Old Fashioned Strawberry Pie

I have this crazy habit of trying brand new recipes on food I'm giving away...seems to work out, though! Maybe I'll have an epic fail one day and get wise. Ha ha. This recipe is courtesy of allrecipes.com. I also added some nutmeg to the pie filling, which was a delicious addition!

• 2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
• 2 tablespoons butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place one crust in a nine inch pie pan.
2. Mix together sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Mix lightly through the berries. Pour filling into pastry lined pan, and dot fruit with butter or margarine. Cover with top crust, and cut slits in the top. Seal and flute the edges.
3. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the crust is slightly browned.

Pumpkin Pecan Pie

I'm not a big lover of Pumpkin Pie...something about the texture gets me every time. But I love pumpkin flavored everything else, so this sounded like a fun option! And it's pretty good. I'm a bit of a Pecan Pie snob, and would rather have it unadulterated, but I'd make this pie again!

1 unbaked pie crust (see recipe here: Cherry Raspberry Pie)

Pumpkin filling:

1 1/4 cups solid pack pumpkin

1/3 cup sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp half and half (I used soy creamer, and it worked great!)

2 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

Pecan filling:

1/2 cup light corn syrup

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

pecan halves for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the pumpkin pie filling by combining all of the ingredients and stirring well. Prepare the pecan pie filling in a separate bowl by combining the corn syrup, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a bowl, mixing well. Then stir in the pecans.

Pour the pumpkin filling into the pie crust. Carefully spoon the pecan filling over the pumpkin. Decorate the top with pecan halves (this is my favorite part!). Bake on a cookie sheet, to prevent spillage in your oven, for 65-70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 1 hour. Chill 3 hours before serving.

You end up with a caramelized crunchy pumpkin filling that's super delicious.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Tis the Season....for me to make pies. :) I've been experimenting with some different kinds lately, and can I just say, I LOVE PIE!!! I don't think I have a favorite anymore. I just really like them. :)

Baked Pie Crust (See my pie crust recipe here: Cherry Raspberry Pie. Bake at 450, 10-12 min.)

3 large egg yolks (you'll use the whites later-save them!)

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/3 plus 1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 1/2 cups water

3 Tbsp butter (I used vegan butter)

2 tsp grated lemon peel

1/2 cup lemon juice

2 drops yellow food color, if desired

Meringue for 9-inch pie (recipe below)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg yolks with a fork in a small bowl. Mix the sugar and cornstarch in a saucepan, gradually stirring in the water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir 1 minute. Immediately stir at least half of the hot mixture into the egg yolks; stir back into the hot mixture in saucepan. Boil and stir 1 minute, remove from heat. Stir in the margarine, lemon peel, lemon juice, and food color. Pour into pie crust.

Prepare Meringue:

3 large egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

6 Tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat egg whites and cream of tartar in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 Tbsp at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Beat in vanilla.

Spoon meringue onto hot pie filling. Spread over filling, carefully sealing meringue to edge of crust to prevent shrinking or weeping.

Bake 8-12 minutes or until meringue is light brown. Cool away from draft. Cover and refrigerate cooled pie until serving, and immediately refrigerate any remaining pie.

Yummy!

Mashed Potato Fudge

Wonder what I've been cooking lately? Not much, actually! I'm getting back into it, I swear...when my thesis is done. :) I have been cooking some things, though...some of them just to get a reaction. When you tell people there are potatoes in your fudge, the reactions are pretty great. ;) Hey I'm from Idaho! What did you expect?

3 oz unsweetened chocolate

3 Tbsp butter (I use vegan butter--easy swap!)

1/3 cup unseasoned mashed potatoes

1 tsp vanilla

1 dash salt

1 lb powdered sugar

1-2 tsp milk (soy milk for me!)

crushed nuts of some sort...I prefer pecans

Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in mashed potatoes, vanilla, and salt. Mix well. Sift powdered sugar into a large bowl, then add the chocolate mixture, mixing well. The mixture may be crumbly. As needed, add 1-2 tsp milk until the mixture is a consistency you can knead. Turn it out onto the counter and knead until smooth. Roll it into snakes, roll those in the crushed nuts, slice it up, and enjoy!

I love that you don't have to wait for this fudge to set!

Yellow Cake

I just made the most delicious yellow cake I think I have ever tasted! In my cooking class today, my lab partner and I had to do a ten-minute demo about altitude adjustments. Rexburg, ID has an approximate elevation of 5,000 feet, so we had to demonstrate the proper recipe changes. This morning we made a cake without the altitude changes, and it was dense and dry and crumbly and blah. But the cake we mixed in demo, with the altitude changes, was absolutely to DIE for! It was perfectly dense and moist, not too crumbly, and it had such a delicious flavor! It is probably the only yellow cake I've ever tasted that I didn't frosting with (ask anybody, that's big for me!). In case you're wondering, are some good altitude adjustments to follow in case you live at 3,000 feet or higher:

-Add about 1 TB flour
-Take out 1/8 tsp of baking powder/soda
-Take out 1 TB sugar
-Add about 2 TB of the liquid (milk, water, etc.)
-Increase baking temperature by 10-15 degrees

Now, here's the cake recipe. If yours turns out as good as mine did I think you may explode with joy! ;) The final measurements with altitude adjustments are in parenthesis.

Yellow Cake


Mix and sift together 3 times:
 3 C sifted cake flour (3 C + 1 TB)
 1 tsp salt
 2 1/2 tsp baking powder (2 3/8 tsp)

On medium speed in large bowl, soften:
  1 C shortening

Gradually add:
  1 1/2 C sugar (-1 TB)
  2 tsp vanilla

Mix for approximately 5 minutes. Add:
  4 egg yolks

And beat for 2 minutes. On low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, adding about a fourth and mixing for 1 minute, adding another fourth and mixing 1 minute, etc. Stir in:
  1 1/4 C + 2 TB milk (1 1/2 C)

Add and mix in:
 4 stiffly beaten egg whites

Pour into two greased 8" circle cake pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 375 degrees (385-390)


I know this recipe is written really strangely, but I'm not the author. :) Also remember: don't make the altitude adjustments UNLESS you live at an altitude of 3,000 ft or higher. Enjoy!

P.S. Sorry about the lack of pics. I'll get better!

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

This is my favorite treat around Valentine's Day . . . Chocolate Covered Strawberries! It just so happens to be my girls favorite too because they can do it all by themselves.All you need for these beauties is a bag of Semi-Sweet chocolate chips, a carton of strawberries, and your favorite toppings.

Double boil chocolate and then dip washed berries. Then sprinkle with sprinkles, dip in nuts, or drizzle with white chocolate. So yummy.

Chocolaty Sweets / Crunchy Kisses

I asked Madison, my 5 year old, what we should name these treats and she came up with Chocolaty Sweets, so if she asks that is the name, but for the record I named them Crunchy Kisses. Ha ha.

Place parchment paper on cookie sheet and arrange pretzels on there. Then put a kiss on top of the pretzels.
Bake at 350 for 3 minutes. Take out of oven and before the kisses harden push a M&M into the chocolate.My kids were all over this one. Between the 3 of them they had a whole assembly line going. It was awesome.

(Recipe courtesy of Christina H.)

* there is also an awesome variation for more of a turtle candy, use rolos, pecans, and M&M's , I got that idea from Tiff H.

Chocolate Crinkles

3/4 C melted butter
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
1 C sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 C chocolate chips

In mixing bowl, mix melted butter, cocoa, and sugar. Then beat in the eggs and vanilla. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly mix dry ingredients with the wet, then stir in choc. chips.
Let dough chill 2 hours or overnight. (or not, I didn't and they were still fine)
Preheat oven to 350. Form dough into 1 inch balls and roll in powdered sugar.
Bake for 12 minutes.

Instead of powdered sugar we crushed up peppermints and dipped the tops in instead. :)

Pistachio Salad

I know that this looks like a big green blob of goo, but it is really yummy! A great side to any meal. :)

1 can crushed pineapple
2 pistachio instant jello packets
1 small container of cool whip (thawed)

Mix the pineapple and jello together first. Make sure it is mixed well or there will be chunks of dry pudding in your salad. Then mix with cool whip. Refrigerate until served.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Is it just me, or do these cookies NEVER go on sale?? That's why it's good to have a very simple recipe. :) I have no clue who came up with this recipe, but I know I learned it from somebody in Flagstaff.
1 box spice cake
1 can pumpkin
1 bag chocolate chips

Combine cake mix and canned pumpkin and mixed well until all the cake is wet. Then add desired amount of chocolate chips.

Place a heafty spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes depending on size of cookie.It's that easy! Yum.

ps. don't be tempted to add liquid because you don't need it!!!!

Rainbow Jello / 12 layer jello

Rainbow Jello (12 Layer Jello)* - sounds fun, right? It is.All jello is the 3 oz box.
1 box cherry jello
1 box lemon jello
1 box orange jello
1 box lime jello
1 box lemon jello
1 box strawberry jello
1 box grape jello

2 cups sour cream
6 cups water

Slowly whisk 1 cup BOILING water to first jello box of choice, until completely dissolved. Divide in half. (Just eyeball - no perfectionists here) To 1 half of the jello add 1/3 C sour cream and slowly whisk until smooth.
Pour into 9x13 pan. Refrigerate for 25 minutes.
Add 2 T COLD water to remaining jello and pour over first layer. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.

Repeat the process for the remaining layers.Look at those awesome layers!!!
If you feel fancy, serve over lettuce and topped with whipped cream. If not, just throw it in a lunch box. :)

*You can vary the colors and layers for whatever you want, this recipe is for Rainbow Jello. You could do it for any holiday or occasion. Too bad they don't make blackberry jello. That would be sweet layered with orange for Halloween coming up. Grape could work though. Have fun. :)
*Very time consuming, but fun if you are planning on being home all day.

(Courtesy of Tiff H - I think)