Crazy Birthday Fun

Today is my birthday and I had to work. I'm not whining, just stating fact. I love my job and my friends, so it wasn't too bad. Plus I received many birthday greetings all day long, which was nice. But it was, after all, my birthday and I had to work.

I seem to always have some kind of self-inflicted, overzealous cooking or crafting project looming over me. And I mean always. Since I was 12. My husband has not only been tolerant of this annoying quirk, but actually supportive of it. I guess you could call him an enabler. You could also call him a sous-chef. And an excellent one at that.

According to Wikipedia, a sous-chef de cuisine (under-chef of the kitchen) is "the direct assistant of the executive chef, and is second in command. This person may be responsible for scheduling and substituting when the executive chef is off-duty." Gil Franks is absolutely that. I took a magnanimously large chicken pot pie to work today for a fun lunch we had (totally unrelated to my aforementioned birthday). I prepared it yesterday afternoon while I was getting ready to go to my brother-in-law's birthday party, during which time I decided to bake him some birthday shortbread cookies and put them in a decorative box with a handmade tag. So goes my life. Gil helped me prepare the cookies as well as the chicken pot pie filling, and we were able to get to his brother's party on time, cookie gift in hand.

Here is the recipe, in case you would like it:

Chicken Pot Pie

4-6 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
½ cup frozen tiny green peas, thawed (opt)
½ cup sliced, cooked carrots (opt)
1/2 chopped onion, sauteed in butter
salt & pepper to taste
1 prepared piecrust in pan, such as Pet-Ritz
1 All-Ready Piecrust
1 egg, beaten

Combine ingredients. Spoon into prepared piecrust. Top with All Ready Piecrust and trim and seal edges. Brush crust with beaten egg, add cut-outs, and brush cutouts with egg. Cut 4 small slits in crust to vent. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.



I had extra pot pie filling left, and really just wanted chicken pot pie for supper tonight. I was sooo tired. Gil would not hear of me making it for myself on my birthday, so, with a few instructions from me, he prepared a beautiful chicken pot pie.

I showed him how to crimp the crust, which he did beautifully:

I gave him my tiny alphabet cutters and he decorated the top of the pie and finished it off with an egg wash. Isn't it amazing? He also prepared a delicious side salad.

He got me this gorgeous cake. Savages Bakery has the best in all the land. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Have you ever seen such gorgeous flowers? Almost too pretty to eat. I did say almost.

Thank you to everyone who made my birthday so happy. My heart is full of gratitude for my precious family and wonderful friends.