Easy Peasy HOMEMADE Chocolate Cream Pie

Mindy here, and you might be wondering why the emphasis on homemade in the title of this post. It's because many easy cream pies involve a box of pudding mix. This one is still easy, yet it's totally from scratch. Well, unless you're like me and use premade crusts, but since I'm talking about the filling, that doesn't count.

Yes, today we're talking pie because last week was my husband's birthday and he always asks for a coconut cream pie (recipe here) instead of a cake.

However, not everyone in our family likes coconut, so rather than making cupcakes as I usually do, this year I decided I'd simply make a second pie. A chocolate one.

Not only is it my girls' favorite, it's one of their grandmother's signature recipes. Whenever she asked them what they wanted for a dessert, chocolate pie was their response.

Actually, I've shared this recipe before as part of my post on coconut cream pie, because the basic recipe can go several different ways, depending on what you add to it.

Bottom line, though, it's so easy, it can be made in the microwave.

So here's what you're going to need:

Pie:

• 1 - 9 inch baked pie shell
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 4 level tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 cups milk (any variety will do, but I prefer whole milk in this)
• 4 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1-2 oz unsweetened baking chocolate, melted
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 6 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large microwave safe bowl (I use an 8-cup measuring cup), mix together  the sugar, flour and salt.

Now add a little bit of your milk to this to make a thick paste.

Mix in your egg yolks.

Then the chocolate.

You can add more or less, depending on how chocolatey you like it.

And, finally, the milk and mix well.

Cook in microwave on high at 2 minute intervals, whisking between each interval.

The mixture will be the same basic consistency after the first 4 minutes, but during those last 2 minutes, it really thickens.

Generally, it only takes 3 - 2-minute sessions (for a total of 6 minutes), but, occasionally, another minute is in order.

While the filling is cooking, start on your meringue.

Beat your egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy, then add your sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time.

Yes, you will have to pause to whisk your chocolate mixture, but that's okay.

Continue beating egg whites until stiff peaks form.

Then beat in your vanilla.

Now back to the filling, which may be done before or after your meringue, depending on how fast your mixer whisks those egg whites.

Whatever the case, once your chocolate mixture has finished cooking, stir in the vanilla.

And pour mixture into baked and cooled pie shell.

Spoon meringue onto hot pie filling, spreading to seal meringue to edge of crust.

Bake for 10 minutes, or until top is golden.

Cool completely before serving.

Yep, the cooling is what takes the longest, so be sure to plan ahead, giving it a good 2 hours to cool.

Homemade goodness, without all that time standing at the stove, stirring and stirring.

The kids were happy, hubby was happy, I was doubly happy, since I sampled both.

 So how 'bout that super game on Sunday? I didn't really care who won, however it turned out to be one of the best football games I've ever seen. Loved that my boy, Luke Bryan, sang the National Anthem beautifully and though I'm not really a Lady Gaga fan, she put on one of the best halftime shows they've had in a long time. Throw in some good friends and party food and it was a great day.

So, Houston, we have NO problem. You put on a heck of a show.

Now it's your turn.

Did you watch the Super Bowl? Were you cheering for any one team, or just in it for the commercials and all that food? What was your favorite part?

Mindy Obenhaus lives in Texas with her husband and kids. She's passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and spending time with her grandchildren. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com.

Retro Recipes and Wedding Food

Jan here, with a trip down wedding memory lane.

Back in 1950, when my parents were married, no one in their families thought about hiring someone to provide food for the wedding reception. The extended family, or the church, or the neighbors, or anyone who was handy, pitched in. The menu would be simple: ham sandwiches on potato rolls, jello salads, a relish plate (carrot and celery sticks, some pickles, etc.), and a tasty cake made as a wedding gift by an aunt or cousin.

Then twenty-five years later, when my brother and sister-in-law were married, I was one of the many relatives making the sandwiches and putting together a fruit salad.

I broke the tradition. My husband and I actually had our reception tea catered (of course, we hired the company my husband was working for at the time!)

Fast forward to the next generation!

The current trend, at least in our family, is to have a reception menu that reflects the bride's and groom's favorites. You can read about our June 2016 wedding here.

But we have another wedding coming up.

IN FIVE DAYS!!!!!

This reception is going to be similar to our June wedding in that the menu boasts some favorite foods, but with a totally different flair!

Again, it's in the afternoon, so no meal. Instead we'll have nachos, chips, punch and hot cider. And for the wedding cake? Jacob's favorite: cheesecake.

Since the wedding isn't until Saturday, I'll have to share the nachos recipe with you another time. But don't despair! I do have a fun recipe for you!

Katie brought this to her first Christmas Eve Tea with our family last year, and Carrie made it for a Super Bowl Party, so I'm sharing it here. Kids who grew up in the '90's love this stuff!

Dunkin' Dip

Back when my children were in the in-between stage...you know the one...it's when they're old enough to be hungry ALL. THE. TIME., and yet young enough to enjoy fun food...they loved getting Dunkaroos at the grocery store for a rare treat.

In case you need a refresher, here's a link to the product on Walmart's website: Dunkaroos

This recipe (or a few like it) have been circulating on Pinterest. Here's Carrie's version:

ingredients:
vanilla cake mix
8 oz. tub frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup plain greek yogurt
sprinkles

Cookies for dipping: Teddy Grahams, Graham Crackers, Vanilla Wafers, Animal Crackers...whatever you like best.

(Did I mention this recipe is super easy???)

Mix the cake mix, whipped topping, and yogurt in a bowl until blended. Stir in sprinkles (as many as you like).

Serve with your choice of dipping crackers or cookies.

Didn't I tell you that was easy?

Let's talk about wedding food - Tell us about a unique food you've seen at a wedding reception!

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com

Blackberry Lemon Cheesecake

Hello everybody! Mary Jane here and I confess: I love those facebook cooking videos. You know, those videos where you're looking at the food from a bird's eye perspective, or the cook's view? I LOVE THEM. I could watch them all day. everything looks so delicious!

 So I think I belong to more cooking groups than any other facebook group, and now I've passed my obsession with cooking on to my children. Behold... Meyer lemons just waiting for a delicious recipe.
Just a day after I bought a bag, I saw a recipe on facebook for blackberry lemon cheesecake. We knew we had to try it.

 The original recipe had a blackberry puree but we had blueberries, blackberries, and some strawberries left over from the summer.

Berry puree:
1 1/2 berries
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water

Mix in a pan over medium heat, bring to a boil and crush gently. I strained mine because one of my kids wasn't thrilled with the idea of lots of seeds in her cheesecake.

 For the crust, the original called for 12 graham cracker sheets, 1/4 cup sugar, and 5 TBS butter. We upped the butter to 6TBS because it always seems dry, and added a dash of cinnamon.

Cheesecake:

2 packages of cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1/4 tsp lemon juice

So, the verdict? It was good. I don't think cheesecake can be NOT good. But it wasn't my favorite recipe. Maybe because I was yearning more for a poundcake than a cheesecake. Maybe because the lemon wasn't that strong. If I made it again, I'd up the zest to 2 tsp, or even 1 TBS. For the amount of cheesecake, it didn't seem very lemon-y.

                                                        
One more shot of those delightful lemons!

Have a wonderful weekend and if you haven't picked up my newest Cane River Book, it can be found right here. And be sure to stop by my facebook author page at Mary Jane Hathaway for more news on book releases! Summer's Glory is coming SOON.
Until next time!

Cooking in a Pinch

Missy Tippens

It's been one of THOSE weeks...well, one of those months, actually. January is a blur now in my rearview mirror, and involved two trips to Kentucky. I had so much going on that I could barely feed anyone.

So today is going to be a mishmash of photos and ideas. Forgive me if I seem disjointed. It's how I feel right now! :)

First, look what I discovered on the side of my house that I don't see very often. Beautiful! And I never even noticed when this camellia bush first bloomed. Time to wake up and smell the roses...er, camellias. :)

I was thinking recently about foods that I can throw together quickly. One thing I can do in a pinch is thaw out a couple of chicken breasts, and while still a little frozen, chop into bite sized pieces for quicker cooking.

I sautéed this chicken in some butter and olive oil and seasoned it with a favorite spice mix. You can choose whatever flavors you like for the seasoning. Just make sure you at least have salt and pepper.

I also had a collection of vegetables that I needed to use so decided to roast them. It's always a great way to make veggies very flavorful.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the butternut squash, Just wash and cut in half (no peeling necessary). Bake about 45 minutes to an hour. Or cut in smaller wedges to decrease cooking time--which is what I did. Coat in oil and sprinkle with a dash of salt if desired. Bake about 30-40 minutes.

Once these are done, we like to add some butter and brown sugar for serving. YUM!

I also roast lots of other types of vegetables. This time I used carrots, yellow squash and zucchini. Drizzle on olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Toss to mix. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

What vegetables do you like to roast?

I hope you all have a great Super Bowl weekend! Go Falcons!!

Missy
www.missytippens.com

Roasted Pork and Potatoes

I had a little time last week and needed to bake something.... and I missed National Pie Day which meant I needed to stop all work on books and bake pie.

I LOVE PIE.

I do.

I will admit it.

I have learned I love Monkey Bread, too, but that was close to KITCHEN FAIL.... but we don't have to go into that now. Right??? RIGHT????

In my success-motivated world, I did a cherry pie to make my friend Christina happy. It made my daughter Beth happy, too, so that was a double win! CHERRY PIE RECIPE HERE!!!

But the cherry pie disappeared quickly and it needed a friend... So an Apple Pie joined the cherry pie for delicious goodness! Yay!!!

But that's not the point of this post.

Oh, Ruthy (you say....) Did this post have a point? 
Hmm.....

It started with one, but it may have taken a right or left turn along the way....

ROASTED PORK AND POTATOES

1 2-3 lb. boneless pork loin
Crushed Rosemary
Onion (fresh or dried)
Granulated garlic
Pepper

1 can Golden Mushroom soup
1 can beef broth

Sprinkle roast with a generous coating of crushed rosemary, garlic, onion and pepper. There will be plenty of salt with the broth and soup, so I didn't add extra to the meat. Roast the seasoned meat in a good-sized pan at 350° for about an hour...(I used my 12" chicken fryer. It's got a great lid, perfect for steaming/roasting the potatoes in the broth).

After an hour or so, mix soup and broth together... I added a sprinkling of the crushed rosemary and some garlic...

Pour into roasting pan, add large chunk potatoes (or small, salt potatoes) around roast... cover and roast for about another 1 1/2 hours....

I turned the temperature to 400 because I wanted the potatoes to caramelize a little... and they did!

This came out so well, it was absolutely delicious. And it was one pot!!! :) I love one pot meals, and one pot to wash. Bonus!!! Note the new tile floor below... molding went on over the weekend and I got the closet painted... Oh, wait. There's a cute BOY in this picture. A boy dressed for winter.

Hello, boy! :)

 And after building a snowman with Daddy, the boy returned to the house... where hot chocolate awaited him. In a snowman mug. With marshmallows.

And the boy discovered a love for cherry pie... a love he passed on to his baby sister... The Little Princess.

And the boy ate two pieces of pie... and the boy was happy.

:)

We've kissed January goodbye... the days are slowly getting longer. We are BIG FANS of longer days!!!!

And I'm planning far too many summertime jobs (an age-old problem) because I always think I can squirrel away time to get major things done... and usually end up completing the odd MINOR thing and feeling not quite as proud as I could!!! And this innocuous looking box was overlooked in the Great Computer Mouse Hunt, an endeavor that resulted in a new mouse...

And then finding of the old one by daughter Beth, who (as we've often said...) can think like a two-year-old!!!

And that's how we're ending it! It's been a fun, busy, productive week here on the farm... but quiet enough to get some delightfully serious writing done! And... food. Always, always, always... food!

Multi-published, award-winning author Ruth Logan Herne loves to write sweet stories that touch the heart... and the soul. With well over a million books sold, Ruthy loves to connect with readers. Stop by her website ruthloganherne.com and friend her on facebook as Ruth Logan Herne... And of course you can find her here at the cafe, in Seekerville, or hanging out on a Caribbean beach... Okay, she's never been to a Caribbean beach, but if she went there, you could find her there. Wearing more clothes than anyone else in the sand, no doubt!

Salmon Potato Cheddar Pie

I mentioned in a previous post that I haven't been feeling the soup love this winter.

But the weather has turned colder, so the yearning for comfort food kicked in.

I turned to one of my favorites.

Salmon Potato Cheddar Pie.

I really should call it Cheddar Salmon Cheddar Potato Cheddar Pie.

I'm guessing you figured out the key ingredient. :)

The recipe is one of my creations and it's really simple.

First I boiled potatoes and baked the salmon filets.  (The amount of each would vary according to your preferences. I definitely err on the side of potatoes.)

Sacrilege here - but I used deep dish pre-made pie crusts. This is easy, remember.  Those of you who are pie crust whizzes, feel free to whip up your own. I pre-bake the crust for about ten minutes, just long enough to make sure it won't be soggy.


Now comes the fun part.

A layer of shredded cheddar, a layer of potatoes.

I added in some sweet onion to this layer. It gives it a nice bite.

More cheddar.

I crumbled the salmon on top.

More cheese and potatoes.

I used the Kraft Triple Cheddar shredded cheese.

Place the crust on top. Then, you guessed it - sprinkle more cheese over the crust.  The first time I did this it was because I only had some broken pieces of crust left over and I was trying to fill it up. It was so delicious that it became an official step in the recipe.

Heat for about half an hour or until everything is heated through and the cheese is nice and melty. I took Fenway for a walk during this part and it was the exact right amount of time.

Enjoy!


My husband is not a fan of salmon so often if I'm making chicken pot pie for him, I'll whip up one of these and then I have lunches for a week.