Asian Dumpling Soup

This one is, again, from Cooking With All Things Trader Joes and WAS SO EASY!!

1 (16oz bag) frozen Thai Shrimp Goyza (I used chicken, I don't like seafood)
4 cups (one 32oz carton) Low Sodium Organic Free Range Chicken broth
1 tsp soy sauce
1 small garlic clove crushed or 1/2 tsp jarred crushed garlic (I used 1 cube of their frozen crushed garlic)
3 cups (1 bag) of frozen Stir-Fry Vegetables
1 egg (optional - but I used it)
1 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
Black Pepper

In a medium pot (a large pot would have been better!), heat broth, soy sauce and garlic over medium-high heat. Bring mixture to a boil. Add gyoza and vegetables. When mixture boils again, reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes.
If using egg, beat with a fork until frothy. Slowly pour into boiling soup in a thin stream, creating cooked ribbons of egg. If you prefer, you can pan-fry the gg and cut into strips or squares to use as a garnish.
Remove from heat. Stir in sesame oil. Sprinkle with black pepper to taste.

How easy is that?? Needed a touch of salt but it tasted pretty good!

Comfy Chicken Pot Pie

This one's from Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this cookbook! It doesn't hurt that I do 99% of my grocery shopping there! Anyway, here's the recipe:

3 cups cooked chicken, such as charbroiled Just Chicken, cubed
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups of milk
1 Tsp Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base or chicken bouillon (I couldn't find this and used a little bit of chicken broth - didn't hurt the taste but chicken bouillon would have tasted better)
1 (16oz) pkg frozen Vegetable Melange or other vegetable mix such as Soycutash or Organic Foursome, thawed (I didn't thaw the veggies - oops! I defrosted them in the micro and it worked out fine)
1 box frozen ready-made Gourmet Pie Crust (2 crusts) (I had 2 Pillsbury crusts that I used - worked just fine!)
Salt and Pepper to taste

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Defrost pie crusts according to package instructions.
• Melt butter in a medium pot over medium-high heat. (I used a big frying pan) Add flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add milk and broth. Simmer 5 minutes or until sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon. (Took about 15 minutes for me)
• Stir in chicken and veggies, coating all pieces evenly. Season with salt and pepper to tasted.
• Line 9-inch pie pan with 1 pie crust. Pour chicken mixture into lined pan. Top with 2nd crust and crimp edges to seal.
• Place pie on a baking sheet to catch any drippings. Bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown. (I cooked it for about 40 minutes and the crust never really turned "golden brown")

Here's a pic of my "creation". Looks, eh...ok...but it tasted pretty good! Chris really liked it! Had 3 helpings and took leftovers to work today! I thought it would be "creamier", I guess...Oh well...

An Explanation...

I've pretty much always enjoyed cooking. But, I admit, I've gotten lazy and seem to stick to the same 5 (or so) dishes for Chris and me. So, I put a few cookbooks on my Amazon.com, Cooking With All Things Trader Joe's, Rachel Ray's Big Orange Cookbook and Hungry Girl. I also have a few others that I received last Christmas...a Rachel Ray one, one by Paula Deen and a 3rd by Sandra Lee. The thing was...I was pregnant last Christmas and didn't feel like eating much nevermind actually cooking! So...I have made a resolution for 2009...MORE HOME COOKING for the family!! Sarah will be eating more and more table foods and it will help save money if we ate more home cooked meals than ordering in or going out. I figured that if I documented my attempts, took a pic or two of them...that would help motivate me to continue with my cooking adventure. Let's go!!