The Johnson Crew!

Good morning! We had a full day of summer fun planned, and we took advantage of some super fun, cheap summer activities. The kids had a blast, and we ended the day with their favorite home-cooked meal (well, most of them). Here’s how we did it, including my chicken pot pie recipe.

Watch on YouTube

Stop 1: a $2 summer movie

At 9:40 in the morning, we headed to a cheap summer movie. Our theater plays older kids’ movies for $2 a ticket, with $2 popcorn and $2 drinks, so it’s a pretty cheap outing. We saw Hotel Transylvania (or “Tarantula,” close enough). Everyone thought it was fun.

How to find one near you: Google “cheap summer movies” and “kids summer movie camp” with the current year to see if a theater in your area offers this. We’ve seen AMC, GTC, Royal Cinemas and Regal Cinemas do it in different cities.

Stop 2: lunch and a loose tooth

Next we grabbed lunch at Cookout just down the road. On the way, we found out one of our five-year-olds has a loose tooth, his first. The bet is whether he’ll lose it before or after he turns six next month.

Stop 3: Kids Bowl Free

A friend told me about Kids Bowl Free this year. You sign your kids up for the program, then look up participating locations near you. Ours is about 25 minutes from home, but it happened to be near the theater.

One thing to know: kids bowl free, but you still pay for shoe rental. So it wasn’t quite the free outing I expected, but it was still cheaper than it would have been.

We made it to the car just in time. The drive home was a little crazy because it was really coming down.

Back home: nap, chores and work time

At home, Theo went down for a nap, the big kids got their chores done, and then they got their iPad time. I used that time to get some work done.

If you’re new here, Bud and I run a wedding photography business. He’s the photographer, and I handle a lot of the background things, like email with our clients. So I answered emails.

Dinner: our favorite chicken pot pie

Chicken pot pie is one of my family’s favorites, and one of the few dishes I feel I cook pretty well. It’s a labor of love. I’ve tweaked the recipe to make it easier and faster.

My shortcuts:

• Use the blender for the chicken. We don’t own a food processor, but cooked chicken in the blender chops up perfectly, way faster than shredding with forks or a knife.
• Store-bought crust. I don’t make my own pie crust. Store-bought is good.
• Let the kids help. Mine pinched the crust edges and “painted” the pies with egg. Everybody wanted a turn.

Homemade chicken pot pie (makes 2 pies)

Ingredients

• 4 pie crusts: 1 pack of 2 deep-dish crusts for the bottoms, and 1 box of Pillsbury premade pie crusts for the tops
• 1 lb skinless, boneless chicken
• 3 cups frozen mixed veggies
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 3/4 cups chicken broth
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 large egg, beaten

Directions

1. Take the pie crusts out of the freezer and out of their bags, and set them on the counter to thaw.
2. Put the frozen veggies in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil, then simmer 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. While the veggies cook, cut the raw chicken breasts into strips, put them in a pot, cover with water, boil, then simmer 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, make the gravy. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the butter, onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the butter is lightly browning. Whisk in the flour, salt, pepper, thyme, broth and milk until no flour lumps remain. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Simmer over medium-low heat until very thick, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if it’s not thick enough. Remove from heat.
5. While the gravy simmers, drain the chicken and chop or shred it (or use the blender).
6. Assemble: divide the chicken and veggies evenly between the deep-dish crusts. Pour half the gravy over each. Cover each with a rolled-out top crust, crimp the edges with a fork or your fingers, and cut a few small slits in the top. Brush the crust and edges with beaten egg.
7. Bake 35 to 38 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

Key takeaways

• Look for $2 summer movie programs at local theaters.
• Kids Bowl Free is free bowling, but plan for shoe rental.
• Screen time after chores is a good window for mom’s work.
• A blender shreds cooked chicken fast if you don’t have a food processor.
• Store-bought crust makes chicken pot pie much easier.

What viewers say

Just found your channel and love it! We’re a homeschooling family as well. This weekend we chopped up a huge fallen branch from a recent storm but did it as a family so it wasn’t too bad! I look forward to seeing more of your videos!

@jasminelozano9575 on YouTube

Things we mentioned

• Kids Bowl Free: free summer bowling for kids at participating locations
• 7 ways to lower your bills
• Extreme garage declutter

Hope you’re having a wonderful, chill summer. Come hang out with our crew on YouTube. Subscribe to The Johnson Crew on YouTube.

FAQ

Is Kids Bowl Free really free?

The games are free, but you still pay for shoe rental. At our location it was $4 per kid.

How do I find cheap summer movies for kids?

Search “cheap summer movies” and “kids summer movie camp” for your area. Our theater had $2 tickets, $2 popcorn and $2 drinks.

How many pies does this chicken pot pie recipe make?

Two. It uses four crusts: two deep-dish bottoms and two premade tops.

What temperature do you bake chicken pot pie?

375°F for 35 to 38 minutes, until the crust is golden brown.

More from our crew

• Lazy Summer Day with 4 Kids: Sword Fighting, Makeup Try-on, Pool Fun
• How to Combat Boredom in Kids this Summer
• 7 Simple Strategies to Cut Back on Spending

Full transcript

Good morning we have a full day of summer fun planned it is 9 40. yes I sure can it's 9 40 and we are going to see a cheap summer movie so they've got older kids movies that they play for two dollars a ticket and then you can get popcorn for two dollars and a drink for two dollars so it's a pretty cheap theater outing what's the movie today guys tarantula hotel transylvania tarantula tarantula close enough okay let's go all right thank you ready what did y'all think of the movie it was fun it was good it looks good thank you guys mommy I love you you're welcome I love you too

Now we're gonna go get some lunch at cookout that's just down the road do you have a loose tooth yeah you're about to lose your first towel will you lose it while you're still five or next month when you turn six six do you think it's gonna take that long yeah all right we'll see so one of my friends this year told me about kids bowlfree.com and you can go in there and sign up your kids for a program and you can look and see what participating locations are near you

And we have one that's like 25 minutes from our house but it's actually near the theater that we just went to we're excited who's ready to go bowling wanna hold that four hours later we got in the car just a nick time okay we also discovered that kids bowl free but you still have to pay for the shoe rental which at our location is four dollars per kid so not the free outing I was thinking it was going to be cheaper than what it would have been

Okay oh that drive home was a little crazy it was really coming down so we are back home just got theo down for a nap and the big kids just got their chores done and so now they're getting their ipad time and I am using this time to get some work done if you're new here my husband and I run a wedding photography business he's the photographer and I handle a lot of the background things like email communications with our clients and things so I'm gonna respond to some emails

Now and now it's time for me to make some dinner one of my family's favorite things that I make is chicken pot pie and it is one of my few dishes that I feel like I cook pretty well and I say few but it is a labor of love we do not own a food processor but I have found that if I just put chicken into the blender it chops it up just perfectly voila way faster than shredding with forks or chopping up with a knife at least for me I will leave a link below to the recipe that I use

And I have tweaked just a few things just to make it easier and faster one of them being that I do not home make my own pie crust store bought is good yeah all right should we just take this out of the package there guys we're making some dinner me mom you are hoping are you gentle with it don't drop it either take a big bite no daddy there this is too much mommy you're doing great okay let's light our chocolate pie there you go good job oh this is going to be my favorite die daddy yeah it'll be on cover all right can you pinch it like this pinch the crust pinch pinch it my hands nice yours I love that time thank

You I actually get it okay all right I got a second helper everybody wants to paint the pies paint them with eggs you did yeah guys we're working on the freezer got a glacier form in the bottom of our freezer you excited yes got them you