures will be across the country. That sounds like a day for comfort food. Comfort food is what we all need once in a while to bring back those warm days of being home with family. The kitchen was and still is the heart of our home. Our family did everything in the kitchen. It was a small room compared to the kitchens of today, but that made it even better as it was our gathering place. We would talk at the kitchen table; we did our homework there, and many other family projects. It always seemed that as my mother was cooking or baking we gravitated to that room. Maybe because it was a happy place to be with everyone while we were waiting for dinner. Sometimes my mom and dad would take out a deck of cards and play Kings Corners with us, remember at that time there weren't any of the electronic games or computers that we have today. Not even cell phones. We had one phone in the house with an extension that would go into my parent’s room. But the main phone was in the kitchen. So cards and board games were always at hand. I remember the kitchen windows would be foggy with steam from the warmth of the kitchen, as we tried to look out to see when my dad would be coming home from work.

Great-Grandmother 
Sofia-1950's?

As we had our dinner we would talk about the days events, and God forbid that the phone would ring and it was one of our friends, that was a no-no. Dinner time was for family and nothing could come between that. Now dinner was always a hearty and comforting meal, especially on cold days. Meat loaf, stews, hearty soups, and pot pies were the menu for those days. Pot pies were always fun and good to eat. You had the top crust which smelled and tasted like a pie, plus the warm cut up pieces of chicken and vegetables in delicious gravy. Once you opened the little individual pies, the gravy would float over the crust and all of the insides would flow out. Memories are so much fun to think about. Especially when they were always good times with my family in the kitchen.

My recipe this week is one that just makes you melt, releases all your tensions and comforts you as each fork full you take goes into your stomach. A life of pie, celebrate the ultimate one pot dish….Mangia! Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 (15 ounce) package refrigerated pie crust
1 (10.5 ounce) can Campbell's Chicken Gravy
3 cups cooked cut-up vegetables (sliced carrots, peas, cubed potatoes, corn, and mushrooms)   
2 (4.5 ounce) cans Premium Chunk Chicken Breast in Water, drained or fresh cooked cut up chicken breast

Directions:
Let the pie crusts stand at room temperature for 15 minutes or until they're easy to handle. Place 1 pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate. Stir the gravy, vegetables and chicken in a medium bowl. Spoon the chicken mixture into the pie plate. Place the remaining pie crust over the filling. Press the edges to seal. Cut several slits in the top crust. Bake at 400°F for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Till Next Time………………………

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