Peach Custard Pie - Week 36

A great way to introduce Greek yogurt to your diet with tasty fresh peaches.

In the early fall when fresh tasty peaches hit the produces shelves, it is a great time to enjoy them for dessert. This recipe helps with the guilt by incorporating healthy Greek yogurt in its recipe. In the past few years, Greek yogurt has increased in popularity for its added health benefits.  Greek yogurt is strained which removes some of the milk, sugar, and lactose. Along with calcium and the live bacterial cultures that are also found in regular yogurt, it also contains a high dose of protein.  

However with the tangy taste of Greek yogurt, it may take some getting used to; this is pie is a good way to introduce Greek yogurt to your family.

This also uses a tasty pretzel crust that blends well with the sweet goodness of fresh peaches.

Ingredients (Crust):

1-1/2 cups crushed pretzels

1/3 c. sugar

½ c. butter, melted

Ingredients (Filling):

1 cup sugar

¾ c. milk

¾ cup plain Greek yogurt (6 oz.)

2 eggs

2 T. flour 

2 t. cornstarch

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. salt

(6 oz.) 2 cups sliced peaches, peeled                        

Directions (crust):

Mix crushed pretzels, sugar and butter together.

Place in a pie plate as desired. Bake for 8 minutes at 375 degrees.

Directions (Filling):

Combine sugar, milk, yogurt, eggs, flour, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt. Whisk until smooth.

Arrange peaches in crust and pour the filling on top.

Bake for 40 minutes at 375 degrees.

There are many recipes that substitute Greek yogurt for cream. 

Do you have a favorite recipe that you have tried?

Impossible Pie - Week 14

Grandma says,

"This is quick and easy. Thought you 2 might like this. I use vanilla & nutmeg to my taste."

This pie is originally from the 70s when Bisquick popularized the mysterious way that you could mix all ingredients together and pour into a pie plate, bake and then it would impossibly form its own crust. The company printed the recipe on boxes of their mix with various modifications to simplify baking, and brand loyalty. Bisquick still promotes these pie recipes, but changed the titles to "Impossibly Easy..."; you can find their recipes on their website. 

In all actuality though, baking mix is not actually needed and you can create the same effect with flour. I have yet to try it with their other impossible recipes, but this one works fine with just flour. This recipe was another one of my Grandma's favorites, so I actually fixed this on her 94th birthday this past week. I wish I lived closer, and I would haven taken her a piece of birthday pie! 

Here is her recipe exactly like she wrote it for me 20+ years ago when I was a newlywed. By the way, scant means barely or almost.


Ingredients:
4 Eggs
1 cup Sugar (scant)
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 stick Oleo
2 cups Milk
1 cup Coconut (scant)
1 tsp Vanilla
Nutmeg, to taste
Cinnamon, to taste






Directions:
Melt Oleo. Put all ingredients together and mix well. Pour into large greased pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

This is a super-easy quick treat. However, my family missed the crust.  I actually know people that don't care for "all that crust"; so this would be great for them.

I am excited to try some of the variations of the Impossible Pies.  Do you have a favorite?

Custard Pie - Week 11

Custard Pie  - uncooked egg mixture added to a crust and baked together.

This is another basic pie. I've struggled with determining the characteristics of each pie to ensure that I have a diverse pie selection. The custard pie differs from a cream pie because the mixture is baked in the crust where the cream filling is cooked before it is placed in the crust.

This week, I was fortunate to have a guest cook in the house. My son, Luke was home for a few days of his spring break from college and agreed to try out baking a pie. He made the crust from scratch, and then mixed up the filling. He did a fine job, and it was fun being able to watch him make his first pie.

This is my Grandma's original recipe. She gave it to me 20 years ago when I was a new homemaker, and needed to expand my cooking skills. I appreciate the time that I got to spend with her in the kitchen over the years. Unfortunately she is unable to cook in the kitchen anymore because of her eyesight, but she still would be cooking and baking us great meals and desserts if she could because she always enjoyed cooking for the family. My personal favorite dish of my Grandma's is her Rice Pudding. I have had other rice puddings, but none compare to my Grandma's. When I was a child, I remember always looking forward to my Grandma serving it at least once during my visit where I would take seconds and thirds.

Ingredients:

4 slightly beaten eggs

3/4 cup sugar (scant)

1/4 t. salt

1 t.vanilla

2 -1/2 c. scalded milk (See scalded milk note in this post)

Cinnamon or Nutmeg

Directions:

Mix eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Slowly stir into hot milk. Pour into 9 inch pie shell unbaked. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon. Bake on lower shelf in 450 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake 10 minutes longer or until set. Generally use a toothpick or go by looks.

I enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with my son sharing one of my Grandma's recipes. This is a classic recipe that is perfect for cool treat at the end of a meal. Enjoy!

Do you have a favorite recipe or kitchen memory from your Grandma?

Vinegar Pie - Week 5

"When the cares o' day are done, on the plains o' Kansas, 

And the kids begin to yawn, sleepy like in Kansas, 

Farmer wipes his glasses blurred, 

Reads a chapter o' the Word, 

Then kneels down and thanks the Lord that he lives in Kansas.

 -LITTLE RIVER MONITOR, November 1, 1906

As the years go by, I love the state of Kansas more and more. We have some great people living here, communities to grow a family, and many opportunities available.

I remember every year while I was a student, we would celebrate Kansas Day on January 29th by learning history, making crafts, and learning the statistics of our state. I enjoyed it when someone would bring their family's heirlooms and share stories of hard work but a simpler time. 

As a girl, I read the Little House on the Prairie book series, and enjoyed every little bit.  Laura Ingalls Wilder's family would have been in Kansas in 1869-1870 when the state was just a few years old.  I remember that food and meals were a large part of the stories that were told. When I found the book that featured frontier foods from the book series, I was excited to find some pie recipes.  I chose a vinegar pie to fix because I can just imagine that at the end of January their supplies were starting to dwindle and that this would have been a real treat for the typical family in the pre-1900's Kansas family.  

The vinegar pie was used as substitute for a lemon pie, and sometimes referred to as the "Poor Man's Pie" because lemons were considered a luxury for people on the prairie.  

When Daniel saw me put this pie on the Pie Board, he begged me not to make it. However, he warmed up to the idea and by the time I made it, he was ready to try it with an open mind.  We decided that it is actually very good. The first taste does taste vinegary, but with the second taste it starts to grow on you, but then after the third bite, you start to taste the apples. While you are finishing up the slice, you can just imagine that you are eating a pie that is made from fresh fruit. It is an experience that everyone should experience and encourage you to try it out! It is definitely an economical way to enjoy a slice of pie with a fruity taste without using actual fruit.

Ingredients:

1 Pastry Pie Crust

1/4 cup Butter

2 Eggs

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose Flour

1/2 t. Nutmeg

3 T. Apple Cider Vinegar

1 cup water

Directions:

Melt butter. Beat eggs in small bowl. In large bowl blend both sugars, flour, and nutmeg with fingers until no lumps remain. Stir in vinegar, eggs, butter, and water until well mixed. Pour into pie shell and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove and cool until the filling is firm enough for cutting.

You may be able to tell that I didn't get the eggs mixed the best; so I did have some spots in the pie that looked egg-y, but I don't feel that it affected the taste.  I had also found some recipes that called for a teaspoon of lemon extract, and that would be good too. (edit: You may blind bake the crust if you want to ensure a crisp crust)

I also found another series of books entitled the Butter in the Well at the public library featuring stories of a Swedish immigrant to the Assaria written by Linda Hubalek.  She also had a book, Egg Gravy, that featured recipes from the same time period. One of the pie recipes, "Oh-So-Good Pie", is basically a variant of the vinegar pie with an addition of 1 cup of raisins.  One of the facts that Linda points out, recipes from this era are typically non-existent because they were in the cook's head, or the instructions too vague that the recipes don't turn out with our modern equipment.

Butterscotch Pie - Week 4

In honor of National Pie Day, I wanted to choose a pie that was traditional, but yet something that would be a treat. This pie does not disappoint.  

I remember sometime in my childhood having this pie, but I know that it must be 25 years since I've tasted homemade butterscotch w/meringue.  So, I looked in one of my grandma's cookbooks to find an original recipe for the classic homemade butterscotch pie. Then, since I was inexperienced with meringue, I chose a recipe with a name that promised that it couldn't fail.

Ingredients - Butterscotch Filling:
1 Pastry Pie Crust, baked
¾ cup Brown Sugar
¼ cup Sugar
1/3 cup Flour
2 c. Scalded Milk
1/8 t. Salt
3 Egg Yolks, beaten
1 ½ T. Butter
1 t. Vanilla
Meringue

Directions:

In double boiler, combine sugars, flour and add hot milk (1). Add salt. Stirring constantly to make a smooth mixture. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened (2). Pour part of hot mixture slowly onto egg yolks, stirring constantly (3). Pour back into double mixture. Mix well and cook no more than 3 minutes, stirring almost constantly. Add butter, stir until melted. Cool (4). Add vanilla, and pour into shell. Cover with meringue and proceed as directed.

(Scalded Milk Note: You may heat the milk for 3-4 minutes in a glass container in a microwave with a bamboo or chopstick breaking through the surface.  This prevents the milk from super-heating and scorching)

Ingredients – Never Fail Meringue:

2 T. Sugar

1 T. Corn Starch
1/2 cup water

3 Egg whites

1/8 t. salt

1 t. Vanilla

1/3 c. Sugar

Directions – Meringue:

In small sauce pan, combine sugar and corn starch. Add water; cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture is thick and clear. Cool. In mixer bowl, combine egg whites, salt and vanilla. Beat at high speed until foamy. Add sugar gradually, beating after each addition. Add cornstarch mixture. Continue beating until meringue stands in stiff peaks. Place on top of filling sealing to edges of baked pastry. Bake 12-15 minute at 350 degrees until browned.

I actually made two pies as I wanted to compare the homemade to a cheater instant pudding pie. Here are the prep ingredients:

And then compared the two, slice by slice:

And, the comparison is a difficult task because they're just not the same.  It is like comparing a Nacho plate complete with meat, salsa, and melted cheese to Nacho flavored Doritos. The homemade is so good with it's creamy goodness. This was my 11-year old son's first experience with homemade butterscotch and meringue. Afterwards, he just couldn't stop thinking about it. However, we still admitted that we enjoyed the cheater pie. Yes, it has a definite manufactured taste (similar to those Doritos), but it is still enjoyable. 

How did you celebrate National Pie Day?

And how do you like your Butterscotch Pie? 

Have you indulged in a cheater pie recently?

Chocolate Chess Pie - Week 2

Chocolate!!
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt! Charles M. Schulz

Chocolate is definitely known as a feel good food. It even contains phenylethylamine, the same chemical that our brain produces when we feel happy or in love. In it darkest forms (basically with little sugar, cream or oils), it has health benefits; however Chocolate Chess Pie is not one of the forms that would be considered healthy.