Mama & Maddie's Apple Pie

I love to cook with Maddie and I'm sure someday when they are old enough I will share the same wonderful times with Matthew and Amy. Aside from teaching her some valuable cooking lessons we have some great Mama and Maddie bonding time. I hope she will always remember these special times we share.  This is the recipe for our favorite home made apple pie.

Pastry for Double Crust Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup shortening
6 - 7 tsp cold water (I use ice water)

In a bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in the shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Divide dough in half so that one ball is slightly larger than the other.

Wrap each ball in plastic wrap and put in refrigerator to keep cool while making the pie filling.

Pie filling ingredients:

7 - 8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apples
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

In a bowl, toss apples with lemon juice.  Combine sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg, add to apples and toss.  Roll out the larger ball of dough on a floured surface and place in 9 inch pie plate. Do not trim the edges. Fill with pie shell with the pie filling. Dot top with butter. Roll out second ball of dough and lay over the pie. Gently fold the top edge of the pie crust under the lower, then using your fingers and thumb create a fluted edge. (If you prefer you can trim the edges and flute with a fork)  Beat egg yolk w/ water and brush over top of crust. Cut four slits in top of crust. Cover edges loosely with foil and bake at 425 for 15 minutes.  Reduce heat to 350, remove foil and bake 40-45 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly.  Cool on a wire rack.

Sticky Chicken N' Barbeque

One of my families favorite meals is also cheap and easy to make! My husband actually came up with this one night when I asked him to make dinner. This is a kid friendly recipe, meaning your kids will love it too!

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken breasts
1/2 bottle of your favorite bbq sauce (we like Famous Dave's Hickory & Brown Sugar)
Several dashes of soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Squeeze of honey (optional)

Cut the chicken breasts into bite size chunks, heat oil in a frying pan or wok and cook the chicken until done. While the chicken is cooking mix the BBQ sauce, soy sauce, ginger and honey in a small bowl using a whisk. Once chicken is done, drain off any fat, then add BBQ mixture. Stir fry the chicken & BBQ for several minutes until you start to get a caramelized effect. The chicken will start to get "sticky" , then you know it's done. Serve with your favorite rice, oriental noodles or roast potatoes.

Country White Bread

My favorite homemade bread recipe, full of rich flavor!

Ingredients:

2 packages (1/4 ounce each) active dry yeast
2 cups warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup vegetable oil
6 1/2 to 7 cups all purpose flour, divided

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt, eggs, oil and 3 cups of flour; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto a floured surface; kneed until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Divide in half and shape into two loaves. Place in two greased 9 in x 5 in by 3 in loaf pans. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour. Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans; cool on wire racks.

Egg Noodles

Once you taste these wonderful home made noodles you won't ever buy those dry, bland, full of nothing but air noodles in a plastic bag again. These noodles MAKE the soup, trust me!

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 to 1/2 cup water


Make a well in the center of flour in a medium bowl. Mix in egg yolks, egg and 1 teaspoon salt thoroughly. Mix in 1/3 to 1/2 cup water, 1 tablespoon at a time until dough is stiff but easy to roll.

Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll one part at a time into paper thin rectangle on generously floured surface. (keep remaining dough covered) Loosely fold rectangle lengthwise into thirds. Cut crosswise into 1/8 inch strips for narrow noodles, 1/4 inch strips for wide noodles.Unfold strips and place in single layer on towels, let stand about 2 hours or until stiff and dry.

Break strips into smaller pieces. You are now ready to add the noodles to your soup.

Homemade Chicken Stock

You can always use canned stock or broth for your soup but homemade stock really does add a wonderful flavor. There are two types of stock, commonly called "light" or "dark". For a "light" stock being lighter in color make the stock using the meat of a chicken but not the bones. For a "dark" stock, which I prefer, use a leftover cooked roast  chicken carcass, making sure to include the skin and especially the wing and leg bones. You can also use the giblets if you want to mess with that nasty stuff!

Ingredients:

leftover chicken carcass, (you can make stock from a raw carcass, but I prefer to use an already roasted bird.) OR chicken meat if making a light stock.

1 onion, chopped
2-3 celery ribs with leaves
2 carrots, cut into chunks
2-3 sprigs of fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 garlic clove or a couple dashes of garlic powder
6-8 cups of water

Place all the ingredients into a dutch oven, cover and simmer 2-3 hours. Remove the meat and bones and pour the stock through a strainer.  You can then either use your stock right then to make your soup or you may refrigerate it for up to 3 days or freeze in ice cube trays or serving size freezer containers.  Yield: 6-7 cups.

*I prefer to refrigerate my stock overnight prior to use, the fat will rise to the top and can be scraped off before using the stock. The stock will appear gelatinous but will turn back to liquid upon heating.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I like to make this soup whenever we have roast chicken, I use the leftover chicken carcass to make the stock I use in the soup. For the best flavor/texture use homemade noodles. The recipes for the stock and noodles will be posted also. 


Ingredients:


1 cup or so (I don't measure) diced or shredded cooked chicken (I prefer shredded)
  *use chicken from a roast chicken breast or use the recipe for poached chicken breasts found in this blog. You can use canned chicken, but I don't recommend it.


2 large cans of chicken broth OR homemade stock from roast chicken along with 4-6 cups of homemade chicken broth. 


1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots diced
2 celery stalks diced or chopped


Assorted seasonings, sorry I do not measure, I simply pour! 


salt, pepper, thyme, poultry seasoning, garlic powder


Place all the above ingredients into your crock pot and cook on low 8 hours. Transfer the soup once done to a large sauce pan and bring to a boil, add homemade noodles and cook till tender (5-10 minutes)  


Serve with rolls or homemade bread.