Quick & Easy Pie Crust

Although I hate to admit it, I'm kind of a lazy cook.  That's the real reason I have a hard time measuring when I'm fixing something for dinner - it's so much easier just to eyeball it and toss it in.  However, there are some things you just can't do that with.  I do NOT estimate baking soda when I'm baking, for example.  I'd hate to accidentally dump in twice as much or not use enough, you know?  It's not easy like vanilla.  Vanilla is so forgiving... as long as it's in there it doesn't really matter, right?

So now that I've gone and given all the real chefs out there twitching fits with my laissez faire attitude, I will let you in on another secret: just because something is "quick and easy" doesn't mean it isn't as good as the long version.  This recipe is one of those.

Although I'm staying away from a lot of sweets and junk food these days, I'm also a creature of tradition, and tradition means pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner.  I was asked to make one for a meal we were invited to share with our neighbors this past Saturday, and I really (I mean really) did not want to spend a lot of time baking since I had already spent hours in my kitchen last week.  But I'm also a pie snob, as you may know.  Nothing store-bought was going to suffice for me.  Since desperation breeds innovation, I figured out how to cut my Aunt Esther's excellent pie crust recipe down in size so it would just make a single crust.  And even better, I also figured out how to make it without getting my hands really dirty.


Quick and Easy Pie Crust

1 c. flour + 2 Tbsp.
pinch of salt
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 c. shortening
1 egg white
1/2 tsp. vinegar
water

Combine flour, salt, and sugar in a small mixing bowl.  Add shortening.  Using a fork, crumble the shortening into the flour mixture until it looks something like this:

Next, place egg white in a liquid measuring cup.  Add vinegar, and just enough water to fill the measuring cup up to 1/4 cup.  Beat with a fork until foamy.

Dump egg mixture into flour mixture.  Stir (and even mash a little) with the fork until well combined.

This next step does require you to use your hands, but I promise it's just for a second and they won't be coated with lots of sticky dough that's hard to wash off.  Just dump the mixture out on a piece of wax paper or a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball.

If using wax paper, cover with another sheet and flatten slightly with your hands.  Roll out and use as needed for your recipe.

If you are completely new to pie crust, feel free to check out the tutorial by clicking here.

Peanut Butter Paradise Pie

Yesterday was The Honey's birthday. He's not a big cake eater and has recently raved about a peanut butter pie someone brought to work, so I wanted to make something along those lines for his birthday dinner. I looked at a couple recipes in a cookbook I got from church, and I wasn't thrilled with either one. So I decided to make up my own. How hard could it be, right?

When we were eating this after dinner last night, I asked the family what we should call it. Horse Lover named it Peanut Butter Paradise Pie, and the name has stuck. It was so delectable that when I called The Honey at work this morning he had to tell me again just how good it was. We're having the rest for dessert tonight!


Peanut Butter Paradise Pie
(Calories per serving: don't know, don't care!)

1 Oreo pie crust
1/2 bottle Reese's Magic Shell ice cream topping
12 mini Reese's PB cups
1/2 c. creamy peanut butter
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1/2 c. milk
1 8-oz. container Cool Whip light
Extra Reese's cups, crushed for topping (about 4)

Open your Oreo pie crust and Reese's Magic Shell topping. Shake the Magic Shell bottle well before using.

Drizzle a little less than half the bottle of Magic Shell topping into the pie crust.

With the back of a large spoon, spread the Magic Shell around to coat the bottom and sides of the crust as evenly as possible. Place in freezer to chill while preparing the pie filling.

Cut 12 mini Reese's cups into fourths. Set aside. Eat a couple of the extra ones for fun.

In a medium bowl, combine peanut butter, vanilla pudding mix and milk. Stir until creamy.

Mix in the Cool Whip by adding about 1/3 of the container of Cool Whip at a time to the peanut butter mixture. This will make sure it gets blended evenly.

Finally, stir in the chopped Reese's cups.

Spoon into the chilled pie shell.

Drizzle with a little extra Magic Shell and crumbled Reese's cups. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Store any leftovers in the fridge.

Fresh Rhubarb Pie

It's so good to know that my cries for rhubarb did not go unheard! If you are fortunate enough to live in a state where rhubarb grows like weeds all over the place, you cannot understand my desperation. I lived in upstate NY until I was 10, and rhubarb grew in our garden every year. I picked it and ate it raw. Then I moved to South Carolina, and fresh rhubarb was impossible to get. The only time I was able to get my hands on some was when I or a family member would drive up to NY to visit family and bring some back to enjoy. Even now, I live in Oklahoma. I'm too far away from NY to drive for a visit and it's still too hot here for rhubarb to grow. I had given up all hopes of getting my hands on fresh rhubarb this summer.

Thankfully, I have a friend who spends her summers with her family in Alaska. She and her family flew back in this past week and what do you think she brought me? RHUBARB! A lot of rhubarb! And what do you think I did with it? As you can see, I baked pies!

And to celebrate, you're getting 2 recipes for the price of one: Rhubarb Pie and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. If you are a die-hard rhubarb lover like myself, straight rhubarb pie is the only way to go. It is tart and tangy and just how I like it! But I should warn you - my sour sensors are not as sensitive as others' are. What I think is pleasantly tart has The Honey sucking his face because it's got a lot of kick. It might have something to do with all that rhubarb I ate out of the garden when I was little...

But if you're on a the timid side when it comes to tart or have never had rhubarb before, I recommend the Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. And since it is probably the more popular pie, we'll make this one first. And now to the recipes, courtesy of my Aunt Esther.


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

2 pie crusts
2 cups fresh diced strawberries
3 cups fresh diced rhubarb
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt

In a medium or large bowl, combine rhubarb and strawberries.

Combine flour, sugar, and salt and add to strawberries and rhubarb. Mix well.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with one crust. Pour filling mixture into pie crust.

See now, wasn't that easy?? Now to make the lattice top for this pie. Roll out the second crust. Cut into about 11 or 12 strips using a pizza cutter. If you've made your own crust like I do, then you won't be able to use the end strips so make sure you don't count those as one of the the 12.

Next, lay out six of the strips over the top of the pie. Be sure to use the longer strips for the middle and the shorter strips towards the edges. Then take one of the shorter strips and weave it in and out of the strips on top of the pie like you are weaving a basket.
To weave in the next strip, carefully fold back the strips that need to be on top of that strip of pie crust. Place the next strip down beside the first, and lay the cross-ways strips back down flat.
Repeat until the pie lattice is finished, and trim the excess crust off the edges.
Flute the edges of the pie. (For instructions, check out my pie crust tutorial.)

Cover a cookie sheet with aluminum foil and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Bake pie at 450 for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 50-55 minutes. Remove and let cool.

And now for the rhubarb pie. I'll spare you all the pictures since they are about the same, only not as red.

Rhubarb Pie

4 c. rhubarb, diced
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind (optional)
1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 3/4 c. sugar

In a medium or large mixing bowl, combine rhubarb, egg, lemon juice, and lemon rind. Add dry ingredients and mix well. Turn into prepared pie crust and prepare lattice crust as shown above. Bake on a covered cookie sheet at 450 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 and bake an additional 50-55 minutes.

Chicken Pot Pie

Now that you have a pie crust, you need something to do with it, right? Let me suggest a delicious twist to your everyday chicken pot pie! It was loved by myself, Handsome Man, and The Honey. It given an "okay" by Horse Lover (she picked out the carrots) and completely rejected by The Monkey. In my defense, she wouldn't even try a small bite, so her vote doesn't count as far as I'm concerned.

So what's the twist? First of all, I reject the idea of using "cream of whatever" condensed soup to make it. Sorry, that means it's not as quick and easy as some of you would like, but this still isn't all that hard. Second of all, you need fresh garlic, shredded Parmesan cheese (not grated!) and the asparagus stir-fry variety of frozen mixed veggies. Yum... asparagus and red peppers with chicken. Now that is my kind of chicken pot pie!

Chicken Pot Pie

1 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 small cloves garlic
Salt/pepper to taste
2-3 heaping Tbsp flour
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. light sour cream
1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese
16 oz. asparagus stir-fry mixed veggies
2 pie crusts

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Dice raw chicken into bite-sized pieces and add to pan along with garlic and salt/pepper.

Saute until chicken is cooked through (no longer pink inside). Add flour and mix well.

Add milk to chicken and flour mixture, a little at a time.

After milk is stirred in, add sour cream.

Simmer the mixture together until it thickens. Add Parmesan cheese and continue cooking until it melts.

Add asparagus stir-fry mix (can still be frozen, it doesn't matter) to the pan.

Continue to simmer over medium heat until veggies are cooked to desired tenderness, about 5-10 minutes.

Place filling inside a prepared pie crust. Top with another pie crust and seal the edges. Cut slits in the top crust. (For instructions and pictures on how to do that, click here.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 30-35 minutes, or until pie crust is golden brown. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving.

Pie Crust Tutorial

From Scratch Pie Crust. For some, those simple words strike fear into their stalwart hearts. But never fear, faithful blog-readers! The Candid Cook is here!

Okay, that's enough cheese for one day. So let's get down to business. Homemade pie crust. It's not that I'm that ambitious, really. I just don't like store-bought pie crust. When you've grown up with the real thing, flaky and melt-in-your-mouth delicious you just can't be happy with a second-class substitute. And don't kid yourselves - there's nothing low-fat about a good pie crust. You can put whole wheat flour in it, but that's about as healthy as you're going to make it. The trick to not gaining 50 pounds is just not to eat it too often.

To get started, you need a recipe. Here's the crown jewel of my recipe box, obtained from my 80 year old aunt who makes the best rhubarb pies - and if I can ever get my hands on rhubarb, you'll get that recipe too!

Flaky Pie Crust
(makes 4 crusts)

4 c. flour (I use 2 c. white and 2 c. whole wheat)
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. shortening
1 beaten egg
1 tsp. vinegar
1/2 c. water

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour(s), sugar, and salt. Add shortening and crumble with your hands. You do this by adding the shortening to the bowl, scooping the dry mixture over top, and squeezing the shortening through your hands. Once you've done this a few times you can start working it in with your fingers, rubbing it back and forth between fingers and thumbs. You can use a pastry cutter if you prefer, but eventually you should end up with a bowl of crumbles that looks like this:

Make a well in the center and set aside.

In a small bowl or large liquid measuring cup, combine water, egg, and vinegar. Mix well and add to flour mixture. Mix as well as you can with a spoon, then use your hands to finish kneading it together. Shape into a large circle.

Cut the circle into fourths. Each fourth will be one pie crust.

Now comes the "hard" part - rolling it flat into a crust. The trick is to roll it out using wax paper. If this isn't something you normally keep in your kitchen, repent and go get it!

Shape 1/4 of the dough into a ball with your hands. Place on a sheet of wax paper.
(Note: I generally don't have to use flour to keep it from sticking to the paper because there's plenty of shortening in this recipe. If you're using a different recipe or are worried about it, you can sprinkle flour on the wax paper before putting down the dough.)

Flatten the dough with your hands a little, then top with another sheet of wax paper.

Using a rolling pin, roll out dough into a round shape that's about 1-2 inches larger than your pie dish. This is actually a little trickier than it sounds because at first your wax paper keeps sliding all over the table while you're trying to roll out the dough. You can fix this by either weighing down one corner, you can flatten it more with your hands, or you can rope your kids into service and make them hold it for you. Either way, once you get it mostly flattened it's easy enough to roll it out the rest of the way. Be sure to roll in all directions so the dough flattens out in a circular shape, unless you happen to have an oval-shaped pie dish.

Peel off the top layer of wax paper. Place your pie plate on top (upside down), then flip the whole thing over, pressing the crust into the dish. The crust should hang over the edge a little.

Peel off the wax paper. If you're making a single-crust pie, go ahead and trim off the excess crust and flute the edges (see below). If you're doing a double-crust pie, fill the pie and add the top crust before trimming and shaping the crust.

To trim the edge, take a butter knife and cut the crust off about even with or a little longer than the pie dish edge depending on what type of pie plate you have. Just remember that the crust will shrink a little while baking.

To "flute" the edge of the pie crust (i.e. make it look pretty) you pinch it between your first finger and thumb and give it a little twist toward you. Do this all the way around the edge.

If baking a double-crust pie, be sure to cut slits all the way through the top crust so steam and juices have a way to escape. Otherwise they will bubble out the edge between the two crusts and you'll have a real mess on your hands.

Bake the filled pie crust according to your recipe directions.

If you need to bake a single crust without filling it, prick it all over with a fork and then bake it at 450 for about 10-12 minutes until the edges are golden-brown.