Mini Pies

I finally found the right jars and had some sent to my local hardware store so today I'm making mini pies! I found the tutorial here. As part of a two-person household I think its a great idea. Chris isn't a big desert eater and I really shouldn't eat an entire full-sized pie myself, so whenever I make pies we end up eating a few pieces and then the rest goes bad in the fridge. Or I eat the whole thing because I don't want to waste the food, and then feel guilty for eating so much pie! That got me thinking of other people who don't really need full sized pies. Like my grandparents or my aunt who lives alone lives without any other humans. And since they are frozen and just need to be popped into the oven they are perfect for my grandparents who don't do much cooking anymore. So guess what everyone is getting for Christmas this year?

I used this crust recipe (so simple!) for all the pies. The blueberry pies are from this recipe using frozen blueberries.

Chocolate Chess Pie
from my great aunt Kitty, as dictated to Will Bullins
3/4 stick butter, melted
4 Tblsp cocoa powder
1 cup white sugar (a little bit more)
2 "egges"
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix it all together. Pour into pie crust. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.


Apple Pie
from my mother in law, Dianne Lough
I used an assortment of types of apples for the apple pie- pretty much one of everything they had at the store. Dianne recommends 3 granny smith and 4 golden delicious cut up apples and put into bowl with fresh squeezed orange juice (to prevent browning) in separate bowl, mix together 1 cup sugar, 4T flour, 1t cinnamon, 2 dashed nutmeg, dash salt, 1 tsp cold butter. Mix with apples until coated and microwave for 4min pour apple mix into crust, add top crust and brush with milk, sprinkle with sugar

Instead of the traditional top crust for the apple pie, I used a crumble made with 1 part butter: 1 part flour: 3 parts brown sugar and a handful of pecan bits

Sharing Our Gifts: Project 3

Every month the Sharing Our Gift group selects a charity in a different state to knit/crochet/sew for. The December charity is The Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation. Here is the information posted by the group:

From the OKBTF website, here is some information about the origin of the foundation:
“The Oklahoma Brain Tumor Foundation (OKBTF), was founded by Nancy Thomason after the death of her son Cade Thomason to a brain stem PNET tumor on February 17, 2000. She vowed to fight the disease in honor and memory of her son Cade.

OKBTF is dedicated to meeting the needs of Oklahoma families, caregivers and patients affected by primary brain or central nervous system tumors. We work to provide for needs through education, advocacy, research and service.”

OKBTF provides services for 227 families and approximately 908 caregivers and immediate family members of individuals with brain tumors.

THIS PROJECT:
For this project, we will be creating hats, scarves, or shawls to donate to the organization. As always, these can be knitted, crocheted, or sewn, and they must be handmade.

DEADLINE:
Deadline to have these items received by the project coordinator is January 5, so please allow appropriate mail time. She will be delivering to the facility on or about January 8.

Now I'm off to search through my stash and look up some patterns. I'm thinking maybe a warm, chunky shawl, perfect for snuggling. What will you be making?