Family Chow Hall

Fruit pies are one of those amazing, old-fashioned desserts that never fails to please. People of all backgrounds and histories like, no… LOVE pie.

My husband is quite sure that you can put anything in a pie and it would taste better. It’s not a challenge I’m going to take. If I made pie too often, it would lose it’s appeal.

Of all the fruit pies, blueberry is probably my favorite. Especially when served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. You can’t beat it.

If you need a recipe for the crust, go back one page for ingredients and complete instructions. For the filling, tapioca is my favorite thickener. It never leaves me with a runny pie. (Don’t try slicing into your pie when it’s still hot, though. Wait until it’s almost completely cool.)

Blueberry Pie Filling
makes one 10-inch pie

5 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 c. sugar
1/3 c. minute tapioca (look near the puddings in the grocery)
1 T. lemon juice to prevent browning
1/2 t. cinnamon

Simply combine all of these ingredients, stir it up gently, and dump into the pie shell. After finishing off the top crust, bake at 400 for 1 hour.

Pie Crust made from scratch is an endangered species. Really, who wants to go to all the trouble when you can easily grab one out of the freezer section next time you are at your local grocery?

Honestly, I do. It’s a matter of pride. Standards. Tradition. If you ask me, a pie is not truly homemade unless you make the crust, too. My sister just shared with me that she has been asked how she gets her crust (assuming it was frozen) to look so… uneven and homemade. Ha! She replied that it IS homemade.

Note: For extra-flaky crust, look for pastry flour. It is made from a type of wheat that has less gluten. (Conversely, when making bread, bread flour has a higher gluten content.)

Below is my recipe for homemade pie crust.

Single Crust / 8-9 inch
1/3 c. plus 1 T. shortening
1 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
2-3 T. water

Single Crust / 10 inch
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
3-4 T. water

Double Crust / 8-9 inch
2/3 c. plus 2 T. shortening
2 c. flour
1 t. salt
4-5 T. water

Double Crust / 10 inch
1 c. shortening
2 2/3 c. flour
1 t. salt
7-8 T. water

The directions are not that complicated: Using a pastry blender, combine the shortening, flour, and salt until you have a crumbly-looking flour. Sprinkle the water in, one Tablespoon at a time, while stirring with a fork or rubber scraper. The dough will still look dry and crumbly, but when you get your hands in there and squeeze it together, it will form a ball.

Make plenty of space, flour your clean countertop or large cutting board, and roll up your sleeves! Next form a ball of dough in your hands and flatten it slightly. Try keeping the edges together to prevent cracking. Now place it down on your cutting board and sprinkle more flour on top. Roll away! Keep the rolling pin moving in different directions, and keep your dough floured to prevent sticking. When it’s easily larger than your pie pan, gently fold in quarters and transfer. Now unfold and press carefully into the pan. Trim the edges.

Next you are ready for the filling. Follow the directions for whatever filling you are using.

If it’s a double crust pie, you will now make the top crust in the same manner as the bottom, with one exception — The top crust must have vent holes to allow the steam to escape. You can get fancy and use a knife to poke holes to make a picture, or just jab it a few times.

Lastly, crimp the edges using your thumb and forefinger on the outside of the pie and just one finger on the inside edge. My mother would then lightly moisten the top crust and sprinkle a little sugar on it. Bake, depending on your filling. Usually about 1 hour at 400 degrees. You may want to cover the crust with foil once it gets brown.

Saturday’s Chili Cook-Off was a surprising success, in spite of the cold, rainy weather we had that day. (Cold is great for chili, rain is not so great for outdoors events.) The entire family was soaked to the bone by the time we got home. We took five gallons of chili to the church and returned with about 2 or 3 gallons to stash in our freezer. Coming up… 101 ways to use leftover chili. :-D. The chili was liked, but it was my homemade pies and cookies that people came back for and I sold out of. Tomorrow I will post my recipe for blueberry pie and the following day you can view my Chipotle Chili recipe.

In reply to Do you have a Big Family, my friend Sophie asked, “How about the top 10 questions perfect strangers have no qualms asking you when you have a big family?” I’ll work on that one, Sophie.

Today’s post is simply the meals we will be eating for the next two weeks. Yesterday was grocery day and I always plan out the family’s meals prior to making my grocery list. If I’ve already posted the recipe, simply click on the link to go to it. If I haven’t, I will endeavor to in the upcoming days.

Meals for two weeks:

Deep Dish Pizza

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

BBQ Chicken Breast on the Grill

Tortellini

Tuna and Noodle Casserole

Grilled Hot Dogs with Toppings

Chicken Parmesan

Frito Pie

Pork Roast

Tater Tot Casserole

Monte Cristo au Grain

Chicken and Dumplings

Beef Schnitzel with Spaetzle

Chicken Pot Pie

Grilled Turkey Breast

Peanut Soup

Have a Great Day!