Simple Dinners are the Best!

I have really been working on avoiding processed foods.  Made-from-scratch cakes taste better, and so do made-from-scratch dinners.  However, sometimes you just don't feel like cooking and having to clean up lots of dishes.  So what do you do?  Do you cave in and say, "oh this one time of grabbing a pizza won't matter?"  Or do you throw something together? 

My meal tonight proved that you can throw a quick and nutritious and made-from-scratch meal together and not spend all night in the kitchen.  So what was this oh-so-fabulous meal you ask?  It was a BLT salad.  It was comfort food meets healthy.  The thing that made it even better was that part of it was produced at The Tipsy Bee.  The cucumbers came from the garden.  The eggs came from the hens (notice those golden yolks!!).  And the lettuce and tomatoes came from one of my favorite places in the entire world, Whole Foods, and were organically grown. 

This meal was quick and fresh and pretty inexpensive.  So, the next time you are physically and mentally drained, and you just don't feel like spending time in the kitchen, throw together a BLT salad.  Say yes to fresh and no to fast food! 

Sometimes I cave to feeling lazy, but I am always sooooo much happier when I put in the effort and make a nutritious meal.  That leads into a future post... I happen to think that bacon, cheese, and eggs are actually good for you.  Until next time...

XOXO The Tipsy Bee

BLT Salad

Chicken Pot Pie and the Food Rules that I Live By!

The food rules that I live by... life is short, so enjoy good food daily.  Food is always one million times better when it is made from scratch.   Butter is meant to be added to food in healthy doses.  Soul or comfort food soothes the soul and should not be reserved for rainy days. 

One of my favorite soul food dishes is chicken pot pie.  And since one of my food premises is that soul food should be enjoyed and eaten in both good and not-so-good times, I decided to kick off my birthday weekend (a good time) with a made-from-scratch, melt-in-your-mouth, butter-laden chicken pot pie. 

It is amazing how cream, butter, milk, flour, vegetables, a few spices, and of course chicken come together to make this scrumptious creation.  It really is pretty simple... cook your chicken, reserve the broth, saute your vegetables, add sea salt and black pepper, make the sauce, mix vegetable and chicken and sauce together, add the crust, and voila, a Southern concoction, perfect for everything from Sunday dinner to much-needed comfort food for the day you find out that your ex-boyfriend (aka the jerk) just got engaged to your former best friend (that hussy), is born.

In review...

1.  Mix dough for crust... any pie crust will do.

2.  Cook Boneless Chicken Breasts

3.  Saute vegetables in 2 tablespoons of butter and salt to taste

4.  Make sauce by combining 1 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of flour, 1 cup milk, 2 cups of cream, 1 cup of chicken broth, and salt and pepper to taste.  Sage and nutmeg may be added to suit taste.  Then add vegetable mixture and chicken to the sauce.

5.  Add crust to top of dish and bake at 325 degrees F for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

6.  Serve and enjoy!

XOXO The Tipsy Bee