Pie Crust

So, for the LONGEST time, pies were something I simply COULD NOT MAKE! The crusts are what got me every single time. I had "given up" on my efforts in fine tuning my crusts until I was at my Grandma Cowley's one weekend visiting and was going through her recipes!! I FOUND THE GOLDEN TICKET! :)

2 c flour
1 t salt
1/4 c water
2/3 c canola oil

In a larger bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Take 1/3 c of THAT mixture and put it into a separate tinier bowl. To the 1/3 c flour mixture, add 1/4 c water to make a paste. Set aside. To the larger bowl of flour and salt, add the oil until well blended. Once both are mixed well, mix paste into the oil mixture until well blended. This will make it firm up more into a crust dough. Viola! There you have it! This makes a DOUBLE crust for fruit pies, etc.

People have asked me how I make my pies look pretty! I've added pictures above to show the "step" process in which to do that. The first step is by putting the dough BETWEEN two pieces of wax paper! ABSOLUTELY CRUCIAL! Roll into a circle and set the pan on top to make sure it goes out about an inch to an inch and a half to be big enough to go up the sides. Once it's rolled into a large enough circle, remove JUST THE TOP piece of wax paper. Take the corners of the bottom piece (now has crust on it) and flip it over onto your pie tin. If you're careful, you have a little flexibility with a tiny bit of movement. Once you have "in place" remove the other sheet of wax paper and the crust should fall into the pie pan. Gently lift the edges to scoot into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Don't want a ton of excess dough around the edges. Just a little is perfect. Flip that tiny bit UNDER and form a smooth hump around the edge of the crust. With your thumb and index finger (as shown above) left hand move along the outside and the right thumb and index finger will "fit into" the other two fingers to make the edge you see pictured. That picture is deceiving, but I didn't have anyone to take my picture with both my hands in the picture. :) Sorry! For pre-baked crusts for pies like Lemon Meringue, chocolate pudding, etc, bake at 350 for 12 minutes. Fruit pies you don't "pre-bake" your crust.

Crescent Rolls

I hope I'm not in trouble for posting this! :) I guess I'll find out! This recipe is a LONG TIME FAVORITE of the Abuhl family. My mom's side of the family! OH MAN! These are some amazing rolls, let me tell you! And if you've had them, they are so addicting. All of us in the family would SOLELY recognize our dear, most precious and sweet Aunt Mary for this recipe and YEARS of her generosity in making these at reunions, get togethers, etc. THANK YOU AUNT MARY! LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

1/4 c. warm water
1 pkg. yeast

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Set aside.

1/2 c. plus 2 T. milk
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. Crisco

Warm in microwave for 30 seconds. Set aside.

1 egg
1 t. salt
3 1/2 c flour

Beat together. Add one cup flour, yeast mixture and milk mixture. Mix well. Then add about 3 c flour until mixed well. Use the other 1/2 c on the counter and mix in until all blended.

Let rise once. Knead. Divide dough into two equal parts. Roll out into a circle. Cut into 8 pie wedge shapes. Roll up starting from wide end. Place on cookie sheet. Let rise another 2 hours. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. As soon as the warmth is gone from the rolls, place them into a gallon ziploc bag. Each batch this size should make 16 rolls.

BREAD MACHINE DIRECTIONS:

Dissolve yeast and water together and put in the bottom. Add all other ingredients except the flour. Put flour ON TOP, all 3 1/2 cups, and set your machine to the Dough Cycle (usually 90 minute cycle where it just mixes, kneads and raises once). Take out of machine (I don't usually have to use any extra flour as dough is usually perfect) and knead. Divide dough into two equal parts. Roll out into a circle. Cut into 8 pie wedge shapes. Roll up starting from wide end. Place on cookie sheet. let rise another 2 hours. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. As soon as the warmth is gone from the rolls, place them into a gallon Ziploc bag. Each batch this size should make 16 rolls.

Beef Stroganoff

(The picture above is how you prepare it for a FREEZER meal.)

1 1/2 lb stew meat, cubed
1 T vegetable oil
1 T minced onion
2 cloves garlic
1 t oregano
1/4 t salt & pepper
1 1/2 c beef broth
1/3 c sherry
8 oz sour cream
1/2 c flour
1/4 c water
1 bag egg noodles (I used No Yolks)

Brown stew meat and toss (juice and all) into the crock pot. Add oil, minced onion, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, prepared broth and sherry and let cook on LOW for about 6 hours (can be more). In a separate bowl, mix together sour cream, flour, water and a little bit of the broth from the beef. Whisk so that there are no lumps from the flour. Add back into the crock pot and turn up to high for 30 more minutes until it thickens. Meanwhile boil egg noodles and drain. Serve beef stroganoff over the boiled noodles.

NOTE: This recipe can also be prepared ahead and put IN THE FREEZER for a freezer meal. All you would do differently is only brown the meat and let cool some and dump it into the Ziploc along with the oil, minced onion, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, prepared beef broth and sherry. Then you'd freeze until the day before serving day. On the serving day, you'd empty all contents of bag into your crock pot and simmer on low for 6 hours. In a separate bowl, mix together sour cream, flour, water and a little bit of the broth from the beef. Whisk so that there are no lumps from the flour. Add back into the crock pot and turn up to high for 30 more minutes until it thickens. Meanwhile boil egg noodles and drain. Serve beef stroganoff over the boiled noodles.

Smore Bars

1 12 oz box Golden Grahams
10.5 oz bag miniature marshmallows
1 1/2 c milk chocolate chips
1/4 c corn syrup
5 T butter or margarine
1 t vanilla
1 c miniature marshmallows (separate from above)

Butter or coat a 9x13 pan GENEROUSLY!!! Melt all but 1 c marshmallows, chocolate chips, corn syrup & butter in a microwave safe bowl until melted together completely. Immediately add vanilla, and stir in completely. Pour over the Golden Grahams and coat completely. Stir in the last cup of marshmallows. Spread in buttered pan and refrigerate!!!! Wait at least 30 minutes until they are cooled before eating.

Cornflake Chicken

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (boiled and chopped)
2 c celery
2 c dry Minute rice
1 1/2 c Miracle Whip/mayo
2 t lemon juice
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 can sliced water chestnuts

Topping:
1 stick butter
4 c cornflakes
1/2 c almonds, sliced or slivered

Mix all ingredients above (not the topping) until well blended. Melt the butter in the microwave, then coat all cornflakes and almonds with the butter. Pour over the top and even out. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Vegetable Pizza

Crust: See "Pizza Crust" Recipe

Sauce:

8 oz cream cheese
8 oz sour cream
3 T Miracle Whip/mayo
1 pkg Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix

Mix until well blended. Spread over cooled pizza crust.

Toppings:

carrots
broccoli
cauliflower
Cheddar Cheese, shredded

Chop all veggies up and layer on top! Serve chilled!

Kettle Corn

OH MY! SO excited. Have ALWAYS loved Kettle Corn, never thought to myself you could actually make it at home! :) Totally stole the idea from a dear friend (practically family now) of mine who said she tried it tonight and I am now posting what I tried! Literally, I saw her post about 1 1/2 hrs ago and have already tried and sampled and succeeded at making Kettle Corn! Um.....kinda wish now I wouldn't have discovered it because it's so good I hope it doesn't hurt me in the temptation department too much! :)

1/4 c vegetable oil
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 c popcorn kernels

Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat with three kernels to test when the oil is hot enough. Once hot, stir in the sugar and popcorn. Cover, and shake the pot constantly to keep the sugar from burning. I did 3 seconds on the stove, 3 seconds shaking the corn, in a repetitive cycle. If not, IT WILL BURN. Once the popping has slowed to once every 2 to 3 seconds, remove the pot from the heat and continue to shake for a few minutes until the popping has stopped. Pour into a large bowl, and allow to cool, stirring occasionally to break up large clumps.

Italian Beef Stew

1 lb ground beef or sausage
1 small onion
1 c celery
2 c carrots
2 cloves minced garlic
15 oz tomato sauce
2 - 15 oz can kidney/chili beans
2 - 15 oz can green beans
2 c water
5 tsp beef bouillon
1 T parsley
1 t salt
1 t oregano
1 t basil
1/2 c macaroni

Boil water and beef bouillon until dissolved, then turn off burner. Brown meat with onion and drain. Add remaining ingredients and let simmer on low for 30 minutes or until pasta is cooked. Serve with a little grated Parmesan Cheese on top. We serve this with any kind of muffin! Blueberry is our favorite with this.

COMMENTS

Oh my, I just found that I have some comments that were a few days old. I thought I had it set up to send me the updates via my e-mail so I'd be notified, apparently I still don't have that right! :( I'll figure it out! So, if you've left a comment, or you leave a comment with a question, I am answering the questions right in the comment section, so check back for the answer there. Sorry! LOVE the questions and the comments! KEEP THEM COMING! :) Happy cooking! :) ALSO, I added a "followers" section! Would be fun to know who's using the recipes! :) Sign up to follow. It will also notify you when I add a new recipe to the blog! :)

Corn Salad

One of our favorite "salads" to go along with brats, hamburgers, steak, etc.

3 c corn (I buy a big bag of corn from Sam's/Costco.)
2/3 c Miracle Whip/mayo
4 green onions
1 1/2 c shredded Cheddar cheese
1 bag Chili Cheese Fritos

Mix corn, chopped green onions, cheese and mayo together in a bowl. When ready to serve, top with Chili Cheese Fritos fresh on top! This way if you have leftovers, the chips don't get soggy.