By Frank E. Vaerewyck, “The Firehouse Foodie”
In the fire service, we often give tours to visitors to the fire station. Many times we are asked about where we sleep, where we eat, and–the most popular question–what we eat. During the tour, we show our guests around and answer all their questions no matter how many times we’ve been asked. Open houses and group tours are a way to spread the news about fire safety and put fresh information in the minds of our citizens for a safer community.
A third-grader from Three Oaks Elementary School in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and a member of Pack 350 Den 11, Justin Fryday has been to fire/rescue stations many times on tours and visiting his mom, an EMT with Princess Anne Courthouse station 5/21 in Virginia Beach. Justin enjoys cooking with his mom and Nana and knows the value of fresh food. With his family, Justin enjoys mixing his “lip-smacking pot pie.” Thanks, Justin, Mom, and Nana for helping “Bring the Firehouse Home.”
Ingredients:
1 refrigerated pie crust
1/3 cup margarine
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (you may use canned broth, but mom makes her own)
2/3 cups whole milk (do NOT use skim milk … it doesn’t taste as good)
2 to 3 cups cooked chicken (mom said if you want to shorten the time, buy a roasted chicken)
2 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425º.
2. In medium sauce pan, melt butter and cook down onions for about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.
4. Gradually add chicken broth and milk. Stir constantly until bubbly and thick.
5. Add chicken and veggies.
6. Put in oven-safe deep-dish pie pan.
7. Cut pie crust into strips and criss-cross on top.
8. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes and enjoy.
Frank Vaerewyck has had a passion for the fire service that has spanned 20 years. He has been a volunteer and career firefighter and is currently a firefighter/EMT with the Manassas (VA) Volunteer Fire Company. He has passed on his passion for the fire service through instruction and mentorship. That same passion he has for the fire service is shared with his love of food. In 2006, Vaerewyck won an Iron Chef-style competition sponsored by a radio station in Richmond, Virginia. That is where he also furthered his education by attending a Culinary Arts Program. As the Firehouse Foodie, he has been compiling recipes to be included in a cookbook that will give others the opportunity to see their hometown heroes not just as firefighters, but as the firehouse chefs they truly are.
