Pumpkin Pie

Lucky for us, many Traditional Thanksgiving foods are IC Friendly, woo hoo! I made two of these pies to take to both of the Thanksgivings I attended, yummy!!  I suppose you could buy a pre-made crust as well, but making one from scratch was really easy and gives you extra bragging rights!!  :)

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 sticks of butter, chilled and cut into pieces
5 to 8 tablespoons of ice water
(or just buy pre-made crust)

Filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
whipped cream or vanilla ice cream (for serving)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  To make the pie crust, put the flour and salt into a food processor and pulse several times.  Put cold butter into the mixture several pieces at a time, pulsing several times for each addition and taking care that the butter remains chilled. The butter should be thoroughly incorporated. Add the first 5 tablespoons of ice water and mix until just moistened. Then  add the remaining tablespoons of water one at a time, mixing thoroughly after eachaddition. Don’t add too much water! Only add as much as needed for the dough to form aball in the mixer and almost clean the sides of the bowl. When it does this, turn the food processor off and remove the dough from the bowl.Form the dough into a ball and flatten it into a disk. Chill a few minutes in the freezer, until cold from still pliable. Remove from freezer and place on a well floured piece of wax paper. Using floured hands and a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out into a 12 inch circle. Fold the circle in half, then in half again, and place the point in the center of a 9 inch pie pan. Carefully unfold the dough and fit in into the pan. Trim any overhanging pastry, and if desired, press the tines of a fork into the rim of the crust, to create a pattern.

To prepare filling, combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and vanilla
extract in a small bowl. Whisk the eggs lightly in a large bowl. Stir in the pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture, and gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes, and then reduce the   temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the pie comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and serve with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Chicken Penne w/ Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This was so good and made with a frozen batch of Roasted Red Pepper Sauce.   I always like to make extra so I can whip up a yummy meal on days I don't feel like spending alot of time in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
2 Boneless Chicken Breasts
Penne Pasta
1/2 Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
1 egg
1 cup unseasoned bread crumbs
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp parsley
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Directions:
Prepare Red Pepper Sauce ahead of time.   Cook the Penne Pasta as directed on box.  In a small bowl add whisked egg.  In a second bowl combine bread crumbs, garlic, basil, and parsley.   Dip the chicken in the egg bowl, then the bread crumb bowl and grill on stove top in olive oil.  Cook about 6 minutes on each side, medium/high heat.   Heat Red Pepper Sauce.   Pour sauce over cooked pasta, then add chicken on top.

Serves 2

Roasted Potatoes & Chicken

This dish was made for me by my neighbor and friend after I had my baby.   It was so good I had to get the recipe and remake it a couple weeks later.  Easy to make, yummy, and filling... my kind of cooking!!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breasts (baked with same spices and chopped or shredded)
Red potatoes (about 10-12)
1/2 C shredded Parmesan cheese (can substitute if Parmesan bothers you)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 C chicken broth
Salt & Pepper
Italian Seasoning (about a tablespoon each- garlic powder, basil, oregano, parsley)

Preheat oven to 400.  Spray baking dish with cooking spray. Combine and toss all ingredients (but cooked chicken) in a large bowl.  Pour into baking dish and bake for 45 minutes (covered with foil).  Remove foil, add chicken, mix and bake uncovered for an additional 15 minutes.

Serves about 6