Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Nancy's Fresh Strawberry Pie



1  Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
1/4 cup water
pinch of salt
1 tsp lemon juice

Slice fresh strawberries into a  baked pie crust.

Crush enough strawberries to make 3/4 to 1 cup.  Add 1 cup sugar and heat to boiling. Mix corn starch and 1/4 cup water and add to crushed strawberries.  Boil until it thickens about 1 minute.   Add 1 tsp lemon juice and some red food coloring if desired.
Cool.  Pour this over the top of the  whole, or sliced strawberries in pie shell.

Nancy's Lemon Meringue Pie

9" pie shell, cooled
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1 1/2 cup water
3 beaten egg yolks
3 Tbs butter
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbs lemon rind, if desired
2 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp lemon extract

In pot, combine 1 1/2 cup water, 1 cup sugar, and cornstarch. Cook slowly stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil for 1 min. Place egg yolk in a bowl. Stir part of hot mixture gradually into egg yolks, then put combination back into pot. Remove from heat. Stir until smooth. Blend in buter, lemon juice, and rind. Pour filling into shell. In a separate bowl, combine egg whites and cream of tartar. Beat till frothy. Slowly beat in 1/4 c. sugar. Beat until stiff and sugar dissolves. Beat in lemon extract, spoon onto pie. Bake at 400F degrees for 8-10 mins until lightly browned.

Nancy's Pie Crust

3 Cups flour
1 Cup shortening
1 tsp salt
1 egg
3 Tbl vinegar
4 Tbl water

Cut flour, shortening and salt until separated. IN separate bowl, mix water, egg, and vinegar. Mix into flour mixture.  Add 1-2 tsp water as needed to make it spread easier.  Makes 2 crusts or 1 top and 1 bottom.

PRE-BAKE: If a pre-baked crust is needed, bake at 400F for 10-12 mins or until lightly browned.

Homemade Bread Stuffing

3/4  cup minced onion
1 1/2 cups chopped celery (stalks and leaves)
1 cup butter
9 cups bread cubes (I cut a loaf of bread into cubes and let dry overnight)
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tsp crushed sage leaves
1 tsp thyme leaves
1/2 tsp pepper

In large skillet, cook and stir onion and celery in butter until onion is tender.  Stir in about 1/3 of the bread cubes.  Turn into deep bowl.  Add remaining ingredients and toss.  Stuff turkey just before roasting.  Or can bake dressing  in a 9 X 13 pan and bake separately from turkey.