Fresh Fruit Hand Pies

I wanted to share a recipe for some homemade fruit pies. I made them small like little hand pies. I found this on Pinterest but of course I modified it a little bit like always:


Cream Cheese Pastry

(courtesy of Kraft foods)

2 cups flour
½ tsp. salt
1 pkg. (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter or margarine

Put in a food processor and pulse all ingredients, (then divide into two portions if you are using it as a double pie crust) (I wrapped it up as one piece of dough)

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours until firm.


Here is how to make the little pies:

1 recipe for pie crust as above
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
1 cup fresh fruit, cut up
1 egg beaten

Preheat oven to 400. I divided the dough into 6 parts and rolled out each one into a circle (maybe 6", you don't want it so thin that it breaks and won't hold the juice in). Then in a small bowl combine the fruit with sugar and cornstarch, mix well. Spoon 2 tbsp of fruit mixture onto half of the circle of pie crust. Fold over to make a half circle (see pictures). Using the tines of a fork, crimp the edges of the pie so it will stay together. Prick the top of your hand pie with a fork to vent. Brush the top of each pie with egg. Bake them on a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick spray for 15-20 minutes at 400.

Cool and pass them around....they don't last long!

Click here to go to the source of the recipe

Lemon Pound Cake

My grandma and I went to Missouri last weekend to see family. We stayed with my mom and step-dad. I wanted to make something to take with us.....something yummy! I found this recipe on Pinterest and thought I would give it a try.  This pound cake is very good and very easy to make. I also took one to work this week for a coworker's birthday. It was a hit.

This would be good served with cut up strawberries and whipped cream. 

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 cups unbleached flour + teaspoon salt, sifted

Here is what you do:

Preheat oven to 325 F. Butter and flour a bundt pan, or use baking spray with flour. In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture is pale and creamy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating until just combined after each addition. Fold in the flour and salt mixture in 2 batches, mixing after each addition until well combined. Be careful not to over mix. Spoon the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the cake comes out clean. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil if the crust browns too quickly. Remove the cake from oven and cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

See link above for source of recipe

My favorite mixer

Grilled Chicken Penne al Fresco

My family loves this easy dish! I love using my Deep Covered Baker from The Pampered Chef. I like that it uses fresh ingredients. I sautéed the chicken with garlic in a hot skillet. Also, I do not use the wine that it calls for. We do not drink wine (or any alcohol for that matter) so I do not cook with it. I just used more chicken broth in its place. It is simple and easy and that's what I like! All the family liked it so that is always a plus.
You can find the recipe here.

The Pampered Chef Deep Covered Baker is amazing! It enables you to cook meats in the microwave that taste great. It is like using a brick oven.

Shayla's Egg Custard

The BEST egg custard!

Have you ever tried egg custard? I had never tried it before last year, and really did not think I would like it. I found a recipe on Pinterest, of course.....my favorite place for new recipes. :) The first time I made it, it was okay. The custard was a little bland and boring. It was a little too egg-y! It needed some richness and depth to it. So, as usual, :) I changed it up. I was a little weary about it and wasn't sure if it would mess it up to change the ingredients. However, I came up with my favorite version, by far!

I make this in ramekins. It is pretty thick like a pudding. I have another version that I used for egg custard pies around the holidays. They were a huge hit! I will share that recipe later. It works better for pie though.

Shayla's Egg Custard

4 eggs

1/2 can of eagle brand milk

Skim milk

About 1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Dash of sea salt

Whisk eggs by hand until well blended. Whisk in sugar, salt and vanilla. Pour eagle brand milk into a big measuring cup. Add skim milk to make 3 cups total of milk. Microwave milk until scalded (just under boiling). SLOWLY whisk hot milk into egg mixture. If you go too fast you will cook the eggs. Keep whisking, slowly, until you have added all the milk. Pour egg mixture into ramekins and place them in a larger baking dish. Fill the outside pan with warm water to surround the custard cups. You can sprinkle the custard with nutmeg if you like. I like it better without. Bake at 350 for 30 min, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. The custard may jiggle a little bit, but test it with a knife. The custard will set while it cools. I leave it in the water bath for about 15 more minutes once I remove it from the oven. Then I remove them to a hot pad to cool.

Store in the refrigerator after they cool, I just cover the ramekins individually with foil.

With the sweetened condensed milk, this is so creamy and just right!!