Bacon Pie Crust

We had a bacon Thanksgiving so a friend gave me this awesome recipe for a bacon pie crust.  It was perfect for this cranberry apple pie.  I'm thinking it would also be good in a chicken pot pie.

Ingredients:

1 tsp Kosher salt

2/3 cup cold water

4 oz thick cut bacon; finely diced and frozen (4-5 strips)

4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices and chilled

Directions:

• For the Crust: In a small bowl, stir the Salt into the Cold Water until it dissolves. In a separate bowl, use your hands to toss the Bacon with Flour until well coated. Pulse the Flour and Bacon in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Return mixture to large bowl. Add the Butter to the Flour mixture and then press in the Butter with your fingertips until coarse crumbs form with a few bigger pieces remaining. Add the Salted Water all at once, and quickly gather the dough with your hands into a large, shaggy clump. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces, shape into disks, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, at least 1 hour and up to 3 days.

Cranberry Apple Pie

Ingredients:
1 9 inch deep dish pie crust
6 apples peeled, cored, and chopped
1 12 oz pkg fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/3 cup quick cooking tapioca

Topping:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325.  Invert pie shell over another pie pan of equal size.  This will keep the crust from shrinking down into the pan.  Bake in this position for 10 minutes, until partially baked. Turn right side up, and remove the extra pie pan from inside the crust.

In a large bowl, combine apples, cranberries, and sugar.  Cover, and set aside for about 20 minutes.  Mix in tapioca, and set aside for 15-20 minutes, until tapioca has absorbed fruit juice.  Spread mixture into the partially baked pie shell.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and butter.  Work mixture with fingertips until crumbly.  Spread mixture over the apple-cranberry filling. Brush exposed pie shell with lightly beaten egg. 

Place the pie on a cookie sheet to catch drips.  Bake 45-60 minutes on the bottom rack of the preheated oven, or until apples are tender when tested with a wooden pick.

Beef Pot Pie

Ingredients:
1 leftover pot roast, chopped up into bite size pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 potatoes, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 onion, diced
1 tsp minced garlic
2 carrots, sliced
3/4 cup frozen peas
2 packages brown gravy mix
2 cups water
1/2 tsp marjorum
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste
2 9 inch pie crusts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425. Place chopped up vegetables (onion, celery, potatoes, carrots) into frying pan with oil. Cook until onion is translucent. Add 2 brown gravy mixes, 2 cups of water, and frozen peas. Cover and let simmer until potatoes and carrots are cooked through. Add the chopped up pot roast. Add marjorum, thyme, salt and pepper and mix through. Let simmer until everything is heated through (won't take long). Place pie crust in pie pan. Add in the pot pie filling and top with pie crust. Follow directions for pie crust but I cooked this for 20 minutes at 425

Key Lime Ice Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup bottled key lime juice
1/2 cup whipping cream
dash of salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 graham cracker pie crust
Cool whip or whipping cream

Directions:
Combine first 6 ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Pour mixture into freezer can of an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's instructions (we have a Cuisinart ice cream maker that is awesome). Once ice cream is made pour into a graham cracker crust. Smooth out and then I made whipping cream and piped it on top of the cake and topped with sliced key limes.

Blueberry Pie

 It is best served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients:
9 inch frozen pie crust (or make your own : )
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup flour
6 cups fresh blueberries
1 tbsp lemon juice
Topping:
1 cup flour
2/3 packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup cold margarine

Directions:
Heat oven to 425F. Mix sugar, flour, and cinnamon in large bowl. Stir in blueberries. Turn into pie crust. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Pat topping evenly over blueberries to form a top "crust". Bake 35-45 minutes. If topping browns too quickly cover with a sheet of foil.
Topping:
Mix flour and brown sugar in medium bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until crumbly.

Key Lime Blueberry Pie

This is Shane's recipe. Most of my desserts require chocolate and in general I'm not a fan of lemon/lime desserts. Shane decided to change it up this time by adding in some blueberries. I think everyone agreed the blueberries made his key lime pie even better. Sweetened it up a bit and it was oh so good!

Ingredients:

1 9 inch graham cracker pie crust

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

3 egg yolks (whites are not used)

1/2 cup key lime juice

handful of blueberries (optional)

8 oz containter Cool Whip

Directions:

Combine condensed milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend well until smooth. If adding blueberries do so now. Pour into pie crust and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Allow pie to stand 10 minutes before refrigeration. Just before serving top with whipped cream and garnish with lime slices

Apple-Berry Pie

My son found some blackberries growing by our bayou. He went out this morning and picked a bunch and brought them home for me to make a pie. He didn't pick enough to make a pie entirely out of blackberries--and now I'm glad he didn't. I found this recipe on Allrecipes that is half apples, half blackberries and it is delicious!

Ingredients:
1 pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tsp tapioca
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups fresh blackberries
2 cups apples--peeled, cored, and sliced
2 Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. In large bowl, mix together the sugar, tapioca, and cinnamon. Add blackberries and apple slices. Toss gently to coat without mashing the berries. Let stand for 20 minutes. Spoon filling into pastry lined pan. Dot with butter. Moisten the edge of the pastry with water. Cover with top crust; trim and crimp edge. Cut a few slits in the top to allow steam to escape during baking. Cover edge with foil to prevent over-browning. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking for 20-25 mintues, or until crust is golden brown. Cool on wire rack.

Strawberry Pie

I was introduced to strawberry pie by my mother-in-law. It is so delicious. For some reason I don't have a copy of her recipe so this is my best attempt to copy it using other recipes. I don't make my own pie crusts--I'm lazy that way, so this is just store bought. If you make your own, like my mother-in-law, the pie will be even more delicious. Next time I will mix the strawberries with the thickened pureed strawberry mixture before adding it to the pie crust. I think it will be less messy and prettier that way.

Ingredients:

Pie crust--ready made or make your own

3 oz cream cheese, softened

4 cups strawberries (I'm guessing--enough to fill a pie shell and then to make the glaze)

1 cup white sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

3/4 cup water

Cool Whip

Directions:

Bake pie crust as directed. For me--preheat oven to 425. Poke holes in bottom of crust with fork and bake on top of a cookie sheet for 10 minutes. Take pie crust out and let cool.

After pie crust has cooled spread cream cheese on the bottom of the cooked pie crust. Arrange 2 cups of strawberries on top of the cream cheese in the baked pie crust. You want it to fill up the pie so more or less depending on how many it takes to fill it up. Take the other strawberries and puree them to make about 1 1/2 cups. Add the sugar to the pureed berries in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. Serve with cool whip.