LEMON CURD

Zest the rind of 7 lemons. (I made the mistake of using the coarse instead of the fine holes on my grater for the first 2. The fine is much better.)
After you have zested them, put lemons in microwave…….I did 3 for a minute, then checked to see if they were warm, and if not, another 30 seconds. The heating makes the cells inside easier to juice and you will get more juice. From 7 lemons, you should have roughly 1 pint of juice. I didn’t measure, it was what it was. :>)

Put in top of double boiler the juice, grated rind, 4 cups sugar, and 1 cup of butter. Heat and stir till the juice gets to 190. When it gets to that temp. stir a couple of cups of the juice/sugar into 7 WELL BEATEN eggs. I used a my hand mixer to both beat the eggs and incorporate the hot juice into the eggs. I probably put in about 4 cups total. You need to “proof” it so the eggs don’t cook/curdle. Bad news if that happens. Mix the rest of the juice gradually into the eggs. Put back in the double boiler and heat and stir (pretty constantly so it doesn’t curdle) till temp. reaches about 180.

I put a piece of saran wrap down on top of the curd, then refrigerated.

Tastes pretty good off the end of a spoon.

MMMMMM! I 'm making that for BREAKFAST!!

OH. Here's my sure thing Pie Crust. It is so easy and you probably have all the ingredients in your cupboard. I use it for pies, and add spices like garlic and dill for a savory crust for quiche etc.. Fool proof! Perfect every time! But makes just ONE. Repeat for a top crust or another.

Stir and Roll Pie Crust

1-1/3 C flour
1/3 C oil
3 T. milk
1/2 t. salt
Stir all ingredients together with fork until it forms a ball of dough. Place between two pieces of waxed paper and roll into a circle. Place into pan and flute the edges.
Makes ONE pie crust.

Saved that. Never made a pie in my life...dare I open that door...put my foot on that slippery slope.....

I tried making a crust with oil. I got so mad and disgusted with it I rolled it in a ball and threw it in the sink. After that I threw it in the wastebasket. The SU still remembers that. I have NEVER tried an oil crust again. I use lard. Or butter. Or Crisco. LOL

I guess it can be done, tho, as Cheryl can make it.

LOL -- I had pretty much the same experience using oil, Anna!

Here's my recipe for pie crust (this is for a double crust but can easily be halved for a single crust)

2 cups flour
1 cup shortening (I use half Crisco, half butter)
1/2 cup cold water (approximately)
1/2 teaspoon salt

(Notice how easy this is to remember -- half as much shortening as flour, and half as much water as shortening)

Mix the salt into the flour, then cut the shortening into the flour using a pastry blender, until the consistency is like coarse crumbs. Add the water, stirring with a fork until the dough comes together. Use slightly less or more to get a soft but not wet dough. Form into two disks - one slightly larger than the other - and wrap each in plastic wrap; let rest in the refrigerator for an hour or so, which gives the flour time to absorb the water (optional, but it really does seem to make the dough easier to work with). Roll out the larger disk for the bottom crust and gently fit into your pie plate without stretching it. Roll out the smaller disk for the top crust.

That's RIGHT! "If Cheryl can make it" ANY one can!" It's the time that it takes cutting in butters and shortening that I dislike. My pastry cutter always got bent in my drawer. I've never made a pie crust any other way since I got that Stir and Roll recipe 20 years ago.

Hello! My name is Cheryl and I bake pies. My specialities are Fresh Blueberry Pie, a Towering Apple Pie, and a Spinach Quiche that has more spinach than you've ever seen in a Quiche. My kids called it "Silly Pie" to this day.

I made my Apple Pie for my DD's Elementary School's Staff/Teacher Pie Event. Parents brought in pies for staff and teachers to take home. My DD said Mr. Mark staked claim to my pie right away. Mr. Mark was the head of the cafeteria. <~~~ says proudly. Funny thing, it's from scratch-scratch. I have no formal recipe. I just toss in all my ingredients (simply fresh apples, spice, butter and a coating of flour) and bake it.

A little tip for those of you that don't care for the "cutting in" of the shortening/lard/butter...........you can pulse it in a food processor and that does the job nicely. Just don't get carried away till it's all the size of grains of sand. Waaaay too easy to do that in a FP. LOL You can add the water in the FP too...........I do, sometimes, but would rather put the flour/lard in a bowl after the pulsing and mix the water in by hand. I have more control over the end product that way. I don't usually use the FP unless I'm making at least 3 pies' crusts. I still like my trusty old pastry blender, bends and all.

I never liked my food processors. Tossed them. Too many parts to wash and it took up too much space. Digging it out of the cabinet was a pain. I feel the same way about blenders. I own one tiny 1-cup size "processor" for chopping nuts...if I don't buy then already chooped. Ill probably tiss that one. I own one very sharp knife.

I don't use my FP a whole lot, but for the jobs I DO use it, it's great. I used to make my own peanut butter. I use it to chew up my pieces of pork loin when I make the BBQ pork. Sure beats trying to tear it apart, or use a knife or kitchen shears to get it the size you want. And I haul it out for a few other things too.

That was my question..can you use a FP.

I make a great onion pie but it is store bought pie shells for me.

Is there enough difference in quality between store bought and making. I would be willing tompay extra for a good brand as opposed to making...I don't make dessert pies but the savory have store bought shells.

I have trusty "claws" that make quick shredding of pork.

If you don't have a FP, which I didn't for quite some time, you can shred your meat with a mixer too. It works better when it's still warm.

Highly recommend!
A lot easier than cleaing up a FP.. Mine is stored too so it is a load to drag out.

I would rather use the FP.....i do not find it tedious to clean if I do it right away when I am done.

Cheryl please share your spinach quiche and someone mentioned an onion pie please share both recipes. I don't really bake much anymore but my mother taught my three sisters and I all to bake from scratch no cake mixes or frosting in a can. I now buy the premade crust to use when making something. The non fruit pies sound like something we might like at our house.

I will get the onion pie recipe out.
I never remember the amounts
It is very fattening...not healthy either..... The fellas love it..no wrinkled faces like I see with quiche. But then they want it too much. This is a twice a year deal for me. It freezes well too.

@daylilydreams

If this is not clear, I can type it out.
I skip the hot sauce
But. It is great with it too.

The grated parmesan is purchased fresh grated...not dry shaker style



I have also added sautéed mushrooms to this and it is great.

^^^^That looks yummy!

Play with this recipe! Add bacon, chicken, a different cheese. I've used Eggbeaters eggs from a carton and it raised higher and was fluffier. Highly recommend using Eggbeaters! I've added increased amounts for a deep dish pie on the right. Its a,well-loved, over-used revipe card. Let me know if you need clarification.