Kristine's Crafts & Cooking

We have been on a rollercoaster  these past few months. A lot of drama with our house and nailing down a closing date. So i have not been in the mood at ALL to cook or make things. It is so depressing in this house just because i know what awaits me. I despise the kitchen here so i dont even want to be in it. So i promise when we get in the new house and get things unpacked i have a whole slew of things i have been waiting to do!!!!

I know I have mentioned before in a previous post about these mats but I felt the need to do a more in depth review now that I have owned them for a while.

I LOVE spending time in my kitchen trying out new things and doing old things. My favorite time of year to spend time in the kitchen is the holidays. I make all kinds of cookies and candies to give out to neighbors, friends, and family. As much as I look forward to spending all that time in the kitchen I also dread it. I am 24 years old and I feel like I have the feet and back of a 90 year old. Just an hour of standing will make for one or two days of swollen ankles, back and hip pain. For me it is worth the pain to see someone’s face when they try (and love) something you have slaved over for, for hours.

To try and help with some of the pain over the years I have tried wearing shoes while I cook…which didn’t help at all. I tried those foam mats that you can buy at Wal-Mart. Those helped…but for only as long as it took for my feet to sink to the bottom of the mat. I also combined the cheap foam mats with two inch thick foam flip-flops, which was my best solution.

One day I was walking through my local Costco and I came across these kitchen mats by the name of GelPro. I read the info on the box and was very interested. It said: “World’s only gel-filled anti-fatigue floor mat relieves pain and fatigue caused from standing on hard flooring. Great for everyone, perfect for those with back pain, foot pain, or arthritis.” I know that describes me…and has to describe a lot of people in this country. The only problem was that all of them were rolled up wrapped in plastic and in boxes, so I could only poke through the opening and feel them. For the $70 dollar price tag I was going to at least stand on it before buying it. So a few weeks later I was in the store again and happened to do down that isle and they had one on display! I was wearing flip-flops so I kicked them off and almost stepped into a dream. I stood on that mat with my mouth open I was so impressed. I stood on it for a few mins and just from that little amount of time I could feel the difference in the support and the comfort (from my cheap foam mats and flip-flops). At that point I was sold, and I picked one up. I got it home and I loved it so much that I went back and bought another one!

There isn’t a bad thing to say about these mats! I have had them for several months and not a thing has changed since I bought them! They are in the highest traffic area in the house (to come and go from the house you have to walk through the kitchen) and they still look brand new. I have a cat that seems to make it her mission in life to make anything we have that is new look like crap ASAP. She does her kitty freak out through the house and these mats have held up to her kitty knives! They clean like no ones business…just take a Clorox wipe to them! **i sent this post to the people at GelPro and she told me this about cleaning them: “The surface fabric of our mat is made of a durable, yet soft, synthetic leather material (similar to that found in automobiles and yachts.  As such, we actually do not suggest using anything harsher than a very mild dish soap (and a damp cloth) to clean the mats.”**They are really heavy so they stay in place and aren’t sliding all over the kitchen like my other mats.

I can now spend time in my kitchen with out dreading it. And that is the best thing of all.

If you have any questions for me about these mats just send me an email or comment and if I cant answer them call GelPro at 1-866-GEL MATS (435-6287).

One last note. I have not been paid or reimbursed in any way by GelPro.  It is my passion to let people know of quality products that I find. I know it’s hard to spend money these days and I’m always looking for ways to save money and make my life easier. I just want to pass it on to you!

Thanks for stopping by!

http://www.gelpro.com/

These are the mats that I own

http://www.gelpro.com/shop/cordoba/gel-mats

so i started making my pot pies last night and i ALMOST forgot to start taking pictures. well i went to grab my cam…and its dead…so i looked for my pink cybershot and found it! DEAD too! so all the pictures you get today are from my black berry so sorry for the crappy quality!

so i will start out with the recipe. i chose this one because it was one of the few that i came across that had milk in it. i don’t know about you but i have never had a pot pie that wasn’t “creamy”.
i will include the crust part of the recipe but i just went with pilsbury roll our crust. trust me, as someone who would rather make her own crust…this tastes just as good and saves so much time!

Crust
2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons shortening
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water

Filling
1/3 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 3/4 cups Progresso® chicken broth (from 32-oz carton)
1/2 cup milk (i used half and half because we drink skim milk)
2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken or turkey (i  bought a package of boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed off the fat and cubed)
2 cups Green Giant® Valley Fresh Steamers™ frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (** i bought a package of corn, peas and carrots mix, and long green beans, not the little short stubby ones they take up too much room and always taste generic to me**)

NOTE for filling: i found that when everything was added and thickened up, the sauce tasted like buttery flour to me. so i took three beef bullion cubes and three chicken bullion cubes (beef has a stronger flavor than the chicken) put them in my food processor and crushed them and added it to the sauce, with just a dash of garlic powder. TRUST ME on this! it will give your pot pie the most AMAZING flavor ever.

1. Heat oven to 425°F. Combine flour and salt in large bowl; cut in shortening with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumb. Mix in enough cold water with fork until flour is moistened. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a ball; flatten slightly. Wrap 1 ball in plastic food wrap; refrigerate.

2. Roll out remaining ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 11-inch circle. Fold into quarters. Place dough into ungreased 9-inch pie plate; unfold dough, pressing firmly against bottom and sides. Trim crust to 1/2 inch from edge of pan; set aside.

START HERE IF YOU ARE USING STORE BOUGHT CRUST!

3. In 2-quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently, until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until well blended. Gradually stir in broth and milk, cooking and stirring until bubbly and thickened. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken and mixed vegetables. Remove from heat. Spoon into crust-lined pie plate.

4. Roll out refrigerated ball of dough on lightly floured surface into 11-inch circle. Gently fold dough into quarters. Place dough over filling; unfold. Trim, seal and crimp or flute edges.
5. Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown. During last 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover edge of crust with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

i SLAVED alllll day making the crust

unroll and your done

(this 9 in pie is for my mother and father-in-law)

i made several small ones with out chicken for me. even though i cut all the fat and icky stuff out of the chicken, i have a thing about eating chicken that’s inside stuff.

this is all the goodies cooking up together (after i got out what i needed for my pot pies)

fill her up

throw a top on her

i tired (AND FAILED) to do something cute for the vent holes but it was all kinds of crooked and uneven. it served its purpose but looks like poo

filled up my baby pie

covered it up and marked it with a “K” (for kristine ^_^)

pop it in the oven and bake!

now this picture is of my awesome idea for getting the foil for the edge of the pie to stay on! (i just thought of it lastnight but if someone else came up with it im sorry)

i can NEVER get the foil on the edge of the edge of the pie to stay on!! EVER EVER EVER! so i was like hmmmmm what can i do to make it stay?!?! TOOOOOOOOTHPICKS! it worked amazingingly!