Pie Recipes

Here are a couple of pie recipes; one for dinner and one for dessert. I've made them both this week and they are really easy and yummy. I am lazy so I use the store bought crusts most of the time (and still get rave reviews) but if you prefer, you can use this pie crust recipe that I got from my sister, Loey. It makes a great, flaky crust.

Easy Pie Crust
4-4 1/2 C sifted flour
1 T sugar
3 tsp salt
1 egg (room temp)
1 T vinegar
1/2 C water
1 3/4 C shortening

Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a large bowl. Beat the egg and combine with vinegar and water. Cut shortening into flour mix then sprinkle in egg mixture and combine. Gather dough into ball and wrap in wax paper. Chill for 30 minutes before use (you can also freeze this to have on hand whenever you need it just thaw completely) then roll out.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie
2 cans cream of potato soup
16 oz. frozen mixed veggies
2 Cups cubed 'par-boiled' chicken
1/2 Cup milk
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp pepper

Mix ingredients in bowl and pour into a pie crust. Cover with top crust and slit. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Caramel Apple Pie

6-8 med. sized apples
3/4 bag Kraft caramels or one pkg. caramel wraps
Bisquick (I used flour)
Brown sugar
Cinnamon
Caramel ice cream topping (optional)
2 (9 inch) deep-dish pie crusts

If using Kraft caramels, melt caramels according to directions on bag. Spread a thin layer of melted caramel or lay one and a half caramel wrap sheets on pie crust bottom. Slice half of your peeled apples into pie crust that has had a layer of caramel applied. Sprinkle layer of apple with cinnamon to taste. (Don't be afraid to sprinkle generously.) Sprinkle 2 heaping tablespoonfuls of Bisquick over cinnamon apple layer. Next, sprinkle 3 heaping tablespoonfuls of brown sugar.

Continue with "building" the pie by starting with another layer of caramel and continuing as above. Top pie with a layer of caramel (two sheets of caramel wraps if using this product) so you end up with a finished pie containing 3 layers of caramel and 2 layers of apple with dried ingredients.

Cover pie with top crust and slit top to allow steam to escape while baking. Spread caramel ice cream topping over top crust for your glaze (I did not do this) and bake on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes (or until golden brown). Let pie cool before serving as filling will be hot.

Noah reads a Bob Book

I found some beginning readers at the library so Noah can practice his reading skills. He's doing really well with all the short vowel sound rules like double consonants and adding the y suffix and he just got through the consonant digraphs (sh, th, ch, and tch). I thought you might enjoy hearing him read. Sorry for the shaky nature of this video...I was trying to keep Lily quiet while Noah was reading.

Picnic

Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day--sunny and warm but not hot (finally!). Noah had asked a while back to eat lunch outside and I finally remembered on a good day and at lunch time. So, I pulled out the well-used CU blanket and made the kids pb&j and cut up some apples and we had a nice lunch on the lawn. It was so warm that I was lulled into a snooze while the kids finished up (they are really slow eaters, especially when distracted) and Noah re-raked the pile of leaves he had un-raked while looking for a missing Hot Wheel car (if I had known Noah meant to play with them in the leaves, I would have tried to dissuade him from such a potentially hazardous idea). He was rather forlorn since not only could he not find said car, but he had a big job to do. I, on the other hand, very much enjoyed the rest. I did take pity on him eventually though and gave him a little help. Anyway, here are a few shots:

Maple Leaf Rag

Sorry it's been an age since I've posted anything. There's no real reason for it besides a lack of interesting things to post about and well, I'm just a blogging slacker I guess. Before I "lose my sister's heart", here are some fun fall pictures:



And we can compare them to the fun fall pictures from last year and see how the chillins' have changed.

What do you think?

That's all I have time for now but I promise I will post more soon.