A Challenge and A Warm Dish For A Cold Winter’s Night - Sweet Freedom Allergen Free

Another submission from Dawn Kiehl-Beals in her Sweet Freedom series.  I like Dawn's commentary on Peace.  I hope you do too.  I picked this particular picture I took in Kooser because the concept of peace is what it brings to mind.  Enjoy!

Although we’ve had some single digit days at the beginning of the month and a storm here or there, overall this has been a mild winter.  That is, at least to date it’s been mild!  Who knows what the next few months will bring?  The weather, like many aspects of our lives can make us anxious and filled with worry. 

I’m typically not one for New Year’s Resolutions but this year I read an article that inspired me to try a new idea.  Give this year a word, one word for me to focus on through out the year.  Like most things from God, I didn’t choose the word.  Rather, the word appeared firmly fixed in my mind and nothing else would take its place.  PEACE. 

Peace, the word seemed like a strange choice for me.  I’m a relatively calm person and couldn’t think of any area of my life where there was conflict.  Still, I knew the word was the one God wanted me to focus on so I began looking at it in reference to my life.  When I went to the dictionary, one of the definitions I found is: Freedom from disturbance.  Well, that made sense, who doesn’t have disturbances?  Immediately I realized what my number one disturbance is: not being unemployed but rather how I was handling this season in my life.  The Bible tells us to be content where we are and with what we have (Philippians 4:11-13).  Instead of living fully content in the now, I’ve been looking to the future and what it will hold.  Where will I find a job?  Will this company call me?  What if that company calls first and I don’t want the job?  What if no one calls?  All of these thoughts are distractions and disturbances robbing me of Peace.  However realizing what the problem is and fixing it are two different things.  Trying to block those thoughts out of my mind only worked for a short amount of time before they would come creeping back into a hole taking more space than before.

Earlier this week, God put the book 1000 Gifts: A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp, into my hands.  I’ve been greedily drinking down chapters, filling my mind and soul with language and thoughts that, while not new to any of us, dawned on me in a new light.  The way to find peace and joy is not to block thoughts out of my mind but rather fill it with God’s daily blessings.  The word Eucharisteo means grace, thanksgiving, joy.  Daily, God graces us.  It’s when we see God in the minuet and give thanks that we receive joy and yes, peace.  Her challenge and mine to you is to practice finding God in the midst of everyday life and keep a list of those gifts.  God’s goodness fills us up and leaves no room to wonder how the future will unfold in our loving God’s hands.  To help get you started, here are a few things from my list:

A warm down quilt

My dogs snuggling against me to sleep

A hot bath

Rain instead of snow

Comfort food

Comfort food…. what I’m to be sharing with you this month!  Comfort food takes time and right now that’s another blessing I’ve received.  Time to roll up my sleeves and knead dough, to chop and dice, sauté and steam.  Yesterday I spent the day working on another of my favorite winter dishes: Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie.  Like most of my dishes, in addition to being gluten and dairy free, this isn’t your traditional recipe.  Mine is filled with sweet potatoes, red, yellow and orange bell peppers, green beans, yellow squash and onions.  The sauce is slightly tart to set off the sweet vegetable mix.  

All of these vegetables provide loads of vitamins and minerals and are low glycemic, making it a healthy alternative to the traditional filling of white potatoes and peas.  This recipe makes enough for a crowd or leftovers for a week! 

Deep Dish Chicken Potpie

Crust: 

Use your favorite pie dough recipe to make enough dough for two large pies.  Of all the things I make using gluten free flour, I find pie dough the most difficult to work with.  Be sure it’s chilled then roll it out between two sheets of wax paper.  You’ll probably still have to do a lot of patting in place but it’s worth the time and effort.

Filling:

4 cups cubed cooked chicken

3 medium sweet potatoes or yams peeled and cut into bite size pieces

1 bag of mini carrots cut into bite sized pieces

2 cups green beans trimming and cut into bite sized pieces

1 medium onion cut into bite size pieces

2 red, yellow or orange peppers cut into bite size pieces

1 medium yellow squash cut into bite size pieces 

Start by steaming the carrots and sweet potatoes until they are just starting to get soft, add the green beans and continue steaming a few more minutes then add the onion, peppers and squash until all vegetables are steamed to an al dente texture.

Sauce:

6 tablespoons butter alternative  

6 tablespoons gluten free flour

2 cups soy sour cream or plain dairy free yogurt or cashew cream cheese (or any combination of these three ingredients)

1 cup chicken broth

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook until stove top on medium until mixed and thickened.

Line a lasagna or cake pan with pie dough.  Make sure the sides and edges are covered.  Mix steamed vegetables and chicken with the sauce and pour into prepared crust.  Cover the potpie with a top crust, sealing the edges securely and piercing top crust with a fork.  Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in a 375-degree oven.  I usually cover the dish with foil for the first have hour, then remove it for the second half hour.

Enjoy!