Strawberry Pie

This is my husband's new favorite pie! The recipe will make 2 pies.

For the crust use a pastry cutter and mix:


6 cups flour
3 cups crisco

Then using a fork slowly add:

3 cups water

Shape the base for 2 pies.

For the filling mix and let sit for 15 minutes:

5 cups strawberries, sliced
1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
1 T lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
few drops Almond extract

Fill your shells and then make tops for the pies. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  Allow to cool.

Key Lime Pie

This tastes better than it looks. The picture looks a bit yellow, but believe me, it is a yummy summer treat! I found this recipe from The Joy of Cooking.

For the crust put in the food processor:

1 package graham crackers (10 large rectangles)
1/4 cup walnuts

Add to the crumb mixture and process till smooth:

6 T cold butter

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes


For the pie filling

Whisk together:


15 oz can sweetened condensed milk
4 large egg yolks
1/2 cup key lime juice (12-14 key limes)
4 tsp grated key lime zest

Pour filling into baked graham cracker crust. Bake at 325 for 17 minutes. The middle will jiggle a bit, but will set up as it cools.

Top with hand-whipped cream.

Apple Crisp

This will probably be my last post for a while. I'm getting really tired. Baby #5 will be here in the next few weeks. I'm hoping to be back in the kitchen this fall.

Cut up and place on the bottom of a 9x13 buttered casserole dish:

8 green apples

Mix together with pastry cutter, or in mixer:

1 stick cold butter
3/4 brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Add 1/2 cup at a time:

2 cups oats

Spoon topping over cut apples. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes uncovered.

Peach Cobbler

There are a lot of ways to make a peach cobbler. But this way was easy because I used the bottled peach pie filling.

Pour 2 bottles of peach pie filling in a 9x13 pan. Do not grease.

Sprinkle 2 T flour over the top of pie filling. This helps thicken the filling.

Now for the topping...

In a mixing bowl dump and mix:

2 cups flour
2 T sugar
1 T baking powder
1 tsp salt

Now using a pastry cutter, cut in:

6 T shortening

Add using a fork:

1 cup milk (I use 3 T powder milk, and 1 cup water)

Spoon large tablespoons of this batter over the top of the pie filling. Sprinkle sugar over the batter.

Place in over and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Bottled Peach Pie Filling

Melanie, this is for you. These pictures are from last year. I bottled these with Mom. It's a little early for peach season. I bottled these on September 20th. So we are still about 2 months off. I found that peach pie filling is a great way to use up your scraps after bottling regular peaches. There are also lots of peaches on the ground half rotten. We just cut off the bad parts and used the good. I'm so glad Mom and Dad have lots of peach trees!

This turned out a lot better than I expected! It was a tad bit runny coming out of the bottle. I fixed this by sprinkling 1 T flour and 1 T cornstarch over the filling before you put the top crust on.

This recipe makes 5 quarts.

19 cups diced peaches
5 cups sugar
1, 3/4 cup clear jel
3, 3/4 water
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp almond extract
1 cup lemon juice
another 1 cup lemon juice

Step 1 - Peel the peaches.  (About two large stainless steel bowl fulls) Dip the fruit in boiling water for 60 seconds. Remove and place in an ice water bath. Then peel

Step 2 - Cut the peaches. I like cubed shapes for pie. Leave out the mushy brown spots. Remove pits

Step 3 - Place 19 cups cubed peaches in large oversized bowl with 1 cup lemon juice. The lemon juice is to prevent browning.

Step 4 - Combine water, sugar, Clear Jel, cinnamon, almond extract in the largest kettle you have. Stir and cook over medium high heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles. (You could also use peach juice instead of water if you like)

Step 5 - Add 1 cup lemon juice and boil the sauce 1 minute more. Stir constantly.

Step 6 - Add the drained peach slices and continue to heat the mixture for 3 minutes.

Step 7 - Fill the jars with peach filling. Leave 1/2 inch head space

Step 8 - Process the jars in a water bath for 40 minutes

Step 9 - Lift jars out of water with a jar grabber. Place gently on counter top lined with dish towels. Leave these alone and don't touch or bump for 24 hours.

Don't eat until after Thanksgiving!! That's what Mom always said :)

4th of July Pie

Happy Birthday to my recipe blog!! One year ago today I started out on my venture to collect a vast and varried collection of recipes. I wanted to become more comfortable in the kitchen. Since last July 3rd we have eaten speghetti once! It was delicious, too. In fact I would dare say we have eaten something new every week. This is also my 130th post! Over 130 yummy recipes!

I can't claim this idea as my own. I found this idea on ourbestbites.blogspot.com -one of my favorite cooking spots! I did add my own flare and I used my mom's pie crust recipe for this yummy treat.

Pie Crust

Mix in large bowl:

4 cups flour (I used 3 T wheat flour in the 4 cups)
pinch of salt

Using a pastry cutter mix into flour:

2 cups shortening

Using a fork fluff slowly into mixture:

1 cup ice cold water

Roll dough out and cut out circles 2 inches larger than your muffin tin circles. I used a cereal bowl to mark my circle. Then I used a butter knife to cut out circles. Shape the rims how your mama taught...or just do the best you can ;)

Fill your tins with blueberry and cherry pie filling.

Using a cookie cutter cut out stars to place on top of filling.

Using your finger dab the dough with milk.

Then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375 for about 30-35 minutes. Let cool for about 5 minutes. I lifted out the pies using two butter knives resting under each individual pie rim.

Banana Cream Pie with Toasted Walnut Crumb Crust

I didn't grow up on banana cream pie. I was put in charge of doing Thanksgiving several years ago by some of my neighbors. We were all in grad school and didn't have our mothers there to cook for us. I told my girl friends that I would do the pies. One of my cute friends said that Thanksgiving just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without a Banana Cream Pie. I promised her I would make a good one. Here is THE BEST banana cream pie recipe!


Walnut/Graham Cracker Crust:


In a food processor grind up:

1 package graham crackers (10 large rectangles)
1/4 cup walnuts

(Save 1 TBL of this mixture for garnish)

Add to the mixture and pulse until crumbly:

6 T cold butter

Press into pie plate. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Filling:

In a cold sauce pan mix with a whisk:

3 T cornstarch
1, 2/3 cup cold water

Now whisk in:

14 oz can sweet and condensed milk
3 egg yolks


Now turn the burner on medium to low heat and whisk slowly and constantly. After about 10 minutes the mixture will begin to bubble. Keep stirring while it bubbles for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Now add to the hot mixture:

2 T butter
1 tsp vanilla

Allow pudding mixture to cool to room temperature.


To put your pie together make sure the crust and the filling is at room temperature. Slice 1-2 bananas and soak in lemon juice for a minute. This makes the bananas keep their color. Layer 2 layers of sliced bananas on the bottom of pie crust. Now layer pudding on top. Garnish the top of the pie with REAL Whipped Cream and graham/walnut crumbs. Do not destroy the pie by using Cool Whip. There is a huge difference! I piped the cream through a sandwich baggie with a hole cut out of a corner.


For whipped Cream:


Blend fast for about 4 minutes:

1 small carton heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

If you under beat the cream will be runny. If you over beat then you get curds of butter. You will have to buy a new carton of cream and start over.

Place finished pie in fridge for 6 hours. Lightly cover with suran wrap.

Streusel Pumpkin Pie

This pumpkin pie is a combination of Libby's pumpkin pie recipe and a streusel I really like. This recipe makes two pumpkin pies.

Make pie crusts. The recipe can be found here.

In a large bowl mix:

1, 1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves
4 large eggs
1 large can Libby's pumpkin (29 oz)
2 cans evaporated milk (12 oz each)

Pour the pumpkin mix into the two unbaked pie crusts. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Reduce temp to 350 and bake 20 minutes. Then open the oven door and carefully sprinkle streusel over the two pies. Close door and bake another 30 minutes.

Streusel

In a medium bowl mix:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour

Then cut into flour:

1/4 cup firm butter

Now add:

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this pie for Thanksgiving this year to switch things up a bit. It came from Joy of Cooking, my favorite recipe book for the basics.


Graham Cracker Crust

In a food processor dump:



10 large graham crackers (this is one package)
1 tsp cinnamon


After processing crackers into crumbs, add:

1/4 cup sugar
6 T butter, melted and cooled



Dump mixture into pie tin. Press into place. You can press another pie pan of the same size into the dough. Remove the top pan and you have a perfectly even crust. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Cream cheese filling

In a small bowl combine:

2/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
1/8 tsp nutmeg

In a larger bowl or mixer beat for 60 seconds:

2 (8 oz packages) cream cheese

Add one at a time:

2 eggs
2 egg yolks
add:

1 cup canned pumpkin

Pour mixture into cooled pie crust. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven to 325 and bake another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk:

1, 1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Remove pie and spread sour cream mixture on top. Also spread a couple tablespoons of ground up graham crackers. Bake another 7 minutes.Let the pie cool in the microwave for an hour for a slow cooling process. Refrigerate for 6 hours.

Apple Crisp

Apple crisp can be made with *fresh apples or dried apple slices. This is a good way to rotate through your food storage as well!

I came up with this recipe this afternoon as a challenge from my Dad. This one's for you!

In a large bowl combine and let sit for 5 minutes:

7 cups dried apple slices
3 cups boiling water

Combine the following and mix for 2 minutes:

1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white flour
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Now add 1/2 cup at a time:

1, 1/2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

Now dump the apple slices in your 9 x 13 baking dish. No need to grease the dish. Drain off any excess liquid. Now top with granola topping.

Bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream...note to self: Buy vanilla ice cream!

*for fresh apples just use 8 green smooth-bottomed apples. cut them up. I like to "cube" them rather than slice them. No need to peel the skins. Leave 'em on!

Lazy Sunday Truffle Pie

Dump the following into a pot on the stove:

2, 1/2 cups chocolate chips, semi-sweet
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

heat this on the lowest possible setting. Stir constantly even while the chips haven't started melting.

Remove from the stove. The pot shouldn't be too hot. The chocolate should just be a bit warm. Now add the following into the pot:

4 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup flour

whisk this until smooth. Poor into greased pie plate. Bake at 325 for 40 minutes. Cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve with lots and lots of milk!

Perfect Pie

Pie Crusts are "easily made. Easily broken"

crust:

mix the following:

4 cups flour
1 tsp salt

then cut in:

2 cups shortening

Then using a fork fluff the dough as you slowly poor 1 cup of water. Many recipes say to create a ball. Don't do this. You want your pie to be flaky! It should look like this when you dump it out onto the counter.

Dump half on counter for pie bottom. Dump the other half after you have made the filling. Tip: Make the filling before you make the crust. This way it can sit and thicken for 15 minutes.

For the filling:

5 cups peaches (I added blueberries and strawberries because I had them on hand)
1/4 cup Minute Tapioca
1 TBL lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar

let this sit for 15 minutes. Then dump into your unbaked pie bottom. Add your top crust. Cut slits for ventilation.
Paint milk on your crust with your fingers. Then sprinkle with sugar. Then admire.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.