Peacheesy Pie- i.e. the reason Steve loves his wife just a bit more

When Steve and I got married he had one request of me- "Will you please, please, PLEASE learn to make peacheesy pie from my mom?" Chris Clark is a fantastic pie maker- so it would be easy to understand why Steve wanted me to learn from the best. The fact of the matter is- however- that her pie making skills made me even more nervous about trying my own hand at them. Finally though, after three years of marriage, I've mastered the very finicky Christine Clark pie crust recipe and have fulfilled my husbands request to learn to make peacheesy pie. I brought one to our Thanksgiving dinner this year and had couple requests to post the recipe- so here it is :) Enjoy! Peacheesy Pie Filling
1/2	cup sugar
2	tablespoons cornstarch
1	to 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
2	tablespoons light corn syrup
2	teaspoons vanilla
1	can (28 oz) peach slices, drained, reserving 3 tablespoons liquid
Crust
1	box (15 oz) Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box OR 1 1/2 pie crusts from your own favorite recipe
Topping
1/3	cup sugar
1	tablespoon lemon juice
2	eggs, slightly beaten
1/2	cup sour cream
1	package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2	tablespoons butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS:

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1.	In medium bowl, mix all filling ingredients except peach liquid; set aside.
2.	In 1-quart saucepan, mix 2 tablespoons of the reserved peach liquid, 1/3 cup sugar, the lemon juice and eggs. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture boils and thickens. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
3.	In small bowl with electric mixer, beat sour cream and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in hot egg mixture until well blended; set aside.
4.	Heat oven to 425°F. Place 1 pie crust in 9-inch glass pie pan as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie. Spoon filling into crust-lined pan. Dot with butter. Spoon topping mixture evenly over filling.
5.	Remove second pie crust from pouch; place flat on work surface. With floured 3-inch round cutter, cut out 8 rounds from crust. Brush tops of rounds with remaining 1 tablespoon reserved peach liquid. Arrange pie crust rounds over topping.
6.	Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 35 to 40 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown. After 15 to 20 minutes of baking, cover crust edge with strips of foil to prevent excessive browning. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Store in refrigerator.

Ranch Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe and the above photo taken from http://thesistersdish.blogspot.com/

Steve is unknowingly going to help me describe this recipe. He's sitting at my feet right now and in his words, these enchiladas are "mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm, mmmm!" Of course the ranch dressing included in the recipe doesn't hurt- he LOVES ranch. I was fantastically impressed as well. This recipe is pretty easy, the crock pot does most of the work. The chicken alone does need to cook for about 3 hours, so it's probably best to start before 5:30 PM if you want to eat before 9 PM :P These are awesome, enjoy!

Creamy Ranch Chicken Enchiladas
1-2 chicken breasts
1 4 oz. can green chilies
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 T. Ranch dressing mix, separated
1/4 t. ground cumin
2 oz. cream cheese
½ can cream of mushroom plus 1/2 cup milk
1 can cream of chicken
1/4 c. milk
1 1/2 cups cheese, separated
1/4 t. oregano
7 small flour tortillas

Cook chicken, green chilies, chicken broth, and 1 T. ranch dressing mix in crock pot on low for ~3 hours. Shred chicken and return to the cock pot. Add cumin, cream cheese and cream of mushroom soup. Cook until crock pot until the cream cheese is melted. In a separate bowl mix the cream of chicken soup, milk, 1 T. ranch dressing mix, 1 cup of cheese and oregano. Spread chicken mixture in the middle of the tortillas. Roll and place in a greased 9x13 baking dish. Any of the chicken mixture left add to the soup/cheese mixture. Spread the soup/cheese mixture over the enchiladas and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese just starts to bubble and brown. Serve with sour cream and lots of salsa.

Homemade Tortillas

Photo from http://www.gourmet.com/recipes/2000s/2005/12/flourtortillas

Costco has some cook and serve tortillas that we get every now and then to serve with our Cafe Rio pork. They are a bit expensive for a one meal purchase- even though they are delicious! One evening we needed some tortillas- and my options were to thaw some I had in the freezer or try to make them. I decided to do the later- and these turned out wonderfully! The trickiest part is getting them rolled out as super thin as you can. And when they are done cooking, placing them between a folded towel. This keeps them from drying out and staying pliable and soft. Again I only made a 1/2 recipe and it was plenty- made probably 8 big tortillas or 10-12 smaller ones.

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons lard (I used shortening)
1 1/2 cups very warm water

Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces and roll each piece into a ball.
Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla. Place into the hot skillet, and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.

Nummy breadsticks

I made these breadsticks to serve with soup- they were fantastic. They are (as carbs) a little high on the calorie count and I had to drag myself away from eating these all up. I made half the recipe and it made 8 good sized breadsticks. I'm sure you could make this dough the old fashioned way, but I used a breadmaker and it was super easy to just let it do the work while i worked on everything else for dinner.

1 1/3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
3 tablespoons butter, softened
4 cups bread flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup sesame seeds (optional- I left these out)
2 tablespoons dry milk powder (I didn't have any so I just substituted 1/2 cup of milk and subtracted that much of the water)
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer (mine is wet ingredients, dry ingredients, then yeast). Select Dough cycle; press Start. Spray two baking sheets with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). When dough cycle is complete, remove dough to a lightly oiled surface. Divide dough up into 18 pieces. Roll each piece on an oiled board, from center of piece to the outside edges to form bread sticks. Place bread sticks at least 1 inch apart on the prepared pans. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden. Brush breadsticks with butter and dash with garlic salt. Serve warm and enjoy!

Zuppa Toscana

Photo courtesy of http://joelens.blogspot.com/2007/10/zuppa-toscana-ala-joelen.html


This is a very good imitation of the famous Olive Garden soup! This makes a lot of soup- I think I made only 2/3 of the recipe for three of us and there were leftovers. I also made some breadsticks with the soup and it was awesome :)

1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
1 1/4 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
6 potato, thinly sliced
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 bunch Kale, tough stems removed and cut into pieces

Cook the Italian sausage and red pepper flakes in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until crumbly, browned, and no longer pink, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Cook the bacon in the same Dutch oven over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes. Drain, leaving a few tablespoons of drippings with the bacon in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Stir in the onions and garlic; cook until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
Pour the chicken broth into the Dutch oven with the bacon and onion mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes, and boil until fork tender, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the heavy cream and the cooked sausage; heat through. Mix the spinach into the soup just before serving.

Caramel Apple Dip

This is an awesome recipe for Fall!

16 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup water
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup brown sugar

In a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, or in the microwave, melt caramels with water, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. In a medium bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar. Fold in caramel mixture. Serve immediately.

Kabobs! Of the Chicken and Steak Variety :)

Steve and I were watching the food network a while ago and got a hankering for some kabobs! This week we finally made it happen. We used a recipe from Alton Brown for the steak and a recipe from the Manti pageant for the chicken- and they both turned out super yummo! Without further ado- the recipes!

Spicy Grilled Beef Kabobs

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2-2 lbs beef sirloin steaks
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (or 1 teaspoon Hungarian hot paprika)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Directions

1. Cut the beef into 1 1/2 " cubes and place into a mixing bowl or large plastic sealable bag.

2. Place the garlic, spices, and wine vinegar into a food processor. Blend and while still blending, drizzle in olive oil, mix well.

3. Pour marinade mixture over beef and mix well, marinate in fridge for 2 - 4 hours.

4. Preheat the grill to medium-high heat. Thread the meat onto the skewers leaving about 1/2-inch in between the pieces of meat. Place on the grill and cook, with lid lowered, 2 to 3 minutes per side, 8 to 12 minutes in all (8 minutes for rare and 12 for medium).

5. Remove from the heat to aluminum foil, wrap and allow to rest for 2 to 3 minutes prior to serving.

Manti Pageant Chicken Marinade

1 cup soy sauce
1 cup oil
1 tsp. horseradish
1 tsp. garlic salt
24oz lemon-lime soda (7up or Sprite)
boneless, skinless chicken (like I said I used bone-in with skin because it was all I had)

Mix marinade ingredients together; add chicken pieces and marinate for at least 7 hours (we marinaded our chicken overnight!). Skewer and cook chicken over grill.

French Bread- yum!

French Bread

1 1/4 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 tablespoon cornmeal
Glaze:
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted

In bread machine pan, place the first five ingredients in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed). When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Roll each portion into a 10-in. x 8-in. rectangle. Roll up jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; pinch seams to seal. Sprinkle a greased baking sheet with cornmeal; place loaves seam side down on prepared pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 20 minutes. Whisk egg and water; brush over loaves. With a sharp knife, make four shallow slashes across the top of each loaf. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. Bake at 375 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

Ohana Bread Pudding and Bananas Foster Sauce

Bread Pudding
5 eggs
3 cups whole milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 cup sugar
8 cups french

In bowl mix eggs, milk , salt, sugar and nutmeg. Set aside. Cut bread in medium pieces, place on cookie sheet pan put in 350 degree oven. Bake bread until lightly toasted, about 15 minutes. Remove bread and place in egg and milk mixture. Place mixture in a greased 10-inch cake pan and bake at 325 degree for 1 hour. Let stand 5 minutes, serve hot with ice cream and sauce.

Bananas Foster Suace
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup spiced rum (I know- scandalous. We do burn the alcohol off though :) )
1 cup banana slices

Combine sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter and half of heavy cream in a large pan. Bring to a boil and slowly add remaining heavy cream keeping mixture at a steady boil. Add spiced rum and flambe. Sauce will brown slightly; cook 3 minutes until candy forms into a firm ball in cold water. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Add sliced bananas. Serve warm.

This recipe is from http://allears.net/din/rec.htm

Pioneer Woman BBQ Meatballs and Mashies

Meatballs

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

3/4 cup oats

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons very finely minced onion

1 1/2 teaspoon saltplenty of ground black pepper

Sauce

1 cup ketchup

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire

4 to 6 tablespoons onion

Dash of Tabasco

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Combine all meatball ingredients. Roll into medium-small balls and place on a cookie sheet. Place sheet in freezer for five minutes. Remove from freezer and immediately dredge in unseasoned flour. Brown meatballs in canola oil until just brown. Place into a baking dish. Combine all sauce ingredients. Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve with egg noodles, mashed potatoes, or crusty french bread.

Creamy, Yummy Mashed Potatoes
5 pounds Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
3/4 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 to 3/4 cup half and half
1/2-1 tsp. Lawry's seasoning salt
1/2-1 tsp. black pepper

Peel and cut potatoes into small, equal sized pieces. Boil for 30-35 minutes in a large pot of water. Potatoes should be soft and fall off a fork when poked. Drain the potatoes then return them to the same pot. Mash over low heat. When thoroughly mashed, turn off heat and add softened butter and cream cheese. Add half & half. Mash until creamy and smooth! Season with Lawry's and pepper. Dish into a baking dish and add a few pats of butter to the top. These mashed potatoes may be made ahead and refridgerated in the baking dish. When ready to reheat, warm the potatoes in a 350 degree oven till butter melted and potatoes are warmed through.

These recipes and the photo are from the website http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/.

Buttermilk Syrup

Buttermilk Syrup

1 and 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter (or margarine)
2 Tablespoons corn syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda

In a medium saucepan, bring all ingredients to a boil (adding baking soda to mixture last)- except for the vanilla extract. Allow to boil over medium low heat for 7-10 minutes until caramel brown. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the vanilla. Serve warm over pancakes or waffles.

Creme Brulee

Creme Brulee

2 cup whipping cream (heavy cream)

1 whole vanilla bean

1/4 cup sugar

6 whole egg yolks

Preheat oven to 325°F. In a medium pot heat cream over medium low. Slice vanilla bean, scrape out seeds and add to cream. Whisk everything together, and let come to a slight boil. In a separate bowl mix the egg yolks and sugar together. Then slowly whisk a little bit of the hot cream into the egg mixture. Whisk constantly while slowly adding in the remaining cream. Strain the mixture and pour into ramekins. Place ramekins into baine marie. Bake for 22-26 minutes, depending on size of ramekins. Once done, let cool and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Finishing the Brulée

6 tbsp. white sugar

Once you are ready to serve, sprinkle top of custard with sugar and caramelize the top. The best way to do this is to use a torch. You can also use the broiler. Let cool for a minute before serving.

Cafe Rio Pork

3 lbs. pork roast
16 oz. Pace salsa
1 can Coke
2 cups brown sugar

Combine the pork and water in crock pot. Cook on high for 5 hours. Drain liquid. Combine coke, salsa and brown sugar in crock pot with pork. Cook on high for 3 more hours. Shred meat with fork. Serve with warm cook and serve tortillas, salsa verde, sour cream, mexican rice and cheese. Yum!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies/Chocolate Mousse Cake

These two yummy looking recipes are ones I want to try, but haven't. I'll let you know how they go.


White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Blondies

1/2 pound butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup macadamia nuts, toasted and rough chopped (see note below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Place 1/2 pound of the butter and the brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until a smooth batter is formed. While the machine is running, add the eggs and vanilla extract, until incorporated into the batter.Mix in 3 cups flour and baking powder. Slowly add the flour mixture to the batter and mix on low speed until a dough is formed. Very gently, by turning the mixer on and then off, fold the chips and nuts into the dough.Once the dough is all blended, line a 11x7-inch baking pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. This will make it easy to remove the bars and cut them up for serving. Pour the batter into the pan and place in the preheated 350 degree oven. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until set yet still moist.To toast macadamia nuts : Spread nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet. Place in 400-degree F. oven. Toast until golden (about 5 to 7 minutes) stirring half way through.



Chocolate Mousse Cake

2 prepared 8" or 9" round chocolate cakes

Chocolate Mousse
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 tablespoon cold water
2 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1 cup (1/2 pt.) cold whipping cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in small cup; let stand 1 minute to soften. Add boiling water; stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Cool slightly.
2. Stir together sugar and cocoa in medium bowl; add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until mixture is stiff. Pour in gelatin mixture; beat until well blended.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
5 to 7 Tbsp. milk
1. Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.
2. Whisk together powdered sugar and cocoa. Gradually add powdered sugar mixture alternately with 3 Tbsp. milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time, beating at low speed until blended and smooth after each addition. Beat in up to 4 Tbsp. additional milk for desired consistency.

Place one of the round cakes on your serving plate and top with chocolate mousse. Top with remaining cake round and frost entire cake with chocolate buttercream frosting. Be careful at the spots where the chocolate mousse is. You need to get the frosting to just cover those spots, if you spread to much in those areas the chocolate mousse can get mixed into the frosting. Keep cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve. You can bring it out a little before serving to allow the frosting to soften.

These are both from http://realmomkitchen.blogspot.com/. Awesome site!

Sugar Cookie Bars

Sugar Cookie Bars

1 cup butter; room temp.

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp soda

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add vanilla & mix well. In a separate bowl combine flour, salt & soda & stir with a whisk to combine. Add to wet mixture and mix just until combined. Spread on a greased baking sheet (use a 13 x 18 pan). Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min, until light golden brown or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely and frost.

Frosting

1/2 cup butter; room temp

1/2 cup shortening

1 tsp vanilla

pinch of salt

4 cups powdered sugar

5 Tbsp milk

food coloring (if desired)

For frosting combine butter and shortening until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and salt. Add powdered sugar in 1-2 cup increments until combined, then add milk & mix until smooth and spreading consistency. Spread over cooled cookie.

We got this recipe from http://realmomkitchen.blogspot.com/. Steve absolutely loves it!