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Tag: Pie

10 Pies for Pi Day

I’m getting ready to make some hand pies with Lincoln but wanted to take a quick minute to share some of my favorite pies. When it comes to dessert, pie is right near the top.

To keep with the theme of small hand pies, I had to make sure you all saw my 2 mini pies from last year. Mini Apple Pie that we made for the schools Custodians, and Mini S’mores Pie for the days we were stuck inside during the winter.

While some may not consider it a pie, I make my Cherry Almond Cheesecake in a pie pan. So I consider it a pie, and the very best kind in my world. While Cheesecake/pie is my favorite, a simple Cherry Pie ranks high on the list as well. I found this fantastic 2 ingredient Cherry Pie over on Midget Momma. Not everyone likes cherries, I get that. Sadly half of my very own offspring refuse to eat cherries – sad day – so sometimes I’ll please them and try something new like this Fried Apple Peach Pie.

Since we’re talking favorites around here, Mark loves his Sweet Potato Pie. Until I married him, I wouldn’t even give it a try. Now I find it perfectly sweet for dessert. Sweet Potatoes venture over to the less dessert more dinner side in my mind, though. But who says you can’t have pie for dinner?

One of the most popular recipes on Home Maid Simple is the Impossible Cheeseburger Pie. Everyone loves how easy, and tasty this recipe is. Another favorite is Shepherds Pie. I recall eating this quite a bit as a kid. A Day In Motherhood has a great recipe that has a fun way to pipe on the potatoes. She takes us full circle back to our mini pies with her Quick n’Easy Chicken Pot Pies.

I promised you 10, and if you’re counting, we’re not quite there. The last couple are not actual pie recipes but fit our theme anyways. I love knowing I can make pie all year round, and especially apple pie. So come fall time you can find me looking for the best deal on apples in bulk so I can Can our own Apple Pie Filling. Finally, after all this pie, what are we going to do with those old pie tines? Well, I have 14 ways to reuse pie tins that you may not have thought about before.

Are you eating Pies today?

March 14, 2016
Sweet Potato Pie: a Family Tradition
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and it’s advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #SplendaHoliday #CollectiveBias

Ah the holidays! A time for family gatherings, traditions, and of course good food! All my family memories seem to revolve around food this time of year, but unlike as a child, I’m actually now a bit more concerned about how much sweet things I consume this time of year. I’ve decided I need to cut back on my sugar intake again, but without giving up the things I like most – like pie! I tested out Splenda® in a Sweet Potato this weekend, and loved it! I think you will too.

What exactly makes this a family tradition? I don’t actually make Sweet Potato Pie everywhere, but I may very well start after this one. No this tradition stems from the recipes themselves. It all started with my Grandma. She made the absolute BEST pies I’ve ever had. She taught herself how while living on a Ranch and cooking for all the ranch hands. Every year for the holidays, Grandma’s main job in the kitchen were the pies. I’m still trying to perfect her recipe, because she had no recipe. Her two keys to me for a perfect crust were
- Always use Lard. Crisco is no lard – buy LARD!
- Mix with your hands. You have to feel the dough to know when it’s ready.
I’ve got the lard figured out, but getting the right feel is still a work in progress for me, and not something I can ever really share, because you just have to know what it feels like. I completely understand now why she didn’t have a recipe.
Grandma’s Lard Pie Crust

2015-11-24 07:30:39

Yields 1

The best pie crusts are made with Lard.

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Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Flour

1/2 cup Lard

Cold Water

Instructions

Using your hands, mix the flour and lard until coarse crumbles form.

Slowly add a TBS of cold water at a time until the dough holds together in ball form.

Form a ball, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Roll out, and place in pie plate.

Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes.

By Home Maid Simple

Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
Part 2 of this family tradition was inspired from Mark. He loves sweet potatoes and over the years has gotten me to enjoy them as well. I don’t know why I didn’t as a child, because they are so full of flavor and have a beautiful color. Combining Mark’s love of Sweet Potatoes with my Grandma’s pie just makes sense to me. Now Sweet Potatoes are naturally sweet, but when making a pie, you always need a little sugar. That’s where the Splenda® Sweet Swaps™ came to life for me. I can still eat my pie, while making a more balanced decision for my health.

When trading our sugar for Splenda® you only use half the amount the recipe calls for. That makes me feel pretty awesome! Did you know that the average Amercian consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day? That’s a LOT! In fact it’s triple the recommended amount for women and double for men. I’ve done a limited sugar diet before, and I can tell you it makes a difference! I had more energy, and overall personally felt better with the less sugar.

Check out the Splenda® Sweet Swaps™ Initiative for creative ways to swap out full sugar for Splenda® Sweetener products. Splenda® sweeteners can be found at Walmart.com

Lastly, our Sweet Potato Pie is topped with an oatmeal crumble. This recipe came from my sister in law. She makes a fabulous Sweet Potato Casserole, that she puts this on top of. Her son is allergic to nuts, so she made the exchange to oats and it is fabulous! When we combine the pie crust, sweet potato filling, and oatmeal crumble the family tradition is created.
Sweet Potato Pie with Oatmeal Crumble

2015-11-24 08:20:29

Start a family tradition and bake this Sweet Potato Pie. With a Sweet Swap™ from Splenda®

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Ingredients

1 prebaked Pie Crust

4 medium sized Sweet Potatoes

1/2 cup Splenda® Sugar Blend

2 eggs

1 tsp Vanilla

1/4 cup Half and Half

1/2 cup Butter

For Oatmeal Crumble

1/4 cup Flour

1/2 cup Oats

1/4 cup Butter, melted

1/4 cup Splenda® Brown Sugar

Instructions

Peel Sweet Potatoes, and boil in a large pot of water. When a fork can penetrate easily through the potato, they’re done.

Drain water from the potatoes and mash with a fork.

Add butter, Splenda®, eggs, vanilla, and Half and half.

Mix well.

Pour into prepared Pie Crust.

Oatmeal Crumble

Mix flour, oats, butter, and Splenda® brown sugar. Crumble across the top of the Sweet Potato Pie.

Bake pie at 375F for 25-30 minutes

By Home Maid Simple

Home Maid Simple https://www.homemaidsimple.com/
You can find Splenda® Sweeteners at Walmart in the baking aisle next to the sugar.

What Holiday recipes will you swap with Splenda®? Check out these Sweet Swaps™ recipes for inspiration, and enter the sweepstakes below!

J&J Holiday Baking with Splenda
November 24, 2015
Mini S’mores Pies

Mini S’mores pies are the perfect treat to bring the outdoors in, prep for camping season, and please little hands in the process!

Camping season is coming up – actually it’s here! The weather is nice and warm up here too hot if you ask me and the mosquitos are out. It’s time to pack our bags, and head outdoors. We’ve been buying marshmallows for the last couple months, hoping to make s’mores, but somehow the bag keeps emptying before we get that far.

So there I was, dreaming of camping out in Mark’s new 2 room tent, and roasting marshmallows over a warm fire, when I remembered I had mini pie crusts in my cupboard. And a 1/3 bag of mini marshmallows as well. All that was left was a chocolate component, so I ran to the store and picked up some chocolate pudding.

I love when these easy ideas pop into my brain, don’t you? This was the kids last week of school, so what better way then to celebrate with a twist on a summer treat. Enjoy these easy Mini S’mores Pies!

Mini S’mores Pies

Ingredients
6 Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crusts
1 box chocolate pudding mix
1/3 bag mini marshmallows

Directions
Mix up the pudding according to the pkg. Pour into pie crusts, and let set in refrigerator for about 1 hour. Top with mini marshmallows. Use a butane torch to roast your mallows. If you don’t have a torch, your oven broiler will do. Just keep a very close eye on them. They will burn quickly!

How do you like your S’mores?

June 4, 2015
14 Crafty Ways to Reuse Pie Pans

The holidays bring my favorite dessert – pie! What do you do when you find yourself with a stack of pie pans though? These 14 ideas are sure to inspire you to reuse pie pans in a myriad of ways.

Thanksgiving is upon is! Family, football, Macy’s Parade, and Food. Lots of Food. Which will usually equate to lots of trash as well. Styrofoam cups, paper plates, cans, napkins, and pie pans. So many pie pans!

Did you know about 50 million pumpkin pies are eaten at Thanksgiving? (source) That is a lot of pumpkin pie, and I highly doubt that even half of those are made at home in a reusable pie plate. Add to that fact, that some people out there just don’t like Pumpkin pie – raising my hand – so then we’ve got apple pie, cherry pie, strawberry rhubarb pie, and my personal favorite cheesecake!

I’ve talked recently about how we can reduce our waste by buying products in cartons, but what are we going to do with these pie pans? Lucky for you, I’ve been brainstorming, and have a pretty awesome list to reuse pie pans.

14 Crafty ways to Reuse Pie Pans after Thanksgiving

Garden Stones. Fill with cement, and add sparkly things like bead
s for a bright garden stone. These make great Grandparent gifts too.

Bake more pies. I think this is pretty obvious. Also a great way to make pies for neighbors or potlucks without worrying about getting your dish back.

Kids Crafts. Things like a bird feeder, addition to a costume (think tin man), a mask, Frisbee, boat, the uses are endless here.

Sensory Play. Have you seen sensory play pins? Something like this Frozen Sensory bin could easily be recreated in a pie tin.

Pet Bowls for on the go. Keep one or two in the car, for travelling with pets. Fill with water for a quick drink on the go

Make a Veggie Basket for the grill. (Source)

Store leftovers. If you get the tins with the lids, save those lids and use the tin and lid to store leftovers, or to keep your husbands dinner warm if he has a late night (or wife if she’s the one working)

Husbands lunchbox. Again hang onto the lids, and send your spouse to work with a meal in a tin.

Recreate Cafe Rio favorites at home. If you’ve never been to Cafe Rio, this might not make sense. You get a huge burrito, with beans and rice on the side, all served in what looks similar to a pie pan, but with higher sides. Save some money and recreate these favorites at home. I suggest trying this Cafe Rio Sweet Pork

Recycle. If you’d rather not keep them around the house, then please recycle them. Give them to a crafty friend, or put in your recycling bin

Christmas Ornaments. I found this fun idea over on Thrifty Fun. It would be easy to recreate with kids.

Key and wallet Holder. This one is so simple. Just set the pan on your counter, and request everyone leave their wallet, keys, sunglasses, and other pocket junk in the tin. It will keep your counters looking cleaner, and no one will lose their keys.

Screw holder in the garage. Attach multiple magnets to the back of the pie pan. Hang on your garage wall. Whenever you have a loose screw, or nail, or bolt, with no place to put it, toss it into the pan, and it will stick to the magnets. Great garage storage idea from Mark!

French toast. This is a tip I actually shared a few years ago, and what inspired me to think further outside the box. I use pie tins (make sure they have no holes) and their lids to soak my french toast in before cooking it up. They can be washed and reused over and over and over again.

How will you reuse pie pans this year?

November 27, 2013