This is Going to Be a Yearly Tradition (for Thanksgiving or for Pi Day!)

 

Look at how serendipitous this is! I am posting a pie recipe on Pi Day! It totally wasn't planned...but I'm going to go with it and say that it was totally planned. Happy Pi Day!

Anyway, since my son is allergic to tree nuts, we can't have pecan pie at Thanksgiving. However, I discovered this pie recipe in 2013 and we made it again for Thanksgiving in 2014. This is definitely going to be a yearly tradition for Thanksgiving for my family. I previously posted the recipe here, but I am sharing it again with a few of my changes.

Pretzel Pie

Ingredients:

Filling:

4 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup, plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 regular frozen pie shells (not deep dish), unbaked

Topping:

1 1/2 cups crushed pretzels
3 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

For Filling:

Place first five ingredients in large mixing bowl and mix with wire whisk until well combined. Pour into pie shells, dividing evenly between the two.

Combine all topping ingredients in medium bowl and stir well with a spoon to coat pretzels.

Sprinkle topping evenly, dividing it between the two pies.

Bake in 350 degree F. oven for 1 hour, covering with foil after 30 minutes to prevent over browning.

Allow to cool completely before serving. Can be made a day or two ahead of time and stored in refrigerator.

Source: Slightly adapted from Christy Jordan's Southern Plate. You can find the recipe here.

Notes: Wow, the woman who created this recipe is a genius! The pretzels were such a good stand-in for the pecans. My husband said this is probably his new favorite pie. Fantastic stuff!

I changed it to use regular pie crusts instead of a deep dish one this year simply because I accidentally bought a regular pie crust instead of deep dish. For me, this turned out to be a serendipitous accident. I had thought the year before that I might decrease the amount of pretzels I used for the topping because I felt that it was just a bit too much for us...too pretzel heavy and hard to cut into. However, when I made it into two pies, I just divided the pretzel topping between the two of them and I felt like it worked out perfectly for my tastes. We all loved it and got our pecan pie fix--without the pecans (and thus, without any allergic reactions)! That is a win in my book.

 

 

 

 

Above: This is one fantastic pie!

Keep in Mind for Thanksgiving

It's hard to think about Thanksgiving when spring is only a week away, but keep these cranberry sauce recipes in mind for your next Thanksgiving dinner. It's only 8 months away! Here are two great cranberry sauce recipes to keep on hand for the future.

Apple and Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Crystallized Ginger

Ingredients:

4 medium Gala apples, peeled, cored, quartered, and sliced
1 (12 oz) package fresh cranberries
5 tbsp. brown sugar (or more to taste)
1 tsp. grated orange zest
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Directions:

Place all of the apple pieces and cranberries in a large bowl and stir in brown sugar and orange zest.

Pour orange juice into the bottom of a large slow cooker and add the apple mixture.

Cover and turn on the slow cooker. Cook on low heat setting for about 8 hours, stirring occasionally, and breaking up the apple slices and cranberries with a wooden spoon as they soften.

Stir in crystallized ginger. Taste and add an additional brown sugar, if you find the sauce to be too tart.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Source: Cookin Canuck. You can find it here.

Notes: Tasty stuff...and it always adds a nice touch to have homemade cranberry sauce instead of canned.

Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. cinanmon
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup water
Ground ginger, to taste, optional
Fresh cranberries (12 oz)

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except the cranberries in a slow cooker. Stir well.

Add cranberries and stir to evenly coat.

Heat in the slow cooker on high heat setting for 3 hours, stirring the cranberries every hour.

After three hours on high, mash the cranberries. Continue to heat on high with the lid off for another 45 minutes.

Let cool and transfer to serving dish.

Recipe Notes: You can make this the day before Thanksgiving. It also makes the house smell amazing.

Easiest Green Bean Casserole Ever

As has already been established, I am very, very behind on my posts. This is usually a Thanksgiving staple rather than something you crave in the spring, so file this one away for Thanksgiving 2015. It is an incredibly easy side dish to throw together...which is really nice because Thanksgiving dinner is so time consuming and labor intensive to make. This recipe is an easy way to fit in another side dish without taking up a ton of extra time.

Green Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cans (14.5 oz each) French-style green beans, drained
1 can (10 3/4 oz) condensed cream of mushroom soup (see notes)
1/4 cup milk (see notes)
1 can (2.8 oz) French-fried onions (see notes)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In 1 1/2 quart casserole or glass baking dish, mix green beans, soup and milk.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes, topping with onions during last 5 minutes of baking, until bubbly.

Recipe notes: You can substitute cream of chicken or cream of celery soup if you like. You can also get this dish ready the day before. Store covered in your fridge until ready to bake. Add a few extra minutes of bake time because it will be cold when it goes in the oven.

Source: Betty Crocker website. You can find it here. An almost identical recipe can be found on the Pillsbury website (they are sister websites owned by the same parent company--in fact, the picture is the same one on both sites). You can find that one here.

Notes: The ingredient amounts/sizes are slightly different between the Betty Crocker and Pillsbury websites. The recipe listed above is from Betty Crocker. I actually followed the Betty Crocker recipe in regard to the cream of mushroom soup/milk, but the Pillsbury recipe for the French-fried onions. Let me explain. The changes on the Pillsbury website are to use an 18 ounce can of Progresso creamy mushroom soup that is not condensed (instead of the condensed soup), and as a result, the milk is eliminated in that recipe. The Pillsbury recipe also uses a 6 oz can of French-fried onions instead of a 2.8 oz can and calls for mixing half of the can into the green bean mixture and topping the remaining half of the can on top of the green beans.

So, this recipe is flexible. It is up to you! Use condensed soup...or not! Also, add your own desired amount of French-fried onions.

Personally, I think I will follow the Betty Crocker recipe exclusively in the future. I loved the onions on the top, but I found the onions that were mixed into the green bean mixture to be a little overpowering and distracting. It was just a little too oniony for my tastes. Plus, the onions that were mixed in ones got a little soggy and I prefer them crunchy. However, even still, this is really good and really easy...and easy to customize to your own tastes!

Goodbye to Fall

It's always hard to say goodbye to fall and to see the winter set in. Below are two great recipes featuring fall flavors.

Pumpkin Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted

Filling:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (5 ounces) evaporated milk
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Topping:
2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Additional ground cinnamon, optional

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 1/2 inches up the sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 5-7 minutes or until set. Cool for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, milk, cornstarch, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Pour into crust.

Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 55-60 minutes or until center is almost set.

In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla; spread over filling. Bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Chill overnight.

Remove sides of pan. Let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before slicing. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon, if desired.

Yield: 12-14 servings.

Source: Taste of Home recipe originally published October/November 2001. You can find it here.

Notes: I baked my cheesecake a few minutes longer than stated in the recipe due to my altitude. Also due to my altitude, my cheesecake fell slightly in the middle. However, it was smooth and creamy and it tasted fantastic. One warning though, this dessert is really rich! A little goes a long way.

Autumn Brew (Wassail)

Ingredients:

1 gallon apple juice
1 cup orange juice
2 cinnamon sticks
5 whole cloves
4 to 5 orange slices, without seeds

Directions:

Pour apple and orange juices into 4 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker. Place cinnamon sticks, cloves, and orange slices into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat 3-4 hours. Turn on low heat to keep warm. Remove cinnamon sticks, orange slices, and cloves before serving.

Makes 16 servings.

Source: This is from a cookbook called 101 More Things to do with a Slow Cooker by Stephanie Ashcraft. You can find more information on that cookbook here.

Notes: This was so easy. My only warning is that it was literally boiling hot even after I turned it onto low heat. Perhaps my slow cooker is hotter than some. If your slow cooker is anything like mine, I would suggest unplugging it about 15-20 minutes prior to serving. It will still be plenty warm, it just won't burn anyone's tongue that way.

When I made this, it was an uncharacteristically warm day, so I had some leftovers. I refrigerated them and rather than heating up the leftovers, I just drank it cold. It was fantastic that way too! This drink has such a subtle, yet defined flavor. Good stuff!