Bringing Back Pie to America-One Slice At A Time-Mushroom Quiche

Mushroom Quiche

For dinner tonight, I made Mushroom Quiche with homemade corn muffins-mmm, my favorite, with a little butter on the muffin.  If you have never made quiche before, think of it as a dish you can throw almost any leftovers into.  In this case, I had bought too many mushrooms the other day and needed to use them up, before they went mushy.  Thing of it as a basic egg omelet with a crust.  I also added some Hormel bacon to it, because I got a really big bag of it and I have to think of ways to use this up.  That's what I get for going to Sam's Club, when I'm hungry.

4 eggs

1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream or milk or cream/milk combined.

2 cups sliced, diced or chopped mushrooms

optional: 1/4 cup Hormel real bacon bits

2 cups shredded cheese of choice (I had Mexican blend left over)

Salt to Taste

Pepper to Taste

Pre-baked pie shell

For the pie shell, place a piece of aluminum foil on the bottom to prevent over browning.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Meanwhile blend the eggs and milk/cream combination together, salt & pepper.  Add the cheese, optional ingredients and mushrooms to the egg mix.  Once all blended, pour into the pre-baked pie crust and bake for 45-55 minutes.

Serves 6-8. 

Note 1:  I adjust the milk/cream combination to how many other ingredients I have.  Using to much of the liquid will require a deep dish pie shell.

Note 2:  Usually, I add chopped onions, but forgot them this time.

Note 3:  This reheats with the microwave really well.  It also freezes well for future eating.

I am really enjoying this pie making thing.

Up next is a Lemon Chess Pie.

Am I making you hungry yet?

Savory Pies-Steak, Mushroom & Gruyere Pie

This time, I decided to try a Savory Pie.  I had seen an online store selling this pie and I thought I can make this, instead of paying $59 for it to be shipped to me.  Did you know that online pies cost $49-59 per pie all over the U.S.-this of course includes shipping, but that's a lot of money even for pie.

This was a slice of heaven.   Just the right flavorings.  Though I had the salt shaker next to me, just in case it needed more salt when I was eating it, but I didn't need any additional salt.

Steak, Mushroom & Gruyere Pie

3 cups cubed beef (I used chuck steak)

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 cups diced fresh mushrooms

8 oz. Gruyere cheese-shredded

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 tbsp. chopped parsley

1 double pie crust, unbaked

Preheat the oven to 425F.  Line a 9" pie plate with one of the uncooked pie crusts and set aside.  Season the cubed beef with the salt, garlic powder and pepper, then lightly brown in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Don't cook the beef all the way through, just brown the outside leaving the inside rare.  You'll want it to finish cooking during baking.  Transfer the meat to a large bowl and set aside.

In the same pan, cook the onions until they become slightly translucent, then add the mushrooms.  Reduce the heat to medium and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes.  Add the onion & mushroom mixture to the beef, throw in the shredded cheese and toss to combine.  Top this mixture with the heavy cream and stir to evenly coat, then transfer to the prepared pie plate.  Top with chopped parsley.  Top with the second pie crust, flute the edges and cut a few slits in the top to vent steam during baking.  Brush the top of the crust with melted butter and sprinkle a bit of coarse sea salt.

Bake in the oven for 35-40 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow the pie to rest on a wire rack for around 20 minutes before serving.

Note:  I started with Immaculate Pie Crusts and they were horrible.  I had to go back to the store and buy Pillsbury Pie Crusts.  At this point, it was too late in the day for me to try and make my own pie crusts by hand.  I'm getting there.

Am I making you hungry yet?

Happy Pie Making.

The Apple Crunch Pie Re-visited.

APPLE CRUNCH PIE

I was asked by numerous friends to print this recipe for them to attempt to make, so here it is.  On a new note-I was gone for 2 days and came back to try a piece of the pie, expecting it to be gummy here and there.  That's typical for canned apple pies.  And the crust was just as flaky and the insides just as crunchy.  Of course, in most households with more than 1 person, a pie doesn't last more than a day.

APPLE CRUNCH PIE

9 cups thinly, sliced, pared apples

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/3 cup orange juice

Unbaked 9" pie shell

Crunchy Oat Topping (recipe follows)

Combine apples, sugar, cinnamon and orange juice in bowl; mix well.  Arrange apple mixture in unbaked pie shell.

Prepare Crunchy Oat Topping and sprinkle over apple mixture.

Bake in 425 F oven for 10 minutes.  Reduce temperature to 350 F oven and bake 55 minutes more, or until apples are tender.  Cool on rack.  Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Crunchy Oat Topping:  Combine 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats, 1/2 cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar (packed), 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and 3 tbsp. melted butter in bowl; mix until crumbly.

Note: I didn't have quick-cooking oats in the house, I had only the regular oats and they worked fine.

Happy Pie Making!

Bringing back pie to America-one slice at a time

Today, I made an Apple Crunch Pie and I wish I could get a picture of it, but my IPad is stumbling along today.

But what a chore.  Paring 9 cups of apples takes a lot of work.  The end result though was a much better pie than canned prepared  apple pie.  I had a slice about 20 minutes out of the oven and I had this wonderful infusion of apples, cinnamon, orange juice and sugar and then the topping was oats, more cinnamon, brown sugar and butter.  I used the Pillsbury pie crust and boy with this pie, you couldn't tell the difference.  Honestly, it browned perfectly and was light and flaky.

So like I said, I'm "Brinnging Back Pie To America One a Slice At a Time".  I'm going to make you all hungry for just one slice of pie..

Know any great pie makers out there?  Let me know.  I'm writing a book on American Pie Bakers and would love to talk with them.

6 Years Later-Strawberry Pie

6 years later, I'm back to this.  I love pies.  And I still don't have the perfect pie crust, but I'm trying.  Yesterday, I made this great strawberry pie for my friends and they loved it.

Strawberry Pie Recipe

1 pre-baked pie shell

3 pints strawberries, hulled

1 cup sugar

3 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1/2 cup water

Few drops red food coloring

Whipped Cream

Combine sugar and cornstarch in 3-quart saucepan.  Stir in water,  cook over medium heat, until mixture comes to a boil.  Cook 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat.  Stir in food coloring.  Cool to room temperature,  

Fold strawberries into cooled mixture.  Turn into baked pie shell.  Chill in refrigerator for at least 4 hours.  To serve , top with whipped cream.

Okay, I used a refrigerated pie crust-the crust wasn't fabulous, but the filling was.  Lazy me.  I'm trying to use up my refrigerated pie crusts and then I  will start on making real pie crusts.  Also, instead of food coloring, I used a pinch of beet powder (all natural food coloring), instead of red food coloring-but not everyone has access to beet powder.

The leftover strawberry pie went to a friend's grandchildren, instead of my belly.

Happy Pie making!

I'm Bringing Back the Pie to America, One Slice At a Time!

That's me-Val Brown-The Pie Whisperer. And that's my motto. I am going to show America how easy pie is to make, one pie, one slice at a time.

I've had a lot of fun making U-tube videos that let me teach you how to make easy pies. I want to take the fear out of making pies, because they really are so easy to make. So keep tuned, one of these days, you will see these U-tube videos.

Unfortunately, after already filming 6 videos with a professional crew, not one has been on U-Tube. But I have faith and these videos will be out one day.

In the meanwhile, I am going to include pie recipes that are fun and easy to make. I hope you'll join me on my journey.

Okay. This first pie recipe initially is not going to sound good, but it is a great dessert pie. The recipe is about 70 years old and I've made some changes with it, so now it's mine.

Avocado Pie (I see that face you're making)-Try it, you'll like it:

Graham Cracker Crust

2 large ripe avocados or 3 small ripe avocados

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

Non-Dairy Whipped Topping

For the graham cracker crust, it probably cheaper to buy one pre-made, then make it. But if you do want to make it, here's the recipe:

1 1/4 cups crushed graham crackers (I personally used honey graham cracker crumbs)

1/3 cup melted butter or margarine (doesn't affect the flavor for butter or margarine)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

Mix together well. Place mixture in the pie pan (un-greased) and with the back of a spoon-make the pie crust, bringing the pie crust up to the lip of the pie pan (8 or 9"). Bake for 8 minutes, let cool for at least 10 minutes.

Pie Filling: Peel and pit the avocados and place in your blender. Add lemon juice and sweetened condensed milk. Blend for 3-4 minutes-does it get any easier than this. Pour into the pie shell, chill for 4 hours. You're only going to use about 1 cup of dairy topping to cover the top of this pie-you want the flavor of the pie to come out. Re-refrigerate the pie for another hour and serve. Serves 6-8 people, but must be eaten within 48 hours.

Also, if you have time, please visit my other blogs:

www.cookbookval.blogspot.com

www.valbrownweightloss.blogspot.com

So please join me again as I bring back pie to America.

Val Brown-The Pie Whisperer

Val Brown of Las Vegas, NV