Cranberry-Pecan Pie...More Than Just Dessert!

This pecan pie recipe is a little different, using fresh chopped cranberries in the mix. I found this in Woman's World Magazine and I think I am going to make this at Christmas. I have had pecan-chocolate pie before, but sometimes that can be too sweet...possible? Yes! The cranberries will lighten this up and provide a nice tartness to the already sweet enough pecan pie. The recipe calls for garnishing with whipped cream and sugared cranberries. I think I am going to stick a few mint leaves into the whipped cream swirls to make it really Christmas-y!

Cranberry-Pecan Pie

Half of 11-oz.pkg. pie crust mix Or use 1 roll of Pillsbury All-Ready Pie Crust

4 eggs

1 cup dark corn syrup

1 cup light brown sugar

6 Tbsp butter, melted

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups chopped pecans (6 oz.)

1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

1/2 cup pecan halves

Whipped cream and sugared cranberries

Place jellyroll pan on center oven rack; preheat to 350 degrees.

Coat 9-in. pie pan with PAM. Prepare pie crust according to package directions for 1 crust. On lightly floured surface, roll dough into 12-in. round; fit into pie pan. Trim and flute edge; refrigerate.

Whisk together eggs, corn syrup, butter and vanilla. Stir in chopped pecans and cranberries; pour into crust. Top with pecan halves.

Bake on jellyroll pan 1 hour or until almost set and center jiggles slightly.

Cool completely on rack. Garnish with whipped cream and sugared cranberries.

SUGARED CRANBERRIES: Mix 1 Tbsp. warm water with 1 tsp. dried egg whites, until frothy. Using fork, dip well-dried fresh cranberries, one at a time, into mixture; let excess drip off. Transfer to plate spread with sugar; roll until coated. With dry fork, transfer cranberries to another plate; let stand until dry.

How did this happen?...Or a way to get out of work!!

So...this is what happened. I was on my way to work and stepped off the last step into the garage from the house. My sandal caught the door mat just right...or wrong...and I twisted my foot...in the shoe. There was a blinding flash of pain. I hobbled into the house, grabbed an ice pack, showed it to the husband and off to work I went. Well, by the time I got there, I had a hard time putting my foot down on the ground and there was a big lump on the side of my foot. I think at this time I should tell you that I changed shoes before I left for work.

Fortunately my company has a nurse practitioner on duty during the day, so I made it right down to her office where she proclaimed a torn ligament. She wrapped it up and gave me a script for an air splint. We have a friend who works in prosthetics and he was able to get me fixed up with that. So all this happening before noon, I felt like my day was shot!

Now it just so happens that our daughter ( who lives 2 hours away) is moving to a new home and we had planned to go to her house on Saturday to help her pack. That is where the "way to get out of work" part comes in!

We had a few laughs over that for sure. But since we were going to be there all day, I did what I do best. I baked. I made from scratch brownies using a recipe from Ellie Krieger. They are more cake like...a bit healthier...but the grandkids were not fans. Nothing like the boxed brownies, I guess.

I also made a Nectarine-Blueberry pie and that was a winner. This recipe had a hint of lemon in it. Really nice recipe that came out of Country Living magazine. I cheated a little and used a Pillsbury Ready Made Pie Crust, but the result was really luscious with all the fruit. So that fairly warm, fresh pie and some vanilla ice cream was the showstopper for our family and friends that day!

I am on the mend and hopefully this will heal fast so I can get back to my exercise!

Nectarine-Blueberry Pie

3 1/2 lbs nectarines (halved, pitted and sliced into 1/2 inch thick slices)

3/4 cup blueberries

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp supgar for sprinkling

3 Tbsp quick cooking tapioca

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

1 egg

1 Tbsp milk (beated with the above egg for egg wash)

Heat oven to 450 degrees and adjust rack to lower-middle position.

Place the nectarines in a large bowl and toss with the blueberries, 1 cup sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and lemon zest. Set aside for 15 minutes, the drain.

Fit one piece of pie dough into a 9-inch pie plate, fill with the fruit and top with the second piece of pie dough. Seal and flute edges and brush top with some egg wash.

Slice a few decorative slits into the top crust abd bake 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 425 degrees and bake 25 minutes, then brush with more egg wash, sprinkle on 1 Tbsp sugar and continue to bake unto golden brown, about 5 more minutes.

Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Need a quick dessert? It doesn't get any easier than this! I found this on Group Recipes a few months ago and it is really simple to throw together at the last minute for company. The nice thing about it is that you can use any flavored coffee powder to change to your taste! I have also tried this using Carnation chocolate flavor malt powder and it is super good! If you wnat to shave a few calories, use Lite Cool Whip and sugar free instant pudding. This recipe can be put together in about 5 minutes and placed in the fridge for when you are ready to serve.



5 Minute White Chocolate Hazelnut Pie

RecipeBy pleclare

Ingredients
11/4c cold milk
2Tbs hazelnut flavor coffee powder
2 pkgs(4 serv size) white chocolate instant pudding
1 tub(8 oz) frozen whipped topping,thawed
1 chocolate pie crust.
Directions
In large bowl,whisk together milk and coffee powder. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk for 1 min.(Mixture will be thick). Whisk in half of whipped topping.
Spread in crust. Top with remaining whipped topping. Garnish as desired. Refrigerate till ready to serve.

Black and White Cream Pie...Lo-Fat Version

Yesterday I made a recipe I found in the September issue of Woman's World (while I was sitting in the salon). Since we always use skim milk, the 1% milk was the only ingredient I had to buy. Everything else was on hand...what luck! The bottom line is that the husband was happy, happy! He had 2 pieces for dessert! It is a nice cool dessert and so low in fat, so it doesn't make you feel like you have had something too decadant. This is a keeper recipe for us and I'll definitely make it again!

Black and White Cream Pie
1 -3/4 cups 1% low fat milk
1/3 cup lite hot fudge topping
1 pgk instant sugar free fat free chocolate pudding mix
1 pkg reduced fat grahm cracker pie crust
1 pkg instant sugar free fat free vanilla pudding mix
4- 1/2 cups (12 oz. container) thawed frozen lite whipped topping (Cool Whip)
Chocolate jimmies, optional

In bowl, whisk together 3/4 cup milk and hot fudge topping until blended; whisk in chocolate pudding mix until smooth. Spread evenly in crust. In another bowl, whisk together vanilla pudding mix and remaining 1 cups milk until smooth; let stand until slightly thickened, 5 minutes. Whisk in 1-1/2 cup Cool Whip until blended; spread over chocolate layer. Top with remaining 3 cups whipped topping. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight. If desired, sprinkle with chocolate jimmies.
Makes 12 servings.

Triple Layer Thin Mint Pie

Girl Scout cookies are being distributed so I pulled this recipe out and will give it a try this weekend. It was posted on the blog of Cookie Madness http://www.cookiemadness.net and I think it is time to give it a whirl. Thin Mints have always been my favorite...right out of the freezer! And I happen to like Edy's Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie ice cream...way too much...the "can't have it in the house" kind of like. So now that I have a few boxes of these in the house, as well as all the other ingredients, I am going to make it for dessert Saturday evening.
With the husband away this week, I have been on a diet...lots of fruits and veggies. It's the once a year purge my system of all the impurities and lose a few pounds before summer diet! So far I have lost 5 pounds since Sunday and have a ton of energy. And here I am posting a recipe for Thin Mint Pie. Our three kids and their families will be home this weekend, so I have to make something!!! I will take a taste so I know if it is good...but my mantra is...WALK AWAY! I can't ruin what I worked had to achieve!

Now speaking of the ice cream, how about this for a nice summer treat? Pre-made Chocolate Graham Cracker crust (because by now you have eaten all the thin mints you had in the freezer). Soften the Edy's Thin Mint Ice Cream. Spread in the crust and freeze. Serve with chocolate syrup and whipped cream. Garnish with a mint leaf. Easy and cool. No baking, no mixing bowl.

Triple Layer Thin Mint Pie
1 box Thin Mint cookies (32 cookies)
3 tablespoons melted butter
2 cups cold milk
2 packages (4-serving size each) Jell-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 tub (12 oz.) Cool Whip Whipped Topping, thawed, divided use
Remove 10 cookies and set aside.
Crush or process remaining cookies, then mix them with the butter. Press firmly onto bottom and up side of 9-inch pie plate.
Pour milk into large bowl. Add both boxes of pudding mix and beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick.)
Spoon out 1 1/4 cup of pudding into another bowl and stir in peppermint extract. Pour peppermint pudding mixture over crust. To remaining pudding mix, add in 1 cup of whipped topping. Spread the pudding/whipped topping layer of the mint layer.
Chop remaining cookies and combine them with about 2 ½ cups (doesn’t have to be precise) whipped topping. Spread this mixture over the top. The pie might look kind of messy at this point, so clean up the edges.
Chill for 4 hours or until set
To garnish, place remaining whipped topping in a plastic zipper bag. Snip off a corner of the bag (about ½ inch up from corner) and squeeze whipped topping around sides decoratively.
To make thin zig-zags, pour COLD chocolate syrup into a small zipper bag. Snip a very, very tiny cut off the bottom corner and drizzle away!
Makes 8 servings

NOTE: Bringing home your favorite Girl Scouts® Thin Mint Cookie Ice Cream is a delicious way to give something back to your family. It's Thin Mint Cookies in Chocolate Mint Ice Cream. Best of all, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this product goes to support Girl Scouting. AVAILABLE: (Jan-Apr)