Chicken Pot Pie....um Vegetarian Style?!

1 box Rachel Ray Chicken Stock (approx 2-3 cups)

4 carrots diced

3 potatoes cubed

1-2 teaspoon salt

pepper

onion powder

garlic powder

Put in a pot and bring to boil, then turn to medium heat and cook until soft.

3-4 tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely diced

1/3 cup spelt, barley, brown rice flour or just whole wheat or spelt flour

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon dried parsley (add last after all ingredients are combined)

1/2 to 1 cup cooked Quinoa

Melt butter in a large saucepan or wok, add onions and cook 1-2 minutes, then whisk in flour to create a thick paste...add more butter if it is too dry or more flour if it is too wet. Then add 1 cup of milk (rice, soy or any milk will do) and whisk until all ingredients are blended. Once it becomes thick, add the carrot, potato and broth mixture to the thick sauce and mix until thick. Lastly add, the cooked Quinoa.

Biscuit's

1 cup whole wheat flour (or spelt)

1 cup white flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil (unrefined, expeller pressed)

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon Rumford baking powder (add last)

Mix dry ingredients. Add oil, egg and milk. Stir until well combined. Add baking powder, and stir only until baking powder is mixed (do not over stir).

Pour sauce into a 9x13 inch pan, drop the biscuits by spoon on top of the sauce mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until the biscuits begin to turn brown on top.

I served this to my family the other night and as we were eating realized that I did not add chicken! In all my excitement I didn't add it to my veggies....so we had a great vegetarian meal and everyone loved it! We were taking the challenge of living off of our food storage so we were out of lettuce and so we used our sprouts with a super yummy dressing I invented and tomatoes. My kids loved it and to me that spells success! My kids love this dressing on everything now.

Here is the dressing for those interested:

Balsamic Dream

1/2 cup expeller pressed extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup expeller pressed Walnut Oil (I buy mine at Smiths)

2 tablespoons Lemon Zest Omega 3 Flax Oil (Barleans is the brand, found at Dave's Nutrition)

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1-2 garlic cloves finely minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon onion powder

1-2 teaspoons minced dried onion

I put this dressing in a shaker. The flax oil binds the ingredients together and does not immediately separate like other vinaigrette's. It will separate over time but not as quickly as other dressings. If you choose to not use the lemon Flax oil, the regular flax oil will work, the flavor might not be something you like, but you can experiment with it. Store in your refrigerator. This should keep for at least a month or more.

Sprouts

When I think about sprouts, I usually think of those little plastic boxes in the grocery store or of the bean sprouts used in most oriental dishes. Let me tell you, sprouts go so far beyond that! I bought a great book years ago, you can find it on Amazon.com

It is called The Sprouting Book. I also took some great classes at a local store here called Kitchen Kneads where I learned more about sprouting. Did you know that you can sprout any grain or bean as long as it has not been stored for food storage? Did you also know that it increases in nutrition tripling it's nutritional value? Did you also know that sprouting a bean or grain changes it to a vegetable? These are just a few of the amazing things about sprouting!

This week our Relief Society gave us a challenge to 'pretend' that the truckers have gone on strike and are not delivering food to our local stores. I decided to take this challenge and let me tell you the first thing I run out of are veggies! I wish my garden was functioning this year like it was last year but it isn't, so the first thing I'm doing is soaking my seeds overnight and pouring them into my sprouters and I'm going to put together some salads using my sprouting seeds and grains.

The first time I tried sprouted grains and beans I wasn't exactly excited about it. The taste of some of them definitely wasn't appetizing but some seeds and grains are tasty, I think and just a small amount provide loads of nutrition.If you are interested in sprouting, let me give you a few tips. It is, I think, very important to have a good sprouter. They are not expensive and most can be found online or at your local health store. I bought mine at Kitchen Kneads. They also carry a great mix called Pro Vita Mix. Pro Vita is a combination of Alfalfa seeds, fenugreek, and radishes. You can buy Alfalfa seeds, which are the most tasty of seeds for sprouting. Also, try sprouting your beans and grains by soaking the seeds, grains or beans for at least 8 hours or overnight. After the soak, pour them into your sprouter, rinse well and put the lid on top. Rinse again in the evening. Some people rinse several times a day but I've found this isn't necessary. I only rinse in the morning and again in the evening. Rinse in cold tap water holding it under the water for at least 30 seconds. You don't need to use your hands to rinse them, just hold the sprouter under the water. Make sure all the water drains from the sprouts before putting it back. Also, you can sprout in a mason jar poking holes in the lid or leaving the lid off, but it just doesn't work as well as the sprouters. It's really important that the seeds get plenty of air evenly and the mason jars just don't provide that as well. After one day you should see that the seed, grain or bean has a small tail on it. It has changed at this point and is ready to eat from that point on. Some seeds taste better after they have sprouted for 3-5 days (especially alfalfa) while others like grains taste better within a day or two of sprouting (beans and grains). One important tip: take the lid off of your alfalfa sprouts around day 4 or 5 to allow for the sprouts to get plenty of chlorophyll. This is so nutritious for you and also allows the sprouts to green up. You can experiment around with what tastes best to you.

Here are a few pictures of the Pro Vita Mix...this is a great topper for enchiladas, tacos or sandwiches.

Day One

Day Three

Day 5 (ready to eat)