An Embarrassingly Easy Chicken Pot Pie

I recently made a couple Chicken Pot Pies for some friends and my family. This was embarrassingly easy and equally unhealthy.

For 1 Pot Pie
1 roasted whole chicken, shredded
1 premade pie crust, from the freezer in the "health food" area of the store
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed and cut into 1 inch strips
1/2 package frozen mixed veggies, peas, corn, carrots & green beans
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 pint 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 diced sweet yellow onion
salt, pepper & thyme to taste
a little bit of flour +/- 1/4 cup

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter in a large pan. Add onion and saute until translucent, stir in veggies, chicken, salt, pepper and thyme. Sage, basil and tarragon would also be good additions. Stir in the 1/2 & 1/2 and flour, continue to stir until the mixture thickens a bit.

Add the chicken mixture to the pie crust and top with the puff pastry strips. Bake at 400 until the pastry is brown and fluffy, about 35-40 minutes. Allow to cool a few minutes and serve. I actually made a green salad to go with this in an attempt to counter act the butter and 1/2 & 1/2.

Make Do With What’s In Front Of You!

The other day I had my schedule all figured out. I had a plan for my workout, I was lifting weights and it was time for my legs. There were a few exercises I had not done in a while and they were circling around in my head. I left my house to meet my first client and suddenly my schedule changed, not in a bad way, just different, and with the change, my exercise window narrowed.

I work with my clients in a small gym that is equipped with what I need but not all the bells and whistles of the bigger, local health club. My plan was to work with my morning client and head across town to the health club. With the schedule change I still had time to work out, but not to drive to another gym and therefore not what I was anticipating for my leg workout. Of course I was going to be fine changing my workout but for a few minutes I was frustrated and thrown off track. I loosened up a bit, reworked my routine and "made do with what was in front of me".

The point of all this? How often do we get thrown off, mentally or physically, when something doesn't go as anticipated? Does exercise or preparing a healthy meal get put aside because there just is not “enough time” or we don’t have the “right” equipment or ingredients? How trapped are we inside the “little boxes” we create around the elements of our lives? Are there areas where we could be more flexible?
In this, the first of ? installments, I ask you to look at areas that are stumbling blocks in your life. Is there room for flexibility? Is it possible to break down some preconceived walls and “make do with what is in front of you?”

Coming down the pipes will be an at home workout and a couple quick exercise fixes as well as a few, or a lot, of words on the simplicity of healthy eating along with a recipe or two. Stay tuned and give yourself a few minutes to get your blood flowing!