Ashby's Homemade Pot Pie

2 uncooked pie shells
1 whole roasted chicken
2-3 stalks celery
1/2 white onion
1 Tbls. butter
3 red potatoes
2 large carrots
15 green beans
1/2 bag frozen corn
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1/4 to 1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Take your roasted chicken breast (which can be found just about anywhere, Safeway, Wal-Mart, Costco, etc.) and peel the skin off the skin of the chicken and shred the meat; set aside.

Chop the celery and onions into small pieces. Melt butter in a skillet and saute the celery and onions together until onions are soft and translucent. Remove from heat and set aside.

Chop the remaining vegetables and place in a pot of water. I like to chop the vegetables in order of what needs to be boiled the longest. I start with the potatoes and put them in the water, then the carrots and put them in the water (.....are you seeing a pattern?), then the green beans, add the corn, and then the peas. Boil until potatoes are slightly tender. Drain water from vegetables.

Place one of the pie shells (I like to get the refrigerated Pillsbury shells that are rolled up) in the bottom of a pie dish and form the edges. Sometimes I have to cut off some of the edges because they are too big.

Now, mix the soups together (in a large bowl because you'll be adding all the other ingredients to it) and add desired amount of milk to thin. You don't want to make it too runny, or it'll spill out of the pie. Add the chicken, celery and onions, and vegetables. Mix together until everything is covered. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour into uncooked pie shell. Cover with the remaining shell, form sides, and cut a 1-inch slit in the top. You may want to put foil around the edges so they don't burn.

Place pie on cookie sheet because the insides sometimes drip out. Bake for 40 minutes, and remove foil around edges. Bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the top crust looks a golden brown. Let sit for another 5-10 minutes and serve!

Stove Top Chicken Casserole

1 pkg. Stove Top Stuffing Mix for Chicken
2-3 chicken breasts cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
1/3 cup sour cream
1 bag (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed, drained

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare stuffing mix as directed on box, set aside.
Mix together soup and sour cream. Add chicken and mixed vegetables and mix until covered with sauce. Place in 13x9 inch pan then top with prepared stuffing.
Bake 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through!

So easy, and so good!

ENJOY!

Best Ever Pot Roast and Gravy

I used to make my roasts in my crock pot and they were ALWAYS dry, until my sister-in-law taught me how to do it in the oven. And I will never go back! This seriously is the best, most tender, and easiest to make roast you will ever eat!

ROAST
3-4 pound Chuck Roast (Safeway and Costco have GREAT chuck roasts)
Meat Tenderizer
Mrs. Dash Original
Pam

Sprinkle the roast with the meat tenderizer on all sides and let sit for 5-10 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 250 degrees, and spray a large (oven safe) pot with Pam. I use the largest one I have but make sure it has a lid. If not, foil works too. Sprinkle the roast again with a desired amount of Mrs. Dash. Place roast in large pot on the stove and sear all sides over medium-high heat. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Let it cook for 5-6 hours.

GRAVY
Juices from roast
1 cup cold water
1/2 to 1 cup COLD water mixed with 3 tbls. flour (shake well to mix)

After roast is done cooking, remove from oven and poor juices into a sauce pan. Be sure to keep the roast covered while making the gravy so it doesn't dry out. Bring juices to a boil over high-heat and let it boil down almost to where you think it is about to burn. At that point pour 1 cup of water into the sauce pan and mix with a whisk. Then add the water mixed with the flour (this keeps the flour from clumping, but you have to make sure you mix it again before adding to the gravy). Mix together until it begins to thicken. There's no need to add salt, the Mrs. Dash keeps the gravy well flavored.

And Voila! Enjoy!

Magic Cookie Bars

1 package graham crackers
1 cube butter or margarine
1 can sweetened condensed milk
chocolate chips
coconut
walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter in 9x9 baking dish in microwave. Finely crumble graham crackers. Add crackers to butter to make a crust. Pour sweetened condensed milk over crust, then layer chocolate chips (the more the better, in my opinion!), coconut and nuts over the milk. Bake for 25-30 minutes (more gooey at 25, that's the way we like 'em!)

Coconut Cream Cake

This recipe is so good (thanks to Alyssa Frost!), and even if you don't care for coconut, it hardly has that flavor at all. It is just yummy, cold and delicious!

1 white cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can cream of coconut (found in the liquor section, but contains no liquor!)
1 tub whipped topping
coconut flakes, if desired

Mix sweetened condensed milk and cream of coconut in bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour. Mix and bake cake according to directions on box. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, use the stick end of a wooden spoon to poke several holes throughout. Take mixture out of the fridge and pour over the top of the cake. Spread the excess mixture into the holes. Refrigerate cake for at least 3 hours to let it cool and soak up all the mixture. When ready to serve, spread one tube of cool whip over the top and garnish with toasted or raw coconut flakes.

Creamy Artichoke Dip

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1 can diced green chiles (do not drain)
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained
6 oz. DiGiorno shredded parmesan cheese

Combine all ingredients together in a microwave-safe dish. Heat one minute in microwave, stir and continue to heat in 30 second increments until parmesan cheese is melted and dip is heated through. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with diced tomatoes and olives (if desired) and serve with shepherd's bread or tortilla chips. Quick and delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Delight

1 tube (16.5 ozs.) refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
1 (8oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1 carton Cool Whip
3 cups milk
1 small package instant chocolate pudding
1 small package instant vanilla pudding
Chopped nuts and chocolate curls, optional

Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes to soften. Press into an ungreased 13x9 in pan. Bake at 350 for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool.

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth. Fold in 1 and 3/4 cup Cool Whip. Spread over cookie.

Whisk together milk and pudding mixes for 2 minutes; let stand for 2 more minutes or until soft-set. Spread over cream cheese layer. Top with remaining whipped topping. Sprinkle with optional nuts and/or chocolate curls.

Cover and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight until firm.