Cherry Pies for the Freezer

I've spent much of my time in this past week preserving sour cherries from my sister in-law's tree. Monday I easily spent a good eight hours or longer in the kitchen; rinsing, pitting, mixing together pie filling, making pie crust and so forth. Typically Josh's grandma and a nearby neighbor receive the majority of the fruit from her tree, but what started out as a request to make a couple of pies, ended up in over thirty pounds of cherries sitting in my fridge. Being the foodie nerd I am, I was excited and anxious to get started on my new project.

Never having baked with these particular cherries before, I spent much of that first night researching online and in several of my cookbooks for ideas, inspiration and just plain facts on preserving this fruit. I first made a batch of this jam and while it turned out pretty good, it only yielded four jars worth and required a lot of fruit and my time. I remember Josh's grandma saying how good of pies these cherries made, so that was next on my list.

I've never been a big fan of cherry pie, mom always used the store bought filling and it tasted mediocre, nothing real special in my opinion. But these, man do these make a good pie. This is what I think of as an all American pie, besides apple of course. I didn't use a ton of sugar for sweetening because I wanted the tart fruit to be the shining star in this dessert. You end up with a nice combination of tart and sweet, paired with a nice, homemade flaky crust, it's a real winner. The only thing that can make it better, is a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

So I ended up making four mini pies to deliver to share with our neighbors and then another five for the freezer. I've got a great start on my Thanksgiving desserts now, they will be a real treat come November! By the time I got done with all of that though, honestly, I was tired and over these darn cherries. The rest we ended up pitting and storing in quart sized freezer bags. I plan to send home a good amount with Josh's grandma when they come for a visit, she'll be needing to make some pies of her own. The rest we'll use for any of the desserts we want to make come winter and in smoothies. I was told they make a great addition so we're excited to give that a try.

Cherry season is definitely a short lived one, maybe even already coming to an end depending on where you live. If you can get your hands on some, by all means do so! Get your hands in the flour and make a pie, or maybe even a fruit crisp. If that's not your style, then at least freeze some to enjoy this winter. Try them in your smoothies, make a fruit filling to add to yogurt or spread on toast for breakfast. Freezing them couldn't be easier. You'll need to pit the fruit using either a pitter or simply your hands. In fact, towards the end I did this, gently tear the cherry in half and remove the pit from the middle. I then measured out the fruit in 3 cup increments and placed them in quart sized freezer bags. Three cups will be a good amount for any sort of dessert I plan to make. I didn't worry about flash freezing them because they will end up being used in desserts for the most part and I just didn't have enough time and supplies to do that. 

We're gearing up for the long holiday weekend at our house, it's also Josh's birthday. I'm planning on serving at least one cherry pie along with homemade ice cream for dessert. I can't think of a better summer time treat!

Cherry Pie {Freezer Friendly}

Ingredients:

for the crust:

2-1/2 cups flour

pinch of salt

1 stick cold butter,cubed

1/2 cup chilled shortening

1 cup ice water

for the filling:

5-6 cups pitted sour cherries

1-1/2 cups sugar

pinch of salt

3 tbsp tapioca

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine cherries, sugar, salt and tapioca. Let set for 20 minutes so tapioca can activate.

Meanwhile, to make the crust, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or your hands, cut in butter and shortening, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Slowly add in water, half cup at a time. Using your hands mix together dough, making sure not to overwork it. Once it comes together in a ball, set aside.

Roll out half of dough onto a well floured surface using a rolling pin. Carefully place into a pie plate, trim excess dough to about 1 inch, leaving just enough dough to make crimped edges. 

Fill pie plate with prepared filling and set aside.

Taking the remaining dough, roll out again using the rolling pin. Cover pie with top crust. Trim edges and then roll the top and bottom crust together underhand so that it's sealed. Crimp the edge with your fingers or a fork.

If baking right away, brush crust with a beaten egg to give that nice golden brown finish. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes to set crust. Then bake at 375 for another 30 minutes, filling should be bubbling. Remove from oven and let cool completely before serving.

If freezing: place prepared pie onto a cookie sheet and freeze for several hours. Then slide into a large gallon size freezer bag that has been labeled and store in freezer. You may also cover with foil if you don't have any freezer bags on hand. Pies will keep for up to 9 months in the freezer. No need to thaw when ready to bake, you'll just need to increase baking time by about 15 minutes.

Frozen Strawberry Dream Pie

It's been forever since I've made a dessert, which is probably a good thing. But I just had to make something this past weekend. So I made a pie for the family. A really easy yet delicious pie. And I even took some shortcuts with this dessert, which is not always the way I go. I love to get in the kitchen and work with more complex recipes, but hey, I'm human too and sometimes I love an easy peasy dish.

Josh took the girls to the pool in the afternoon and it gave me plenty of time to relax, make this pie and even do a little reading. It was great! I don't get a chance to enjoy some quiet time often enough.

Later in the evening we dove into the pie. It was a refreshing dessert. The filling was frozen, yet almost creamy like ice cream. The fresh berries tossed with a little bit of my homemade jam made for a perfect topping. And I always love a graham cracker crust, it's probably one of my favorite parts.

Feel free to take advantage of all the other berries in season right now, add those into your topping. Maybe even experiment with peaches? They'll all taste wonderful in this pie!



Frozen Strawberry Dream Pie

Ingredients:
1 prepared graham cracker crust
1 lb. fresh strawberries, cut and divided
4 tbsp strawberry jam
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
8 oz. whipped topping, thawed

Directions:
In a bowl, combine whipped topping and condensed milk. Fold in 1 cup of cut strawberries and 1 tbsp jam. Spoon into crust and smooth out. Cover and freeze for 5 hours or longer.

When ready to serve, combine remaining cut strawberries and jam. Spoon over frozen pie. Cut into slices and serve immediately.  Best enjoyed same day as made.

Freezer Fridays: Apple Pie Filling

A friend of mine dropped off a couple boxes of apples two weeks ago, I hadn't gotten the chance to pick up any apples from area farmers' markets this season so I was really excited when she stopped over. Now my freezer can be set with applesauce and other treats for the winter.

Apple pie is another favorite that I like to stock the freezer with during this time of year. My family has a little tradition where us girls get together and prepare a bunch of pies to be frozen. It's perfect right before the holiday season hits us and we might be needing a dessert for Thanksgiving or what not. We can then thaw one out and bake and you won't ever tell the difference.

Since time seems to be so limited for everyone right now, I don't expect we'll be getting together to prepare any pies this fall. But that's okay. When that happens I know I can prepare this filling and stash the bags in the freezer for another time. The apples freeze just fine and again, my pie will taste just like I prepared everything fresh that day. If I wanted, I could even make sure I have my pie crust all ready to go in the freezer as well.

If you're lucky enough to still have a nice supply of apples on hand, I highly recommend you add some bags of pie filling to your freezer stash. You'll appreciate it come Thanksgiving time when apple pie is on your menu. Save yourself some time in the kitchen!


Freezer-friendly Apple Pie Filling

Ingredients:
6 cups sliced apples
1/4-1/2 cup sugar {depends on what type of apple you use, mine were a little on the sweet side}
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tbsp flour

Directions:
In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix together well. Dump apples into a gallon sized freezer bag. Make sure to label with date and contents. Remove as much air as possible and seal shut. Place in freezer until ready to use.

When ready to prepare a pie, remove from freezer to thaw a bit while you prepare pie crust. Add apples to pie plate and bake as directed.

Tomato Pesto Tart

I promise I'll chill out with the tomato recipes, I've just had to put them all to use before they rot away on my counter. Along with a gazillion other veggies. Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit, but you probably know the feeling. Way more produce to deal with this time a year than you simply have time for. It's really a great problem to have!

I've always thought I didn't care for tomatoes much, until I really ate one fresh from the garden. My parents were not much for gardening growing up; I do remember my grandma having a small garden though. The ones from the stores, especially in the dead of winter simply do not compare to seasonally, locally grown tomatoes. Now we try to enjoy as many as we can until we cannot stand to set eyes on one more. Because come January, we'd give our right arm for a red, ripe tomato from the garden.

I'm usually all for something sweet baked in a pie crust, not savory. But something about tomatoes, fresh pesto and mozzarella cheese sounded really good! And good is was. I had some prepared pie crusts and pesto in my freezer from all of my freezer cooking in July, it certainly made this dish easy to prepare.

We enjoyed this as part of our meal one night but it would absolutely make for a great meatless main dish. Pair with a nice green salad and you're set. Or what about as an appetizer? Football is just getting started, you could spread this into a rectangle shape and cut into squares instead of slices. So many options. All I know is you must give this one a try.

Tomato Pesto Tart

Ingredients:
1 prepared pie crust
1/4 cup pesto
3 large tomatoes
1 cup mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Press pie crust into a tart pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Slice tomatoes and let sit on paper towels for about 10 minutes to help absorb some of the liquid. Spread pesto over bottom of pie crust. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cheese over pesto. Arrange tomato slices on top and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle remaining 3/4 cup of cheese on top.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes and then cut into slices.

Pie Crust for the Freezer

I make pie fairly often throughout the year, surely a lot more than I used to. When I first starting baking I always thought it would be hard to make pie dough from scratch. So of course I would purchase the pre-made stuff in the store but never cared for the taste. Now I can't imagine not making it myself, it tastes so much better and is really quite easy.

I even like to make up a few batches at one time and keep the extras in the freezer. They thaw easily and you'll never know it was frozen ahead of time. This especially comes in handy close to Thanksgiving time, when pie is a must on the dessert menu.

Everyone has their own favorite recipe, this one is mine. I love the combination of both Crisco and real butter in the crust; you want that rich butter taste but the Crisco gives the crust that flaky texture we all like. I mix it all up by hand, with the help of my pastry blender. I used to use my food processor, but it's really just as easy to do it by hand. One batch will take me less than ten minutes to whip up.

You can use these for your favorite pies, both sweet and savory. We love treating ourselves to a classic chicken pot pie in the winter. If a simple crostata is more your style, one pie crust is all you'll need. You can even make the kids homemade pop-tarts for a fun treat. Whichever you choose, save yourself some time come the holiday season and have at least one batch of pie dough in the freezer. You'll be glad you did!

Pie Crust for the Freezer

Ingredients:
1 stick cold butter, cubed
1/2 cup Crisco, chilled
2-1/2 cups flour
pinch of salt
1 cup ice water

Directions:
Combine flour and salt together in a large bowl. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter and Crisco until mixture is crumbly. Slowly add in ice water and combine until dough forms. Add in a bit more flour if needed.

Divide dough in half. Form each ball of dough into a round disc. Cover in saran wrap. Place into a freezer bag, make sure to date and label. Add to the freezer until ready to use.

When ready to use; thaw and use as directed in recipe.


Just a few of my favorite pie recipes:

Strawberry crumble pie
Pumpcan pie {a fun combo of pumpkin and pecan}
Freezer-friendly apple pie
Eggnog pumpkin pie
Turkey/Chicken pot pie
Peach pie
Chocolate silk pie

Strawberry Crumble Pie

I know pie is a dessert welcomed year round, but I love baking pies in the summer time. Fresh fruit is in abundance and let's face it, berries can make for some of the greatest pies ever. Strawberry crumble in particular is one that I've been thinking about for quite some time now. I remember Beth from The World Needs More Pie sharing this recipe last summer on her Facebook page. It's one of her best selling pies at her Pitchfork Pie Stand in Eldon, Iowa.

I love following Beth's story of living in the American Gothic House and of her successful pie stand. I recently purchased her new cookbook and have loved reading through its entirety. She shares so many wonderful looking recipes for pie, but this one in particular stuck out at me.

We had some friends over Saturday evening to grill and enjoy a fire around the fire pit. This pie seemed like the perfect ending to our meal, in fact, it was. Paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was simply divine.

While strawberries aren't quite in season in Iowa, I've been having some good luck with ones in the grocery store. The sweet strawberries are the star of this dessert, not requiring much for additional sugar. Taking the extra time to make your own pie crust is essential, too. It's really very easy and the taste is so much better than anything store bought.

Rhubarb is in season right now, take advantage and add some into this pie. Or how about another type of berry? Blueberries would be a great addition! I'm looking forward to finding some mini pie tins and making up some mini pies for our friends and neighbors. Something about rolling out the pie dough, crimping the edges of the crust and filling those pie shells with fruit or whatever filling, is therapeutic. It's a stress-reliever and like Beth says, pie really does heal and makes the world a better place. And I'm all for that.


Strawberry Crumble Pie

Ingredients:
For the pie dough:
1/2 stick butter, cold, cubed
1/2 cup shortening, chilled
1-1/4 cups flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup ice cold water

For the filling:
2 lbs. (7 cups) strawberries, quartered
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup tapioca
pinch of salt

For the crumble topping:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter, cold, cubed

Directions:
To make the pie dough; add flour and salt to a large bowl, stir together. Cut in butter and shortening with a pastry blender, until mixture is pea sized lumps. Slowly add in ice water and either using hands or pastry blender, mix all ingredients together until dough forms into a ball. Be careful not to overwork the dough, it only needs to be moistened.

Lightly flour your work surface; roll out dough until thin. Carefully press dough into pie plate. Trim and crimp edges, then set in fridge while you work on filling.

To make the filling: Add all strawberries, sugar, tapioca and salt to a large bowl. Mix together well and let set for 20 minutes to let tapioca activate. Then pour into prepared pie plate.

To make crumble topping: Combine flour, brown sugar and chilled, cubed butter. Cut in the butter using the pastry blender, just until mixture is marble sized. You don't want it to become too fine or you'll have a big melted mess on top of your pie.

Distribute the crumble topping over the pie, piling on high and not pressing down.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Then turn oven temp down to 375 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven to let cool. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

Pumpcan Pie

Do you have everything ready to go and planned out for tomorrow? I'm in charge of dessert for our dinner, unfortunately the hubby has to work tomorrow night but the girls and I will be joining my family at my brother's house. I've been trying to decide what kind of pie to make and you know me, I always like to come up with new creations.

Pumpkin and pecan seem to be pretty traditional pies gracing the Thanksgiving day tables. I wasn't sure if this would work but I decided to combine the two into one pie. I baked it while the kiddos napped today and had the hubby give it a try, he said it was better than my regular pumpkin pie.  Yay!

I have say this is genius, it really is. The fillings meld together while baking and you really do get the texture of pumpkin and pecan pie all in one. All with a crunchy pecan layer on top. It's absolutely delicious! Again I used eggnog in my pumpkin filling, just because I really love the extra creaminess and flavor from it. If you don't have that on hand or rather skip it, try heavy cream or evaporated milk.

I know it's getting late in the game, but if you're seriously still searching for a dessert; give this pie a try! It's sure to become a new favorite.

Pumpcan Pie

Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie crust

Pumpkin filling:
1 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup eggnog
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
pinch of salt

Pecan filling:
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
1-1/2 cups pecan halves

Directions:
Roll pie crust out onto floured surface, place into 9-inch pie plate.  Trim edges and crimp pie crust. Set pie plate aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To make pumpkin filling: In a large bowl combine all ingredients and mix together well. Set aside.

To make pecan filling: In a large bowl combine all ingredients except pecans, whisk until mixture is smooth. Set aside.

Pour pumpkin filling into prepared pie crust. Sprinkle pecan halves over pumpkin filling, in a single layer. Then pour pecan filling over the pecans. If you have any pecans floating to the top, press them back down using your fingers,

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. Then decrease temperature to 300 degrees and bake for another 40 minutes. Filling will be set and slightly puffed, a knife inserted in middle should come out clean.  Let cool until room temperature before serving.

Inspired by: Baking: From My Home to Yours

In other fun news, we picked up our first beef purchase today! This is something I've wanted to do for a long, long time and just finally did some research on local farms in our area and was able to locate one. The particular farm we chose is fairly close to home, about 35 miles or so. The family operates a certified organic farm, which means the beef we purchased is treated humanly, not given antibiotics or hormones. They're pasture raised and grass fed. All important qualities I'm looking for in my meat. To be honest, last night was the first night I had probably ever tasted grass fed beef and it was crazy how good the hamburger tasted, plain even. It had so much more flavor than what I typically buy from our grocery store and I hadn't even added seasonings at that point.

So anyways, I'm really excited to have our freezer stocked with meat for awhile. We'll be purchasing pork later in the winter when it's available and I've already got a good amount of poultry from our CSA farmer. It feels good to be able to provide my family with nourishing meat and support local farmers at the same time.

Monday Randomness

What an incredibly busy weekend we had, I only wish I could have one more day just to focus on all the cleaning I didn't get done. Do you ever feel like that?

Much of our weekend was spent visiting with family from out of town. Yesterday the girls and I spent a few hours at my parents, my cousin's family came into town and we had a great time visiting with them. The kids all played together so well, love it when that happens!

My mom made her amazing homemade chicken and noodles for lunch. This is definitely her specialty and everyone always loves it. I was lucky enough to get leftovers sent home and enjoyed a bowl for lunch today.

We also had an early Thanksgiving with my husband's side of the family yesterday. His grandparents came up from Missouri for the weekend. I spent much of my Saturday afternoon in the kitchen preparing dessert for our dinner.

I've been wanting to try Ally's apple pie bars ever since I seen her post her family's recipe. They remind me of my own grandma's apple bars, unfortunately I don't have her exact recipe so I was happy to give Ally's a try. I took them to Thanksgiving dinner, along with my favorite pumpkin pie. We all loved these bars, in fact my mom has asked me to make a pan for our Thanksgiving this week!

Well I hope you all had a wonderful weekend as well. Here's to a nice, short work week! I'm looking forward to at least one day of sleeping past 6:00 a.m!

Chocolate Pretzel Cheesecake Pie

With temps in the upper 90's all week long it was only necessary that we had something cool for dessert last night. Some of the schools in the area have been dismissing early all week, sports activities being cancelled or rescheduled for much later in the evening and the kiddos being cooped up inside for the afternoon. We're ready for mother nature to get her act together around here. Where were these temps during summer break?

I seen someone post a picture of a chocolate pie last week and that's sort of where I got my inspiration for this particular dessert. It's been awhile since I've made anything like this so of course it sounded good. Then my mind wandered to a pretzel crust. Yes, that sweet and salty combination! It's divine.

It's still going to be pretty warm here in the Midwest for Labor Day weekend, definitely consider making this easy pie to take along to your gatherings. It will be much appreciated!


Chocolate Pretzel Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients:
1 cup crushed pretzels
3/4 cup crushed graham crackers
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp butter, melted
3.4 oz box instant chocolate pudding
1-1/4 cups milk
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. container Cool-Whip

Directions:
In a medium bowl, combine crushed pretzels, graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press into bottom and up sides of a pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile whisk instant pudding and milk together in a bowl for 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. In another bowl, beat cream cheese using an electric mixer until creamy. Add in powdered sugar and whipped cream. Fold in chocolate pudding and mix together well. Spread mixture into cooled pie crust, refrigerate for at least 2 hours or until set.

Butterscotch Pretzel Pie

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our day was pretty low key for the most part and it was wonderful! Too many years we are rushed from one family to the next which leaves about an hour for naps for the little ones and it's just impossible. This year we ate with my husband's family and then went to a hockey game at night with mine. Next year we'll switch.

I know what you're probably thinking, another pie?! I've bombarded you with pie recipes this week but I promise this will be the last for awhile and it's a goody! I made this yesterday for our Thanksgiving meal, I'd never tried the recipe before and could only hope that Paula Deen would come through for me. Did she ever.

Last year for Christmas I received her newest cookbook, Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible. Can you believe that I haven't even tried one single recipe yet? I've started going through some of my cookbooks lately and tagging recipes I want to try with strips of post-it notes to make it easier for me when menu planning, etc. With a cookbook collection like mine it just makes it easier for me and I don't get overwhelmed when trying to find new inspiration.

I have to say the first thing I love about this pie was the fact that I was using staple ingredients in my pantry and fridge.  Combining graham cracker and pretzels into one crust is just genius, it went together so well and I love that sweet and salty combo. I don't think I've made my own pudding before but this was super easy, I'm confident you'll have no troubles and it tastes wonderful. I did cheat and use whipped topping instead of making my own from heavy cream but you can certainly make your own.

By looks you might be unsure if this is something you would like, I get that. But seriously; this crust is amazing, the pudding filling is so smooth and it just works well together. If you've still got another Thanksgiving celebration to attend this weekend, this pie would be great to bring along.

Butterscotch Pretzel Pie

Ingredients:
Crust:
3/4 c crushed graham cracker crumbs
3/4 c pretzel crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp melted butter

Filling:
3/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
Pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
2 c whole milk
2 tbsp cold butter, cut into small bits
2 tsp vanilla
Whipped topping, to serve with

Directions:
Combine graham cracker,pretzel crumbs and sugar into a medium bowl. Add in melted butter until it forms a crumbly mixture. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins. until crust is firm. Set aside to cool.

To make filling; in a medium bowl whisk together brown sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add in egg yolks and 1/2 cup of milk, whisk thoroughly to combine. In a saucepan heat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of milk over medium heat until boiling. Remove from heat and slowly add the hot milk to the mixture, whisking constantly. You want to be careful not to scramble the eggs. Return the entire mixture to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the mixture begins to boil and thicken, about 3-5 mins. Remove from heat, whisk in butter and vanilla until smooth.

Pour filling into cooled pie crust and smooth the surface with a spatula. Cover the surface entirely with plastic wrap to prevent a skin forming. Make sure plastic wrap is right up again the filling. Place in fridge until cooled and set, at least 2 hours. Serve with whipped topping if desired.

Apple Pies for the Freezer

I told you a couple weeks ago how my family had this little apple pie-making party. It's something that started a long time ago, my mom remembers doing the same thing with her mom. In the fall we get apples from either an apple orchard or like I've been doing the past two years, from our local farmer's market (we have an orchard that travels a good hour or more to sell at the market).

We like to get an early start on our Thanksgiving day preparations, by having some apple pies all ready to be baked in our freezers, it helps ease some of that stress. Everyone gets involved, even our 5-year-old daughter got to help with the apple peeling and crimping of the pie crust this year.

After 3 hours of making pies we were ready to call it quits, even though I still have 2 bags of apples to use up. I think tonight will be a good night to finish these up, I'm thinking caramel apple pies this time around. Yum! For now my freezer is stocked with a few extra pies to last throughout the holiday season and winter. I joked and told my friends to not be surprised when I start showing up to their doors with fresh baked apple pie. Pie and cookies for Christmas maybe? I think so!

Apple Pie

Ingredients:
For the crust:
2 1/2 c flour
1/2 c Crisco
1 stick cold butter, cut into cubes
Dash of salt
Ice cold water, use little by little but I usually end up using close to 1/2 cup

Filling:
6-8 apples (we used a combo of Granny Smith and Regents) *If you use disposable tins like we did you might not need as many apples. I found 4-5 good sized ones were all I could fit
1/2 c sugar
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon * I really just estimate on the spices, you add how much ever you like

Directions:
For the pie crust, mix flour, Crisco, butter and salt in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter you want to cut the butter and shortening into the flour until it's crumbly. Start adding ice water in small amounts, using the pastry cutter or even your hands, mix everything together just until moist and the dough forms. Divide dough into 2 separate balls and set aside.

Peel, core and slice apples thin or just chop them. Add them into a bowl of water with just a splash of lemon juice to prevent from browning (Sprite or 7-UP works well too). When you're done with the apples, lightly flour your work surface to roll out pie dough. When dough is rolled out, transfer to a pie plate. Drain apples and add to pie plate, sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg on top. *Add a tablespoon of butter on top if desired, cut into small cubes. Top with last crust, trim off extra dough and crimp edges. Cut a couple slits on top. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with additional sugar if desired.

Bake at 400 degrees until juices are bubbly and crust is golden brown, 45 mins. I noticed with these disposable pans I only need to bake for about 30-35 mins. Makes 1 pie.

*If freezing, place pie in freezer before baking. You won't need to put the egg wash on until ready to bake. Thaw pie in fridge overnight before baking.

Taco Pie

I'm squeezing in an extra post this week, but I'm sure you won't mind. I've said before how Monday nights are always rushed for us, not leaving much time to think about dinner. We had quite a bit of leftover taco meat in the fridge and I was trying to think of a different way to use it up. Of course taco pizza came to mind, but I didn't have time to make up dough in the afternoon. That's when this "pie" came to mind.

This dish reminded me of walking tacos, only with the Doritos forming a crust. You could also use regular tortilla chips if you prefer. I really liked the added beans for additional flavor and texture. The kids really enjoyed their meal as well, I think they got a kick out of eating "pie" for dinner.

It took me about 20 mins from start to finish to get our dinner on the table, not bad at all for a quick weeknight meal. Of course if you need to brown and season your ground beef it will take a bit longer.


Taco Pie

Ingredients:
3 c crushed Doritos or tortilla chips
1 egg white
1 lb. cooked taco meat
15 oz. can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Lettuce
Tomato
Shredded/Grated Cheese
Taco sauce or salsa
Sour cream

Directions:
Mix crushed chips with egg white in a medium bowl. Transfer to a greased pie plate and press to form a crust. Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins. Meanwhile, in a skillet combine taco meat and beans. Stir to combine and heat through. When crust is baked, remove from oven and pour meat mixture over top. Top with desired toppings and serve in bowls.

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin pie seems to be one of those classic desserts that are a must at the Thanksgiving table. I like to enjoy a piece and that's usually enough to tide me over until the next year.

I like to put a little twist on this traditional pie by substituting eggnog for the evaporated milk. It gives the pie an extra creamy texture which I love.  I found this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine several years ago and it's become my standard way to make pumpkin pie.

I really do encourage you to try making your own pie crust, but using a premade shell would be just fine. Pumpkin really is one of the easiest of pies to make, but I understand it's one of those, you either love or hate. Where do you stand? Love it or hate it?

Eggnog Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:
1 pie crust, from scratch or premade
15 oz.can pumpkin
1 1/4 c eggnog
3 eggs
2/3 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Press dough in pie plate and set aside. In a large bowl, combine pumpkin, eggnog, eggs, sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Mix all ingredients well. Pour filling into prepared pie shell. Bake for 60-65 mins. or until knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Let cool until ready to serve. Store in refrigerator.

Turkey {or Chicken} Pot Pie

Pot pie could very well be one of the best comfort meals around....and one of the most time consuming to prepare. Luckily by having a few steps made up ahead of time I was able to pull a meal like this within 45 minutes on a weeknight.

This recipe comes from Pioneer Woman, I've made it a few times but it's not something we make very often. Now that I've created some shortcuts, maybe we'll be enjoying this wholesome dish more often!

I have some bags of shredded turkey in my freezer, that was a big help in itself to have the meat all ready to go. During nap time I made up my pie dough and stuck that in the fridge. Just having those two items ready helped me get this in the oven in no time.

I've tried this recipe with both chicken and turkey, they are both equally delicious. You'll love the creamy gravy with chunks of meat and veggies. Oh and who doesn't love a good, flaky crust? I must say leftovers the next day were just as good.

You'll definitely want to make this pot pie sometime this fall and winter. By prepping a couple steps the night before or morning of, you can easily pull off a "Sunday" style dish on a weeknight. Enjoy!

Turkey Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 Pie crust (use 1/2 of recipe or just stick the other half in your freezer for a later use)
4 tbsp butter
2 stalks celery, diced
3 med carrots, diced
2 1/2 c cooked turkey or chicken, chopped or shredded
1/4 c flour
1-14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 c heavy cream
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Melt butter in a large skillet. Add in carrots and celery and cook for 2-3 mins. Add turkey in and stir, next add in flour, let cook for 2 mins while stirring constantly. Still stirring, pour in chicken broth. Pour in cream and stir well. Let come to a boil and thicken for just a few mins. Add in thyme, salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a deep pie plate. Roll out your pie crust, you'll want it about 1 inch longer than the dish you're using. Place pie crust over turkey mixture and press crust into sides of pie plate. Cut a couple vents in top of pie crust. Bake at 375 for 30-35 mins or until golden.

Adapted from: Pioneer Woman

Peach Pie

Oh yeah, I made that from scratch myself....and with my bare hands I might add. If you've had the chance to read Making Piece by Beth Howard or if you follow her blog, then you know that she always makes her pie crust by hand, never using a food processor for help. That, you might say, is what's so special about her pies.

I started reading Beth's book last Tuesday and was finished by Thursday afternoon. That's how good it was! I was seriously in tears within the first 30 pages of the book. Can you imagine practically living apart from your husband for several years because of his busy career, wanting nothing more than to spend time with him but realizing he was never going to slow down unless; you got it, ask for a divorce. You don't want this divorce and neither does your husband, but you're going through with it. Seven hours before he's to sign the papers, you find out that your husband has died. Gone. You don't get the chance to tell him you love him one more time, you don't want this divorce, you just want him to spend more time with you. That's part of Beth's story and how she ended up here in Iowa living in the American Gothic House and opened up the Pitchfork Pie Stand.

I absolutely loved, loved her story! I enjoy following her facebook page and keeping up with everything that's going on with her pie stand. I can't recommend this book enough, it's up at the top of my list of favorites and I'm excited to see what else Beth has in store for her readers.

Back to this pie, as soon as I finished this book, I found myself dying to make a pie. I think anyone that reads her story will feel the same way. I had peach pie in mind. I make pies a few times a year, mostly apple and pumpkin around Thanksgiving, but I've never tried making a homemade peach pie. There happened to be a recipe in the back of the book, so it was decided, I was making peach pie.

Beth talks about how she literally makes her pies by hand, mixing the dough with her bare hands. She doesn't use a food processor to make the crust or even a pastry blender. I always use my food processor when I make my crust, it's just so easy. But I was determined to use my hands this time. I was surprised by really how easy it is! It's messy, but very easy and I think I'll always make my pie crust this way from now on.

Using just a few ingredients: flour, pinch of salt, butter and shortening, it's very easy to make your own pie crust. I used my hands to massage it all together to form lumps.

Then using ice cold water, slowly add in small amounts and work into the dough with your hands. I ended up using about 1/2 cup. Divide your dough into 2 balls and you're ready to roll out your pie crust. I've always chilled my dough before using, but Beth says it's not necessary. It was great to have my dough made up, rolled out, and pie in the oven within 20 minutes or so.

We enjoyed a slice of this heavenly pie after dinner last night. It was wonderful! I hope you'll take the time to read Making Piece and make your own pie afterwards, handmade of course!

Peach Pie

Ingredients:
For pie crust:
2 1/2 c flour (have extra on hand for rolling out dough)
1/2 c butter, cold
1/2 c vegetable shortening, such as Crisco
Pinch of salt
Ice water (I used about 1/2 c, only use enough to moisten dough)

Pie filling:
8 ripe peaches, peeled and sliced into pie crust
1 c sugar
2 tbsp flour
1/4 c tapioca
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 beaten egg
Additional cinnamon and sugar to sprinkle on top of crust before baking

Directions:
To make pie dough: Add flour and salt to a large bowl, cut butter into cubes and add in bowl, along with shortening. Using your hands work all ingredients together until you get marble-sized lumps. Pour in ice water just a little at a time, you'll sort of fluff the flour mixture into the liquid. When dough feels moist and is able to hold together by doing a squeeze test, it's ready. Be careful not to overwork the dough! Divide dough into 2 balls. Form each ball into a disc. Sprinkle a good amount of flour onto your rolling surface to keep dough from sticking, roll flat and thin to fit your pie plate. Trim excess dough around the edges with scissors so that it's about 1 inch wider than the dish edge.

Fill the prepared pie plate with slice peaches. Sprinkle sugar, flour, tapioca and cinnamon over top of peaches. Add the top crust and brush with egg. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar if desired. Bake at 425 for 20 mins, just until crust is set. Then reduce temp to 350 and bake for another 40 mins, until peaches are done. Insert fork in middle of pie, if peaches don't cling to fork, then it's done.

Recipe adapted slightly from: Making Piece: a memoir of love, loss and pie

Summer Berry Pie

It's strawberry season here in Iowa! Well actually, it has been for a couple good weeks now due to our mild winter and wonderful spring temps we've been experiencing.

I took the girls out to Heartland Farms on Memorial Day for our annual strawberry picking. It was a beautiful morning and the strawberries were especially big this year!

One little girl spent more time eating rather than helping to fill our box.

We ended up with about 9 lbs. of strawberries and I'm sad to say they are long gone! We're planning another trip out to the farm this Thursday so I can fill my freezer with berries for smoothies and such.

I did however, get 2 batches of this strawberry freezer jam made and tucked away in the freezer. I first tried Ally's recipe last year and I will continue to make this each year!

We also made some smashed berry waffles for the freezer, I simply used my go-to waffle recipe and then added a mixture of smashed strawberries, blueberries and blackberries to the batter. The kids loved them!

Strawberry season isn't complete without strawberry slushies/smoothies! So of course we had to make those one afternoon and boy were they good. We ate our fair share of the ripe and luscious berries but I did make sure to save enough to make this pie for dessert last week. It was amazing!

I'm a sucker for anything with a graham cracker crust and all of those fresh berries were so good. I did spend most of my nap time putting this little concoction together but I think it was worth it. There's a wonderful thick berry puree down inside that you might not see in the picture, it's delicious and so worth the effort to make. We topped our slices with some whipped topping (of course the hubby had his with some vanilla ice cream) and I think we were in heaven for those 5 minutes while we devoured our pie!



Summer Berry Pie

Ingredients:

Graham cracker crust:

9 graham crackers, broken into rough pieces

2 tbsp sugar

5 tbsp butter, melted and warm

Berry Filling:

2 1/2-3 c sliced strawberries

1- 6 oz. container blackberries

2 c  blueberries

1/2 c sugar

3 tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp salt

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tbsp strawberry rhubarb jam (you could use just about any kind you have on hand)

Whipped topping or fresh whipped cream for topping

Ice Cream, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. For the crust, in a food processor, process the graham crackers until evenly fine. Add sugar and pulse to combine. Continue to pulse while adding in warm butter, pulse until mixture resembles wet sand. Transfer crumbs to a 9-inch pie plate. Press crumbs evenly into bottom and up sides to form a crust. Bake for 15-18 mins, until crust is beginning to brown. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool while making the filling.

For the filling, combine berries in a colander and gently rinse, spread berries onto paper towels to dry. In a food processor, puree 2 1/2 c of the mixed berries until smooth. Strain the puree through a mesh strainer into a small saucepan, scraping and pressing on the seeds to extract as much puree as possible. You want to have about 1 1/4 c of the puree. Whisk the sugar, cornstarch and salt into the saucepan to combine. Bring the puree to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. When the mixtures reaches a boil and is thickened like pudding, remove from heat, stir in the lemon juice and set aside to cool slightly.

While the puree is cooling, place remaining berries in a bowl. Heat the jam in a small saucepan over low heat until fully melted.  Combine the jelly with berries.

To assemble the pie: Pour the berry puree over the cooled crust, spread into an even layer. Distribute the glazed berries over the puree. Loosely cover the pie with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 3 hours, until pie is chilled and puree has set. Serve pie with whipped cream and/or ice cream if desired.



Adapted from: Baking Illustrated

Chocolate Silk Pie

I had every intention of sharing this pie with you right after Thanksgiving but it just sort got pushed to the side. That however has no reflection on how amazing this is. I must admit I'm not much of a chocolate pie fan, I like to stick to my standard apple or pumpkin especially at Thanksgiving time. My job generally is to supply the desserts in our families and I wanted to try something a little different this year. So that leads me to this particular recipe, everyone likes chocolate right?

This was my first experience at making chocolate silk pie and I think I've found the perfect recipe. I love the smooth and silky custard base, the filling is rich but nice and fluffy. You definitely will be satisfied with a just a small piece. The pie itself was pretty easy to pull together. Yes, you spend a bit of time whipping but I think the end result is worth it!

Chocolate Silk Pie

Ingredients:

Pie dough:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
4-5 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into 8 pieces

Whipped topping or freshly whipped cream, for serving

Directions:

For the pie dough:
Process flour, salt and sugar in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and process until mixture has the texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture, cut the butter into flour until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs. Turn the mixture into a medium bowl. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons water over the mixture. With a rubber spatula, use a folding motion to mix. Press down the dough with broad side of spatula until the dough sticks together, add up to 1 tablespoon more water if dough will not come together. Flatten the dough into a 4-inch disk. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 2 days, before rolling.

For the pie/filling:
Roll the chilled pie dough into a 12-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie plate with the dough. Trim, fold and crimp the edges. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375˚ F and adjust an oven rack to low-middle position. Line the chilled pie shell with parchment paper so that it lays over the edges of the dough. Fill with pie weights(or rice) and bake until the surface of the dough no longer looks wet, 20-25 minutes. Remove the pie weights and parchment paper and return the pie crust to the oven. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 10-12 minutes more. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

To make the filling, add the cream to the bowl of an electric mixer. Whip on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Transfer to a small bowl and refrigerate.

Combine the eggs, sugar and water in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water.  With a hand mixer on medium speed, beat until the egg mixture is thickened and reads 160 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, about 7-10 minutes. Remove the bowl from the heat and continue to beat until the egg mixture is fluffy and cooled to room temperature, about 6-8 minutes.

Add the melted chocolate and the vanilla to cooled egg mixture and beat until well blended. Beat in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time until well combined. Using a spatula, gently fold in the chilled whipped cream until no streaks remain. Transfer the filling to the baked pie shell. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours. Slice and serve with whipped topping or freshly whipped cream if desired.

Source: Pie dough, Baking Illustrated Cookbook, Pie from Cook's Illustrated Entertaining, Spring 2011