"Homemade" Chicken Pot Pie

I've had several requests for this recipe, and this is another one of Aaron's favorites that he requests often. The jist of this is frozen pie crusts, a can of chicken, can of veggies and then homemade sauce that just makes it yummy, yummy. I usually will just use 2 cans of chicken or a torn up rotisserie chicken and will make 2--one for now, and one to freeze.

INGREDIENTS:
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts (I just get frozen crusts and let them thaw out)
1 can chicken (my classic White Trash Recipe ingredient) or chicken from a fresh rotisserie chicken
1 large can mixed veggies

SAUCE:
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed (I never have this on hand, so I don't use it)
1 can chicken broth
2/3 cup milk

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)

2. Place chicken and veggies in thawed pie crust.

3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick.

4. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.

5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Meatloaf for Non-Meatloaf Lovers

A white trash recipe blog would not be complete without a meatloaf recipe. I was never a mealoaf fan until I finally decided I needed to make meatloaf for my hubby and I might as well try to find a recipe that I like too. SO, I found this recipe online, made a few little changes, and not only do I love it, but Aaron says it's the best meatloaf he's ever had.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup crushed Ritz crackers
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons steak sauce

TOPPING
2 tbls brown sugar
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
2 tablespoons of that Worts sauce (I don't know how to spell it and I don't want to look it up)


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Stir the ground beef, Ritz crackers, Cheddar cheese, and onion soup mix in a large bowl until well combined. Whisk the eggs, ketchup, and steak sauce in a separate bowl until smooth. Mix the eggs into the meat until evenly combined, if the mixture seems too dry, add a little water. Press into a 9x5 inch loaf pan, or shape into a loaf looking thing and stick it in a cake pan lined with foil.

3. Mix topping ingredients together and pour over meatloaf

4. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 60 minutes until meatloaf is 160 degrees inside

W.T. Chicken Enchiladas

I thought I better post something you can actually make for dinner. Sorry, I don't have a picture, but if any of you make it and remember to snap a shot, send it to me, otherwise, I'll have to add one later,

This one is for Natty to make her husband happy one night when she needs it the most. I learned to make these in Young Women's years ago and it is still one of my favorite recipes. (Just as a warning, I don't really know the exact measurements and I always usually end up making a 9 x 13 and 8 x 8 pan full of enchiladas, but these usually go pretty fast and, if not, make great leftovers.)

Ingredients:

1 bag tortillas (10 would be plenty)
1 pint Sour cream
1 can cream of chicken
1 small can chiles (optional)
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or 1-2 cans chicken, my White Trash secret for just about any recipe)
Lots of shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. If using chicken breasts, cook the chicken and then shred it using 2 forks. You can also cut it into small pieces if you aren't in the mood to shred. Tip: If you think about it early enough, chicken in the crock pot with a little water and some onions that has cooked all day on low is super moist and easy to shred, and also has really good flavor. Also, the BBQ makes for some good, moist chicken, and is super fast

If using canned chicken, open the can. :)

3 Mix together sour cream, cream of chicken, a handful of cheese and chiles. Spread some on the bottom of your pan (just enough to coat the pan)

4. Put aside about a cup and a half of the sourcream mixture to put on top of the enchiladas

5. Mix the rest of the sour cream stuff with your chicken

6. Spread a hefty spoonful of chicken mixture in a line on the tortilla and roll up.

7. Line the pan with the enchiladas seams down, top with the rest of the mixture, and cover with cheese

8. Cook for about 30 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly

9. Yum, yum!

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

This is my sister's request. And, yes, you can halve this recipe, but I too can finish a whole batch by myself, so I suggest making the whole dang thing. So good, and so easy (Hence, a part of my White Trash Recipe blog) I just happened to make these this weekend, so I stole a piece of my Wal-Mart leaves from above my cabinets and took a festive picture.

Ingredients:

2 boxes Spice Cake
1 can pumpkin (29 oz.)
1 bag chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and grease cookie sheet with some sort of spray

2. Mix all ingredients together (all 3 of them...)

3. Place rounded balls of dough on greased cookie sheets and bake for approx. 15 minutes. (Ovens vary...the cookies are done when you can stick a toothpick in and it comes out clean.)

4. Enjoy! These are super soft cookies...if they are too chewy or gooey, just stick them back in the oven for a little longer.

A Tribute to my Heritage & Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Those of you who know me know I love to cook. Growing up, I was always baking, and when I got to college, the mess in the kitchen was almost always mine because I was the one usually cooking. My mom is a very good cook and could concoct meatloaf out of chocolate (ok, well not really, but she can make just about anything), and she came from a house where potatoes were not allowed because my Grandpa was too gourmet for potatoes. Needless to say, I didn't get their genes. I inherited the love for cooking, but not the gourmet cook gene.

Over the years, I have learned my strengths and I have learned that I am a great cook with what I like to call "White Trash Recipes." Don't get me wrong, I love the recipes with all of my heart, but they are classified as "White Trash" because I would not exactly consider them gourmet or even completely homemade, but they are pretty dang good. I am a pro at finding super easy recipes that taste really good, and I know I have reached new heights when my husband hypes up my food more than he does his mom's.

I'm not ashamed. We've always joked that as children, hiking in the woods singing "Hi Ho" in rainbow striped shirts and booty shorts, we were the epitome of White Trash, and I am proud to label my recipes accordingly. So, as a tribute to my heritage, and as a favor for all those wives out there who want to outdo their mother-in-law's cooking every once in a while and receive high-marks from the hubby's without having to spend all day in the kitchen, here is my recipe blog. I will add new recipes that I find that work, and I will also post my "Classic White Trash Recipes" that I have mastered.

As a kick-off, here is one of easiest desserts EVER that is one of my most requested recipes.

Chocolate Eclair Dessert

Ingredients:
1 box of Graham crackers
2 small boxes of vanilla pudding (I prefer French Vanilla)
3 cups milk
1 8 oz tub of Cool Whip

For chocolate glaze:
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick butter (or margarine)
1/4 cup milk

Directions:
1. In a 13 x 9 cake pan, make one layer of graham crackers

2. Mix together pudding and milk, then add Cool Whip. Spread half of mixture over graham crackers

3. Cover pudding mixture with another graham cracker layer, and then use the rest of the pudding mixture for another layer

4. Top with one more layer of graham crackers.

Ok, the original recipe calls for chocolate frosting on top. Now, that would really constitute a super white trash recipe, and I am sure if you're in a hurry, it would totally work, but for once, I went against my nature and actually made something from scratch. Here's the best part....

5. In a medium saucepan, mix cocoa, sugar, butter, milk and vanilla. Stirring constantly, bring to a boil for 1 minute and then remove from heat. (Be sure not to scorch--basically, as long as it's all melted together, you'll be ok.)

6. Let cool for a couple minutes, then pour over graham crackers.

7. Refrigerate for a few hours...overnight is best. (It's super hard to resist, but I promise that this is definitely better the second day, just ask my sister who probably ate half of the dessert the first night, no exageration, and by the time the dessert was at it's prime, there were only a few bites left.)

8. Enjoy!