Banana Cream Pie

Adapted from Allrecipes

I was away for Thanksgiving with my baby...so my husband missed out on some of his Thanksgiving favorites.  Top on his list was a homemade banana cream pie.  When I came back I cooked a mini-Thanksgiving for him with all of his must-haves.  This was the recipe I use for his favorite banana cream pie.

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 cups milk
• 3 egg yolks, beaten
• 2 Tbs butter
• 1 ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
• 4 bananas, sliced

Directions:

• In a saucepan, combine the sugar, flour and salt.  Add milk in gradually while stirring gently.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is bubbly.  Keep stirring and cook for about 2 more minutes, and then remove from the burner.
• Stir a small quantity of the hot mixture into the beaten egg yolks, and immediately add egg yolk mixture to the rest of the hot mixture.  Cook for 2 more minutes; remember to keep stirring.  Remove the mixture from the stove, and add butter and vanilla.  Stir until the whole thing has a smooth consistency.
• Slice bananas into the cooled baked pastry shell.  Top with pudding mixture.
• Chill for an hour.

Chicken Pot Pie

Adapted from A Taste of Richmond Cookbook, Eden Dixon

Sometimes you just can't go wrong when you serve the classics. This chicken pot pie recipe is delicious! I have yet to find a chicken pot pie recipe I like better. I make the pie crust from scratch, but you can also use store bought pie crusts. See pie crust recipe below.

Ingredients:

1 cup potato, diced

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup celery, diced

1 cup chopped carrot

1/3 cup melted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups chopped cooked chicken

2 pie crusts

Preheat oven to 400. Saute onion, celery, carrots and potatoes in butter for 10 minutes. Add flour to sauteed mixture. stirring well. Cook one minute stirring constantly. Combine broth and milk. Gradually stir into mixture. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Stir in salt and pepper. Add chicken and stir well. Pour into casserole dish and top with pie shells. Cut slits to allow steam to escape. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly and cooked through.

Basic Pie Crust:

Recipe from Eden Dixon

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose OR pastry flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup shortening

Ice water to make soft dough

Combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening to the size of peas. Gradually add ice water to form a soft dough. Divide into two disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes. Shape as desired.

Key Lime Pie

Adapted from Foodnetwork.com

Terrible lighting for the picture, I know. This is a simple and delicious recipe; definitely a crowd pleaser. This pie was gone in minutes. I only regret that it isn't topped off with lime zest. Can you believe the store was completely out of limes?

Ingredients:

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

1 cup key lime or regular lime juice (preferably key lime)

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

1 tablespoon lime zest

1 graham cracker crust

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine the condensed milk, lime juice, and eggs. Whisk until well blended and place the filling in cooled pie shell. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes and allow to chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. Once chilled, combine the sour cream and powdered sugar and spread over the top of the pie using a spatula. Sprinkle the lime zest as a garnish on top of the sour cream and serve chilled.

Nestle Tollhouse Pie

Adapted from Loaves and Fishes cookbook

I have to admit I wasn't too sure about this when it came out of the oven.  The cookie hadn't set quite like I expected it to.  I even told my husband that we would try it and if we didn't like it I still had time to make something else.  Luckily, it turned out to be delicious.  The pie/cookie was ooey-gooey, just how I like it and I'm a big fan of pie crust in general.  Definitely make sure you serve the pie a-la-mode with vanilla bean ice cream for a satisfying dessert!

Ingredients:

• 2 eggs
• ½ cup all-purpose  flour
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 1 cup (6 oz) of Nestle milk-chocolate chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• 1 9” unbaked pie shell
• Ice cream for garnish (optional)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy.  Add flour, sugar and brown sugar; beat until well blended.  Blend in melted butter.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.
• Pour into pie shell.  Bake for 50 minutes or until pie has set.
• Serve a-la-mode with ice cream, if desired.

Notes:  Feel free to add butterscotch or white chocolate chips to mix it up in the future.   Making sure butter is at room temperature is VERY important step or it will melt the chocolate and you’ll end up with a  mess.