Pear Pie

I crave this pie (OK I crave lots of pie but I really do love this one!)

I first had this pie at my Brother's house in Spring City Utah. My sister-in-law, Lee, is an amazing cook and shared this recipe with me 20 years ago. The beauty of this pie is that it can be made with fresh or bottled pears.

Lee's Open Face Pear Pie
9" pastry shell
4 medium pears*
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar (we cut this to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cups flour
3 eggs
Pinch of Salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp ground mace**

Directions:
Peel, halve and core the pears.
Brush w/lemon juice.
Place pears cut side down in pie shell w/narrow ends toward center.
Cream together butter & sugar.
Beat in flour, eggs, vanilla and salt.
Pour over pears, sprinkle lightly w/mace.
Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes and cool.

* Can use bottled or canned pear half (or even chunks, as long as you have 4 pears worth.)
**Can substitute nutmeg for mace

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

OK this is my favorite blueberry recipe. It is the recipe that makes me excited about blueberry season every year. It is also the dirtiest recipe card in the box. So.... you know that means it is the best one! I don't remember where we found this one but it is now a family tradition. We get this treat once every year.

Blueberry Cheesecake Pie

2 (8 oz pkg) Cream cheese (room temperature)
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon rind
2/3 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
3 large eggs
Blueberries (at least 4 cups)
Graham Cracker Crust (recipe below or use a purchased crust)
Glaze
Whipped Cream

Crust - Mix 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs, 1 Tbsp sugar. Butter a 9" pie pan generously. Press crumbs on bottom and sides.

Let cream cheese stand at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours Then beat with rind until creamy. Add sugar and beat, add eggs one at a time. Beat for 5 minutes until smooth and creamy. Fold in 1 cup blueberries. Pour into the crumb lined pan.
Bake at 350 deg. F for 30 minutes or until set. Cool
Top with 1 pint fresh berries. Spoon Glaze over the top and garnish with whipped cream.

Glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
dash of salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup blue berries
1 Tbsp lemon juice
Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add berries and water, bring to a boil, stirring. Cook, stirring for a few minutes or until thickened and clear. Strain and add lemon juice. Cool.

Variation:
Top pie with 1 to 1 1/2 cup sour cream and 1 pint blueberries.

Strawberry Glace Pie

Sorry for the "not posting"ness going on here. I got shingles and life had to slow down in a big way quick to get better.
Now I am less stressed, spot free, and ready to post some more fun that has been going on in the background.

This is my favorite fresh berry pie recipe. My mom has made it for years. It is now comfort food for me. It is great with any berry. I have made it with strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries.

Strawberry Glace Pie

Baked 9" pie shell
1 1/2 quarts strawberries
1 cup sugar
3 Tbsp corn starch
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp butter
1 Cup whipping cream, whipped
2 Tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
3 oz cream cheese (room temp.)
1 Tbsp milk

*Wash, hull, and drain berries. Mash enough of them to make 1 cup.
*Combine sugar and cornstarch. Add crushed berries and water. Cook over med heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Mixture will be thickened and translucent. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Cool.
*Mix the cream cheese with the milk and spread in the bottom of the pie shell.
*Place whole berries in pie shell with points up. Pour cooled berry mixture over the berries and chill for at least 2 hours.
*Serve topped with whipped cream sweetened with the powdered sugar if desired. Garnish with extra berries.
Enjoy!

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

One of Bryan's favorite pies is Lemon Pie. (I never noticed before that I treat pie names like proper names. Aren't they?) Well I can't eat much Lemon pie because it has so much sugar in it, it makes me sick. It tastes great but is overwhelming, and I am not a fan of meringue. When I was little my brother worked for Marie Calender's and would bring home leftover pies all the time. I discovered that meringue was NOT whipped cream and that it was made from eggs and that grossed me out. I haven't liked it since.
This pie recipe is one that I picked up while living with my brother Joe and his wife Lee. It is a favorite of mine now. It is sweet and sour, lemony and creamy. It is just heaven on a plate I'm telling you!

Sour Cream Lemon Pie

1 Cup sugar

3 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 Tbsp grated lemon rind

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter

1 Cup Sour Cream

1 9" baked pie shell (you can use regular pie crust or I bet it would be great with a graham cracker crust)

1 Cup Whipping cream

Combine, sugar, cornstarch, lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks, and milk in a heavy saucepan or double boiler. Cook over medium heat until thick. Stir in butter and cool mixture to room temp. Stir in the sour cream and pour into prepared pie shell. Cover with whipped cream and garnish with lemon twists. Store in the refrigerator.

ENJOY!

Sorry there isn't a better picture. I snapped that quick before dinner the other day and there wasn't a scrap left to take pictures of when dinner was done.

Buttermilk Pie - Oh My!

I saw a picture of a buttermilk pie over at Warm Pie, Happy Home. She promised to post the recipe in the next post but that was on Feb 1st and I couldn't wait any longer. I needed a worthy desert for Sunday dinner yesterday. Well after a little thought I KNEW that buttermilk pie had to happen. So I went off on a quest for a recipe. I searched blog land and food sites gathering information. I finally put together several recipes that I found and came up with a pie to try. One thing I noticed was that this is a Southern Pie. (the South does have good pie!) The recipes I found though fell into to lines. Northern versions of this pie called for lemon for flavor which would be lovely. The Southern versions called for only Vanilla. Well the South won out, A. because my husband is a Civil War buff, and B. because I don't have any lemons. :o) I gave the pie my own twist. I figured that anything with that much butter, buttermilk and eggs should be pretty good with nutmeg. I was right!
Another thing I noticed was that most recipes called for 2 cups of sugar, I used 1 cup and it was still rather sweet, even for my sugar fiend of a husband. So I will post it as I made it but will be trying less sugar next time.

Buttermilk Pie

3 large eggs
1 cup sugar (use more like 2/3 to 3/4 cup)
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla
1 unbaked 9" pie crust
Nutmeg

Beat the eggs in a mixer. Mix the flour and sugar together (this keeps the flour from lumping when you add it to the eggs). Add the mix to the eggs. Mix until creamy. Add melted butter and mix well. Add the buttermilk and vanilla extract.
Pour into your pie shell.
Bake at 325 deg F for at least 1 hour to 1 hour 15 min or until the custard sets. (don't know when that sets?? I'll tell you)
When a custard is set it will still jiggle, it is a custard after all. But when it is done the center shouldn't jiggle more than the outside edges. If the center is still a little sloshy, then give it a few more minutes. It all depends of how deep your pie dish is and things like that. I baked 2 pies and one needed 15 minutes longer than the other. Go figure.

I had to fight my whole family off while this pie cooled. It is wonderful warm but even better cool.

If you look at the bottom right of that slice of pie you will notice that is a little bit slippy and could have used another 5 or so minutes but NO ONE was going to wait for that. The second pie was firmer.

Blueberry Pie

When did I decided that pie was for me? The first time I had blueberry pie. I don't know how old I was. I remember being at my grandfather's house for Thanksgiving. I remember being in the kitchen, listening to my mother and my older sister's talking and laughing. Then came the pies. There were so many and they were all so good. I already liked pie better to cake any day but when my mouth closed on the forkful of flaky crust, tart fruit, and sweet syrup, ... oh my I love pie! I knew I had to make pie. From then on I listened when pie was talked about, watched when pie was made, read about pie in every cookbook I got my hands on.
So in honor of that early pie memory, here is my favorite blueberry pie recipe. It calls for frozen blueberries which is why I love it but fresh can also be used. Just blend some up in the blender to get the juice needed.

Blueberry Pie

Pastry for 2-crust pie
3 cups frozen blueberries (unsweetened)
Blueberry juice (drained from the thawed berries)
Water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp quick cooking tapioca
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice

Thaw the berries and drain off the juice. Add enough water to the juice to make 1/2 cup liquid. Pour into a sauce pan and add the sugar, tapioca, cornstarch and stir. Cook quickly until thickened. Set aside to cool.
Add berries and lemon juice to the cooled juice. Pour filling into your pastry lined pie pan. Add a top crust and cut vents and flute the edges.
Bake at 425*F for 30 minutes.

This pie is great warm or cold, with or without ice cream.


I think my little peep liked it.

Apple Pie Filling for Canning - Tutorial - PPP

I have never tried this before. My friends Diana and Jill have talked me into giving it a whirl. Since I did have an abundance of fabulous apples this year I figured I would try.

So here are the ingredients you will need.
6 quarts of peeled and sliced apples (good sweet and tart apples)
1 1/2 cups Clear Jel
3 cups sugar
5 cups apple juice (can use water if you don't have any juice)
2 cups water
3/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt


Now for how to do it.

1. Start with good tart apples. Tart means tangy and sweet like Jonathan, Macintosh, Jonagold, or even Fuji and NOT sour like Granny Smith apples.



2. Peel and slice your apples. You can put them on an apple peeler, corer, slicer if you have it or do it by hand.



3. Place the apples in a large pot with some water and steam/boil them for 4 to 6 minutes depending on how soft your apples are. Take them right off the heat and drain them. Save that water to use as your water later in the recipe.

4. Mix the clear jel, sugar, juice, water, salt and cinnamon in a large pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add the lemon juice. This will get really thick really fast.

(Sorry my stove top was filthy with canning crud on it all day from making loads of apple sauce.)

5. Add the apples to the jel stuff and mix well. Pour it into clean, sterilized jars and process in a water bath canner or steam canner for about 25 minutes. It makes about 7 quarts pie filling.


There you have yummy apple pie filling just waiting to be poured into a crust and baked. I understand that this isn't enough to make a pie. You will need 1 1/2 jars to make one good sized pie. So I guess that means you would have to use three jars and make two pies. Hmmm.... What is better than a hot apple pie? Two hot apple pies. hee hee

August PPP - Tomato Pie

I have to admit that the first time I hear the name of this pie I winced. Tomato Pie? Well it isn't a sweet pie. It is a wonderfully savory pie. I first saw it over at the Joyful Adobe. It looked so good I had to give it a try. It is well worth it!


I also tried a whole wheat crust. I wasn't satisfied with the results so I won't post that recipe yet until I like it myself.


Fresh Tomato Pie

Pastry for a 2 crust pie
Fresh tomatoes (skins removed, seeded and sliced thin)
Salt
Pepper
Basil (I used fresh and would use lots of it, maybe a couple of big handfuls)
you can also use dry basil, about a teaspoon should do
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups shredded white mozzarella

Prepare your pie crust.
Prepare the tomatoes and dry them between layers of paper towels. I would recommend drying them as much as possible. The more water you can remove the better the end result will be.
Layer the sliced tomatoes in the pie crust till it is full.
Season with salt and pepper.
Chop up the basil and sprinkle it on top.
Mix the mayo and the cheese and spread on top of the tomatoes.
Cover the pie with the remaining crust, crimp the edges and make slits in the top.
Bake at 400 deg F for about 45-50 minutes.
Cool for about 20 minutes. (if you use a stoneware pan it takes a lot longer to cool)



***Changes I would make next time***

I would leave the top crust off. That would let more steam out. I didn't use near enough basil. I have adjusted the measurement above to account for that. I might even spread pesto in the bottom of the crust before I put the tomatoes. That sounds yummy!

Missouri Peach Pie - PPP

Peaches have to be one of my favorite fruits. Thus one of my all time favorite pies is Peach Pie.

On the way home from the Zoo last weekend I found a road side fruit stand with fresh Missouri peaches. I had to have some. We made Jam and saved a few for pie.

Missouri Peach Pie

Pastry for a 2-crust pie

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

5 cups sliced, peeled peaches

1 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)

2 tbsp butter

1. Combine sugars, flour, cinnamon and salt.
2. Sprinkle peaches with lemon juice and almond extract.
3. Add sugar-flour mixture to the peaches and mix gently. Pour into a pastry lined 9" pie pan. Dot with butter. Adjust top crust and pinch the edges. Cut vents.
4. Brush the top of the pie with cream and sprinkle with sugar. (this is optional but makes a pretty pie.)
5. Bake at 450 deg F for 40-45 minutes, or until juices are bubbly and the crust is golden.
6. Serve slightly warm with vanilla ice cream.

Pecan Pie

Hurray, I made 2 pies this month so you get another divine pie recipe.




This is one of our family favorites and usually only appears on Thanks Giving Day. However, it was Bryan's birthday this week and I decided to make him pie instead of cake. He loves this pie and really hates rhubarb. He kinda wanted to know why I was making pies that he hates. (because I love them hee hee). So in honor of his birthday I made HIS kind of pie and it is to die for.
Here are my thoughts on pecan pie. I do really like it for the flavor but the traditional pecan pie is so rich, sticky, and sweet that I can't eat more than a bite. This pie does not have corn syrup and other stuff so it is less sticky and sweet. It is rich though and a tiny slice is plenty. (unless you are a big pig and it is your birthday, hee hee). This recipe is actually a chess pie made with eggs, sugar, and flour. I love how the flavors blend together. I will be posting some more chess pies this year. There is a raisin recipe I have that can put you in a sugar coma. I love it!

Pecan Pie or (Heirloom Chess Pie)
1 unbaked 9” pie shell
¼ cup butter
½ cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons flour
½ cup cream
2 cups chopped nuts

Cream butter.Add sugars and salt.
Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each.
Stir in remaining ingredients.
Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes.Do not over cook.

You can substitute just about any nut in this recipe. My sister Jeanne makes this with black walnuts sometimes. It is so delicious. My favorite Thanks Giving memories are of me, my mom and my sisters sitting at the table after all the guys have passed out. We take a plate and nibble on tiny slices of our favorite pies and talk and laugh a lot. It is really good times.

Rhubarb - Orange Custard Pie

I don't know if Rhubarb Pie is an acquired taste but this one is the only recipe I will eat.
This is my mom's recipe and it holds some of my very fondest memories. As a little girl I was allergic to Rhubarb and would break out in hives if I ate it. I knew this would happen but I couldn't resist snitching some of this pie. It is that good. Tangy, sweet, sour, and buttery. It does everything you need a pie to do!
I have been craving this pie for months but there is sadly no Rhubarb to be found right here, not even frozen rhubarb. So my little brother Jon said that he could get some up in central Missouri and that he would bring some when he came again. HE DID! THANK YOU JON! So I made pie.

Mom's Rhubarb - Orange Custard Pie

1 Pie crust
3 eggs separated
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups rhubarb cut in 1/2 inch slices
1/3 cup chopped pecans

• Beat egg whites until stiff; add 1/4 cup sugar gradually, beat well after each addition.
• Add butter and juice concentrate to egg yolks and beat thoroughly. Add remaining 1 cup sugar, flour and salt; beat well.
• Add rhubarb to yolk mixture; stir well. Gently fold in meringue (egg whites). Pour into pastry-lined 9" pie pan. (make high fluted rim) Sprinkle with nuts.
• Bake at 375 deg F 15 minutes, reduce heat to 325 deg F and bake for an additional 45-50 minutes. Cool.

Here is a seal of approval.

My Nephew James couldn't get enough of it. It was good enough to lick the spoon when you are done!

May PPP - Cheese Pie

OK so I wanted to do Rhubarb pie this month but I can't get my hands on any Rhubarb so I settled for a cheese pie. It is SO good!



I got the original recipe from my Fabulous Niece Rebecca of Marvelous Pigs in Satin. You MUST check out her blog. I have changed the recipe just a tiny bit but will include the original information.

Rebecca's Cheese Pie
(healthful Cheesecake)

Crust:
1 1/4 cup crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
Mix together well in a food processor and pat into the bottom of a large pie pan.

Filling:
2 cups yogurt cheese **
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 large eggs
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 325 deg F.
2. Mix Sugar, cheese, sugar, flour, salt, eggs, and yolks well.
3. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form, add sugar and beat till glossy peaks form.
4. Fold egg whites into filling mixture and pour into pie pan.
5. Bake at 325 for 45 minutes to one hour. Cool and serve.

Sauce

2 cups berries (strawberries or I like raspberries)
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp corn starch
Mix in a sauce pan and heat to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Cool and serve.



**
The original recipe called for
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup yogurt

Rebecca said she has also used:
1 1/2 cups cream cheese
3/4 cup sour cream

You get yogurt cheese by straining yogurt for a while. I have tried this with store bought yogurt and it didn't really work. I tried it with home made yogurt and it works very quickly. In about an hour hour have nice thick yogurt cheese that looks a lot like Ricotta cheese.

How to you make yogurt??
You heat some milk to 120 deg F. You add a couple of heaping spoonfuls of plain yogurt to it and mix in well. I use 2 quarts of milk at a time and like that.
Then you put it into a small ice chest. I pour boiling hot water in there first and then drain it out. That heats up your box. I put towels around the jar to keep it warmer. Then you let it sit for 12 hour or over night. Then have lovely homemade yogurt to eat. It is a little watery compared to store bought but tastes better and you can strain it for a little while and thicken it up that way.

Avocado Pie - April PPP

Yes that is Avocado Pie and it is really pretty good.
Why avocado pie? Because my Flirty Apron Swap Partner Nicola sent me a bunch of Avocados and I have been trying other recipes with them.
Here is the Pie recipe.

Avocado Pie

INGREDIENTS:
1 (9 inch) prepared graham
cracker crust
2 avocados - peeled, pitted and
pureed
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 (5 ounce) can sweetened
condensed milk

I prepared the pie crust and browned it in the oven (the March Pie has a crust recipe)
The I put the lemon juice, milk and avocados in the food processor and blended it till it was smooth. Pour this in the pie shell and chill in the fridge till ready to serve.
I served it with whipped cream on top.
This is an unusual pie. The flavor is light and fresh. Tart and sweet.

Key Lime Pie - PPP - March

My dear friend Rachel of the Country Cupboard Bakery suggested the pie for this month. She said she had tried Key Lime Pie once and thought it was lovely and wondered if I knew how to make it. Well, no but I could try.
Rachel runs this little Mennonite Bakery just down the road from my house, out in the middle of no where in South West Missouri. She has the most wonderful goodies there. Here Cinnamon Rolls are famous and positively sinful!!! She also stocks Jam from Das Jam Shop that is a local Mennonite Jam factory. They jams are simply divine! I love them!

On to the pie.... When looking up ideas I had some rules in mind.
It had to be tasty,
It had to be easy,
and it had to have reasonable ingredients.

Here is what I came up with.


(sorry this is the only photo, I meant to take a lovely picture of a slice of pie topped with whipped cream and a slice of lime but it is all gone. Once we cut into it we forgot all about photographing it and just snarfed it down.)

Key Lime Pie for Rachel

4 egg yolks
2 (14 oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Lime juice (key limes if you can get them and fresh if possible)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp lime zest (optional as lime zest can be bitter)
1 - 9" pie graham cracker crust

1. Pre-bake your graham cracker crust.

2. Pre-heat oven to 370 deg. F.

3. Combine egg yolks, sweetened condensed milk, lime juice, sour cream, and lime zest. Mix well and pour into your pie shell.

4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

5. Allow to cool. Top with Whipped Cream, garnish with lime slices, and enjoy!

There you have it, easy, fast, and good!

Easy Graham Cracker Crust

1 package graham crackers (9-8 whole crackers), or 1 1/3 cup crushed graham crackers
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
Mix very well, pat into pie pan and bake at 375 deg F for 8 minutes.


Note: You can use 1/2 lemon and 1/2 lime juice. If doing that, I would use lemon zest instead. It tastes so much better.
Also if using farm fresh eggs, you will not get a greenish pie. It will be yellow. :o)

Oh I almost forgot to add the squeezing key limes is hard!! I was going nuts with my citrus juicer until I remembered my garlic press. I cut the limes in quarters and put them in there. It still took a while to get 1 cup of lime juice but my hands weren't killing me when I finished!

Cherry Pie Special - PPP - February

Nothing says pie quite like a slice of GOOD Cherry pie. Everything in the world is alright for about 10 minutes while you slowly savor the tartness of the cherries, the sweetness of the sauce, the buttery flaky-ness of the crust and the cool creaminess of the vanilla ice cream.
Are you drooling yet?!
This recipe has been one of my favorites since I was a very little girl. My favorite part of Thanksgiving has always been the pies after the meal. My mother and my sisters and I would sit around the table after the rush and the meal were over and would taste the pies, talk, and laugh a lot. My earliest memories of family gatherings involve these pies. My mother and my sisters are famous for their pies. I just try to keep up. :o)
Here is my special pie tip for the month.
USE FRESH CHERRIES. You can make pie from cherries that come in the can packed in water in a pinch but if you want a cherry pie that makes everything in the world OK then you need to use fresh or frozen (not in sugar) cherries.
Last year my good friend Jill Ann hooked me up with a source for quality frozen cherries. They don't come cheap but they are so worth it. Bryan, who really hates cherry pie was a little miffed at my spending so much on cherries. He came home and found the remnants of a cherry pie I made for myself and the kids and finished the thing off and came looking for me to find out WHAT IN THE HECK WAS THAT!! "That," I told him, "was CHERRY pie, REAL Cherry pie!" It is now his all time favorite. He has been begging me to make it and that is how it made it to February's pie spot. I was going to make it for Valentine's Day but had strep and he sent me to bed and took the kids out to give me the day off. That was great!!
My source for the cherries is..... Bithell Farms they deliver directly to you 3 different times per year. You can contact them to find out when they are coming to your area. I have used their cherries, red raspberries, and their apricots (apricot pie to come later this year!).
On to the pie.....

Cherry Pie Special

Pastry for a 2 crust pie 1 tsp lemon juice
4 cups frozen, pitted, tart red cherries 4 drops red food coloring
2 ½ Tbsp quick cooking tapioca 1 cup sugar
¼ tsp salt 1 Tbsp butter
¼ tsp almond extract Vanilla ice cream
Mix frozen cherries, tapioca, salt, almond extract, lemon juice, food coloring, and sugar. Mix and let sit until the cherries are mostly thawed. While that sits, you can make your pie crust.
Fit pastry into a 9 inch pie pan and trim about 1 inch beyond the edge of the pan. Fill with cherry mixture, Dot with butter. Roll out the rest of your pie dough and make the top. Either use a while piece of dough and cut vents or make 14 strips from the dough and make a lattice top. Moisten the rim of the pie when you add the lattice strips. Take the remaining strips and place them around the edge of the pie and press together. (I found that this edge is to keep the lovely pie juices from spilling out during cooking, duh!) For a pretty pie crust, brush the top with cream and sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Bake in a hot over (450 deg F) for 40 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350 deg for about 20 minutes. I added this extra time at the end because I found that the pie was never quite done, especially when you use fresh or frozen cherries. Then I turned the oven off and let the pie cool off in the oven with the door propped open.
Cherry pie is best served cool. This allows the tapioca to set up and you have a lovely looking pie!
ENJOY!

Raspberry Fluff Pie - PPP - January

Ok this is a quicky pie. We got snow today so I had to come up with something that I had in the fridge.

Pie Tip --

Ceramic pie plates really are quite wonderful. They tend to make a better crust on your pie. They conduct the heat better and stay warm longer which crisps up the crust a little better. Besides that, they look wonderful. This is my Favirite pie plate. I got it about the time I got married. My big brother Joe Bennion made it.


Raspberry Fluff Pie

35 large marshmallows
1/2 cup milk
2 cups frozen raspberries
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
2 baked pie shells (grahm cracker crusts would work)
Chocolate topping (ganache)

Melt the marshmallows and the milk together. Stir in the raspberries. Set aside and cool.
Stir in the whipped cream. Pour into baked pie shell. Pour chocolate topping on top and chill.
Cut and serve.

Chocolate Ganache
1 cup cream
1 cup or so of dark chocolate chips
Bring the cream just to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the chocolate. Stir until melted.

Year of the Mouse - PPP - Potholder

Please remember that P also stands for Perfect, and that DONE is BETTER than Perfect!!

I did this really fast so bear with the imperfections in sewing this time (ok most times).

In keeping with the theme of the Year of the Mouse or Rat, the potholder for January is mouse related.
This is just a simple, padded square pot holder, the simplest of potholders.

Materials:
White scraps for mice
Dark scraps for background and backing
Scraps of bias binding tape
Decorative thread for embelishments

Instructions:

1. Cut out your background piece. Mine is 8 inches square. I like a hotpad big enough to cover most things.

2. Make some teardrop shaped templates, one large, one small. Trace them onto your "mouse fabric". Double the fabric over and sew directly on the lines all the way around. Trim the mice to about 1/4" of the line.


3. Make a slit in one side of the mouse body. Turn the mouse right side out and press. Place the mice on the background fabric where you like them and stitch in place.

4. Use your thread to add details to your mouse like ears, nose, and tail.

5. Layer the top, batting and backing together and pin to stablize. The batting and backing should be larger than the top.

6. Top stitch around the outside edge to anchor the three layers. Now quilt in any fashion you like. I tried to stipple and found that I kinda bite at that and need some more practice.

7. Add the bias binding tape and you are done.

This one was done so very fast. It is not perfection but it will do and will be just fine for spilling chili and such.