Peachy Keen....Peach Pie

This isn't my peach pie....obviously you can see the blueberries....but I just couldn't resist the picture! Too cute right!

Does anyone know how many pies I have made this summer? I am afraid the number does not fit on two hands! But it is such a joy to see Jeremy's face light up when there is a delicious pie sitting in front of him!

I wanted to try something different...so this Peach pie was just the one for me...I get to use my same amazing crust and have a different filling to enjoy!

Peach Pie


(Getting Ready to make pie...)

2 pie crusts (Strawberry pie recipe previously written)
Check out the recipe picture...

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Cut peaches. Mix with 2 T. lemon juice.
3. Mix dry ingredients.
4. Mix dry ingredients with peach mixture. Add to the pie crust.
5. Lattice top the second crust.
6. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees. Drop the temperature to 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. 7. Let cool.

This is a before lattice crust topping picture. Still beautiful though right!

Don't forget to serve with ice cream or whip topping! And as always....pies are best when they can be enjoyed with friends.

It has been great seeing our friends Kacie and Eldon again! Dinners with them, my parents and JJ are always quite fun. Kacie loves the pie crust as much as I do...so I made her two to take back to Reno with her....I don't believe there will be any pie fillings going into them...but they will be backed and eaten! Or just eaten raw....that is how I often do it, especially when I am in the preparation process. It's a good thing I manage to work out every day...and some days more than once to offset how much pie I eat!

Yummy Pizzas...Low Carb....Sort of...

Jeremy and I love eating pizza...once, twice, sometimes three times a week! Our new thing...take soft shell tortillas and make them into pizzas! We have used everything from pepperoni and cheese to buffalo chicken and ranch favorite, to our all time favorite: Barbeque, Bacon Chicken and Ranch pizzas!

Tortilla Pizzas-BBQ Bacon Chicken and Ranch

Makes 4 Pizzas

Prep 10 minutes

Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes

4 tortillas (low carb or regular)

Barbeque sauce

Ranch dressing

4 green onions, chopped

4 chicken tenders, grilled and chopped

4 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped

1 cup cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place tortillas on a cookie sheet.

3. Spread 1-2 Tbsp. Ranch dressing and 1-2 Tbsp. Barbeque sauce on each tortilla.

4. Sprinkle 1 chopped green onion over each pizza.

5. Toss each chopped chicken tender in ¼ c. barbeque sauce to cover. Then toss one chicken tender on top of each pizza.

6. Sprinkle 1 slice of bacon on each pizza.

7. Add ¼ c. cheese to each pizza.

8. Add dollops of barbeque sauce and ranch dressing on the top of the pizza for added flavor.

9. Bake at 400 degrees for 8 minutes. Let cool 2-3 minutes before serving.

Enjoy and let me know if you try out your own favorite! :)

New Project Idea-Homemade Jam!

This recipe for homemade blueberry-peach jam looks and sounds delicious! I can't wait to find the time to make it! Just have to make a trip to the store...and hopefully there will be more blueberries on sale!

Blueberry-Peach Jam
(From Kraftfoods.com)

prep time
30 min
total time
24 hr 50 min
makes
About 6 (1-cup) containers or 96 servings, 1 Tbsp. each

What You Need
4 cups fully ripe blueberries
2 fully ripe fresh peaches
1/4 cup Lemon juice
5 cups Sugar, measured into separate bowl
3/4 cup Water
1 pkg. (1.75 oz.) SURE.JELL Fruit Pectin

Make It

RINSE clean plastic containers and lids with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.

STEM and crush blueberries thoroughly; measure exactly 2 cups into large bowl. Peel, pit and finely chop peaches. Measure exactly 1 cup peaches into bowl with blueberries; mix well. Stir in lemon juice, then sugar. Let stand 10 min., stirring occasionally.

MIX water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Boil 1 min., stirring constantly. Add to fruit mixture; stir 3 min. or until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)

FILL all containers immediately to within 1/2 inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Jam is now ready to use. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or in freezer up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator before using.

For the Love of...Reading

Well, I can honestly say, and this will make my father very happy, that I have enjoyed reading his book, The Bastard....and no I am not a fan of the title!

I can't honestly remember how many years my father has been asking me to read the series The Kent Family Chronicles, and every time, I would say no I will read it later. But this summer, knowing I had three months off from school, I decided to tell him yes, I would give it a try. And surprise, surprise, it turned out to be better than I thought! I think I will take a short break from reading the next one (I believe there are seven total) in order to read something of my own...perhaps my FREE book from Book Sneeze that should be in the mail any day now!

It is amazing how you can get yourself lost in a book. If only I could be a professional reader all my life...wouldn't that be fun!

Oh and earlier today, I used my blueberry pie recipe to make some cute little blueberry mini pies. They turned out to be not only adorable but also very delicious! With a little ice cream and whip topping, a movie, and a scalp massage from my hubby, it was the perfect ending to a glorious Saturday.

God Bless.

Blueberry Pie...Oh My!

This weekend blueberries were on sale at the store, so I had to get some...plus Jeremy was with me, and of course, I opened my big mouth and said would you like me to make a blueberry pie?? Well you already know the answer. Funny thing....he wanted the whole pie to himself....and he didn't even get the first slice! This one is a good one...I did not have any lemons to use in the recipe I had on hand, so I quickly looked up blueberry pie recipes and found other recipes...however, I had already started to make the first recipe so I ended up creating my own blueberry pie...here is the recipe I kind of created:

Blueberry Pie

2 Pie crusts (again look at my strawberry pie)
4-5 cups of blueberries (I used 2 11 oz containers)
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup corn starch (I added a little extra)
Dash of salt
Lime juice
1 T. butter
extra sugar

1. Make pie crust.
2. In a bowl combine blueberries, sugar, corn starch, dash of salt, and spritz lime juice on top (close to 1/4 tsp). Stir together with and add to the pie crust. (This is not runny at all, and actually looks very dry)
3. Spritz more lime juice on top of the blueberry mixture.
4. Add the second crust as a lattice topping.
5. Melt the 1 T. butter and spread on top of the lattice crust. Then sprinkle sugar on top.
6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Drop the temp to 350 degrees and bake for another 40-45 minutes. Add tin foil for last 15-20 minutes to prevent overbrowning.
7. Let the pie sit for about an hour to congeal...serve with ice cream!

Pie is always best when enjoyed with friends. I hope you love this pie as much as I did! Enjoy and God Bless! :)

Stick in your thumb....Pull out a Plum...Plum Pie!

This pie had amazing reviews and with so many beautiful plums from Paul and Teri I couldn't pass it up!!

Purple Plum Pie

4 cups sliced fresh plums
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pastry shell (I used my pie crust recipe...homemade...just check out my strawberry pie recipe to find it!)
TOPPING:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 tablespoons cold butter or margarine

1. In a bowl, combine the first six ingredients; pour into the pastry shell.
2. For topping, combine sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a small bowl; cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over filling.
3. Bake at 375 degrees F for 50-60 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Cover edges of crust during the last 20 minutes to prevent overbrowning. Cool on a wire rack.

Just don't add extra cinnamon! I did that...and I can certainly taste it! But it turned out great....especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! I hope you enjoy it!

The recipe and reviews can be found at http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Purple-Plum-Pie/Detail.aspx?src=etaf. If you are interested in making it, take a look at the reviews because it has some great ideas for making it just a little bit different.

As always....enjoy....and God Bless!

Mmm...Blackberry Pie!

I love making pie...have I said that yet? If not....I will say it again...I love making pie!

So, I always make strawberry pie or raspberry pie, just because those are easiest, but this time, I made a blackberry pie using a blueberry pie recipe. Here it is for you to enjoy:

Blackberry Pie

2 Pie crusts (find my strawberry pie post....that is the best crust ever!)
2 pints blackberries (or blueberries)
2/3 c. plus 1 T sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon zest (don't have a zester? use a potato peeler and chop the lemon peel fine)
2 T. lemon juice
1 egg white lightly beaten
Vanilla ice cream

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place pie crust in pie plate.
2. In bowl, toss blackberries with 2/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon zest and juice. Stand for 5 mins.
3. With the second pie crust....cut the crust into strips to create a lattice.
4. Transfer blackberry mixture into pie plate...cover with lattice crust.
5. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 mins. Then drop the temperature for 350 mins for another 45 mins.
6. Serve slightly warm with ice cream....Ala Mode!



It was yummy! Even my brother who doesn't really care for fruity desserts enjoyed it. Jeremy thought it was a bit lemony....suggestion for next time would be to cut the 2 T of lemon juice down to 1 T or 1 1/2 T.

I hope you enjoy it! Say a little pray for those who you are making it for....and brighten your day...and theirs! God Bless! :)

Prayerful Encouragement

I received the best gift yesterday evening....prayer. My pastor asked if there was anything that he could pray for Jeremy and I about....just the usual is my common response...but he knew exactly what was on my heart and mind as many people do these days. He said to me "we are wearing out our knees in prayer for you". What a visual...wearing out our knees, physically getting down on the ground to pray to the only one who is in full control of our lives. What a blessing and an encouragement. So prayer...one of the simplest things that we can do anytime and anywhere but often we forget to...myself included. Here are a few verses that I hope to commit to memory when it comes to prayer...

Philippians 4:6-7 "Don't worry about anything, instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Romans 12:10-13 "Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When Gods people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality."

Romans 8: 26-28 "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that can not be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them."

Have a blessed day... :)

Prayerful Reflection

Philippians 1:6 states that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus". Mary, mother of Jesus knows this full well...Luke 1 tells the story of the Angel of the Lord speaking to Mary about the birth of Jesus Christ. In this powerful retelling of that glorious day, we see that Mary has apprehensions and concerns about what God is doing in her life. Many of us feel the same way as Mary did. We are unsure what God is doing and there are so many things we want to ask him and complain to him about in our lives. But Mary shows what God's children do when we are confronted with things we don't understand...Luke 1:39-"I am the Lord's servant. May everything you have said about me come true."

Mary trusted. She trusted. And she trusted. She did not lose sight of who God was no matter how crazy he made things seem. She trusted him. She looked to him. And she obeyed. How often do we obey? How often do we trust? I know that for me, it is not often enough. I want to run my own life, I want things to go my way. I want to be heard! But God sits back and carefully watches. He knows every little detail of my life. He is in control. I have to be like Mary. I have to trust. I have to believe. The angel continues...Luke 1:45 "You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said." Do you believe? Do I believe? The answer needs to be yes....but sometimes it is a resounding NO! Lord help me to believe. Help me to do your will and to answer your call in my life!

Join me as I reflect on these things occasionally. As I use my blog for prayer and questions, please feel free to respond and pipe in whenever you have something to say!

Luke 2:19 "but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often." Won't you join with me in the call to know Gods' will for your life? For my life?