By Frank E. Vaerewijck, the Firehouse Foodie
Simple things incentivize success. I have written a few times about training, and I say all the time to “Train like you live, Live like you train.” I wholeheartedly believe in that saying, and I heard another one that rings true as well, “People don’t learn to fail, they fail to learn.” That statement alone can be applied to so many things as well as to cooking. You need to learn to be successful at anything.
Have you ever heard the statement, “They can’t cook; they burn water!”? Well, in a way, that is possible, and although you do not need to graduate from some fancy culinary school to make a masterful creation, you do need to know a thing or two to make it not taste like you’re feeding your crew shoe leather and cardboard.
I am always reading periodicals, looking through the culinary section of the newspaper, and checking out Web sites to pick up something I didn’t know or fine-tune something I had seen before. The cooking shows and food channels are amazing, and I really enjoy studying these chefs as they hone their trade. The cooking shows where the everyday cook comes in and makes something you would find at a five-star restaurant tend to be my favorites.
When I started the Firehouse Foodie, I had a mission to highlight firehouse chefs and truly be a foodie. There is a foodie in all of us, so the Firehouse Foodie is NOT just me but all of us who love the way firefighters cook. Erica Wood, firefighter/paramedic at County of Orange Fire and EMS, outside of Fredericksburg Virginia, and Local 5103 president, is one such cook who has taken the time to learn her craft not only as a firefighter and paramedic but as a firehouse chef too. Chefs and foodies like her have taken the time to watch, listen, and learn from those who are willing to teach. Her Crustless Chicken Pot-Pie, Crock Pot Style is all the rave, easy to make at home and at the firehouse too, and “That’s Bringing the Firehouse Home.”
Crustless Chicken Pot-Pie—Crock Pot Style
Ingredients:
4 large boneless chicken breasts, cubed (we did ours bite size)
10 small red potatoes, halved
1 8-oz. package baby carrots
2 family size cans cream of chicken soup (22 to 26-oz. cans)
6 chicken bouillon cubes
2 tsp. garlic salt
1-2 tsp. ground black pepper
1 16-oz. bag frozen mixed veggies
Served over:
Mashed potatoes
Stuffing
Directions:
- Combine the chicken, potatoes, carrots, chicken soup, chicken bouillon, garlic salt, and black pepper in a slow cooker; cook on High for 4-5 hours. Stir at hours 2, 3, and 4.
- Stir the frozen mixed vegetables into the slow cooker, and cook 1 hour more.
- Serve over mashed potatoes or stuffing. Enjoy!
Erica Wood, President
FF/Paramedic
County of Orange Fire and EMS Local 5103
Frank E. Vaerewijck 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.
