Turkey Pot Pie {and Crust}

Filling

1 cup Margarine or Butter
1 cup all purpose Flour
1 cup chopped Onion (1 large onion)

1.5 tsp Salt
3/4 tsp Pepper
4 cups Broth
2 cup Milk
4-6 cups cut up cooked Turkey/Chicken (2-3 pounds)
1 package frozen Carrots
1 pkg/can Peas

1 pkg/can Corn

Melt butter over low heat, stir in Flour, Onion, Salt and Pepper; mixing while bringing it to a simmer. Add Broth and Milk stirring constantly. Boil 1 minute (keep stirring). Add Meat and Vegetables.

Makes enough for 3 pies.

Pie Crust

2-1/4 cups Flour

3/4 tsp Salt

2/3 cups Shortening

8-10 Tbsp Water

Mix Flour and Salt. Cut in Shortening with a pastry blender until pieces are pea-sized. Keep using the pastry blender to mix while adding 3-4 tablespoons of Water at a time.

Makes enough for 1 Pie (2 crusts, or 1-top 1-bottom)

Baking

Place 1 Pie Crust into Pie Pan (round cake pans work just fine:)), fill with filling, and top with the second Pie Crust (make sure you cut holes in the top to vent the pie, it'll save you a mess).

Cover edges with Aluminum Foil.

Bake at 425 for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake another 5-10 until crust is lightly tanned.

Braided Bread

BRAIDED BREAD - Dana Made It
Makes 2 loaves

1/4 cup warm water
2 ½ tsp yeast (or one yeast packet)
1 Tbl sugar
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbl butter

2 ½ cups flour
1 egg
1 ¾-2 cups more flour


In a drinking glass or bowl, stir together the warm water, yeast and sugar. Set it aside for about 10 min to rise.

In your mixer, combine the hot water, salt, sugar and butter and mix. Once the yeast has risen, add 2 ½ cups flour, 1 egg and the yeast. Mix all together (using your mixing paddle arm.)

Add 1 ¾ cups more flour and mix until a ball forms. If the dough is still too soft, add more flour until the dough feels like squishy play-dough. Take the paddle arm off your mixer and put the hook arm on. Turn mixer on to the number “2” setting (if you have a Kitchen Aid Mixer) and let machine knead the dough for 7 minutes. OR knead the dough by hand for 5-6 minutes on a hard surface.

pray a large clean bowl with cooking spray. Put the dough in the bowl and cover with a cloth to keep from drying out. Place the bowl in a warm place (like the oven with just the light turned on). A good trick my mom taught me is to turn on your oven for just 10 seconds to let it warm up. Then turn it off and put your dough in there to rise. Don't let the oven heat for too long though, or it will bake your dough (rather than rising it). Just a few seconds is all you need to get it warm in there.

Let the dough rise for a couple hours.

Punch the dough down and let it rest for 10 minutes. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Using a knife, divide the dough in half. Starting with the first ball of dough, divide it into three pieces. Roll each piece into a rope about 14 inches long.

Pinch the 3 ropes together at the top, braid the ropes, and pinch the ropes together at the end:

Squish the braid together slightly and place the braid onto the prepared cookie sheet, sideways. Repeat with the other ball of dough and place on the same sheet.
Cover cookie sheet with a cloth and let rise for about an hour.
Using a fork, whisk together one egg and 1 T. water until well combined (also known as an Egg Wash). Dip a crumpled paper towel into the mixture or use a paint brush and paint the egg wash over the tops and sides of the braids. Be careful as you brush that you don't press too hard or you may deflate the loaves.Heat the oven to 350º (remove the rising braids before heating the oven!).

Bake for 14-18 minutes or just till they start turning golden brown. Let the bread sit for 5-10 minutes before cutting. Serve with butter and fresh jam. Enjoy!


For CINNAMON BREAD
(This is for 1 loaf of bread)

When I make Braided Bread, it’s fun to turn one of the loaves into Cinnamon Bread. It's okay to have dessert for dinner, right?

For the Cinnamon Loaf, divide the dough into 3rds (just like you did above) and roll each rope out kinda long and flat (and not too wide) with a rolling pin. Spread each flat rope with Cinnamon filling (recipe below) then pinch the whole thing together so it makes a long rope, with all the cinnamon sugar hidden inside. Try to keep all the cinnamon sugar inside so it doesn’t spill out while cooking. Some of it still will, but do your best. Lastly, braid the 3 ropes together. Place it on the same baking sheet with your other loaf.

CINNAMON Filling:

1 T. butter melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
(melt the butter in the microwave then add sugar and cinnamon and mix togethe

Funnel Cake- Alton Brown

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 3/4 stick butter (6 tablespoons)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup eggs, about 4 large eggs and 2 whites
• Vegetable oil, for frying
• Powdered sugar, for topping

Directions

Boil water, butter, sugar, and salt together in a saucepan. Add flour and work it in until it is all incorporated and dough forms a ball. Transfer mixture to the bowl of a standing mixer and let cool for 3 to 4 minutes. With mixer lowest speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, making sure the first egg is completely incorporated before continuing. Once all eggs have been added and mixture is smooth, put dough in a piping bag fitted with a number 12 tip. Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil in a heavy pan. Pipe dough into oil, making a free-form lattice pattern; cook until browned, flipping once. Remove cake from oil, drain on paper towels, and top with powdered sugar. Continue until all of the batter is used.

Petite Cherry Cheesecake -Kathy Drasso

1 lb.  Cream Cheese
3/4 c. Sugar
  2      Eggs
1 Tbs Lemon Juice
1 tsp   Vanilla

Mix until light & fluffy.

Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
Place Vanilla Wafers in the bottom of each (appx. 24).
Fill 2/3 of the way up with cream cheese mixture.
Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes (7 minutes for minis).
Top with pie filling (cherry).
Refrigerate.
Serve cold.

Untraditional Tom Kha Gai- masalalover.wordpress.com

Tom Kha Gai (Coconut Ginger Soup)

1/2 – 1 lb chicken breasts, sliced thinly
1 onion, sliced (optional)
1 handful mushrooms of choice (optional)

2 c. chicken broth
1 14-oz. can coconut milk (Thai Kitchen is my favorite)

Peanut oil
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch ginger, sliced
4 inches lemongrass, peeled and sliced
Thai red curry paste to taste or a few Thai bird’s-eye chilies(optional)

Fish sauce to taste
Lime juice to taste
2-4 kaffir lime leaves, torn, to garnish

1. Slice chicken, onion, and mushrooms. Set aside.

2. Slice ginger and garlic. Peel the hard outer leaves of lemongrass off and discard. Cut lemongrass into two inch pieces and halve pieces lengthwise. Crush a little bit with a knife handle.

3. In a saucepan, heat a little peanut oil. Add ginger, garlic, and lemongrass and saute until fragrant. Add curry paste (if using) and saute until it’s mixed in. The curry paste will probably stick, so stir quickly and don’t cook it too long.

4. Remove pan from heat and slowly add chicken broth. Return to heat, add coconut milk, and bring to a simmer.

5. Add fish sauce to taste and juice of about half a lime.

6. Add chicken, mushrooms, and onion and simmer until cooked through. Check flavor and add more lime juice and fish sauce if desired.

7. Add kaffir lime leaves and simmer a few more minutes before removing from heat.

Notes: The lime leaves, ginger, garlic, and lemongrass should not be eaten.

For a more traditional tom kha gai, substitute galangal for ginger and leave out the lime juice. If you don’t have kaffir lime leaves, you can substitute lime zest or bay leaves (both of which taste quite different) or simply leave them out. For fresh lemongrass, you can use dried (2 tbl in 1/4 c. hot water, filter out the leaves) or about a teaspoon of lemongrass paste (available at most U.S. chain grocery stores; try not to think about the preservatives. I have seen galangal at Whole Foods on occasion, and I have sometimes seen small pieces of lemongrass sold for exorbitant prices at chain grocery stores, although I don’t know what the quality is like. Kaffir lime leaves either have to be mail-ordered or bought at an Asian market. Supposedly they freeze well, but I find the frozen ones to be far less fragrant.

Tartar Sauce- Missy

So so easy

1/4 c Mayonaise
1 tsp Green Onions -sliced
1 tsp Sweet Relish

mix, then add

1 tsp Lemon Juice

Corned Beef and Cabbage - allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 3 pounds corned beef brisket with spice packet
• 10 small red potatoes
• 5 carrots, peeled and julienned
• 1 large head cabbage, cut into small wedges

Directions

1. Place corned beef in large pot or Dutch oven and cover with water. Add the spice packet that came with the corned beef. Cover pot and bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 50 minutes per pound or until tender.
2. Add whole potatoes and carrots, and cook until the vegetables are almost tender. Add cabbage and cook for 15 more minutes. Remove meat and let rest 15 minutes.
3. Place vegetables in a bowl and cover. Add as much broth (cooking liquid reserved in the Dutch oven or large pot) as you want. Slice meat across the grain.