Savory Crust Chicken Pie

As I begin the process of getting all of SP's recipes up, I figured I should bump this one back up to the top so it is together with all the rest. I also think this is the first recipe to introduce one of our favorite cooking additives: lemon pepper! The first time I ate this, SP had made several pies for our family when our Mom died. He brought one fresh out of the oven and one ready for the freezer. It keeps well in the freezer and reheats nicely for convenient suppers. Enjoy - a family favorite the kids will love!

Ingredients:
Filling:
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup red pepper
1/2 cup green pepper
2 Tablespoons butter
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
generous shakes of lemon pepper
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup

Crust
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup butter softened
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 Teaspoon baking powder
1 Teaspoon salt
1 Teaspoon dried sage


Process:
Preheat oven 400 degrees.
Cook chicken. Add generous shakes of lemon pepper.



When chicken is cooked, add the vegetables.

When vegetables have cooked about 10 minutes, add the can of soup. Continue stirring as mixture heats.

While mixture cooks, combine crust ingredients in a mix master or by hand.
Fold crust into baking dish - a round ceramic type - and press generous amounts of crust up onto sides of pan.

When chicken mix is finished cooking, fold into pan lined with crust.

Cover open center with the shredded cheese.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving!

YUMMY!

Easy Pie Crust

Ingredients
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cake flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons cold butter cut into pieces
2 Tablespoons shortening
3 Tablespoons ice water

Process
1. Combine flours, salt and sugar in a bowl.
2. Cut in butter with pastry cutter.
3. Cut in shortening the same way.
4. Sprinkle with ice water and continue to mix until proper consistency.
5. Divide into 2 balls. Freeze 10 minutes.
6. Let warm before rolling out on a well-floured surface.

Crisco Pie Crust

This recipe makes enough for a one-crust pie.
Ingredients
1 and 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Crisco
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons ice water

Process
1. Mix flour, and salt together in a bowl.
2. Cut in shortening with a pastry cutter, until it resembles peas. (Do not use hands to mix).
3. Once the mixture is the right texture, add ice water and combine with fork. DO not add more water.
4. Quickly gather the dough into a ball and flatten into a 4” disc.
5. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Double the recipe for a 2 crusted pie.

Rob's Mom's Upside Down Pinapple Cake

My second favorite thing about this recipe is that Rob’s Mom used to send us this cake as a care package in college. My absolute favorite part of this recipe is that my copy of the recipe is written on the back of a letter from Rob. We love you Rob!

Ingredients
4 Tablespoons butter
2 and 1/2 cups pineapple, save juice (20 ounce can?)
Cherries
Walnuts
4 to 6 Tablespoons butter
1 and 1/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 and 1/2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Process
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spread butter in a 13 x 9 inch pan.
3. Place pineapple in pan and then dot with cherries (and walnut if you like such things).
4. Cover with brown sugar.
5. In a separate bowl, mix shortening with sugar, eggs, and vanilla. When combined, stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Then add the reserved pineapple juice.
6. Juice from the cherries can be added as well.
7. Bake in preheated oven, for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Let stand 5 minutes, and then dump upside down on a plate.
9. Slice and serve – yum yummy!

High-Tech S’mores

This recipe makes one s'more at a time.

Ingredients
1 bag marshmallows
1 box graham crackers
Several Hershey’s bars
A microwave

Process
1. On a small plate place one square of graham cracker.
2. On top of cracker place one or two rectangles chocolate.
3. Top chocolate with marshmallow and squish a bit.
4. Place plate in the microwave and cook on high for 10 to 15 seconds.
5. Remove (marshmallow will have expanded) from microwave, top with another graham cracker square, press together to adhere, and let cool a minute.
6. Enjoy sitting on the couch watching late night TV.

Baba's Rhubarb Pie

I missed putting this up at the beginning of Rhubarb season, but now seems an even better time since pie season is really just beginning! :) This is a recipe of Baba’s that has made its way into my recipe box, 3 generations later. What I like about it is that I know she made it from rhubarb grown on the farm, and someday in the near future, I will do so on my own farm!

Ingredients
1 cup rhubarb, chopped
1 cup raisins, chopped
1 cup sugar
1 egg
Juice of one lemon
Pie crust (for the bottom but you can make it without the top)

Process
1. Combine ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
2. Place in pie pan lined with pie crust.
3. Choose whether or not to cover and bake in a preheated oven until cooked through. If baked uncovered, sprinkle a little flour on top before baking.

Homebound S’mores

Ingredients
1 bag jumbo marshmallows
3 milk chocolate bars
1 box graham crackers
1 toaster oven

Process
1. Turn toaster oven to 400 degrees
2. Line several toaster oven tray with graham crackers.
3. Place one jumbo marshmallow neatly on top of each graham cracker.
4. Place tray in oven and let heat, no more than 3 minutes.
5. While marshmallow heats, break apart the chocolate bars.
6. Take tray out of the oven and stick 1 to 3 piece of chocolate on top of each marshmallow, and then top with another graham cracker.
7. Push down to adhere sandwich and let sit a minute. Enjoy!

Warm Weather Coffee

This tasty recipe makes wonderful iced coffee for the morning, if made the night before.

Ingredients
Coffee
water
cinnamon sticks
ground cloves
ground nutmeg

Process

1. Brew a pot of coffee as you usually would.
   
2. Pour hot coffee into a heat safe bowl.
   
3. Add one or two sticks of cinnamon, and a few dashes of cloves and nutmeg.
   
4. Refrigerate over night.
   
5. In the morning, fill large glass with ice and strain chilled spiced coffee over it.
   
6. Dress coffee as you would like and enjoy on a hot, hazy, and humid August morning.
   

Brown Rice Pudding

This recipe was given to me by La, college roommate and Godmother of Baby, during my wedding shower. La describes it as comfort food with a twist. I learned something with this recipe about molasses. The difference between sulfured and unsulfured molasses is that sulfured molasses is made from green cane stalks and sulfur dioxide is used to sanitize the juice. Sulfured molasses is usually lighter in taste and color than the same grade of unsulfured molasses.
Serves 6.

Ingredients
3 cups non-fat milk
1/2 cup short-grain brown rice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup raisins
1 Tablespoon unsulfured molasses


Process
1. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, bring milk, rice and salt to a simmer.
2. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until rice is very tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir occasionally, cooking about 1 and 1/2 hours.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. Stir in raisins.
4. Gradually stir the egg mixture into the rice mixture.
5. Stir over low heat until mixture is just thickened, about 6 minutes.
6. Transfer to bowl. Stir in molasses. Cool
7. Refrigerate, until well served, and serve in small dishes, like ramekins.

Laurie’s Honey and Almond Biscotti

This recipe for Honey Almond Biscotti comes from my dear friend La. It makes roughly 2 dozen biscotti.

Ingredients
2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 large eggs
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup slivered almonds toasted

Process
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Butter and flour a large baking sheet.
3. In a large bowl, whisk flour, 1 and1/2 cups sugar, baking powder, and salt until blended.
4. Make well in center of dry ingredients.
5. Add 4 eggs, honey, lemon peel, and vanilla to center of well.
6. Stir egg mixture gradually, until blended and mixed with dry ingredients.
7. Mix in the almonds.
8. Drop dough onto prepared sheet by Tablespoonfuls, forming into two 12-inch-long by 2-inch-wide logs.
9. Space logs 3 inches apart on sheet.
10. Using moistened fingertips, flatten or shape logs neatly (as in smooth into biscotti like shapes).
11. Beat remaining egg in small bowl. Brush logs generously with egg.
12. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar.
13. Bake until logs are golden and firm to the touch, about 15 minutes.
14. Reduce oven to 325. Cool logs on baking sheet about 10 minutes.
15. Transfer warm logs to work/cutting surface.
16. Cut logs, on a slight diagonal, into 1/2 inch-thick slices.
17. Arrange slices, cut side down, on 2 clean baking sheets.
18. Return to oven and bake until lightly golden, about 8 minutes.
19. Cool completely.
20. Store in an airtight container up to week, but if you have a bunch of people around you with the munchies, they won’t last an hour!

Chocolate Mousse

This is an unbelievably easy and decadent dessert.
Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
2 egg yolks
1 Tbsp Grand Marnier (use orange juice as an alternative)
2 Tbsp Kahlua
6 ounces chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla extract
6 Ramekins
Whipped cream for garnish (and a citrus zest?)

Process
1. Heat the chocolate with the Kahlua and Grand Marnier over a low heat until the chocolate is melted. Set aside.
2. In a blender mix the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and sugar.
3. Add the heavy cream and blend for 30 seconds.
4. Pour in the chocolate mixture and blend until smooth.
5. Pour into ramekins and refrigerate 2 to 3 hours until set.

Serve with garnish of whipped cream and a sprinkle of zested citrus.

HiHo’s Blueberry Pudding

This recipe card is one of my favorites. It came out of a recipe book that HiHo helped put together for the Hospital volunteer Guild. HiHo was a member of the guild and a veteran volunteer for the local hospital, where I was born and where I later birthed my first child. This particular page has HiHo’s handwriting scrawled all over it with additions and recommendations. Why? Because this was HER recipe and donation to the cookbook! She added to it and improved it over the years! Well used and much loved, this recipe is timely this August since I have been storing quarts of blueberries daily.

Ingredients
3 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
6 slices bread (HiHo noted “no crust”)
Butter (HiHo noted “melted”)
Cinnamon
Dash of Rum (HiHo recommended Myer’s Dark rum)
And then added in HiHo’s writing:
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tsp. Gelatin? (My best guess is that it is added in the first step with the berries)

Process
1. Over medium heat, cook berries with sugar and water for 10 minutes.
2. Add rum and stir.
3. Spread melted butter over bread and sprinkle with cinnamon.
4. Arrange bread and berries in alternate layers in a loaf pan.
5. Refrigerate for several hours.
6. Un-mold, slice, and serve with heavy whipped cream and some Rum! :)

I love you HiHo!

Farmer's Market Salad

These August days have been sweltering and the last thing I wanted to do was to cook over a hot stove, oven or grill. So I opted for cold, quick, easy, local and yummy.

Ingredients
a variety of cherry or plum tomatoes
fresh goat cheese balls, in oil
fresh cilantro
balsamic vinegar

Process

1. Cube tomatoes and put in medium bowl.
   
2. Cube or crumble cheese and add to tomatoes.
   
3. Mince cilantro and sprinkle over cheese and tomatoes.
   
4. Add a dash or two of vinegar and stir until combined.
   
5. Chill salad or eat immediately.
   

Chocolate and Coffee Pots de Crème

This recipe, from the dessert section of my recipe box is from origins unknown. However, Pots de crème, the plain chocolate kind, were a staple for my dear mother HiHo. I fondly recall the cute way she would say its name with an exaggerated Julia Childs-esque French accent. This recipe adds the zip of strong espresso.

Ingredients
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/3 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
1 vanilla bean split
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/4 inch pieces1/2cup very strong prepared espresso coffee
8 pot de crème cups (4 to 5 ounce Ramekins)

Process
1. Bring the cream and sugar to a boil with the vanilla bean in the saucepan.
2. Whisk yolks in a bowl.
3. Whisk roughly 1/3 of the boiling cream into the yolks.
4. Bring remaining cream back to a boil and whisk in the yolk mixture.
5. Continue to cook, whisking constantly another 15 or 20 seconds, until slightly thickened.
6. Strain in the cream and add chocolate. Whisk until smooth.
7. Whisk in coffee.
8. Pour into ramekin molds.
9. Refrigerate until cooled and set.
10. Serve alone or with a crisp cookie of some sort.

Sun Dried Tomato Dressing

This recipe is adapted from Pioneer Woman, who adapted it from Ina Garten. Ree's recipe was a bit too garlicky for my lack of gall bladder, I think balsamic vinegar adds a Mediterranean kick, AND why waste that colorful oil from the tomatoes!? My friend La asked me today for a good dressing for a pasta salad and this was the first one that popped into my mind. This recipe makes more than enough for a one-box of pasta salad, which is fantastic, because reserve the extra and serve it over a log of goat cheese. Mmmm.... nothing could be finer than to eat this on baguette slices for dinner in the summer!

Ree's original recipe can be found by clicking here.

Ingredients
1 8 oz. jar sun dried tomatoes (in oil)
2 cloves garlic
3 Tbs vinegar - either red wine or Balsamic
EVOO
salt and pepper to taste

Process

1. Using a wire strainer over a measuring cup, drain the sun dried tomatoes.
   
2. In a food processor or blender, blend tomatoes, garlic, salt, pepper and vinegar until chopped.
   
3. To the measuring cup of tomato oil, add EVOO until the it is 1 cup full.
   
4. While blending, slowly drizzle the oil into the tomato mixture.
   
5. Continue blending until smooth.
   
6. Use as a dressing for a pasta salad, as a tapanade for bread, or as a topping for soft and spreadable cheeses.