Italian Sausage Spinach Pie - Week 17 Bonus

Spinach is a great vegetable that people hate on, 

but would absolutely love it if they gave it a chance!

I love the versatility of this vegetable! It is great as a fresh treat in salads, served steamed, or included as an ingredient in main dishes. One of the first dishes that I perfected early in our marriage was Spinach Florentine Lasagna Casserole; and later on in the year, Spinach Meatballs was another favorite. 

I was kind of crazy about spinach. My boys liked it, and I couldn't imagine why anyone would not like it. The key is to eat fresh or frozen spinach. Canned spinach is nasty...I know Popeye disagrees, but seriously it isn't even the same thing! Spinach is considered a super food because of its nutritious benefits.

I have grown it in the garden in the past successfully, but it takes a lot to cook up as it cooks down tremendously. However, if you enjoy fresh spinach, you should try growing it as it is one of the easiest garden items to grow if you plant it in the cooler season; it doesn't like the hot temperatures of Kansas and will die out. But, it is easy to have a second season in the fall if you plant it after the dog days of summer.

I love this recipe for Italian Sausage Spinach Pie because it's a great treat for leftovers the next day and it really stretches your ingredients for a full meal. I don't know how it is possible, but we typically get 8 servings out of 1 pound of sausage. And, this is the same family that each one of us could eat the pound hamburger special at a restaurant.

If you like pie and sausage, but not sure about the spinach; this is the recipe to try. I think you may start to appreciate it.

Ingredients:
1 deep dish double large pastry pie crust
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage
1 medium onion, chopped
6 eggs, beaten
1 pkg (16 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & well-drained
1 c. grated cheese
1 pkg (3 oz.) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 t. garlic salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 T. water






Directions:
In skillet brown sausage and onion; drain. Separate 1 egg and set aside the yolk. In a mixing bowl, beat the remaining egg white and whole eggs. Stir in the sausage and onion, spinach, grated cheese, cream cheese, garlic salt, and pepper. Line pie plate with bottom pastry. Add filling.

Top with upper crust, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top crust. 
Combine water with reserved egg yolk; brush over top crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

After trying this recipe, you may become a spinach lover too!

Kentucky Derby Bacon Bourbon Pie - Week 17

Read on to find the six degrees separation between this year's Kentucky Derby winner and Easy as Pie in Kansas!

California Chrome is the race horse that is currently trying for the triple crown.

Kentucky Derby is the race that boosted his popularity across the nation.

The state of Kentucky has hosted the Kentucky Derby since 1875.

Fried Chicken is a well known southern food for the state of Kentucky, in fact Colonel Sanders started a chain of restaurants based on his original recipe.

KFC is the national franchise restaurant of Kentucky Fried Chicken found in nearly every part of the United States. 

Kansas Fried Chicken...surely if the restaurant is located in Kansas that is what the KFC stands for.

Pie is the perfect accompaniment to fried chicken, especially if you're in the state of Kansas.

Easy as Pie in Kansas is proud to present the Kentucky Derby Bacon Bourbon Pie. And we just had to include Bacon in it because of the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

And bourbon because it is unique to the state of Kentucky because of the iron-free water that is found in area by filtering it through high concentration of limestone found in Kentucky. 95% of all bourbon originates from the state of Kentucky and must be aged in new, charred oak barrels giving it a unique taste that carries through in this pie.

Ingredients (Crust):

1-1/2 cups flour

1/2 t. salt

2 t. sugar

3 T. cold bacon grease

5 T. cold butter, cubed

2 T. cold bourbon

2 T. ice water, more as needed

Ingredients (Filling):

1/2 cup maple syrup

4 T. brown sugar

1/2 cup light corn syrup

3 T. butter

3 large eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

1/4 t. salt

2 cups pecan halves

1/2 cup bacon, finely chopped

3 T. bourbon

Directions (crust):

Whisk together the flour, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Cut in bacon

grease, and then cut in butter. Sprinkle the bourbon and water over

the mixture and lightly toss together until just mixed. Mold dough into

a disc, and cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Roll dough on lightly floured surface and roll out. Place in a pie plate and crimp as desired. Freeze for 30 minutes before baking.

Directions (filling):

Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Stir

syrup, brown sugar, corn syrup and butter in medium saucepan over

medium heat until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Increase heat and

boil 1 minute. Cool to lukewarm (45 minutes). Whisk eggs, vanilla and

salt in mixing bowl. Gradually whisk maple mixture into egg mixture.

Stir in pecan halves, bacon, and bourbon. Pour filling into crust. Bake

pie until filling slightly puffed around edges and center is set, about 55

minutes. Cool and serve at room temperature.

Nutty Goodness!!

We thought this pie was good. My husband who loves pecan pie and bacon, actually thought the traditional pie is just as good, but it was fun trying it out!

And while we are at it why don't we just rename the racehorse 

Kalifornia Krome in honor of his connection to Easy as Pie in Kansas.

Grandma's Hershey Chocolate Pie - Week 16

Grandmas always makes the best food!

This recipe came from my husband's family recipes. Unfortunately, I never had a chance to eat this particular dish from his Grandma. However, I will never forget her barbecue chicken, homemade ice cream and her endless supply of treats. 

Believe it or not, years before I met my husband, I actually visited her home as a child with my family and remember that she had treats ready to welcome her guests.  She made hot cocoa that was so thick and rich that you could imagine that the spoon could stand up on its own.

Ingredients:

1 graham cracker crust

4.5 oz Hershey chocolate bar

1/3 cup milk

20 large marshmallows

1 cup whipping cream

3 T. powdered sugar

1 t. vanilla

Chocolate!!

Directions:

Melt chocolate, milk, and marshmallows over medium heat. Spread over crust, and cool. Whip whipping cream until soft peaks. Whip powdered sugar and vanilla in the whipped cream. Spread over chocolate filling. Refrigerate until serving.

Whipping Cream!

I hope you enjoy this rich chocolatey dessert that only could come out of a grandma's recipe box.

English Cottage Pie - Week 15 Bonus

This pie has been around since the 1700's when the potatoes were introduced as an affordable crop for the poor that lived in cottages. This pie could be identical to the Shepherd's Pie, except for the fact that it doesn't not include mutton as the key meat ingredient.

This pie was just okay. The mashed potato top was runny, and we didn't care for the cinnamon in the filling. I have modified the recipe to make this pie better. Maybe someday, I'll get a chance to make it right and update this post!

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

3 carrots, diced

2 T. flour

1/2 t. cinnamon (optional)

1 T. Italian seasoning

1 t. parsley

1-1/2 cups beef broth

1 T. tomato paste

Salt and Pepper to taste

4 Potatoes, peeled and diced

1/4 c. butter

1/2 c. milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Meat Filling: Brown ground beef, and drain. Add onion and carrot, then continue to saute until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Mix in flour, and seasonings. Add beef broth and tomato paste, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until almost all of liquid has been absorbed. Spoon mixture into a round casserole dish.Potato Topping: Boil diced potatoes for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain. Mash potatoes until smooth. Add butter and milk and whip until fluffy. 

Spread potatoes over meat filling.  Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until top is browned and bubbly.

Enjoy!!

Pastiera Easter Grain Pie - Week 15

The fruitcake pie of Easter.

The grain contained in this pie is symbolic of Christ's resurrection. A grain of wheat lies dormant and then comes to life in the spring. I have found some reports that this pie originates from the 8th century when a group of nuns came from Greece to Naples, Italy. They used the whole grain to represent the resurrection of Christ. It has been a tradition in Italian culture since then.

I was actually excited to make a wheat pie because of my Kansas connection. However, I am sad that I was unable to find the wheat berries that I needed in town. Even the local health food stores and the co-op couldn't help me out. I may have been able to find them elsewhere, but when I found out that barley would taste basically the same, I caved and used them instead.  

The result was interesting, however my family wasn't fond of this pie. Maybe, we aren't Italian enough? 

I had given a second Easter grain pie to another family for pie-it-forward. They were polite and told me it was good. When I cornered their 11 yr old daughter to ask her honest opinion, she was so sweet and didn't want to reveal her actual opinion. 

I had to make my own candied fruit, but I am sure the packaged candied fruit would taste the same. I found these directions to make candied fruit. I used pineapple, lemon rind, orange rind, and apple. The candied fruit itself was good, but the finished pie did remind me of fruitcake.

Here is the recipe:


Ingredients:

Unbaked Pie crust (bottom and lattice top)
3 cups water
1/4 whole wheat berries (or 1/2 cup pearl barley)
3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
4 0z. mixed candied fruit
12 oz. Ricotta cheese
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. grated lemon zest
1 t. grated orange zest
1/2 T. shortening
1/2 t. salt
1 T. powdered sugar, for dusting



Directions:
Good Friday: Soak wheat berries in water. (Barley does not need to be soaked.)

Saturday: Bring 3 cups water to boil in large saucepan. 
Drain wheat berries and add them to boiling water and boil for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, beat eggs. Gradually add sugar to eggs. Mix in fruit, ricotta, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon rind, and orange rind. 
When wheat is ready, drain in a colander and rinse with warm water. 
Place 1/2 cup cooked wheat in a small bowl, and mix in shortening and salt, until shortening is melted. 
Add to ricotta mixture. Spoon filling into bottom crust. 
Cover with lattice strips, and crimp edges. 
Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown. 
Sprinkle pie with powdered sugar. 
Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.

Easter Sunday: Ready to serve. 

He is risen Indeed, Alleluia!

Next Easter, I plan on making pie again. 

However, it will be one of our tried and true favorites. 

What favorite dessert do you enjoy at your Easter dinner?

Chicken Divan Pie - Week 14 Bonus

When the spoon hits your mouth

for a big chicken pie, that's a mournay.

When the greens seem to shine,

like you've had too much sauce, that's a mournay...

Cheesy Ode to Chicken Divan Pie

I found a book in the library that contained only pot pie recipes, and it defined a pot pie as having the crust on the top. The book had all sorts of bread crumb topped casseroles and classified them as pie; so this chicken divan can be classified as a pie!

The star of this pie is the sauce; its creamy mournay sauce takes a little bit of time, but it is well worth the effort.  This French dish originated in New York when it was named after the Divan Parisien Restaurant. This postcard was from the 1940s, and I can only imagine how it felt to feed your family this fancy dish in the 50s knowing that its roots were from a fine dining establishment in New York City. 

The list of the things that I love about this dish is long: 

the fresh steamed broccoli, the homemade crusty topping, one-dish goodness, and the parmesan cheesy sauce. 

This was my first attempt on making homemade croutons that was needed for the crumb topping. I think they were pretty tasty. You could substitute store-bought croutons or even stove top for the top if you want to make the recipe simpler. The fresh garlic crumbs really complemented the other flavors in this dish.

This dish also exercises your chef abilities by creating a roux for the sauce. A roux (pronounced "rue") is simply heating up a fat in the pan and adding flour and cooking it until the raw flour taste is gone and the desired color has been reached before adding the liquid.

This sauce also uses cream that has been whipped into soft peaks making it extra creamy and delicious.

Ingredients:

3 slices toasted/dried bread

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 t. Italian seasoning

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. ground pepper

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

1 large bunch of broccoli, cut into spears

4 T. butter

5 T. flour

2 cups chicken broth 

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 T. lemon juice

Garlic, Salt & Pepper, to taste

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

6 tenderloin chicken breasts, cooked and diced

Directions:

Cube toasted/dried bread into bread crumbs for topping. Mix garlic, olive oil, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and ¾ cup parm cheese together. Toss with bread crumbs until well mixed. Set aside for topping.

Steam broccoli just until tender, and drain well.

In saucepan, melt the butter over medium low heat; add the flour and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes until the mixture is a golden brown. Add the chicken broth and continue to stir until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile in a bowl, beat the cream until it holds stiff peaks. Stir the cream, lemon juice and 3/4 cup parm cheese into the sauce. Garlic, salt & pepper to taste.

In 2 quart casserole, arrange broccoli around the edges, stems pointed toward the inside. Place chicken on top of the broccoli. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle bread crumb topping over the sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees until bread crumbs are crispy.  

This recipe found a permanent location in my recipe box for those special occasions when you want the familiar but satisfying layers of taste you get with the one-dish meal.

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?