Raisin-Oatmeal Pie

My husband absolutely loves oatmeal raisin cookies.  So when I found this recipe in my new cookbook, The Blue Ribbon Baking from a Redneck Kitchen I knew I had to make him this pie!

The best thing about this recipe it is so easy to make!!  You can whip this up in a matter of minutes.  One of the interesting things (at least to me) was that you make the crust right in the pie pan - no mess or fuss - how cool is that!!

Raisin-Oatmeal Pie by Francine Bryson

Ingredients

Crust

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
2 T milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Filling

3 large eggs
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 T unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cup quick-cooking rolled oats (not instant)
1 T all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 325F
To make the crust, mix the flour and sugar in the pie pan.  Add the milk and oil.

Mix well with a fork.  Using your hands, press the dough out and up the sides of the pie pan.

To make the filling, combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, sugar and butter - mix with a whisk.

Add the oats, cinnamon and raisins. 
Set the pie pan on a baking sheet and pour the filling into the pie crust.

The instructions say to bake for 45 to 50 minutes.  My pie wasn't completely done after 50 minutes, so I baked it an additional 10 minutes which seemed to work.

I wish you could smell how delicious my house smelled while this was baking - heavenly!!!

Verdict:

This sort of reminded me of a pecan pie - at least, the consistency did.  What did my oatmeal cookie loving husband think???  He LOVED it!!  We knocked this one out of the ball park!! Definitely a keeper recipe.  Yep, we are going to make this one again!

Green Tomato Pie

It is getting to be that time of year where our gardens are starting to wind down - the days are getting shorter and it is getting darker earlier and earlier.  BUT you still have some tomatoes on your plants - what is a person to do?  You make a pie!!  a green tomato pie!!  Now, at first glance, you would think that this recipe would be some kind of quiche or something similar - WRONG!!

I found this recipe in the book, First Prize Pies by Allison Kave. (Disclaimer - I do not know her nor am I getting paid to promote her book!).  She states that green tomatoes are very tart and can be used like apples in almost any recipe.  So in essence, this is sort of a "mock apple pie" recipe.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can whip this up in matter of minutes - so very easy to make.  The hardest part is slicing the tomatoes.

Green Tomato Pie

Ingredients

Use your favorite pie crust recipe for a double crust or a store-bought pie crust

Filling

1 c packed dark brown sugar (I didn't have the dark brown, so I used light brown sugar)
1/3 c cornstarch
1/2  t ground ginger
1/2  t ground cinnamon
2 lbs green tomatoes thinly sliced
milk for glaze

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Roll out half of the dough and transfer to a 9 inch pie plate.  Trim any overhand and refrigerate the crust.

Filling:

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, ginger and cinnamon.

Add the slice tomatoes, toss to coat.  Sort of looks like apples, doesn't it!

Spoon the filling into the chilled pie crust.

Roll out the second half of the dough.  Lay it over the filled pie plate, press the edged down, trim any overhang and crimp the edge with whatever pattern you lie.  Brush with milk and I sprinkled sugar on top (I might try cinnamon sugar next time)

Put the pie onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, rotating it once halfway.
Lower the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes until the crust is a nice golden brown.
 Remove the pie to a rack to cool completely for at least 1 hour (if you can!).

Green Tomato Pie

Ingredients

Use your favorite pie crust recipe for a double crust or a store-bought pie crust

Filling

1 c packed dark brown sugar (I didn't have the dark brown, so I used light brown sugar)
1/3 c cornstarch
1/2  t ground ginger
1/2  t ground cinnamon
2 lbs green tomatoes thinly sliced
milk for glaze

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425.
Roll out half of the dough and transfer to a 9 inch pie plate.  Trim any overhand and refrigerate the crust.

Filling:

In a large bowl, combine the sugar, cornstarch, ginger and cinnamon.
Add the slice tomatoes, toss to coat.
Spoon the filling into the chilled pie crust.
Roll out the second half of the dough.  Lay it over the filled pie plate, press the edged down, trim any overhang and crimp the edge with whatever pattern you lie.  Brush the top of the pie with milk.  I sprinkle sugar over the top.  I think next time I might use cinnamon sugar as a sprinkle. 

Put the pie onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, rotating it once halfway.
Lower the temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 30 to 40 minutes until the crust is a nice golden brown.
Remove the pie to a rack to cool completely for at least 1 hour (if you can!).

Verdict:

Oh yes, this was good!! (much to my surprise!)  My husband loved it!  Definitely a keeper recipe!  Make sure you use totally green tomatoes.  I had one tomato that was starting to turn red and it was a little soft.  The all green tomatoes were more solid.   

Buttermilk Pancakes

My husband is on a "pancake" kick lately.  Today he asked if I could make him buttermilk pancakes for his breakfast tomorrow.  Now do you REALLY think I am going to run to the store and buy Aunt Jemina Buttermilk Pancake mix???  Seriously!!!

Looking at my growing library of cookbooks, I knew one of them HAD to have a good buttermilk pancake recipe.  We have already tried Martha, so I wanted to try someone new but WHO would have a great buttermilk pancake recipe.  Then the "Recipe Gods" spoke and I knew who I could turn to - Paula Dean!!  And in her Southern Cooking Bible I found what I was looking for . . . a recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes.  Oh my . . . it was so easy!!!  And, fortunately, I had all the ingredients including the buttermilk!!  So it was meant to be!

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
4 T butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Grease a griddle or a large nonstick skillet with butter, oil or cooking spray.  Place on a burner over medium heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until just combined - you will have lumps!

Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop up the batter and drop into the hot skillet.

Cook until light brown (or you see bubbles appearing in the batter), flip and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve with maple syrup - YUM!!!

Entire Recipe:

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cup buttermilk
4 T butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

Grease a griddle or a large nonstick skillet with butter, oil or cooking spray.  Place on a burner over medium heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda.

In a separate bowl, mix together the buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and vanilla extract.

Using a rubber spatula, fold in the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until just combined - you will have lumps!

Using a 1/3 measuring cup, scoop up the batter and drop into the hot skillet.

Cook until light brown (or you see bubbles appearing in the batter), flip and cook for an additional 2 to 3 minutes.

Repeat with the remaining batter. 

Enjoy!!

VERDICT:

This is DEFINITELY a keeper recipe!! The pancakes are nice and fluffy even the day after I made them.  Sorry Aunt Jemina - you can't make this kind of pancake from a box.  Oh these were so good!! 

Corn Pancakes (?)

Never heard of such an animal but my husband has.  So I guess they do exist.  Supposedly, my father-in-law used to make these all the time (before I came into my husband's life!).  I've heard of buttermilk pancakes, blueberry pancakes (yum!!!), potato pancakes, buckwheat pancakes and even cornmeal pancakes but never corn pancakes.  So . . . off to the Internet I went.  And guess what I found . . . a recipe for corn pancakes.  And, who else would have a recipe for corn pancakes but none other than Ms. Martha Stewart herself!!

So this recipe comes to you from good ole Martha!  The beauty of this recipe is that it is so easy to make!! 

Corn Pancakes by Martha Stewart

Ingredients

1/2 cup flour
3/4 tsp coarse salt (I used sea salt)
1 large egg
1/3 cup milk
2 cups corn kernels (I used canned corn and drained it)
2 Tsp canola oil

Directions

Drain the canned corn and set aside

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, egg, and milk until just combined

Fold in the corn kernels.

Heat the 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat.   Drop a scant 1/4 cup of batter into skillet.  Flatten slightly with back of spatula.

Cook until brown - roughly 3 to 4 minutes per side, and flip to cook the other side.  Add more oil if needed.

Serve immediately.  According to my husband, you eat this like "regular" pancakes with syrup and butter.  I tasted a small piece - not bad!  Now to see what my husband thinks!

Breakfast Quiche

I've had this recipe for years.  Don't remember where I found this or who I got it from.  I know I had it way before I "discovered" the Internet - so you know its OLD!!!  LOL! 

It seems like a lot of work, but it really isn't.  Normally what I do is make the "crust" the night before and then do the "filling" the next morning.  See, isn't that easy!!  And it is so versatile.  I think you can pretty much use anything in this quiche - sausage, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, peppers, etc.  Just let your imagination run wild!!

Anyway . . . here is the main recipe . . .

Breakfast Quiche

24 oz. thawed hash brown potatoes (I found the shredded hash browns work best)
1/3 cup melted butter
4 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t garlic powder
1 cup diced ham
1 cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar cheese)

Crust (I usually make this the night before)

Squeeze the excess moisture from the potatoes.
Mix the potatoes with the melted butter and press into a deep dish 10" pie pan.
Bake at 425 for 25 minutes.

Filling

Spread the ham and cheese evenly in the pie pan.

Mix the eggs, garlic powder, pepper and milk together.  Pour over the ham and cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

VERDICT:

This is a recipe I have made several times so I know it is good.  The mistake I made this time is that I grabbed the wrong type of hash browns - diced potatoes instead of shredded.  It still tasted good but it made it hard working with the crust.  Shredded is really the way to go! 

This would be PERFECT for a brunch.  I usually make this for our Easter breakfast.   I just thought it would be a nice change of pace for my husband to have instead of the usual breakfasts I have been making for him.
 

 

Sausage., Summer Squash and Pasta Skillet Dinner

This is what we had for dinner last night and, boy, was it good!!  PLUS it was super easy to make!!  I found this recipe in the current issue of Cook's Country.  I did have to improvise on the pasta - the recipe calls for zita, I couldn't find that in our local Kroger's, so I used rigatoni instead.  Also, I didn't use as much as the recipe called for. Sometimes these pasta recipes have way too much pasta.

Anyway . . . here is the recipe

Ingredients

12 ounces mild italian sausage - casings removed and sausage broken into 1 inch pieces
1 pound yellow summer squash (fresh picked from my garden!!)
1 can of chicken broth
1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes
12 ounces of ziti pasta ** (I used rigatoni and only used about 10 1/2 ounces)
1 cup Parmesan cheese
fresh basil chopped

Directions

Cook the sausage in large skillet until no longer pink.

Cut the summer squash in half lengthwise and slice.  Some of the bigger slices, I quartered.

Add the squash to the sausage and cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Add the broth, tomatoes with their juice, and the pasta.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the pasta is al dente.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with the remaining Parmesan cheese and sprinkle with basil.

Enjoy!!!

VERDICT:

This is definitely a winner!!  Both my husband and I loved it.  And it is so easy to make.  Yep, we are going to have this one again!

Zapple Pie

No, that is not a typo - yes, I made Zapple Pie.  And I am sure you are going to think I have really lost it this time!  Zapple pie is a "mock" apple pie made with zucchini - yep, zucchini - thus the name Zapple!

I found this recipe in the book, appropriately titled Pie by Ken Haedrich.  It is so very simple to make - the hardest part was peeling and cutting the zucchini.  Surprisingly enough, it does taste like apple pie.  So why go to all the bother and just get apples and make a REAL apple pie?  That would be too easy!!  LOL!!  This  is just another recipe to use for the millions of zucchinis that you get from your garden and get REALLY tired of zucchini bread!

NOTE:  I did take pictures but can't find the cord to transfer the pictures from the camera to the computer.  Hopefully, I can remedy that situation soon!

Ingredients:

Use your favorite pie dough recipe for a single pie crust

6 cups peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced zucchini
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 T frozen appple juice concentrated, thawed
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
2 T cornstarch
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 T cider vinegar

Crumb topping

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup pecan halves
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

Instructions

1.  Prepare the pie crust and refrigerate until firm for about 1 hour.  Line pie pan with pie crust and put in freezer for 15 minutes.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.  In a large soup pot, add the zucchini, sugar, apple juice concentrate, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Heat over medium heat.  While stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat slightly and simmer until the zucchini begins to soften, but does not get mushy - about 10 minutes.

3.  Combine the cornstarch and the lemon juice together in a separate bowl, stirring until smooth.  When the zucchini is tender, add the cornstarch mixture into the pot and cook, stirring nonstop to prevent it from sticking for an additional 3 to 4 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the cider vinegar.

4.  To make the crumb topping, add the flour, brown sugar, and pecans in a food processor and pulse several times to chop the nuts.  Slice the butter into the food processor over the dry ingredients and pulse until the mixture resembles crumbs

5.  Spoon the filling into the chilled pie shell and smooth the top with a spoon.  Dump the crumb topping in the center of your pie and spread out evenly over the top.

6.  Place the pie on the center oven rack and reduce the temperature to 350.  Bake for 40 minutes.

7.  Transfer to a wire rack to let cool.

VERDICT:

Much to my surprise, this does taste like an apple pie!  And the longer you let it sit, the more flavorful it becomes.  My husband LOVED it!  This is definitely a winner recipe!