Week 16 (Bonus #2): Fresh Strawberry Pie with Perfect Pie Crust

Recipe:  Perfect Pie Crust/Strawberry Pie

From: The Pioneer Woman Cooks (Ree Drummond)/Jansen Family Treasurers (Submitted by Shawna G.)

Category: Dessert

Rating:  Awesome combination and easy to make.  A little time-consuming, but totally worth it.

WW PointsPlus:  Well, the strawberries are 0!  Does that help?

Perfect Pie Crust

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups vegetable shortening

1 egg

5 tablespoons cold water

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Directions:

1. Combine the flour and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the shortening and cut in using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles pepples.
3. Lightly beat egg with a fork, then add it to the mixture.  Then add the water and vinegar.
4. Stir the mixture until just combined, the remove half the dough from the bowl and place in a large plastic bag (do not seal).  Slightly flatten with a rolling pin and then seal the bag.  Repeat this with the remaining dough.  Place both bags in the freezer.
5. When ready to use the dough (and I only needed one for this recipe), remove the dough and let it set out for 20 minutes before rolling out.
6. After it is rolled out, place in the pan, prick the bottom several times and then bake for 10-20 minutes or until golden brown.  (I made mine in a Pampered Chef Stone pie plate, and it took a good 20 minutes, but the recipe says 10.)
7. Remove from oven and cool.

Before baking the pie crust.

The sides were not pretty, but the bottom kind of was!

Strawberry Pie Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 tablespoons corn starch

2 1/2 tablespoons white corn syrup

3 tablespoons strawberry Jello (I used a packet of sugar-free jello)

4 cups fresh strawberries

Directions:

1. Cook the first four ingredients until clear.  
2. Add dry Jello.  
3. Let cool and add strawberries.

My notes:  Okay, so I cut up my strawberries, and put a layer of powdered sugar on the bottom of my crust before adding the strawberries.  (My mom said my grandma did this.)  And I just put the fresh strawberries into the pie crust, then put the syrup on top and kind of stirred it up.  Either way would be fine, I'm sure.

Of course, ice cream makes everything just a little better!

Week 16 (Bonus #1): Egg-in-the-Hole

Recipe: Egg-in-the-Hole

From: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl (Ree Drummond) 

Category: Breakfast

Rating: Quite good!  I made this for myself when I didn't want to eat cereal one morning.  One could greatly reduce the amount of butter to make it healthy.
WW PointsPlus:  4 for just the bread and egg; 6-9 additional points for the butter, depending on how much you use.

Ingredients:
Sliced Bread
Butter
Egg
Salt
Black Pepper


Directions:
Note:  Again, these are my abbreviated directions.  Hers are much more entertaining.

1. Use a biscuit cutter, and cut a hole out of the middle of the bread.
2. Heat 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a skillet over medium-low heat, the place the bread in the skillet to toast.
3. After 1 minute, crack the egg into the hole and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4. Add more butter, if desired.
5. Flip the bread the other side, allowing bread to toast and egg to finish cooking.
6. The bread circle can be toasted in the pan and enjoyed, too!

 Toasting/Cooking in the pan.

Breakfast yummyness on my plate.

Week 16: Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

Recipe: Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich

From: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl by Ree Drummond

Category:  Main Dishes

Rating: To Die For.  Literally!  (And it was just as good for lunch the next day.) 
WW PointsPlus:  Ummm ... lots, probably like a whole's day worth, as there's about a stick and half of butter used!  I'll try to get it entered and see what I come up with, but I'm sure it won't be good.

Ingredients:
1 large onion
Butter, lots of it
2 or 3 pounds cube steak (I used just under 2 pounds)
Seasoned Salt, preferably Lawry's
Lemon Pepper
Black Pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Tobasco
4 French or deli rolls, toasted (with more butter, of course)

Directions:
**Note:  these are my abbreviated directions, as she has step-by-step photo directions, which are entertaining and helpful, but I will try to condense.  Here's the link to the author's blog entry that features this sandwich.  I just notice that the directions are a bit different than the books, so maybe check them both out!

1. Slice onion and cook over medium-low heat in 2 tablespoons butter until onions are light brown, 5-7 minutes.  Remove onion from pan and set aside.
2. Slice cube steak into 1-inch strips, going against the grain and season with seasoned salt and peppers.
3. Add 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet the onions were cooked in.  Turn the heat to high.  Once the butter has browned, put in a layer of steak.  After about a minute, flip and cook for another minute.  Remove to plate.  Repeat until all the steak is cooked.  (Really it only takes about a minute on each side once the butter has browned for each batch.)
4. Once the steak is all cooked, return the onions and steak to the skillet.  Add some Worcestershire sauce, a few dashes of Tobasco sauce and 2 more tablespoons of butter.  Simmer over low heat until everything is heated.
5. Serve on top of toasted rolls.

We also added a little Monterrey Jack cheese on top, but that was totally unnecessary! 

 See the little sammies in the back ... 

that's for the kids who don't appreciate this project!

 Oh my!

Well, a little salad helped to balance out the meal! 

Enjoy!

Week 15: "The Best" Brownines

Recipe:  "The Best" Brownies

From:  "Cooking with Unsweetened Cocoa" a pamphlet by Hershey

Category:  Dessert

Rating: If there's any left tomorrow, that would be amazing! :-)  Really, they are that good.
WW PointsPlus:  Really?  Do you want to know?  Okay: 4 points; with 16 brownies per pan

Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsifted all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)  I put in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips.

Directions:

1. Stir together butter and sugar in mixing bowl.  
2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well with spoon.  
3. Stir in flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; beat until well blended.  
4. If desired, stir in nuts (or chocolate chips).  
5. Spoon into a greased 9-inch square pan. 
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until browning springs back when touched lightly in center.  Cool completely.  (Yeah, right!)

Still in the pan ... with a little knife mark.  Oops!

Little square of yumminess.

Week 14: Baked Potato Soup

Recipe: Baked Potato Soup

From:  Goosebery Patch's Soups

Category: Main Dish

Rating: A little bland, but with added toppings, it was pretty much like having a baked potato in a bowl, and there is nothing wrong with that!

WW PointsPlus:  9 for six servings, but I have no idea how much that is, maybe a cup.  And that is without topping it with anything, which would really not be so much fun.

Ingredients:

6 potatoes

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups milk

1 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)

Garnish:  cheese, onions, bacon, more sour cream ... (Obviously, optional!)

Directions:

1. Pierce potatoes with a fork; microwave on high for 10 minutes, turn and microwave until soft, about 10 minutes.  
2. Peel and cube; mash half the potatoes and set aside.
3. Whisk butter and flour together in a saucepan over low heat until smooth and thick; add milk, whisking until thickened.
4. Heat over medium heat for 5 to 10 more minutes. 
5. Add potatoes, both mashed and cubed; stir in sour cream.
6. Heat thoroughly without boiling.
7. Spoon into serving bowls; garnish with toppings.

The bland soup!

 The yummy soup!

Week 13 (Bonus): April Fool's Day Cupcakes

Recipe: April Fool's Day Cupcakes

From:  FamilyFun.com

Category:  Main Dish

Rating:  Pretty Good!  I would make them again, without coloring the mashed potatoes.  Miss P was icked out by the colored mashed potatoes.
WW PointsPlus:  5 per cupcake; makes 12 cupcakes (figured using what I used)


Meat Loaf Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (I used 20 oz. 97% fat-free ground turkey)
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup grated Monterey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Potato Frosting Ingredients:
3 cups masked potatoes (I only used about 2 1/2 cups)
Food coloring

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Line 12 muffin tin cups with foil bake cups.
2. In a large bowl, mix together all of the meat loaf ingredients until well combined.  Divide the mixture evenly among the lined cups (the liners should be about three quarters full).
3. Place the filled muffin tins on cookie sheets and bake the cupcakes for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Divide the mashed potatoes among three small bowls and stir a few drops of food coloring into each batch to create blue, yellow and pink pastel frostings.  Spread a generous dollop on each cupcake.

Ta-da!! I only did two colors of mashed potatoes.  Pretty, huh?

My Apologies ...

I know that I said that I would put WW PointsPlus with my recipes, but I haven't, and I'm sorry.  The truth is I was all set to get going again with WW, and then the headaches started, and then it was birthday time, and then ... the list goes on. However, after being at the doctor's office today (stupid sinus infection), I have come the realization that it is time to get back with the program.  So, I am going to give it my best shot this week.  I am pretty sure this week won't be perfect, but it will be a start.  Really, if I could just quit eating Red Vines, dark chocolate, naughty popcorn and sinful ice cream, I would probably be much better off.  That. is. not. going. to. happen.  Guess we're back to portion control and moving the rear end a little more.  I CAN do this.  I just need to remember WHY I need to this:  family health history and setting a good example for my kids.

Next time I will be back with a new (maybe even healthy) recipe.  Maybe not. :-)