Pie Crust

25 minutes

Yield: 1 pie




Ingredients

    * 3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter, chilled
    * 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lard, chilled
    * 6 ounces (1 cup) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 1/4 cup ice water, in spritz bottle
    * Approximately 32 ounces of dried beans, for blind baking

Directions

Place butter and lard in freezer for 15 minutes. When chilled, remove and cut both into small pieces.

Mix flour and salt in a food processor bowl, pulse 3 to 4 times. Add butter and pulse another 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add lard and pulse again 3 to 4 times. Remove the lid of food processor and spritz the surface of mixture thoroughly with water. Replace the lid and pulse 5 times. Add more water and pulse again until mixture holds together when squeezed. Place mixture in large plastic bag, squeeze together until it forms a ball, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Place 2 metal pie pans in the refrigerator to chill.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pans from refrigerator and set first pan on top of dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Place second pan upside down on top of dough and flip again. Remove first pan from atop dough. Trim edges if necessary, leaving an edge for meringue to adhere to. Poke holes in dough and place in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

Place a large piece of parchment paper on top of dough and fill with dry beans. Press beans into edges of dough and bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove parchment and beans and continue baking until golden in color, approximately 10 to 15 minutes longer. Remove from oven and place on cooling rack. Let cool completely before filling.

Banana Cream Pie

20 minutes

Yield: 8 servings




Ingredients

    * Cooking spray
    * 12 graham cracker squares (6 full sheets)
    * 2 tablespoons butter, softened
    * 1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
    * 3 tablespoons boiling water
    * 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1/2 teaspoon
    * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    * 2 egg yolks
    * 1 1/2 cups lowfat milk
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    * 2 large bananas, sliced
    * 1/4 cup whipping cream
    * 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray. In a food processor, process graham crackers until finely ground. Add butter and 1 tablespoon of water, process until the crumb clumps together. Press crumb mixture into bottom of pie plate about 1/2-inch up the sides. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then let it cool.

Meantime, put the gelatin in a small bowl, add 3 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until gelatin is dissolved. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup of sugar and flour. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the milk and eggs together. Add the egg and milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk together so that the flour and sugar dissolve. Cook over a medium heat, stir constantly for 10 minutes until mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. Stir in the vanilla extract and gelatin. Set aside to cool slightly.

Arrange the sliced bananas on the graham cracker crust and pour the pudding on top. Place in the refrigerator about 3 hours until the pudding has set.

Whip the cream using an electric beater. When it is about almost done, add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and continue whipping until fully whipped. Put the whipped cream in a plastic bag, snip one corner of the bag and squeeze the whipped cream out of the bag in a decorative pattern around the pie. Serve.

Sausage Pancake Egg Sandwich

15 minutes

Yield: 4 servings




Ingredients

Pancake:

    * 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
    * Pinch salt
    * 2 cups milk
    * 2 eggs
    * 1/4 cup vegetable oil, plus oil for skillet
    * Butter, for skillet

For the scrambled eggs:

    * 8 eggs
    * House Seasoning *
    * 2 tablespoons butter
    * 4 crumbled cooked sausage patties

For assembly:

    * American cheese slices
    * Butter
    * Maple syrup

Directions

Heat a nonstick griddle to medium heat while you prepare the pancake batter. Combine flour and salt. Mix milk, eggs and oil together and then add them to the flour mixture.

Butter the skillet and add 1/4 cup of oil to the skillet which keeps butter from burning. Ladle about 1/4 cup of the butter, for each pancake, onto the skillet. The bottoms of the pancakes should brown in roughly 2 to 4 minutes. Flip to finish cooking the other side until lightly golden brown.

Reserve pancakes in a preheated 200 degree F oven until ready to serve.

For the scrambled eggs:

Preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for 1 minute.

Crack eggs into a large mixing bowl and whisk them until the whites and the yolks are combined. Season with House Seasoning *. Add butter to the skillet and allow to melt. Add the eggs and reduce heat to medium-low. Add sausage and stir frequently until soft small curds have developed. The more you stir the more the creamier the eggs will be. Remove from heat.

For assembly:

Place slice of American cheese on top of pancake, top with scrambled eggs. Top scrambled eggs with another slice of cheese and place another pancake on top. Add a dab of butter and smother with maple syrup.

* House Seasoning:

    * 1 cup salt
    * 1/4 cup black pepper
    * 1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and place in a shaker near the stove. Use in place of salt and pepper for all your cooking needs.

Mixed Fruit Cider

35 minutes

Yield: 2 quarts




Ingredients

    * 1 quart apple cider
    * 1 quart pineapple juice
    * 3 cinnamon sticks
    * 2 lemons, thinly sliced
    * 1 orange, thinly sliced

Directions

Mix all ingredients in a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stir occasionally. Strain the mixture, discarding solids. Serve warm.

Shrimp Noodle Bowl

10 minutes

Yield: 4 servings




Ingredients

    * 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock
    * 2 cups frozen peas
    * 2 cups frozen carrot slices
    * 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
    * 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    * 2 tablespoons Szechuan stir-fry sauce
    * 10 ounces fresh yaki-soba or ramen noodles
    * 1 pound medium shrimp, cooked

Directions

Add all ingredients (except noodles and shrimp) to a large pot over medium-high heat. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 6 minutes. Add noodles and simmer for another 2 minutes. Add shrimp and simmer until shrimp are heated through, about 2 minutes.

Divide noodles into serving bowls using tongs, add shrimp and ladle in stock.

Apple Butter Pumpkin Pie

40 minutes

Yield: 6 servings




Ingredients

    * 1 cup apple butter
    * 1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin
    * 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    * 1/2 teaspoon salt
    * 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    * 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
    * 3 eggs, slightly beaten
    * 3/4 cup evaporated milk
    * 1 unbaked 9-inch pie shell
    * Sweetened whipped cream, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Mix apple butter, pumpkin, sugar, salt and spices in a bowl. Stir in eggs. Add milk gradually and mix well. Pour the mixture into a pie shell. Bake for about 40 minutes or until set.

TIDBIT:

-If the crust begins to burn, place tin foil around the crust and lower the temperature of the oven.

-A tasty topping for this pie is praline pecans.

Pumpkin Oatmeal

25 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

    * 1 (14-ounce) can pumpkin puree (unseasoned)
    * 2 cups water
    * 2 cups unsweetened almond milk, or water
    * 2 tablespoons raisins (golden or regular)
    * 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
    * 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom plus 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
       (or 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice)
    * 2 cups quick cooking oatmeal (don't choose the instant kind)
    * 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
    * Honey or maple sugar, for serving
    * Heavy cream, for serving

Directions

Combine the pumpkin puree, water, milk, raisins, salt and pumpkin pie spice (alternative spices) in a large saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the oatmeal, turn the heat down and cook according to your oatmeal instructions (usually takes about 15 minutes). Stir often.

Meanwhile, toast the pepitas in a small cast iron skillet over medium heat, until they are fragrant and a gentle golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Once the oatmeal is cooked (each grain should be tender), sprinkle pepitas on top, serve with honey or maple sugar on the side and cream if people like it more like porridge.