Thankful Turkey Feathers

Each year, at least one of my girls comes home with a Thanksgiving Turkey craft where they write something they are thankful for on each colorful turkey feather.  What would I write on my turkey feathers this year?

1.  My marriage.  It has been nearly 11 years since we said our "I do's" and I would rank this past year as one of the best.  We have faced life challenges that could have knocked us down hard but we chose to stick together as a team -- we have weathered the storms together.  I can not express enough how thankful I am for my husband, his friendship and his love.

2.  A Warm House and Food on My Table.  When my husband changed careers 11 months ago, we knew we would take a hit financially, as he was starting over from scratch in a new industry.  And yet, God has taken care of our needs literally one day at a time.  There is not enough time to write every provision, but I am in AWE of how God cares about every little detail.  Thank you, God!

3.  New Jobs.  Speaking of my hubby's career change, I am so thankful for his new career path.  I see the fulfillment he gets from helping people with their financial plans, and I love the heart of the company he works for.  I love their mission to honor God and love people, while still working in the financial industry.  I didn't know such a company existed!

AND there is my new job as a Thirty-One Consultant.  I started a couple months ago, and I LOVE the flexibility, the fun, practical products as well as girls nights out :)  What a special blessing Thirty-One has been so far!  I'll blog more about it soon.

4.  My Daughters.  I've never know two people to give me so much joy.  It is amazing to watch a child grow before your eyes - physically, socially, academically and spiritually.  I know God uses my girls to keep me humble, to remind me what is really important, make me laugh uncontrollably and to keep my faith strong.  I'm so proud of my little chickadees!

5.  Music.  Sigh... I love music.  Listening to music, singing and more.  I have loved the opportunity to continue to sing with a full, live band all year with Momentum Christian Church.  Two of my favorite things about singing in the band:  1) I love, love, love singing harmonies with others. 2)  I love worshipping God through music and having the energy of a full band is just awesome!

There's so much more to list:  family, my church, my wonderful friends, living in Cleveland and more.  It's a good thing that turkeys have a lot of feathers!

Happy Thanksgiving!  What would you put on your Turkey Feathers?

Chicken Pot Pie

This chicken pot pie recipe is AWESOME.  I'm grateful to a friend for sharing it with me a couple years ago.  It's changed my life. :)  A few things to note:

-It does take some time to chop all the veggies, sometimes I do it the day before to spread out my time. (I also use my Pamp Chef food chopper - so fast!)
-I usually add some extra veggies/potatoes to make 3 pot pies instead of two.
-Sometimes the day before or that morning, I'll put chicken breasts in the crock pot for several hours on LOW with a little bit of water or chicken broth.  Then the chicken is nice & tender, pulls apart easily and I can put it right into the recipe. (saves time!!)
-I use refrigerated pie crust on bottom and top, but that's just because I love crust :)
-I usually make three pot pies, and give one of them away.  It's always fun to think about who in your life needs a chicken pot pie that week :)  I highly recommend this -- a chicken pot pie can brighten someone's day!


Aunt Kathy's Chicken Pot Pies

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrot
2 potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
1/3 cup melted butter
2 cups chicken broth
½ cup flour
1 cup half and half
4 cups cooked chicken (see crockpot tip above)
1 cup frozen tiny peas
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper
Pastry
pie plates

Saute first 4 ingredients in butter in a skillet over
medium heat until tender.  Add flour; stir until
smooth.  Add chicken broth and half and half and cook
until thickened and bubbly.  Stir in chicken, peas,
salt, and pepper.

Put chicken mixture into two pie pans.  Cover each
with pastry.  Cut some slits for steam to escape.

Label and cover to freeze at this point OR

Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 50 minutes or
until crust is golden brown.  (cook longer if frozen)