Old-Fashioned Apple Pie for Thanksgiving

You’ve heard that phrase, “As American as apple pie.”   Well, come to find out ~ that’s not actually true.  

The most iconic pie of America’s culture is not American at all.  Apples were, in fact, brought to America in the 17th century by Europeans.  

Spicy Pumpkin Pie with a Story

Bill is the pumpkin pie connoisseur in this family, and he likes it spicy!

This pie is synonymous with this time of year and it’s always a great dessert.

I cannot even think of pumpkin pie without remembering a neighbor who lived beside us in Louisville years ago.  She ran over to me one day with a “pumpkin pie” in her hand, asking what happened to it…

“Uhhhhh, oh my gosh, Beth!”

She bought a large pumpkin, scooped out the stringy stuff and seeds, and set them aside; next, she threw the flesh (meat for pies) into the trash.  Then she proceeded to make her pumpkin pie ~ of stringy stuff and seeds mixed with evaporated milk and spices ~ poured the conglomeration into a pie shell and baked it.

It was disgusting!  She was upset, ready to bawl, while I tried controlling myself by not laughing hysterically until she left!

‘Nuf said, here’s the recipe for a spicy pumpkin pie, it’s delicious!

Spicy Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients:

2 eggs
1 can (16-ounces) pumpkin
¾ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cloves
1 can (12-oounces) evaporated milk
Pastry for 9” one-crust pie*

Method:

Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Beat eggs slightly with a whisk.
Beat in remaining ingredients.
Pour into unbaked pie shell.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.
Bake for 45-50 minutes longer until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Transfer to wire rack and cool.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.
*My pie crust recipe is way back here.  

ENJOY!

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

On these chilly days, we ♥ pot pies ~ homemade, that is!

This is a savory comfort food dish, from scratch, that will please you and yours. 

Make the pot pie with a bag of frozen vegetables, or approximately 3 cups of leftover vegetables or your favorite fresh veggies.  Your choice! 

Make your own pie crust, or buy packaged refrigerated crust ~ you know ~ Pillsbury’s.  I cooked 3 chicken breasts for it this time.  You can make it with thighs, and it could be even easier using rotisserie chicken. 

Decisions, decisions!  However, you make it, it will be great for sure, because it’s homemade ~ it beats the pot pies in the freezer section!

If I still lived in the South, I’d be swooning over this…

Double-crust Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-size pieces

1/3 cup butter

½ cup onions, chopped

1/3 cup flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon seasoned pepper

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika

2 cups chicken broth

¾ cup half and half, or milk

1 (10-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables

1 large potato, cooked and diced

2 prepared piecrusts

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan.

Add onions and sauté for a couple of minutes until tender.

Blend in flour and stir well.

Remove from heat; add salt, pepper, celery seed and paprika.

Whisk in broth and half and half.

Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.

Continue boiling for 1-2 minutes.

Reduce heat.

Stir in chicken and vegetables, combine well and set aside.

Line a 9-inch pie plate with bottom piecrust.

Spread chicken mixture onto crust.

Top with remaining piecrust.  Crimp edges and cut 4-5 slits in center to vent.

Place pie on a baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees for about 50-55 minutes, until crust is golden brown (if piecrust edge browns too quickly, place foil around rim.)

Let stand for 15 minutes.

Cut into slices and serve.

UMMM, mmmm, good!!!

Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog, @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and delicious easy recipes! 

Mom’s Rhubarb and Apple Pie

Its spring, time for rhubarb!

Who said pie is just for dessert?  I highly recommend eating pie for breakfast!  Guess it may be a little indulgent but pie is at the top of my food list and it has to be nutritious with having all the food groups ~ flour, fruit, fat; right?  The problem is, sometimes it doesn’t last in this house for much more than a breakfast or two!

Recipes for rhubarb and strawberry pie are plentiful but, have you ever tried a pie of rhubarb and apples?  You are in for a great sweet treat if you’ve never eaten it!  Mom baked many rhubarb pies and I especially think this one is great with the apples.  I love the way the sour rhubarb mingles with the sweet apples, providing great texture also. 

The earliest records of rhubarb go back to 2700 BC in China, where it was cultivated for medicinal purposes.  It reached Europe in the 1600’s and finally Benjamin Franklin brought rhubarb seeds to the North American east coast in 1772.  It really was not widely used until the 1800’s when it became a popular ingredient in, you guessed it ~ pies!

Now, tell me:  do you eat pie for breakfast?

Mom’s Rhubarb and Apple Pie

Ingredients:

1½ cups rhubarb, diced

1½ cups apples, peeled and diced

¼ cup flour

1 cup sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon butter

Pastry dough for 2 crust 8” pie*

Method:

Prepare pie dough and line bottom of 8” pie pan.

Dust rhubarb and apples with flour.

Mix with sugar and salt.

Place fruit mixture on pie dough in pie pan.

Dot with butter.

Place lattice crust on top of pie filling.

Bake in hot oven, 450 degrees for 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 30 minutes until golden.

Set on wire rack to cool.

*Pie crust recipe here

There’s nothing better than a slice of a home-baked pie with fresh fruit!

Aunt Ruth's Pie Crust and Mom's too

Now that Thanksgiving is just around the corner, it is time to bake pies and I would like to share with you my favorite pie crust recipes.

The art of pie baking eluded me for years.  It had nothing to do with the filling; it was all about making a good, flaky crust.  My mother had a reputation for her excellent pies and I watched her make them many times.  In fact, I even made one along side of her once. 

Mom could do this so well with little effort but, I could not get the ‘touch’ at all!  It would not incorporate well; had too much water or not enough, or else broke into pieces when it was rolled out.  

It always stuck to the board or counter and was nearly unfeasible for me to pick the dough up and place it in the pie pan, forget trying to patch it.  Mom did it effortlessly in one swift motion.  I was ready to give up on it and just buy those ready-made crusts in the grocery store.

 

Then, Aunt Ruth came to the rescue and gave me a pie crust recipe that was almost impossible to mess up, she said!  And she was right!  

She told me a friend gave her this recipe many years ago when she was learning to bake.  It is different in that a paste is made and added to the flour.  I have always used this recipe ever since because it never fails – is always flaky and delicious!

 

Mom’s pie crust recipe for a 2 crust pie:

   
Ingredients:

2 cps. flour

2/3 c. Crisco

1 ½ t. salt

Water

 

Her method: 

 

Add water by teaspoon and feel of dough.  Roll out and work fast!

Aunt Ruth’s (mine t00) recipe for a 2 crust pie:

 
Ingredients: 

2 ¼ cps sifted flour

¼ c. cold water

1 t. salt

¾ c. Crisco

 

Her method:

 

Measure flour into mixing bowl, then take out 1/3 cup flour and put in a smaller bowl.  
Mix the cold water into the 1/3 cup flour, making a thick paste.

Add salt and Crisco to flour in large bowl and knead until crumbly (I use a pastry blender).  
Add the flour paste.  
Stir till just combined.  
Roll out on floured surface.

Make a paste

Gather into a ball

Roll out the pastry

This recipe will not fail.  It makes a delicious tender, flaky crust.  If I can do it, anyone can!