Pie Number 13 - Miracle Custard Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie Number 13 - Miracle Custard Pie

    The recipe says it makes it's own crust and I wanted to see what happened. The recipe is in Better Homes and Gardens: All Time Favorite Pies 169 Recipes!, published in 1978. The pie was tasty and I enjoyed it overall.  I didn't care for the crust, which really wasn't a crust. It's just that the bottom and sides of the custard mixture, thickens a bit and is a different texture than the rest of the pie. I would recommend letting it cool way down, before serving, because it will help it come out of the pan better. It was still a little too warm when I cut into it, to try it out. This was yummy with a good dollop of whipped cream on top. 

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

4 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup butter or margerine, cut up into little bits

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup flaked coconut

ground nutmeg

Directions:

The original recipe uses a blender to mix the ingredients. I used a bowl and a hand mixer and a wooden spoon. 

In blender or with a hand mixer, combine milk, eggs, sugar, flour, cut-up butter or margarine, vanilla and salt until well-mixed (don't over blend). Stir in coconut and pour this mixture into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Sprinkle nutmeg lightly over top and bake in an oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool and chill before serving. 

Miracle Custard Pie

Miracle Custard Pie
(The pie set up nicely, but my piece fell apart a bit, because I didn't wait long enough for it to cool)

Keftethes Me Saltsa Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

 Keftethes Me Saltsa Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

    This recipe is in Hellenic Cuisine, produced by St. Helen's Philoptochos Society and Saints Constantine and Helen Parent-Teacher Association in 1957. My copy is a thirteenth printing from 1966 and belonged to a man named Frank Guarnacci. I just searched Mr. Guarnacci's name and I not only found him, I identified his wife, Marguerite. Mr. Guarnacci served in the United States Navy during WWII and he sounded like an amazing person. He and Marguerite were married for 55 years before his passing. I dedicate this post to Mr. and Mrs. Guarnacci. This recipe was not difficult, but you do have shape small meatballs (I used a tablespoon and ended up with 40) and it is worth the work. It was yummy and I am excited for my leftovers. You could serve this over rice, noodles or even make a hot sandwich with nice, toasty French bread.

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef (try it with ground chicken or turkey)

3/4 cup bread or cracker crumbs (I used fine, plain bread crumbs)

1 small onion, minced

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup cream or milk

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup oil or butter (I used avocado oil)

6 tbsp flour (divided use)

2 cups water

1 cup red wine

salt

pepper

Directions:

Mix together ground beef, crumbs, onion, egg, cream/milk and salt. Shape into small balls. I used a tablespoon for scooping and rounded them out, but rolling between my hands (This method produced forty small meatballs and I thought were the perfect size for this). In a small bowl, roll meatballs in 3 tbsp of flour and set aside. While you are working on shaping the meatballs, start heating the oil in a large skillet (I used a 12 1/2 inch cast iron skillet and it was perfect). When you've floured all of the meatballs,  your oil should be hot enough. You can test out the oil by dropping a little piece of meat or flour in and seeing if it sizzles. Brown the meatballs a few at a time and remove to a bowl or platter. Blend flour with the oil left in the skillet, stirring in wine and water. Stir with a whisk, cooking and stirring until smooth. Place meatballs back into the grave and simmer on low to medium low for thirty minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Keftethes Me Salts Krasi (Meat Balls in Wine Gravy)

Pie Number 12 - Blackberry Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie Number 12 - Blackberry Pie

    Mmmmm. My first blackberry pie. This recipe comes from  "Recipes Compiled By All Saints Episcopal Church Guild of The Christ Child of Fort Worth, Texas - Kitchen Favorites". There is no date on the book. The cover is light blue in color and by the font type and styling, I am guessing that this is from the 1960's or very, early 1970's. In the book, this recipe is titled "Blackberry, Raspberry, Blueberry or Peach Pie". I'd never made a blackberry pie and I thought this was the perfect time. The original directions are a little unclear, so I'm going to update the directions. I'll say even though it didn't look super appetizing in my opinion (being honest) I did like this pie. It was easy to do and everyone I gave samples to, enjoyed it. It is a single crust pie and would go well with either a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream. 

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh blackberries

2/3 cup sugar

4 tbsp flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 cup cream (I used half & half). 

9-inch pie crust

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Wash berries and drain. You'll want them to be pretty dry, so pat dry with a clean dish towel or paper towels. Prepare a 9-inch pie crust (do not bake). Mix together sugar and flour. Pour berries over the flour and sugar mixture and toss to coat. Turn the coated berries into your prepared pie shell.You'll have a lot of sugar/flour mixture left, so just sprinkle it evenly all over the berries.  Mix salt and cinnamon with cream and pour over the berries. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and the filling is set. Cool and serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.  Makes 8 servings.

Blackberry Pie

Blackberry Pie with Whipped Cream

Sopa Paraguaya (Paraguayan Corn Bread)

 Sopa Paraguaya (Paraguayan Corn Bread)

This dish from Betty Crocker's International Cookbook, published in 1980. I really liked this dish. You could eat this as a main dish or as a side dish like I did. This is like a casserole. I couldn't find a 2 quart casserole dish that the recipe called for, so I used a 3 quart dish and thought that size worked perfectly. I also didn't have all the seasonings in the recipe. I'd thought I had them! That's okay, because I just used more red pepper.  I also used Colby Jack cheese, not Monterey Jack cheese. 

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup cornmeal

2 tbsp margarine or butter, softened

3 eggs, separated

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cumin

1/8 tsp ground allspice

1/8 tsp ground red pepper (I used 1 tsp, since I didn't realize that I was out of cumin and allspice)

1 can (8oz) whole-kernel corn, drained

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4oz)

1 small onion, chopped (I used 1/2 of a large onion)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2-quart (I used 3-quart and it was perfectly fine) casserole dish. 

In a large bowl, stir boiling water into cornmeal. Stir until smooth, then blend in margarine/butter and egg yolks. Stir in milk, cottage cheese, salt, baking powder, spices, corn, cheese and finally the onion. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into corn batter. Pour into greased casserole dish. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serves 9 to 12

Sopa Paraguaya aka Paraguayan Corn Bread

Sopa Paraguaya aka Paraguayan Corn Bread served with tilapia and grilled onion

Pie Number 11 - Streusel Cream Peach - Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie Number 11 - Streusel Cream Peach Pie

    Streusel Cream Peach Pie comes to us from The Favorite Recipes of Home Economics Teachers Cookbook, published in 1978 (the Library of Congress catalog number is 78-142015. This book is comprised of recipes submitted by home economics teachers across the United States. This recipe was submitted by Mrs. Linda Frank of Sam Houston H.S. in Arlington, Texas. Dear Mrs. Frank, your recipe turned out delicious. The only change I made was using canned peaches, not fresh pared peaches. And, I did use half & half (the recipe says cream or milk). Anyhow, try this pie, because I was really happy with how it turned out. 

Ingredients:

3 cans (14 3/4 oz or 15 oz) sliced peaches, drained (the original recipe calls for 4 cups sliced peaches)

1 9-inch pastry shell

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg (the original recipe says this is optional)

1 egg

2 tbsp cream or milk (I used half & half)

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare your pie crust and place crust in a 9 inch pie pan. Arrange peach slices on the pastry. Combine 1/2 cup sugar and the nutmeg and sprinkle that over the peaches. Beat the cream and egg and pour this mixture over the peaches. In a small bowl mix the flour, the last 1/4 cup of sugar and the butter until crumbly. Sprinkle the crumbly bits over the peaches and bake for 35 to 45 minutes (The original recipe says "or until brown" and mine didn't get very, brown at all and I baked it for the full 45 minutes; just don't be surprised if it doesn't brown up). 

The original recipe says to serve warm, but I let mine cool until it was only slightly warm, because I wanted to make sure it didn't fall apart. Top with a dollop or shot of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I added a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top. 

Streusel Cream Peach Pie

Summer Squash Casserole

 Summer Squash Casserole

    This Summer squash casserole is based on "Sylvia's Zucchini" in my Pillsbury Family Cook Book, sixth printing in 1970. I used yellow, Summer squash in lieu of zucchini and added mini peppers, garlic, basil and marjoram. I wished I had had bread crumbs or fried onion bits, so I could have added a crunchy topper, but I did enjoy this casserole. I'd maybe try baking it for 35 to 40 minutes instead of 30 minutes, because I'd like the squash to be a little more done. I would like to try it again, just with the diced tomato instead of tomato sauce and with a crunchy topper.  

Ingredients:

6 cups thinly sliced zucchini (I used about the same amount of Summer squash)

1 tablespoon butter diced (I used 1 1/2 tablespoons)

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

8 oz can tomato sauce or 1 cup diced tomato

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I used 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and 1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack)

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

11 mini sweet bell peppers (red/yellow/orange), halved lengthwise and sliced

1/4 cup or so roughly chopped fresh basil

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Wash your veggies before preparing. Mix together zucchini or squash with tomato sauce, followed by the rest of the ingredients, one at a time. Stir after each addition. Pour into a 1 1/2 quart casserole and bake for 30 minutes. I served this as a side dish with a piece of my Pork & Tater Pie, but you could serve it as a main dish with a salad and bread, if desired. 

 You can also saute in a large skillet for 15 to 20 minutes. Longer if you like the squash softer. If you use the saute method, definitely put the squash or zucchini in first. 

Try roasting the squash or zucchini for about 10 minutes, first and then baking in the oven after mixing with the other ingredients. 

You could even halve the zucchini or squash, lightly grill and then slice. 

Make this vegan, by using vegan cheese. 

Summer Squash Casserole

Pie Number Ten - Bacon Cheese Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie #10 Bacon-Cheese Pie

Yeah, so finally writing this post for this pie that I made like two or three weeks ago. It's been another period, where life has been getting in the way of my baking. This Bacon-Cheese Pie is from my favorite cookbook, the Pillsbury Family Cook Book, sixth printing in 1970. I think because of the bacon, I would consider using 1/2 teaspoon salt instead of a full teaspoon. And, mine didn't seem to "set" really well, even though I baked it at the designated temperature, for the allotted time. That said, my crust was good and I really liked this quiche-like pie.  I would definitely make this again. 

Ingredients:

8 or 9 inch unbaked pie crust (I did a 9 inch pie crust)

1/2 pound sliced bacon (I chopped mine)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (I used Monterrey Jack)

3 eggs

2/3 cup (6-oz can) evaporated milk

1 1/3 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt 

dash pepper

dash cayenne pepper

1/2 cup baby spinach washed and chopped (optional)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Make your favorite pie crust. You can also buy pie crust dough or a pre-made crust. Chop bacon, frying until crisp and drain. Sprinkle into the bottom of your unbaked pie crust. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the bacon. Beat eggs slightly with both milks and seasonings. Pour egg mixture over the bacon and cheese. Sprinkle baby spinach on top, if desired. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until a knife inserted into the middle of the pie, comes out clean. Do not overbake. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. 

You can also add 1/4 finely minced onion in with the egg mixture and you could substitute ham for bacon. 

Serves 6-8

Bacon-Cheese Pie

Bacon Cheese Pie

Bacon-Cheese Pie: Showing that it was thoroughly cooked but still a bit soft.