Spiced Apple and Pear Pie with Gruyere Baked into the Crust

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lemon
• 3 pounds baking apples - about 6 apples (Golden Delicious, Corland, or Mutsu)
• 1 1/2 pounds baking pears - about 3 pears (Bosc or firm Barletts)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
• Generous pinch freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 large egg, beaten

Directions:

• Finely grate the lemon zest and set aside.
• Peel, core, and then slice both the apple and pear into 1/2" slices.
• Squeeze the lemon juice over the fruit
• Then toss fruit with the sugar, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg.
• Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
• Add the fruit and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves and juices simmer, about two minutes.
• Reduce heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, until the fruit softens and the juices evaporate some, about ten minutes.
• Evenly mix the flour into the fruit and stir.
• Then cook about a minute more to thicken the juices slightly.
• Sir in the vanilla and lemon zest.
• Remove from the heat and let cool completely. (Filling should resemble a tight compote)

Notes:

• This recipe made enough filling for two pies.

Assembly:

• Use Mindy's Pie Crust for both bottom and top crusts.
• After assembling the top crust, cut small steam vents into the top of the dough.
• Brush pie with egg and sprinkle with sugar.
• Grate a fine layer of Gruyere cheese onto the crust (can substitute swiss)
• Place pice on a baking sheet and cook for 15 minutes at 425°
• Reduce temperature to 375° and bake until the crust (both top and bottom) is golden brown, about 50 minutes more.
• If the edges begin to brown too quickly, cut a pie shield out of a piece of aluminum foil and cover the edges.
• Cool on a rack.

* Recipe is a mix from multiple sources but inspired by Chuck on Pushing Daisies. 

**Homeopathic mood enhancers not included.

Ned's Strawberry Pie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup strawberry gelatin powder
• 2 drops red food coloring (optional)
• 1 1/2 quarts strawberries, sliced
• 1 pie shell, baked, 9-inch
• whipped cream or topping

Directions:

• Combine sugar, cornstarch, and water in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thickened and clear, stirring constantly.
• Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice, gelatin powder and food coloring if used.
• Chill until mixture begins to thicken. 
• Place strawberries in the baked pie shell and spoon slightly thickened gelatin mixture over the top.
• Chill the pie at least 4 hours.
• Top with whipped cream or whipped topping and garnish with reserved strawberry halves.

* From the kitchen of The Pie Hole

Mindy's Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups shortening
• 3 cups flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 5 tbsp ice-cold water
• 1 egg (beaten)

Directions:

• When measuring the flour spoon it into the measuring cup then level off with a knife.
• Cut shortening into flour and salt with a pastry knife.
• Pour in lemon juice, ice water, and beaten egg.
• Mix with a fork from bottom to top until dough barely sticks together.
• Divide into two balls.
• Place one ball between two pieces of wax paper and roll out to 2" larger than the size of the pie pan.
• Fold crust into quarters, place in pie pan with point in center and unfold.
• Trim and crimp crust for one-crust pie, or fill and repeat rolling steps with second ball of dough for two-crust pie, turning bottom edges of crust up over the top crust and crimping.
• For baked one-crust pie shell, pierce crust on bottom and sides with a fork and bake at 475° until light brown, 5-8 minutes.

* I got this recipe from Tianna but I have no idea who Mindy is.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup vinegar
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Clove garlic
• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 2 tbsp cold water

                                             

• Chicken
• Red Peppers
• Green Peppers
• Onion
• Chunk Pineapple

Instructions:

• Cut up chicken into small slices and cook with chopped up onion
• When the chicken is about half way cooked, add chopped up peppers and continue cooking.
• Add the pineapple when the chicken is cooked.

• While the chicken is cooking, mix the top ingredients together except for corn starch and water.
• Bring to a boil.
• In a separate bowl add water, and while stirring, add the corn starch.
• When other ingredients are at a boil, slowly add the corn starch mixture. Stirring constantly while over heat.
• Pour this sauce over the cooked chicken and vegetables.

Serve over rice.

7 Minute Icing

Ingredients:

• 2 egg whites
• 5 Tbsp water 
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp light corn syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Cherry Kool-aid
• Shredded coconut 

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients (except vanilla and kool-aid)
• Heat using a double boiler and beat until it stands in peaks (7 minutes)
• Remove from heat
• Add vanilla (cherry kool-aid is optional and amount is subjective)
• Beat until thick enough to spread
• Put over a white cake that is already cooled
• Sprinkle coconut over the top

This is my Grandma Lovell's recipe (Family Favorite)

Stroganoff

Ingredients:

• Hamburger
• Onion
• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• Garlic Salt
• About 1 cup sour cream
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• Chopped mushrooms (Optional)

Directions:

• Brown the beef
• Add onions and cook
• Drain
• Add cream of mushroom soup and sour cream
• Heat the mixture
• Add garlic salt, salt and pepper to taste
• Add paprika last (makes it look pretty)

Serve over cooked egg noodles or mashed potatoes

Tianna's Recipe (Courtesy of Carol Homer)

Chicken Zucchini

Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of lean skinless chicken breast
• 1 cup raw zucchini
• 2 table spoons of any kind of shredded cheese
• 1 raw onion
• salt
• pepper
• oregano

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 450°
• Cut zucchini and onion into slices
• Arrange chicken breast onto non-stick baking pan
• Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and oregano
• Sprinkle cheese onto chicken
• Arrange sliced zucchini so that its covering the chicken
• Arrange onions onto zucchini
• Bake for 30 minutes covered

Makes/Serves:

• 4 servings

*I got this recipe here.

Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch of basil, leaves only, washed and dried
• 3 medium cloves of garlic
• one small handful of raw pine nuts
• roughly 3/4 Parmesan, loosely packed and FRESHLY GRATED
• A few tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

• Start chopping the garlic along with about 1/3 of the basil leaves. 
• Once this is loosely chopped add more basil, chop some more, add the rest of the basil, chop some more. (scrape and chop, gather and chop)
• At this point the basil and garlic should be a very fine mince. Add about half the pine nuts, chop.
• Add the rest of the pine nuts, chop.
• Add half of the Parmesan, chop. 
• Add the rest of the Parmesan, chop.
• In the end you want a chop so fine that you can press all the ingredients into a basil "cake"
• Transfer the pesto "cake" to a small bowl (not much bigger than the cake) 
• Cover with a bit of olive oil, just a few tablespoons.
• You can thin the pesto with a splash of pasta water for more coverage but this is not necessary.

Makes:

• About 1 cup

Notes:

• One key to perfect pesto is chopping all the ingredients by hand, preferably with a sharp mezzaluna, knife or pizza cutter. 
• The pesto will keep a bit in the refrigerator, but it really hits its peak when served soon after it is made.
• The technique here is: chop a bit, add some ingredients, chop some more. The reason for this (Instead of chopping everything at once) is because some things get chopped into oblivion, while some not as much-it encourages a spectrum of cut sizes throughout the contributing to the overall texture. Chopping should take twenty to thirty minutes.
• This recipe doesn't have any added salt (just the saltiness from the cheese), make sure your pasta water is well salted if you are going to use this pesto on pasta or the overall flavor profile will fall flat. 
• Be sure to adjust the seasoning before serving.

*I got this recipe here.

Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups wild rice
• 3.5 cups  water
• 6 strips bacon
• 1 cup chopped onion (about 1 medium)
• 1 cup chopped celery (about 2 medium stalks)
• 1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 medium)
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms (I added this ingredient to the recipe)
• 2 cans (10.75 oz. each) condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1.5 cups half-and-half
• .5 tsp black pepper

Directions:

• Place rice and water in large saucepan. Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat; cover and simmer until the rice is tender and the water absorbed, about 15-20 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp and browned on both sides, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a cutting board, leaving the bacon drippings in the skillet. Chop bacon and set aside.
• Add onion, celery and carrots to the skillet. Cook in the bacon drippings, stirring occasionally, until softened. About 8-10 minutes.
• Put all ingredients in a 4 or 5 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on High until heated through, about 2-3 hours.

Notes:

• To make it a more filling soup, add 2 cups chopped, cooked chicken to the slow cooker.
• Great in soup bowls or with a side of crusty French rolls with butter.

Serves/Makes: 

• Approximately 6-8 when served with bread bowls.

Tianna's Recipe

Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Parsley Flakes (1 1/2 tsp maybe? just to make i look pretty)

Directions:

• Mix it all together and spread on 1 loaf of French Bread that has been cut in half. Broil until done.

From:

• Went to the baptism for Drew Gage (Neal & Nettie) and they served this bread with a spaghetti casserole. This bread was a huge hit and was really quite delicious. Not sure who's recipe it was but it was good anyways.