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Maple Pecan Pie
Preheat oven to 350 F
You can make your own pie crust, or do what I do, and use a 9-inch frozen crust. If you use frozen, make sure it is the deep-dish kind.
Whisk together everything except the pecans in a medium bowl. Place the unbaked crust on a baking sheet and spread the pecans evenly over the crust. Pour the filling over. Bake until filling is set and slightly puffed, about 1 hour.
Transfer pie to rack and cool completely.
STOVE TOP SCONES
This is Claire’s basic recipe. You can make any additions you like: blueberries, chocolate chips and chopped nuts all work well.
You will need a good, heavy bottomed skillet. (Cast iron is ideal). Before you start frying, pre-heat the skillet so it is good and hot.
Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl. With your fingers, rub in the cold butter. (Work quickly so the butter stays cold.)
Mix together the whole milk, the buttermilk (or soured milk) the vanilla and the egg.
Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead the dough about 4 times. Pat the dough into a circle about ½-inch thick and cut it into 8 wedges.
Working with as many scones as you can fit into the pan at a time without touching each other, fry the scones on medium low heat until golden brown and puffy on the bottom (about 5-8 minutes). Flip the scones and then cook for an additional 6-8 minutes.
EASY AND DELICIOUS BEEF STEW
This is a recipe right out of the 70s. Don’t turn up your nose at the canned tomato soup. All the ingredients combine to make the tastiest stew you’ve ever tried. Trust me!
This cooks up beautifully in a slow cooker, but you can also bake it in the oven at 325 for 3 to 4 hours. Potatoes take a while to soften up, so give it plenty of time.
3 cans of tomato soup
1 package onion soup mix
2 pounds of stew beef (cut the beef into evenly sized pieces)
3 pounds of potatoes, cut into chunks
4 or 5 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
Any other vegetable you like. Sometimes I add a chopped parsnip, or sweet potato. I occasionally dice an onion and toss it in, but no need.
In a large bowl, combine the beef, the potatoes and carrots and any other vegetable you are using. Add the 3 cans of soup, the package of onion soup mix and 1/4 cup of water. Use a large spoon (or mix with your hands) until combined and place in a slow cooker or large dutch oven.
Cook on low for 6 – 8 hours. Pretty hard to overcook it in a slow cooker, so give it plenty of time.