Chicken Pot Pie with Thyme Essential Oil

Pot pies are a favorite at our house. The promise of a pot pie will beckon my husband and son to the table every time. This is the perfect opportunity to cook with essential oils. Thyme is a great addition to poultry dishes. This chicken pot pie is proof of that. We like to add thyme oil during cooking not only for flavor but also to help promote a healthy immune system. Just make sure the essential oils you are using are safe for consumption.

Chicken Pot Pie with Thyme Essential Oil

This recipe calls for about 4 1/4 cups combined assorted veggies. I’m going to list what we use but like a casserole, you can swap these up using the veggies you have and what you like. Feel free to alter this recipe to fit your own taste. 

1 pastry top, make your own pie crust or buy it from the store.

1 cup chopped onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup sliced celery (we were out of celery tonight so we used a cup of diced potato cooked in the chicken stalk with a teaspoon of celery salt. It turned out great)

1/2 cup diced sweet peppers

1 cup frozen veggies (we use a mix of peas, carrots, green beans and corn)

If you don’t want to use frozen, no worries, just steam your veggies and set them aside to add with the chicken.

2 tbsp butter

1/3 cup flour

salt and pepper to taste (about a 1/4 tsp each)

2 drops thyme essential oil

1 lb of chicken cooked and diced, about 2 1/2 cups cooked (We use any kind of chicken. Thigh, breast or chicken sausage all turn out great)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1 cup half and half

1 egg beaten

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1. Prepare your pastry topper and set it aside.
2. Cook 1 lb chicken covered over medium to medium low heat in 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Once your chicken is cooked through and browned you can remove the chicken from the pan and set it aside as well. Add about two cups liquid to the pan. Bring this liquid (this can be water or canned broth, you could even add in a dash of white wine if you have it) to a simmer pulling drippings from the bottom of the pan as you stir in 2 drops of thyme oil. If you are cooking potatoes to add to your pot pie this is a great time to add them to your broth and cook until tender prior to adding them to your filling later. Save this liquid to add as your broth. If you don’t like making your own broth you can add the thyme oil in the next step instead. 
3. In a large sauce pan cook onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery and peppers in butter over medium heat until veggies are tender. Stir in the flower, salt, black pepper and 1 tsp celery salt or poultry seasoning if you are using them. Stir in half and half and chicken broth cooking until thick and bubbly. Add diced cooked chicken and frozen veggies. This is when you would add your cooked potatoes if you are adding those as well. Poor into your baking dish. It should be about a 2 quart dish.
4. Place pastry over the mixture in the dish. Turn the pastry edges under. It should hang just over the edges so that you can flute the edges of the pie crust to the dish. Brush the pastry top with egg to give your cooked crust a beautiful brown color.
5. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees fahrenheit for about 30 minutes until the crust is golden brown in color. Set aside and allow your pot pie to stand for about 20 minutes prior to serving so that it sets up nicely and your filling is nice and thick. 

Enjoy!

DIY Cleaning Wipes

Here is a cleaning wipe that is simple to make and makes cleaning up not only easier but more likely for the kids.

1/2 roll paper towels (that is cut in half not half used)

2 cups hot water

2 tablespoons fractionated coconut oil

3 drops OnGuard essential oil

3 drops Lemon essential oil

1-2 tablespoon foaming hand wash or castile soap

Using premium paper towels (you don’t want to go cheap here), cut roll in half and set inside a plastic container that has a lid. It does not have to be a perfect fit. Combine coconut oil, essential oils of choice, foaming hand wash and 1/2 cup of hot water set aside. Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups of hot water into the center of the paper towel roll. Once you add the hot water you will be able to press the paper towels into the container using the lid. Allow to sit for a few minutes prior to removing the inner card board from the paper towels. Add the liquid solutions of water, soap and oils then replace the lid for another 10 minutes or until you are ready to use.

Interested in learning more about essential oils? Shoot Mark Ewen an email at doterraglobal@aol.com or visit his websites below. 

www.essentialoilsnetwork.com

www.mydoterra.com/holisticoils

DIY All Purpose Cleaner

I keep a bottle of this all purpose cleaner for the kitchen and the garage. This is another recipe you can adapt to suit your needs by using different essential oils. We love using dōTERRA’s Lemon with the OnGuard protective blend but recently swapped those out for Wild Orange, Peppermint and Eucalyptus, just to add a little variety. The scent is not only uplifting but nontoxic. Now if we are opening the windows while we clean house it is just to listen to the birds sing. 

www.holistichomeremedy.com

www.mydoterra.com/holisticoils

Quinoa Tabbouleh with Essential Oils

Tabbouleh with dōTERRA oils - Get ready for healthy flavor!

If you like Tabbouleh, you don’t mind the strong flavors of fresh herbs. This recipe is meant to be changed up depending on what is fresh. Tabbouleh is about fresh and healthy. If you add some essential oils you can take this to a whole new level of healthy. 

Start with 3 cups cooked quinoa using specifications on package. That’s usually 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups liquid. You can substitute bulgur instead of quinoa.

For an added benefit include some or all of the following:

1 drop dōTERRA peppermint or spearmint essential oil (spearmint is currently available when dōTERRA offers a summer splash kit)

1 drop dōTERRA cilantro essential oil

1 drop dōTERRA basil essential oil

1 drop dōTERRA dill essential oil

1 drop dōTERRA black pepper essential oil

3 drops dōTERRA lime or lemon essential oil

These dōTERRA oils can be added during the cooking process or you can mix them with the olive oil when making the salad.

Allow the quinoa or bulgur to cool prior to mixing with the following ingredients.

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

!/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup chopped green onions or fresh chives

1 large chopped cucumber

1 cup chopped tomato

1/4 cup chopped parsley

1/4 cup chopped mint 

1/8 cup chopped basil

1/8 cup chopped cilantro

1 tsp salt 

www.mydoterra.com/holisticoils

www.holistichomeremedy.com

Health Benefits of Lemon Essential Oil

The health benefits of lemon essential oil are amazing. We use lemon in our cooking, with our water as a natural detoxifier and in our home made cleaning supplies. I know we aren’t alone. Lemon is dōTERRA’s top-selling essential oil. All you have to do is open the internet and browse through a few mind and body, go green or health sights to find articles promoting the use of Lemon. That might explain why we not only go through lemons like crazy at our house but lemon essential oil as well. During allergy, flu and cold seasons I keep lemon and lavender essential oils with me to help alleviate a runny nose and other symptoms.

By now you know you should be drinking lemon in your water and using it as a natural alternative to synthetic cleaning chemicals. What is holding you back? If you are interested in learning more contact Mark Ewen through email at doterraglobal@aol.com today.

www.mydoterra.com/holisticoils

www.holistichomeremedy.com