Food for Thought

The family experiment: Biscuits, turkey & blunders

BY EDDIE ARRIOLA

FAMILY & MWR SPECIAL EVENTS

The holidays are quickly approaching and if there’s one thing in life that I love, it’s Thanksgiving and Christmas!

There’s something about the holidays that brings everyone together. Unfortunately, we live in a technology-based society where most family dinners are done in front of a screen. Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to be the exception to that rule. You spend time cooking and eating as a family.

When I was younger, I was never allowed in the kitchen because I would “burn” water. My two brothers were the chefs of the family, as for me, well I had cleaning dishes duty. I know that I was never a savant in the kitchen but this, “Food for Thought” article has breathed new life into me. It challenges me to grow not only as a writer, but as a cook as well.

I decided to up my game this time and attempt to make a Turkey Pot Pie. Now, since I had to do the cooking two months ahead of the holiday season, it was interesting to see where I could go with this.

I will be the first to admit that all of this was trial and error. I decided to go with a recipe for chicken pot pie and modify to make it better. The final ingredients list is as follows: one can of cream of mushroom soup, frozen vegetables, shredded cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, buttermilk biscuits, butter and turkey.

First things first, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Finding turkey was interesting because I couldn’t find a whole turkey, so I went with a turkey tenderloin. My last-minute desperation would have been sandwich meat, but I got luckily. I chopped the tenderloin into small pieces and threw it into a frying pan coated in butter and seasoned it with my favorite seasonings. Again, experiment and discover what tastes good to you. When it’s cooked, place it off to the side. Next, heat up your vegetables. Throw them into a bowl with the cream of mushroom soup, turkey and cheese. I decided to be creative and try a cup of mozzarella and a cup of sharp cheddar cheese. Add seasonings to your liking, I went with

garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper. Mix everything together and place the bowl to the side while you grease your casserole pan. I used butter to grease the bottom and sides. Place your mixture into the pan and add your biscuits. Cut the biscuits into quarters and place them over the mixture with small spaces in between until the top is covered. Learn from my mistake, do not get the big southern style biscuits, they won’t cook all the way through as fast.

Melt some butter and brush it over the biscuits. Place the dish in the oven until the biscuits are golden brown. I started off cooking the biscuits at the recommended time of 15-minutes, but they were not cooking through properly. I found out that if I cooked them for 30-minutes, then flipped them over for another 30-minutes, they cooked all the way through. Once it’s complete, serve and enjoy.

This was a simple recipe that all of my family enjoyed. I will be adding this dish to my holiday traditions. Experimenting was half the fun and I look forward to growing more with my cooking adventures. I always surprise myself when I try something new. It was a bit doughy, but I am my worst critic when it comes to cooking. My family hyped me up with praise and gave me pointers on how to make it even better. My youngest brother made sure that we delivered it to his work, so he could try it.

The experience reminded me that we need to stop focusing on what could go wrong if we try something new and just do it! You can do anything you put your mind to and with the right support system you can do so much more. Let’s bring back dinner to the table and cook as a family.

You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll learn from one another, but that’s just Food for Thought.

Ingredients

2 Family Size Cream of Mushroom - 1 Bag of Frozen Vegetables - 2 Cups of Shredded Cheese - Garlic Powder Onion Powder - Salt - Pepper - Buttermilk Biscuits - Butter - Turkey