Pioneer Woman at Heart

I put this re-stock job off until winter, as I did some other projects.  I have mostly used these to bake pies to take to potlucks or family get togethers.  I know you can bake pie shells and then freeze them, but I do not have the space for that.  It's easier for me to find space for pie crust crumbles, as they are mostly flat in the freezer bag. I followed a tip on the recipe site - freeze butter and use the food processor to dice it up, with just a bit of the flour mixture. I use a scale to weigh out the final mix. We are not able to eat an entire pie ourselves, but I like to have them on hand for when the kids are over for a meal or holiday meal as well.  They also come in handy if a family is in need of a meal. It uses less freezer space vs. an entirely made pie crust, and simple to make when I need it.  I triple the crust recipe, and bag up enough for 6 pie crusts.  I also freeze my unsalted butter in freezer bags, so it's already in house for this to...

I finally got strawberries at the last picking of the season (not mine).  I have yet to re-vamp our strawberry patch and sadly have about 4 June bearing plants currently (with plans to move them and add many more next year).    I started a double batch of strawberry vodka.  We like this.  Recipes are all over the internet if you are interested.  I have more strawberries to freeze today. I made a batch of freezer pie crust crumbles too.  It makes 6 pie crust crumbles.  I use the recipe on King Arthur Flour (available online). My tip to do this recipe:  I cut the butter and put it in the freezer first. I then measure out the flour etc. and add a bit of it to my food processor. I toss in the butter and pulse it until it looks like this. I then add it to the rest of the ingredients and measure it out using my scale, and freeze them.  All I have to do is thaw it a bit, and add ice cold water and r...

I made a trip to the library.  I picked up some much needed entertainment.  Who needs cable when you have the library for free? My nightstand got the next "extreme clean" done.  I do need to make a trip to the antique store soon.  I use large antique tea towels to cover our nightstands and need Christmas ones.  They are hard to find at a good price. I have collected some homemade Christmas gift ideas.  I just have to decide on which ones to make. Homemade hot cocoa is made.  Just in time for this cold weather. I also got 6 pie crust "crumbles" into the freezer.  Just in time for the up coming holidays.  It looks like cheese, but it's the butter that goes in it.  I use King Flour's recipe online.  Tip:  I chuck the butter, put it in the freezer, then pulse it with a bit of the flour in my food processor.  It makes the process much easier and faster.

(pie while cooling, top will drop down a bit) Sweet Potato Pie (organic ingredients)  Boil 1 lb of sweet potatoes (I use a kitchen scale to weigh the sweet potatoes) for 45-50 minutes or until cooked, then place sweet potatoes into an ice bath (safe bowl to add ice and water) to cool.  Peel and place in a bowl with: 1/2 cup softened butter.  Mix well - hand or electric mixer works well. Add: