Did you say Pumpkin Pie

Thanksgiving has come and gone and I cooked. This blog is coming a bit late but I wanted to share. We do Thanksgiving in my home as a time to Give thanks to all that we have in the very moment we are living. Last year we were Thankful that we could cook dinner in a crock pot, and share it with Motel staff.
This year has been an abundant year in our house and for my family. We were going to visit Family this Thank giving and I was very Thankful for that. However, like many things in our ever changing and busy lives those plans were cancelled. I woke up 5AM Thanksgiving morning and began the marvelous feat that is cooking a huge feast. To make it short I cooked at 15lb Turkey, Dressing, Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, Cherry Cream Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Mac n Cheese, Butter Beans, Corn, canned Crane Berry sauce and Rolls.
I set the table with our regular dishes (I don't have "Good China" yet ) and the heirloom flatware my mother gave me one year for Christmas. I used a Table cloth my son had picked out the day before and served real Sweet tea to drink.
We invited a few friends over for dinner and one of them arrived right on time with all of the fixing for a great garden salad. He marveled at my domestic masterpiece and filled himself to the point he couldn't move. I found that a bit of a compliment.
At about half-time during the Dallas football game, everyone wanted desert. I had made a Cherry Cream pie, and a Pumpkin Pie and our Guest brought along some wonderful Chocolate chip cookies.
The highlight of the evening however was the pumpkin pie. Never mind that I had taken the time to prepare it with the pumpkin that I had processed myself. It was great. I am no gourmet, however, I usually get a recipe and change it up to meet my needs.
I used the Libby's Pumpkin Pie Recipe. However, this recipe calls for a frozen pie crust. I never frozen pie crusts. I simply made mine using a recipe I developed all my own.

Pie Crust
2 cups All Purpose Flour (unbleached is better than bleached)
1 tsp of Salt
1/2 cup Vegetable Shorting
1/4 cup Unsalted Butter
2 tbs Ice Water

Sift Flour and salt together in a large bowl. Cut in Shortening and Butter. Add water to the mixture to help incorporate the flour, Shortening, and Butter. When well mixed roll into a ball and Freeze until firm.

Rolling.
On a floured surface, sprinkle 1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon. Roll pie crust dough over "Cinnamon Flour" surface until its larger than the pie plate. (Should be about 12 inches in diameter) Put dough in Pie Plate.

Cooking
Using a fork poke air holes in the bottom of the dough. Bake at 350 degrees F, until golden brown.

The cinnamon and butter give the crust a great flavor that compliments the pie filling. This crust is also excellent to use with Apple pies.


I also made some other Changes to the Pumpkin Pie Recipe

The Recipe calls for 1 can of Pumpkin, I used 2 cups of Fresh Pumpkin.
I always use ground my own Cloves, instead of using ground Cloves. In the past I have also ground my cinnamon.

That's really all for now. I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving no matter what you served and who you share it all with.

Casserole Dish: A Domestic Engineer's Canvas

IF you are Domestic Engineer like me (middle class American) you are feeling the hit of our countries financial crisis. The days of eating out, making expensive boxed meals, and making elaborate dinners are over for now. I have been reigning in our food budget. Every left over in the house is game for lunches, and dinners the next day. I have been making casseroles just like my Grandmother and mother did when things got tight. Casseroles are quick and easy and truly inexpensive.
In my mind the Casserole dish is a blank canvas awaiting the artists touch. My fellow domestic engineers its now time to learn the art of making casseroles. Its time to realize your family is just as worthy of your Casserole creations as your Church. For those of you wondering just how does one make a casserole this is the first installment in casserole making. There are no hard set recipes, more or less some rules that need to be followed in order for it be a casserole.
Last night was casserole night. This casserole was made using a condensed soup, finely chopped veggies, rice and meat.

Below is the recipe for the Casserole I served my family last night.

1 cup of cooked chicken,
1 cup of uncooked rice,
1 can of Cream of Mushroom soup,
1 cup of finely chopped broccoli,
1 clove of finely minced garlic
2 stalks of chopped celery
1/2 medium onion.
1/2 cup cheese (Can be any Mozzarella, Cheddar, Swiss)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
Cook the rice according to the directions. Meanwhile chop all veggies. Ten minutes before rice is done, put all veggies in the rice pot and replace the lid. When the rice is finished cooking put the contents of the pot into the casserole dish. Mix in the Chicken and Condensed soup. Top the entire dish with Cheeses and bake at 350 degrees until bubbly.

In the case of this recipe nearly everything can be substituted or are staples that a domestic engineer has on hand already. I always keep Frozen vegetables on hand like Broccoli, Peas, Carrots. It just happens at this time of the week I only have Broccoli. Celery and Onions are always in my kitchen. These are musts for cooking and seasoning food without much salt. Parm and other cheese are always in my kitchen. The chicken, was left over from dinner the night before. Rice is also a major staple in my house. Now for the basic Rules to take with you.

Rule #1: You must have a casserole dish
Rule #2: A well stocked Kitchen is at the corner stone of casserole making.

Good luck this week.

Save Money: Find a Fruit Tree

A week or so ago I noticed that my neighbor had a rather loaded cherry tree. The fruit wasn't ripe just yet but I have kept my eye on it since then. This morning while I was running I noticed the fruit was wonderfully ripe. I made it a personal mission to ask my neighbor if I might have a few pounds of cherries for my family. I was even willing to pay a small price ( a $1/pound).
On the way to story time who should I see out side but my neighbor. He was outside picking cherries so I had to stop and ask him if I could have some. His deal, take as many as you want. As soon as I returned from story time my son and I headed down to the neighbors house and we picked half a basket of wonderful and delicious cherries...FOR FREE.
In this economy a Domestic Engineer needs to save as much money as possible. Now we can cut cost on toilet paper and cutting back on the junk food. However , it comes to the over all nutritional needs of our families we shouldn't skimp. We should seek out those long forgotten fruit trees hanging out in the neighbors yard. It may be the fruit tree you want is on a vacant property in that case its best to find out who the owner is and ask them if you can pick. Don't go about picking fruit that doesn't belong to you though. After you have established that you can pick fruit from someone else's tree find out what the limits are. Some people probably wouldn't mind if you are return several times, some might only allow you to pick a few basket worth. The main thing here is to have some class and grace about yourself and go by the limits.
Ask what the boundaries are. Some of these trees are old and probably haven't been pruned in years. It would be best to avoid climbing the trees for your own safety. If you have a step stool or ladder that might be best. Make sure though before using a ladder that its o'kay with the tree owner.
Finally once picking is underway be careful not to cause damage to the tree you are packing from. I was picking cherries this morning and over bent a tree limb. I plan on telling my neighbor what happened. I doubt the damage is permanent though. I do know that next time I will avoid pulling branches down for so long.
I have saved about $14 by asking my neighbor to pick from his trees. I have also found two apple trees in a ladies yard. I plan on asking her if I can pick a few apples from her trees as well. I plan on seeking out other neglected fruit trees and grape vines for the remainder of the summer.