BEST PIE CRUST EVER!!

I grew up so disspointed in our pie crusts. My mom could never find a recipe that worked and our pie crusts were miserable failures. We were stuck buying the crummy folded ones that tasted like cardboard...

When we got married, I was convinced that I would find a decent recipe and I did!! Thanks to Martha Mooneyham. I have used this for 15 years, and it has NEVER turned out icky....It is easy to roll, is super flaky and is HOMEMADE!!


4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons brown sugar
1 pound crisco (it is 2 sticks)
1 egg
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
Beat the egg in a measuring cup. Add the vinegar and enough cold water to make one cup of liquid.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and brown sugar. Cut the lard up into small cubes, and add to the dry ingredients. Blend with two knives, or a pastry blender, until the mixture is crumbly. Add the liquid ingredients, mixing with a knife. Do not use your hands as it tends to soften the lard too much. Add additional water, if required, to make a soft ball of dough. If the weather is warm, refrigerate your dough for 1/2 hour to chill it before rolling. Warm dough doesn't roll as well, and requires too much flour, which makes it less flaky.


You can also freeze a lump and roll it out in the future,,,,This makes enough dough for 2 pies.

Sweet Potato Burritos

Our neighbors gave us a huge pan of these...(vegetarian)...They thought we would like them and they were right!!


1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese



Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.

SAME OLD MENU

Since it is craft show season, I have been super busy creating new goodies for the market....I have not been very creative in the kitchen. We have been living on the standard meals, casseroles and soups that I have posted about for the past few months.

I did break down and buy Wes a roast the other day. We will crockpot him (the roast) on Monday. I even got Elaine a real ham...I have never even bought a ham before...but she wants to have one for Christmas and Kroger had them cheap.

I will post Christmas cookie recipes soon. We will start baking for our Cookie Tins next weekend after the last show of the season!!

Pecan Pie

I have to admit, this was the best pecan pie I EVER made!! This is the recipe to keep!!!

That brown sugar really made the difference!!

3 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons dark corn syrup
3/4 cup light brown sugar ---(I used a cup full)
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 pinch salt
1/2 cup pecans, finely crushed
1 cup pecans, quartered
1 cup pecan halves

Bake 1 hour 350

PUMPKIN PIE

You can't go wrong with this pumpkin pie....I have made this recipe for as long as I can remember. I think pies are better with Sweetened Milk, rather than evaporated milk....they hold up better and taste better too!

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 large eggs (calls for 2, but I use three sometimes)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 unbaked pie crust

LASAGNA SOUP

We had our soup party a couple of weeks ago: Here are a couple of recipes from it...

Here is Lasagna Soup....it was good, even with the meat picked out. LOL

16 ounces hot Italian sausage (or you can use hamburger too)
2 cups diced onions
1 cup diced carrots
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 cups chicken broth
14 1/2 ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
10 ounces tomato sauce
1 ounce fresh grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 box cooked lasgana noodles, sliced down the middle

Top with Mozz

It really looked and tasted like a pot of lasagna....maybe a bit more sauce than the typical pan of lasagna, but very good!!

PUMPKIN BARS

Here is Anna's Favorite!! I got this recipe off ALLRECIPES.COM years ago, and the pan is gone in a day. We make this one almost every week during the fall and winter.

*now the gals that I used to work with always made theirs with cream cheese frosting...but we eat it without frosting. The kids eat it plain, and I eat mine with a bit of butter. (watching too much Paula Deen I guess)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup butter, melted
1 cup white sugar
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

375 degrees

Grease a jelly roll pan, can also use a 9x13 pan.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Mix in the pumpkin then beat in the eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared pan.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

*you can also use chocolate chips or walnuts.

*sometimes I put nuts just on one half...One half for kids, one half for Dad

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Just in case you want to try...it is a good frosting for other cakes and cookies. It is kinda my standard frosting. Everyone likes it but me...I don't really like frosting :) LOL

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

mix well with mixer on high speed. You can add food coloring to color it, or add milk to thin it down too.