Strawberry Tart

I made this tart for Mother's Day using berries we got at the Farmers' Market. The recipe is from Simply in Season. Easy, fast, and very yummy!

For the crust:
1 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
2 tbsp powdered suger
In a mixing bowl, mix together until crumbly, with no pieces bigger than a pea. press into a 9-inch pie pan or tart pan. Bake at425 for 10-12 minutes until golden. Cool.

For the filling:
1 cup sugar
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup mashed strawberries
1/2 orange juice
Blend in saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute. Remove from heat.
Add 2 tbsp. lemon juice and cool completely.
Stir in 4-6 cups whole strawberries, then pour into crust. Chill 3 hours.

Then top chilled tart with whipped cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Beat with electric mixer until semi-stiff peaks form.

Paula's Chicken Pot Pie

I read about this over at Bless Us Oh Lord a long time ago but recently made it for my in-laws. They loved it and so did we. It's added the recipes made in our home!

Ingredients
2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (I used more)
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of chicken soup (I used the fat-free can)
1 cup chicken broth
Salt and pepper, optional
1 1/2 cups instant biscuit mix
1 cup milk
1 stick melted butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a greased 2-quart casserole (I almost used the wrong pan), layer the chicken, eggs, carrots, and peas. Mix the soup, chicken broth, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Pour over the layers. Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes.

"Get-You-a-Husband Apple Pie"

We love this pie. The cookbook was a gift from my dear friend Linda, Memories of a Midwestern Farmer. The author states:

“The two most common mistakes people make with apple pie are using too much sugar and overwhelming the subtle flavor of the apples with spices. A dash of lemon juice helps to eliminate the syrupy taste that ruins a pie. As much as I like sweet spices, nutmeg, clove, and allspice have no place in an apple pie. Cinnamon is enough. Taste your filling as you are making it – apples vary in sweetness. Skinny pies always look sad to me, so I pour the apples into the crust and use my hands to gently pile up as much fruit as I can”

Double-Crust (I use the crust recipe from BH&G)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup butter
8-11 tbls cold water

1. Stir together flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until pieces are pea-size.

2. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the water over part of the mixture; gently toss with a fork. Push moistened dough to side of bowl. Repeat, using 1 tablespoon water at a time, until all the dough is moistened. Divide in half. Form each half into a ball. (I skip the last two parts because I do a crumb topping and Dan likes his crust thick)

3. On lightly floured surface, flatten dough ball. Roll from center to edges into 12-inch circle.

4. To transfer pastry, wrap it around the rolling pin; unroll into a 9-inch pie plate. Ease pastry into pie plate, being careful not to stretch pastry. Transfer filling to pastry-lined pie plate. Trim pastry even with rim of pie plate

Filling
Peel and core 7 medium apples, each cut into eighths. Add 1 cup of sugar, 3 rounded tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Toss to miss well. Line the bottom of a deep dish 9-inch pie pan with an unbaked pie crust.

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 flour
3 tbls butter
Cut in butter until it's mixed well and butter is pea-size. Pour on top of filling

Bake at 400 degree for 1 hour. Put aluminum foil around the edges during the first 40minutes.

It's the best pie I've ever had. Try it! And I recommend the cookbook too. I'm pretty sure with the link above you can browse through the entire book.

Peanut Butter Pie

I have been making this recipe for a couple years now for gatherings. So I decided to make it last weekend for Memorial Day festivities. This is always a crowd pleaser, and it makes 2 pies! You can take both to the get together or take one and then have another one at home just for your family. Enjoy!

Source: Taste of Home

Servings: 2 pies (6-8 servings each).

Ingredients:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 2 cups Domino® or C&H® Pure Cane Powdered Sugar
• 1 carton (12 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
• 2 graham cracker crust (9 inches)
• Dry roasted peanuts (optional; I didn't do this)
  

Directions:

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, peanut butter and milk until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar. Fold in whipped topping. Spoon into crusts. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Sprinkle with peanuts.


*Sorry no pictures this time!

PEACH PIE!!

OK, I'm kinda cheating a little, by only providing a link, but it's been a LONG time since I posted, and I wanted to pop in and share a new favorite! Peach pie!!
Here's the recipe, at ehow.com.

The only thing I do differently is I line the bottom of the pie crust with dried apricots, to soak up some of the juice from the peaches and keep the bottom from being TOO soggy.

Just in case anyone was wondering what to make for a delicious Fourth of July dessert!!

(I'm also going to make an angel food cake to serve with blueberries, raspberries and whipped cream!)

Key Lime Pie

OH I have a picture!!
We had limes that needed to be used + Kristine feels the need to bake SOMETHING at 10pm last night =

Key Lime Pie
(from www.noteatingoutinny.com)
Makes 1 9'' pie

1 & 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 TB unsalted butter, melted
1 TB sugar
2 TSP lime zest
4 egg yolks
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime freshly squeezed key limes juice

preheat oven to 350. To make crust, combine graham crumbs, butter, sugar and zest in a bowl. Press into the bottom of a pie pan with spatuala. Bake 6-8 mins, remove and let cool completely.

very gently beat egg yolks with fork or whisk without beating air into them. stir in condensed milk unti blended. Stir in lime juice until it is smooth.

pour into pie pan and put the pie pan onto a cookie sheet. (like the way it is done in the photo) bake at 350 for 15 mins. remove, let cool and chill for several hour before serving.

My notes:
-I used regular limes. Mom says the only reason it's called Key Lime is because that was what was in the region when the pie was created.
-We didn't have graham crackers, but we did have regular pie crusts frozen. I baked one for 10 mins in the oven at 350. I forgot to poke holes in the crust. So I had to deflate the little air pockets that formed. No biggie. Must not forget next time.
-Since I didn't use lime zest in the crust, I used it in the actual custard. I found that one lime = about 1/4 cup of juice.

The Thanksgiving recipes

I won't post them all, since the stuffing was yucky and the green bean casserole was just from the back of the can. But here are the recipes for pumpkin pie and the turkey gravy, which Joannie made (it was fantastic). For the turkey, like Joannie said, I just brushed it with olive oil and sprinkled some s&p. Very simple!

Best Pumpkin Pie
(From Better Homes and Gardens magazine)

1 15oz can of pumpkin
3/4 c. white sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/4 c. milk (not evaporated, just regular)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3 eggs, beaten
9" pie crust

1) Preheat oven to 375.
2) In a large bowl, combine pumpkin & spices. Add eggs; beat slightly with a fork until combined. Gradually add milk; stir until combined.
3) Carefully pour filling in pastry shell. Cover edge with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil, bake 30 more minutes or until knife comes out of the center clean. Cool. Refridgerate within two hours.

Quick Gravy
from Real Simple magazine

Pan juices from the turkey and roasting pan
4 cups turkey or chicken broth
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Strain the pan juices into a bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Skim and discard the fat from the surface. In a small saucepan, over medium-low heat, bring 1 cup of the juices and the broth to a boil. Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water until no lumps remain. Slowly whisk the cornstarch mixture into the simmering broth. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat and season with the salt and pepper. Strain just before serving.

Thanksgiving in less than a week!

I brought home our Thanksgiving bird today and he's thawing in the fridge right now! Joannie is coming down so hopefully we will take some pics and bring you coverage of our day of cooking and feasting! I have a few new recipes up my sleeve (as well as the usual traditions).

I made this pie last year and highly recommend it:

Chocolate Pecan Pie
by Emeril Lagasse

1 1/2 cups pecans
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch salt

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Spread the pecan pieces and the chocolate chips evenly on the bottom of the pie shell.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients together. Pour the filling over the pecans. Bake until the filling sets, 50 to 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes before slicing. Cut into individual servings and serve with a drizzle of Caramel Sauce and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Notes: Since there is so much sugar in this pie, and my oven tends to be hotter than average, I reduced the temp to 350 and covered the pie with aluminum foil . My first attempt came out almost black on top after an hour because all the sugar burned. I also recommend testing the middle of the pie to make sure it's set all the way through; my second attempt, although nice and brown on top, was still runny in the middle. Okay, it actually took me three attempts before I made this pie correctly. But it was worth it, trust me. It is simply decadent. Of course, I don't recommend making it 3 times in one day, especially if you have time constraints.

There are so many recipes for chocolate pecan pie out there, so if you have one I'd love to hear it!