#113 :: Blueberry Pie

I'm not sure where I found this recipe several years ago, but it's been a favorite of mine since the first time I made it. It's now a staple at all my holiday meals! My granny made great chocolate pies, my mom makes great apple pies, and now I'm continuing the tradition with blueberry!

Ingredients:

• 3 pints of blueberries
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/4 c all purpose flour (for thickening)
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• Pats of butter to dot the top

Egg wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp. milk

Pie Crust:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Pie Crust Directions:

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients. Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Blueberry Filling Directions:

Combine blueberries, lemon juice, flour, sugar and cinnamon and stir gently until blueberries are coated. Place in the bottom crust of the pie pan. Dot the top with the butter pieces. Place the top crust on and cut small slits around the middle, then crimp the edges. Transfer pie to the refrigerator to chill until firm, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 425.

Baking Directions:

Brush egg wash over the top crust. Place the pie on a cookie or baking sheet (some juices may bubble over, and this keeps your oven clean). Bake for 20 minutes at 425, then reduce heat to 350 and bake for 30-40 minutes or until juices are bubbling. Let cool before serving.


Makes 8 servings.

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Vegetable Quiche

This recipe doesn't count towards our # because I've made it before and it's already on the blog (find the recipe here: Mixed Vegetable Quiche), but I got a little creative with it this time so I had to share my photo! I made an N out of the extra crust, and I piped sour cream on the top. Gourmet breakfast for the hubby today! :)

#63 :: Chicken Pot Pie Soup

This was a great twist on an ordinary dish. We ate the entire pot of soup this week (which is why we didn't cook much else!).

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 quarts water
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, split
• 1 tablespoon bouillon flavoring
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 small white onion, diced (1/4 cup)
• 2 stalks celery (1/2 cup), diced
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
• 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Pinch sea salt
• 1 store-bought pie crust

Directions

Add diced potatoes to a large bowl filled with cold water. Set aside.

Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Add chicken, reduce heat to a simmer and allow to poach; about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the chicken to a plate to cool. Continue to simmer the broth, adding the bouillon until reduced by half, about 10 more minutes. Dice the chicken when cooled.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions and the celery cooking until translucent, 2 minutes. Stir in the flour and whisk until it forms a roux. Add the Italian seasoning and pepper; cook for 3 more minutes.

Whisk the roux into the broth and bring back up to a boil. Drain the potatoes. Add the potatoes and the chicken to the broth over low heat. Stir in the frozen vegetables. Place a lid on top and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in cream and a pinch of sea salt and cook for 5 more minutes.

Preheat the oven as directed on the pie crust package.

Lay the pie crust on a baking sheet and place into the oven. Cook according to package instructions, or until the pie crust is golden brown. When the crust has cooled, break up into pieces.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with the pie crust.

Makes 6-8 servings.

Recipe from Big Daddy's House on Food Network.

Star Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

#32 :: Mixed Vegetable Quiche w/ Cheddar & Parmesan

Yesterday was Jamie's day off, so I got up early to find a good quiche recipe for breakfast/brunch. I have so many veggies in my fridge right now that I need to use up, so I was looking for something to incorporate all the veggies I had. I stumbled upon the BEST quiche recipe EVER. This has to be in the top 5 list of the best things I ever ate. Just the two of us ate the entire quiche, and were sad that we didn't have more! (I topped the quiche with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of parsley, which wasn't in the recipe.)

Ingredients

• 1 (9-inch) refrigerated pie crust (I made my own - see below for the recipe)
  
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 1 cup cooked stir-fried vegetables (we used a green bell pepper, a yellow squash and half of a medium red onion - all diced)
  
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 3/4 cup grated Cheddar
• 1/4 cup low fat milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Press pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch, removable-bottom tart pan (or 9-inch pie pan). Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine spinach, stir-fried vegetables and place on top of uncooked crust. In another bowl combine ricotta, cheddar, milk, eggs, Dijon, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Mix well. Spoon cheese mixture on top of vegetable mixture in prepared pie crust and top with Parmesan.

Bake 20 minutes, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean and crust is golden brown.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Recipe from Quick Fix Meals with Robin Miller on Food Network.

Star Rating: 5+ out of 5 stars

Pie Crust:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients. Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Update :: Potato Bacon Torte

We ate the leftovers from the Bacon Potato Torte last night. I originally gave it 3.5 stars because there wasn't much flavor to it. Last night, however, it was like a whole different dinner. I would have given it 4.5 last night. Jamie agreed, we both liked it MUCH better as leftovers!

Maybe this side of the pie had more cheese and cream than the other somehow? Maybe the potatoes absorb more of the flavor the longer they sit? Maybe it's because I put a dollop of sour cream on top of it this time. I'm not sure the reason...but I thought it was worth mentioning. If you're making the Potato Bacon Torte, save the leftovers!

#10 :: Potato Bacon Torte

This was the hardest thing yet to prepare. But I think it was because I had a bad day in the kitchen. First I didn't have a pie pan {Jamie came to the rescue and went to Wal-Mart to grab one for me}. Then I cut my finger in the food processor making the crust. I almost took a picture of my finger for the blog, but decided it against it. Not very appetizing!

When we finally ate it, it was good. But it wasn't the most tasty thing I've ever had. But I didn't fail...with all that happened yesterday, I still finished dinner....and Jamie had seconds.....so I have that to be grateful for! And my home made crust turned out GREAT!

Ingredients

• 4 strips bacon
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows
• 3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup grated Gruyere cheese
  
• 1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes.

If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

Pie Crust:

• 1 cup butter (2 sticks), cubed and chilled
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 8 to 10 tablespoons ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps. Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 resealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients. Yield: 2 (9-inch) pie crusts

Serves 6 (or 4 servings plus leftovers)

Recipe from Ten Dollar Meals with Melissa d'Arabian on Food Network.

Star Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars