Not sure how much sense that all makes, because isn’t Halloween all about comfort food, at least in the form of candy?? Anyway, my Mom and Step Dad came up to stay with us this weekend to help out. I had some minor surgery on my neck (salivary gland) on Friday and was told by the docs to take it easy for 5 days….yeah, right. My Mom is here to make sure that I don’t do too much, so she cooked one of my favorite childhood meals tonight for dinner and made it gluten-free! I was literally taken back 25 years tonight with this amazing beef pot pie that she made. I think it may have been even better tonight, gluten-free, than it was back in the day. Along with the beef pot pie she made some baked cheese grits, another childhood favorite and comfort food. YUM!! Of course grits are naturally gluten-free, but I haven’t had this recipe for them since I was little. I happened across it this afternoon while looking for another old recipe for my Mom. We decided that it would go wonderfully with the pot pie and be easy for me to swallow, too. We rounded out the meal with Parmesan Broiled Tomatoes. For dessert we all had Edy’s Slow Churned Ice Cream….we had Mint Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin and Peanut Butter Cup to choose from. My Mommy loves me and takes care of me when I don’t feel well. Hopefully I will be back on my feet in a day or 2. It is hard to sit still for so long. Here are some pictures and the recipes will follow:

Grits

Tomatoes

Beef Pot Pie

**Recipe for Pie Crust from Pamela’s, see below

1.25 lbs beef stew meat
1 lb carrots, cut to bite size pieces
4 medium potatoes, peeled & cut to bite size pieces
4 stalks celery, cut to bite size pieces
1 medium onion, chopped **I omitted due to intolerance
2 TBSP Kitchen Bouquet
3 TBSP Cornstarch
2 TBSP Vegetable Oil
3 cups water total, divided
1 10oz box package frozen mixed vegetables
Salt & Pepper, to taste
Thyme or Marjaram, to taste, approx. 1 tsp

1. Cut beef into bite size pieces. Heat oil in pressure cooker; brown meat. Remove meat from pressure cooker to insert cooking platform/basket; add ½ cup water and add beef to basket. Seal pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes after rocker/pressure is reached.
2. Cool pressure cooker to remove lid. Add all veggies (including frozen ones), salt & pepper, add another ½ cup water; seal pressure cooker, bring to pressure, cook 5 minutes. Cool pressure cooker to remove lid.
3. Dump basket of food back into pressure cooker pot.
4. In gravy shaker add 2 cups cold water, 3 TBSP cornstarch, thyme or marjoram & Kitchen Bouquet and shake well.
5. Bring pressure cooker to boil then add cornstarch solution. Stir until boiling & thickened. Taste, add more seasonings if necessary.
6. Pour into prepared pie crust (see additional instructions).
7. Top with remaining crust
8. Bake at 350 for 30 – 40 minutes or until crust is nicely browned.

Pie Crust for Pot Pie

3 cups Pamela’s Baking & Pancake Mix
4 tsp sugar (omit for savory crusts, like pot pie)
8 TBSP unsalted butter
4 TBSP vegetable oil
½ cup ice water

Yield: 2 9-inch pie crusts or 1 9-inch top & bottom

Combine mix & sugar (if using) in bowl. Cut butter into flour mixture with 2 knives until butter is in very small pieces. Add oil, then ice water, slowly until dough comes together, not sticky. You may not need all of the water. Roll dough between sheets of parchment or wax paper. ***We were able to press this right into the pan for our pot pie without rolling and then form the top on a piece of wax paper without rolling. Foil can be placed along the edge of the crust to decrease the edges browning.

Baked Cheese Grits

½ cup grits in 2 cups water & 1 tsp of salt
Stir in 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
¼ cup butter or margarine
¼ cup milk
1 beaten egg
½ tsp garlic powder

1. Pour into 1 qt greased casserole. Bake at 350 for an hour.

Okay, I am off to be a good little girl and lay down. At least I am in the middle of a good book, Twilight. I can barely put it down!