Strawberry Rhubarb Cream Pie

This recipe doesn't mention anything about where it came from, but it is on a 3x5 card in Mom's handwriting.

Crust:
1 1/2 c. gingersnap cookie crumbs (about 26)
2 T. sugar
1/4 c. melted butter

Combine crumbs and sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press evenly into a 9" pie-pan. Bake 375 degrees 8-10 mins.

Filling:
3 c. rhubarb
1 c. strawberries
3/4 c. + 2 T. sugar
3 slices gingeroot
2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1/3 c. cold water
3 egg whites
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 t. vanilla

Combine rhubarb, strawberries, 1/2 c. sugar & gingeroot. Cook over medium heat till cooked, about 15 min. Remove from heat. Remove gingeroot.

Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over cold water. Let stand 5 minutes to soften. Add to hot rhubarb mixture, stirring well. Blend in blender just until smooth. Pour into bowl. Place bowl in bowl of ice water. Chill until partially set (mounding). Remove from ice and set aside. Beat egg whites to soft peaks. Add 1/4 c. sugar, beating to stiff peaks. Beat cream, 2 T. sugar & vanilla til stiff. Fold both into fruit mixture. Pour into crust. Refrig. 1-2 hrs/ Garnish w/ whip. cream.

Last week, I bought some rhubarb at the farmer's market in order to work on several rhubarb recipes I have in my collection. I was originally going to make a different recipe, but then strawberries were also on sale at Wal-Mart, so I bought some to use in this recipe. If I would have known beforehand, I probably wouldn't have made it because of the raw egg whites that I'm not supposed to eat and it was more labor intensive than I wanted.

I was also going to just make it for us to eat, but Ben talked me into saving it a day and taking it over to Mom and Dad's when we went for Memorial Day weekend. But, we did pre-snack on some of the filling that didn't fit into the pie crust. The few bites I had were delicious.

Everyone who had some said it was good. Dad even said he would give it 5 stars (I think he ended up eating 3 pieces of the pie...) I thought it had a very gel-ly consistency and would have preferred a more creamy texture. When I pulled the crust out of the oven, there were some wet spots where the butter pooled up (possibly because the recipe called for too much?). I also used some old dried gingeroot that we have in our spice collection. It didn't give very much ginger flavor to the filling. Finally, eat it after 1-2 hours like the recipe says. I think making it so far in advance made the crust funny.

Don't let my complaints turn you away from this recipe. It really was delicious.

Chicken a la King

This is a recipe from Tonya Campbell, number 559812. Apparently her recipes were catalogued.


1/4 c. onion, chopped
1/2 sm. green pepper, finely chopped
1 c. sliced mushrooms
4 tbsp. margarine
1/4 c. plain flour
1/4 tsp. salt (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground white pepper
1 1/2 c. skim milk
1 c. low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken
1 pimento, diced

In a medium size saucepan over medium heat, sauté onion, bell pepper and mushrooms in margarine. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring mixture constantly with a wooden spoon until bubbly. Remove from heat. Using a whisk, stir in milk and broth. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken and pimento; heat through. Serve over whole wheat toast. Approximately 145 calories per serving.

What is a pimento? I assume it's a kind of pepper, but I've never seen something in the produce section labeled pimento. I left it out. I think it would be better with peas instead of the green pepper, but maybe the pimento would have added to the green pepper version. I tried it over toast, and everyone else had it over brown rice. It was much better over rice. We all liked it, and it is a quick and relatively inexpensive meal to make.

Blonde Brownies

I don't know how old the recipe card for this recipe is, but I'm glad I got it. It is a super easy go-to treat when you need to take cookies or some sort of dessert somewhere. While the Baked Apple Donuts recipe is a must make recipe, Blonde Brownies are a close second. I love them!

We all know this isn't one of those recipes that hasn't been made. Mom must have assembled this into one of her recipe collections years ago. There has been some questions about what the real recipe is (the Allred cookbook does not have it correct, I am told), and this recipe is just a little bit different.

2 3/4 c. flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. melted shortening
2 1/4 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. walnuts, chopped
1 pkg. chocolate chips (6 oz)

Pour melted shortening over sugar. Add eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder, salt, and vanilla. Pour and spread in greased pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips over top. I guess they want to make sure you get the vanilla in and the walnuts are optional. I always make them without the nuts.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

I love blonde brownies, but they always seem to be gooey in the center of the pan. I would suggest cooking them longer than 25 minutes just to make sure they are really done. However, watch them because the edges cook quicker.

Ben took most of them to YM/YW when he was in charge of bringing the treats. Everyone loved them! One of the young men even lost one of his teeth in his. I was happy to make them, but also happy that we only ended up with about 1/4 of a pan to gorge myself on.

Royale Lemon Meringue

Royale Lemon Meringue
Recipe of Pam Hilton
Serves 8

4 large eggs, separated and at room temperature
1 1/2 cups superfine sugar
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
2 tablespoons cornstarch
dash salt
1 cup water
grated peel of lemon
1/3 cup lemon juice
3/4 pint (1 1/2 cups) heavy cream

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
Line a 9 inch pie plate with foil; generously oil foil. Beat egg whites in a large bowl with the mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in cream of tartar and 1 cup sugar, a little at a time. Beat until stiff glossy peaks form. Spread beaten egg white over bottom and up sides of pie plate so that bottom is 1/4 inch thick and sides are 1 inch thick. Bake 1 hour , then reduce oven to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour or until dry and firm. turn off oven, leave shell in oven to cool. Meanwhile, combine gelatin, cornstarch, salt, and remaining sugar in small saucepan. Stir in water until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture into yolks while stirring to blend well. Stir yolk mixture into remaining gelatin mixture in saucepan and cook over medium heat until thickened and just comes to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in half of the lemon peel and all of the juice. cover surface with plastic wrap; refrigerate until mixture mounds, about 1 hour. Beat cream on bowl until stiff peaks form. Remove about 1/2 cup for garnish. Fold lemon mixture into remaining whipped cream. Carefully peel foil from meringue shell and return to pie plate. Fill shell with lemon mixture; top with remaining whipped cream (sweeten slightly if desired, and sprinkle with reserved grated lemon peel. Refrigerate until serving time. Garnish with lemon slices and mint sprigs if desired.

 

I had high expectations since this recipe is from Pam Hilton, the queen of pie-making. It was good, but not what I expected. It is very light. I admit I didn't make it perfectly. I don't know if I cooked the meringue crust long enough. I refrigerated the filling too long, and I didn't stir it up before I tried mixing in the whipped cream, so it didn't mix well. I used regular granulated sugar instead of superfine (caster) sugar, but that didn't seem to make a difference. Mom and I both liked the filling a lot. I would like to make it again in a regular crust, and maybe put meringue on the top. We also discussed whether it would be better to zest the lemon since the grated peel turned into little chewy pieces in the filling. Overall good, but not unbelievably good.

Premier White Lemony Cheesecake

I made this quite awhile ago---Easter-- but I was dreading writing out the recipe for it, since it is long.  It was perfect for Easter.  I don't have a springform pan, so I had to make it in an 8x8.  It looks funny, but was just as tasty.

Premier White Lemony Cheesecake

from VeryBestBaking.com

Ingredients

• CRUST
• 6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• CHEESECAKE
• 3 bars (12 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Premier White Baking Bar, broken into small pieces *
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 large egg

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Lightly grease 9-inch springform pan.

FOR CRUST:
BEAT butter and sugar in small mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in flour, egg yolk and salt. Press mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up side of prepared pan.

BAKE for 14 to 16 minutes or until crust is set.

FOR CHEESECAKE:
MICROWAVE baking bars and cream in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 1 minute; STIR. If pieces retain some of their original shape, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until melted. Cool to room temperature.

BEAT cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon peel and salt in large mixer bowl until smooth. Gradually beat in melted baking bars. Beat in egg whites and whole egg. Pour into crust.

BAKE for 35 to 40 minutes or until edge is lightly browned. Run knife around edge of cheesecake. Cool completely on wire rack. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Remove side of springform pan. Garnish as desired.

* NOTE: May use 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) NESTLÉ TOLL HOUSE Premier White Morsels instead of baking bars.

We liked it a lot.  We both agreed we couldn't taste the lemon in it at all, so I would add more next time.  The only other problem we had was that there are only two of us and one VERY rich cheesecake, so it took a long time to eat through it.  First world problem I suppose.

Lentil Chocolate Cake

You know you have been waiting for this. For some reason I had the overwhelming desire to make a lentil dessert yesterday. I almost made cookies, but they only took 1/2 c of lentil puree, and I wanted to go all out, so I made the chocolate cake, which took 1 1/2 c lentil puree.

Lentil Puree
1 Cup lentils
2 1/2 cups water

Rinse Lentils.  Cover with water in saucepan.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat.  Cover and simmer until lentils are very tender (40-45 minutes).  Drain lentils, reserving stock. 
When cool, transfer lentils to blender or mixing bowl, whip on high speed for one to two minutes.  As puree forms, stop and scrape the side of the container.  Add some of the stock as needed and continue whipping until lentils form a smooth puree the consistency of canned pumpkin.  It can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days or frozen for later use.  Makes about 3 cups.

Cake
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups lentil puree
1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt

Cream sugar, oil, and eggs on medium speed of mixer for two minutes.  Add lentil puree, water, and vanilla and beat on medium speed for one minute.  Mix dry ingredients together and add to creamed mixture.  Beat for two minutes at medium speed.  Divide batter between two well-greased 9 inch round cake pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched in middle.
Cool and frost as desired.

I was confused because the original recipe never says to add the water. You must add the water, or it will not be a batter. I was really, really tempted to substitute some of the oil with applesauce because if you are going to make lentil cake, why not make it healthier? I didn't do it for the sake of sticking to the recipe, but in the future I will.

The verdict: Not bad. Brian, who really likes chocolate cake, liked it, especially how moist it is. I didn't tell him the secret ingredient until after he ate because I didn't want a biased review. I think the cake has a slight off taste from the lentils, but it is almost completely covered by the other tastes. It is also quite heavy, but I often make cakes from mixes, so it isn't a good comparison. I'm eating a piece right now, the day after I made it, and it is still nice and moist. This cake will make an appearance again, maybe in the form of a sheet cake or cupcakes. Hooray for lentils!

Chocolate Cupcakes

So, this isn't technically a Cupboard Recipe. I've been at Mom's this week, and thought I would try out some of her gluten free all purpose baking mix. There are several recipes on the box: the typical baking mix ones like pancakes and biscuits and then some non-traditional ones like sugar cookies, coffee cake, and these cupcakes. Since Little Chubb's birthday is next week, I thought I'd give the cupcakes a try so I can be in the cake baking mode.

1 cup King Arthur Flour Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix
1/2 cup unsweetened baking cocoa
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 large eggs
1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 12 muffin cups or line them with cupcake papers.

Whisk together the baking mix and cocoa; set aside.

Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until just incorporated after each addition. Stir in the baking mix/cocoa alternately with the water.

Scoop by level 1/4-cupfuls into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake the cupcakes until a cake tester comes out clean and the middle springs back when pressed lightly, 20 to 22 minutes.

Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Cool completely before frosting.

Yield: 12 cupcakes

My verdict on the gluten free cupcakes: ok. The frosting really made them delicious, which isn't even what the recipe was for. I felt like they had a little bit of a different consistency to them and a slight aftertaste. But, they did come together quickly and cooked nicely. And, it made exactly 12 cupcakes.

PS. The decorating one was floating around on pinterest before Easter and the was an unopened pack of peep bunnies waiting on the counter for me to take care of them.