Pie Crust

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 t. salt

1/3 c. + 1T. shortening

about 1/4 c. ice water

Recipe:

1. Combine flour and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Add shortening in small cubes.

2. Cut in shortening until you get pieces that are about pea-sized.

3. Start sprinkling the ice water by about a tablespoon at a time over the flour/shortening mixture.

4. Very, very gently, turn the dough with your fingers so it gets exposed to the water. You're NOT mixing, just trying to moisten all of the flour/shortening mixture. Gradually, all of the flour mixture will be moistened. Gently pat the dough into a ball (it should come together easily but not be sticky).

5. Wrap in plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you're ready to use.

6. When you're ready to roll out your pie crust, lightly flour your work surface and place the dough ball on the surface. One of the keys in making pie crust is to handle the dough as little as possible. The less you touch it, the more tender and flaky it will be. Starting in the center, roll the dough out into a circle shape, about 1/8" thick. When you've reached your desired thickness, place the rolling pin in the middle and gently fold the crust over the rolling pin. Lift the dough onto your pie plate and unfold it.

7. Bake according to pie directions.

Rating: 4 of 5

I liked this recipe. I wasn't sweet, which I like in a pie crust, and it was pretty flaky. Easy enough to make!

Source: OurBestBites.com, Pie Crust

Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:

2 unbaked pie crusts

1 lb. leftover roasted chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces

1 12-16 oz. bag of mixed vegetables, thawed

1 onion, minced

1 T. butter

5 medium-small red potatoes, diced

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 t. Kosher salt, or to taste

ground black pepper to taste

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. When ready, add potatoes to water and boil until tender. Meanwhile, heat about 1 T. butter in a medium skillet. When the butter is bubbly, saute the onion until it's translucent and fragrant. Set aside.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, chicken, vegetables, onion, and potatoes. Season to taste.

4. Place one pie crust on the bottom of a pie plate, transfer the filling to the pie plate, and then top with the other pie crust. Crimp the edges and then cut a few vent holes on top. Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

5. Remove from oven and allow to stand for a few minutes before serving.

Rating: 3 of 5

Easy recipe, unless you aren't that experienced in pie crusts. You might get a bit flustered, but it's not as hard as it might seem. The chicken mixture could not be any easier. Especially if you pick up a rotisserie chicken at Costco to use. I really liked the potatoes in this pie, but I thought the actual filling was way to thick when cooked. So, I would probably either add another half can of cream of chicken or add a half cup milk or something to make it a little more runny. Tasted fine enough, but it wasn't a super good pot pie.

Source: OurBestBites.com, Chicken Pot Pie

Crumb Peach Pie

Ingredients:

1 pie shell, baked at 400-degrees for 5 minutes (like Easy Oil Pastry or Pie Crust)

1 large can peaches, sliced *

2 T. cornstarch **

1/4 c. brown sugar

1/4 c. white sugar

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. butter

* I just used two 15-oz cans, dumped all of the one can into a sauce pan, and then drained all the juice from the second can and tossed it.

** I actually didn't have cornstarch on hand, so I substituted it with Minute Tapioca. You can also substitute corn starch with flour, but have to double the amount, i.e. 1 T. cornstarch = 2 T. flour.

Recipe:

1. Heat the peaches in a pot and add cornstarch to thicken juices. Pour into prepared shell (only baked for 5 minutes previously).

2. Make crumb mixture by adding brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, flour, and butter. Use a pastry cutter or fork to combine and make into crumbs.

3. Sprinkle the top of the pie with the crumb mixture.

4. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Rating: 4 of 5

I love this recipe. But, for whatever reason I can never get the crumb part on top to come out the way it should! It's probably because it's my Grandma's recipe and no matter how hard I try I never can cook as well as Grandma. I think there might be a secret cooking school that all grandmas go to once they "retire." Love the taste of the somewhat sweetened peaches with the topping together. And I love how easy this recipe it. No peeling or slicing peaches? All right! I can open a tin can and pour everything out. Piece of cake....or maybe I should say, piece of pie!

Source: Grandma Norton

Mom's Pie Crust

Ingredients:

3 c. flour

1 1/2 t. salt

1 c. oil

1/2 c. milk

Recipe:

1. Mix together the flour and salt. Form a well.

2. Add oil and milk into the flour well. Stir with a fork.

3. Press into bottom and sides of a pie plate, or roll out between two pieces of wax paper and transfer to pie plate. With a fork, poke a few holes in the bottom.

4. Bake according to pie recipe. Or bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes.

Rating:3 of 5

I always liked this recipe. Probably because it's what I grew up on and it reminds me of better cooking than mine. It's not a super light and flaky recipe. It's more dense. But, I like it.

Source: my mom

Easy Oil Pastry

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. sugar

1/4 t. salt

1/4 c. cooking oil

3 T. milk

Recipe:

1. In a medium bowl stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Add oil and milk all at once to flour mixture.

2. Stir lightly with a fork. Form into a ball. Press dough firmly onto bottom and up sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Fill and bake as directed.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

Super easy crust. Not a bad taste either. In fact, it's super similar to my mom's Pie Crust recipe. The recipe says it's enough for a 9-inch pie plate, but I found that it was just a little short ofbeing able to line the sides and ridges the whole way around. I would use it again, but I need to do recipe and a half, I think.

Source: Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book, pg. 416

All-American Apple Pie

Ingredients:

~Crust~

1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. vegetable oil

2 T. cold milk

1 1/2 t. white sugar

1 t. salt

~Apple Filling~

3/4 c. white sugar

3 T. all-purpose flour

3/4 t. ground cinnamon

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

6 Fuji apples, cored and sliced *

~Topping~

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. white sugar

1/2 c. cold butter (MUST be cold!)

* I always peel my apples. I'm not a fan of cooked skin.

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a large bowl, mix together ingredients for the crust until evenly blended. Pat mixture into a 9-inch pie pan, spreading the dough evenly over the bottom and up sides. *

3. Mix together the apple filling ingredients. Sprinkle over apples and toss to coat. Spread evenly in unbaked pie shell.

4. Using a pastry cutter, blend together the topping ingredients until evenly distributed and crumbly in texture. Sprinkle over apples.

5. Put pie pan on a 10x15 jellyroll pan to catch the juices that may spill over. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until golden. Let stand before serving.

*I normally do this, but today I decided to make individual servings by placing the crust in a muffin tin.

Rating: 4.5 of 5 (as a pie) and 4.75 of 5 (as individual servings)

I really like the straight up apple pie version of this recipe, but one thing I didn't like was who soupy it would turn out. I'm not sure how to avoid that since it's just the juices from the apples. I rated the individual servings slightly higher because it eliminated the juice problem for me. Either way, this is a super delicious recipe.

Source: AllRecipes Dinner Tonight, pg. 86

Fresh Strawberry Pie

(Sorry for the terrible picture - it was already mostly eaten!)

Ingredients:

1 c. white sugar

2 T. cornstarch

1 c. boiling water

1 3-oz. package strawberry flavored gelatin*

2 1/2 quarts fresh strawberries, stems removed**

1 9-inch pie crust, baked

Whipped cream (optional)***

*I didn't have strawberry, so used cherry. If I didn't know I used cherry, I probably wouldn't have been able to taste it.

**I sliced the strawberries so that it would be easier for Ally to eat

***We used vanilla ice cream as topping

Recipe:

1. In a saucepan, mix together the sugar and cornstarch; make sure to blend cornstarch in completely. Add boiling water and cook over medium heat until mixture slightly thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin and stir until smooth. Cover and let mixture cool to room temperature.

2. Place strawberries in baked pie crust, pointed ends facing up**. Pour cooled gelatin mixture over strawberries.

3. Refrigerate until set. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

Rating: 3.5 of 5

We liked this recipe and think it's great with the ice cream. I do think it will probably be better with the strawberry flavored jello instead of cherry. This is a super quick and easy recipe and I didn't feel bad about eating it for breakfast!

Source: AllRecipe: Dinner Tonight book, pg. 319