Sour Cream Raisin Pie

Kent's mom's recipe of his favorite pie.  It has become June's 'asked for' pie as well.

Makes a 10 inch pie.   Oven 450°

My go-to pie crust is from Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

Double Crust recipe
2 C sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
2/3 C shortening (I use butter flavored Crisco)
5 to 7 TBS cold water

Sift flour and salt together; cut in shortening with pastry blender till pieces are the size of small peas. Sprinkle 1 TBS water over part of the mixture. Gently toss with fork and push to the side.  Repeat till all is moistened.  Divide dough for upper and lower crust and form into balls.  Roll out dough on lightly floured surface till about 1/8" thick and the size of your pie dish.

For lattice top:  Trim lower crust to 1/2" beyond edge of pie plate.  Roll remaining dough 1/8" thick.  Cut strips of pastry 1/2" to 3/4" wide with pastry wheel or knife. Lay strips on filled pie at 1" intervals. Fold back alternate strips as you weave cross strips. Trim lattice even with outer rim of pie plate; fold lower crust over strips; seal; flute edge.

Note: You can get creative with cookie cutters and leftover pie dough to decorate.

Filling:

2 C sour cream
2 C raisins
1 C sugar
2 tsp vinegar
2 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Mix all ingredients together.  If done the night before the raisins will plump up. 
Pour into prepared pie crust.  Top with lattice crust. 
Bake 450° for 15 mins.  Lower to 350° and bake until center is not soupy  20+ mins.
If needed use foil on crust rim to prevent burning.

Pictures from Thanksgiving 2018.  

One of my funniest memories was Alan trying to get Wren to eat some pie:
Alan: "if you eat a bite of pie you can have more meat."

Chicken Every Sunday

Originally from my Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library, I've made a few modifications. Over the years it has remained a family favorite.

 

1 cut up chicken 3-4 lbs
1 C orange juice
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp salt
4 oz can mushroom pieces, drained

Oven 400º







Wash chicken, pat dry, and place skin side down in a 13x9 in pan (nonstick--I use my Longaberger pan).

Mix OJ, paprika, dry mustard, and salt.  Pour over chicken.
Bake 45 mins.




  
Turn chicken over, sprinkle with mushrooms, and spoon sauce over all.
Bake 15 mins longer.

NOTES:  I like extra sauce so I increase the OJ to 1 1/2 C and the spices to 1 1/2 tsp each.



This is quick and easy for company.

Rhubarb Crisp

4 C cut up fresh rhubarb
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/3 - 2 C sugar (depending on tartness of rhubarb)
3/4 C flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/3 C butter

Heat oven to 350°.





Place rhubarb in ungreased baking dish, 10 x 6 x 1 1/2" (I use 8 x 8). Sprinkle with salt. Measure sugar, flour, & cinnamon into bowl. Add butter & mix thoroughly until mixture is crumbly.

Sprinkle evenly over rhubarb.

Bake 40-50 mins. or until topping is golden brown. Serve warm with light cream or ice cream.
Enjoy!
6 servings

Tomato Pie

I got this recipe from Mary Ann Pleger and it has become a summer must-make. You need to use tomatoes at the height of the season, vine-ripened and full of flavor.

**The original recipe has a Bisquick crust but I leave that out and fill the dish with tomatoes**

Mix together 2 C Bisquick and 1/2 C milk. Press into a 10" pie pan.

Slice 6 medium tomatoes over crust.

Mix 1 1/2 bunches chopped green onion (I use less), 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp pepper, 2 TBS sweet basil (fresh, torn into pieces), and 1 TBS dill weed. Sprinkle over tomatoes.

Mix 1 C mayonnaise and 2 C shredded cheese (I use sharp cheddar); spread over top.

Bake @ 350° for 40-45 mins. Warning--place something under to catch any drips.


No crust. Just fresh off the vine, homegrown tomatoes and lots of them.

Hamburger Roll-Ups

this recipe was given to my Mom by Mrs. Hagar, the Pastor's wife at the church I attended growing up.

This recipe doesn't have a lot of precise measuring to it.

1 lb lean ground beef, raw
about 1 lb cheddar cheese, grated
ketchup
garlic salt
one recipe of Baking Powder Biscuits, below (I have no idea if this makes good biscuits or not...I've only ever used it for the roll-ups.)



Baking Powder Biscuits
oven 450

2 C flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C shortening
3/4 C milk




Sift all dry ingredients together. Use pastry blender to cut shortening into sifted dry ingredients until it resembles coarse crumbs.


Make a well and add milk all at once. Stir quickly with a fork only until dough follows fork around bowl. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead gently with heel of hand 10-12 strokes (1/2 min.) This makes tall, plump biscuits.

If making biscuits--roll or pat to 1/2 in thick. Cut. Bake 12-15 mins. on an ungreased pan. Makes about 16.


For roll-ups--On a lightly floured surface, roll out the biscuit dough into a large rectangle 1/8 in. thick.

Spread lightly with ketchup as if buttering it--leave about 1 in. bare along one of the long sides so the dough will seal when you roll it up. I use the back of a spoon to spread it out.



Break up the raw ground beef into little bits and spread over the ketchup. Sprinkle with garlic salt to taste.



Put grated cheese over all.



Start rolling at the long edge that has the ketchup on it and rolling it toward the bare edge. Be careful not to tear the dough. You are rolling this up like you would a jelly roll. I find it easiest to roll it toward me. Stuff any pieces that fall out back inside. I find it helpful to sort of pinch the ends in but not all the way closed.



Make slices 3/4 in. to 1 in. and place in a pan at least 3/4 in. deep. (Use non-stick spray first for easier clean-up).







Bake @ 450 20-25 mins. until the meat is cooked, the cheese is melted and the dough is brown. It will be a little tricky to tell when the meat is done because of the redness caused by the ketchup.

These are great right out of the oven but also store well and reheat nicely.

Chimichangas

From Make-A-Mix Cookery
by Karine Eliason, Nevada Harward & Madeline Westover

These are a bit of work but delicious!

6 large flour tortillas
3 C Mexican Meat Mix (recipe here)
Vegetable oil for frying
Shredded lettuce
salsa
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 C Guacamole, see below
sour cream
olives, for garnish

Guacamole--Mix the following in a small bowl:
2 ripe avocados, pared and mashed
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
few drops of Tabasco sauce

Warm tortillas in oven about 5 mins. (I use the microwave--about 1 min.). Heat Mexican Meat Mix in a small saucepan. Heat 1/2 in. deep oil to 400 in a large skillet. Spread about 1/2 c Mexican Meat Mix over the lower third of each tortilla.



Fold the bottom edges of each tortilla up over filling. Fold both sides toward the center and roll into a cylinder.



Secure rolled tortillas with a toothpick (I don't bother doing this). Fry 2 chimichangas at a time in hot oil about 2 mins. until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels.



Serve hot over a layer of shredded lettuce. Top with salsa, tomatoes, Guacamole and sour cream. Garnish each with an olive. Makes 6 chimichangas.

Easy Oven Lasagna

Adapted from the recipe off of a Golden Grain Lasagna box.

No precooking the noodles! This is probably the all time family favorite recipe.
preheat oven 375

I don't recall ever having lasagna growing up--either at home or in a restaurant--but this could just be a faulty memory. When we first got married I was learning to cook (I could bake) and I must've been interested in making lasagna...but all the recipes called for precooking noodles and that seemed so messy and time consuming--until I came across this one! I fell in love with the simplicity and we use this all the time. I went to their website and didn't see this version listed. I've changed the amounts of things which I will list separately.

My version--basically just MORE of everything...and mostly I don't measure

1 lb ground beef
1/2 C water
1 jar* Ragu meat flavor sauce
lasagna noodles
16 oz cottage cheese
1 lb Mozzarella, sliced or grated

*Ragu used to come in a 32 oz jar...over the years it has reduced
in size to 26 oz but I don't really adjust for that and it's worked fine.

Original recipe
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 C water
1 32oz jar marinara sauce (or 2 15oz)
1 tsp salt
1/2 pkg (8 oz) lasagna noodles
1 C Ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
12 oz Mozzarella, sliced or grated
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese

In a 2 qt sauce pan, brown ground beef, draining fat. Add sauce and water (I use the water to rinse out the jar). Bring to a boil.


In 9 x 13 baking dish layer sauce, uncooked noodles, cottage cheese, and mozzarella.
Repeat layers, ending with sauce. Garnish with Mozzarella and Parmesan--I don't do this as it sticks to the foil and we just never used the Parmesan anyway

NOTE: Use sauce to just cover bottom of pan so there is enough left for two more applications.


Cover tightly with foil to prevent moisture escaping. Bake 375 for 1 hour. Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting into squares. Makes 6 servings. This is even better the next day for breakfast...honest!


Can be frozen after baking (why would you?)

Commercial for Longaberger Pottery: For years I went to friend's Longaberger parties but never bought a thing--they were too spendy. Finally, after listening to so many testimonials I tried the 9 x 13 baking dish. The testimonials were all true. This is amazing stuff. Clean up of baked on food is a breeze...just soak and wash it off. EVERYONE should own these baking dishes. I have several pieces now. They are totally worth it.