Raspberry Cream Pie

I was able to taste this de.li.cious. pie at our friend's annual Pi Party back in March. It won best pie, almost hands down, it was amazing. We all sat there trying to figure out what was in it. Finally we asked. A couple weeks later a friend of mine made the pie but in a blackberry version with graham cracker pie crust and it was also amazing. I am telling you, you HAVE to try this pie. It is so good!
If you have never visited The Pioneer Woman's Blog then you are seriously missing out. She really has some amazing recipes. And I have read that her cinnamon rolls are amazing! Head on over to her site, the pictures are great!

Raspberry Cream Pie
from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

25 whole Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies

4 Tablespoons Butter, Melted

1 cup (generous) Raspberries

3 Tablespoons Sugar

2 containers (6 Ounce Each) Raspberry Yogurt

1 package (3.4 Ounch) Instant Vanilla Pudding Mix

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

Extra Raspberries For Garnish

Preparation Instructions

To make the crust, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Crust cookies in a food processor (or smash in a Ziploc bag with a rolling pin). Stir in melted butter until all combined. Pour into a regular pie pan and press crumbs all over the pan and up the sides. Bake for 3 to 4 minutes---just long enough for it to set.
Cool crust completely.

Place raspberries on a plate or in an empty pan. Smash them with a fork, then sprinkle on 3 tablespoons of sugar. Stir together and allow to sit for 15 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine raspberry yogurt with the instant vanilla pudding mix (just the powder itself.) Beat on low until combined, about 1 minute. Pour in heavy cream and whip on low for 30 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Turn mixer on medium-high speed and beat for two minutes, or until mixture is thick.

Turn off mixer, then fold in raspberries until just combined. Pour into cooled pie pan and spread evenly. Freeze for two hours, or until very firm. Cut into slices and top each slice with cookie crumbs, dollops of whipped cream, and extra raspberries. Keep in freezer, allowing time to thaw before serving.

Peasant Pasta

As my Mom said, life has been a little busy. After baby #2 made his debut on April 9th life has been a little crazy. Between family coming to visit, and then traveling to see our brothers graduate High School, I have had no free time. And now summer is in full swing, and I am busy with other things. But life as a family of four has been a new adventure.

Which leads me into this next recipe. Peasant Pasta. A good friend of mine brought over this dish for our family just after I had the baby. And let me tell you, it is GOOD. And not to mention a fairly easy recipe. It comes from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals and it feeds A LOT. I would say 6-8, maybe more if you combine it with a salad and french bread on the side. My husband and I were eating it for like 3 days as leftovers. And even the leftovers are good, which is saying something for me. (I am a very picky leftover eater).

So, go ahead. Give this recipe a try. You will not regret it!

Peasant Pasta
Servings: 6-8
Time: 20 minutes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan

1/2 pound hot Italian sausage, available in bulk at butcher counter or, 2 links, casings removed

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, available in bulk at butcher counter or, 4 links, casings removed

3 to 4 cloves garlic, chopped, optional

1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup heavy cream

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 cup frozen green peas

24 leaves fresh basil, torn or thinly sliced

1 pound penne rigate pasta, cooked to al dente

Grated Italian cheese, for passing

Heat a large, deep skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan. Add sausage meat. Crumble sausage meat as it browns. Add chopped garlic to the pan. When all of the crumbles have browned evenly, deglaze the pan drippings using chicken or vegetable broth. Stir in crushed tomatoes and bring the sauce up to a bubble, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir cream into your sauce, this will blush the color and cut the acidity of the tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir peas and basil into your sauce to combine. Toss hot drained penne rigate in pan with the sauce, then transfer pasta to serving bowl.

This was the dish I made for Mother's Day, so satisfying.

And for dessert we had this........

Raspberry Cream Pie

recipe coming soon

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

I know it has been a while since we posted anything new.  I have actually had these pictures for awhile and didn't realize I hadn't pposted.  I know Chelsea also has a couple of recipes she'll be putting up soon.  Life has been very busy for both of us lately.

Lou Malnati's Pizzeria

At the end of last summer a friend and I went on a road trip to the Midwest.  We visited my sister-in-law in a suburb of Chicago and she took us out to have traditional Chicago Pizza.  We went to Lou Malnati's Pizzeria.  It was wonderful.  After arriving home I began searching for a similar recipe.  This is the one I found and love.  The dough has a perfect texture.  Try it you might really like it!

Originally found at:  http://annies-eats.com/2010/01/21/chicago-style-deep-dish-pizza/

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

Ingredients:

For the dough:

1½ cups plus 2 tbsp. (8 1/8 oz.) all-purpose flour

¼ cup (1 3/8 oz.) yellow cornmeal

¾ tsp. salt

1 tsp. sugar

1 1/8 tsp. instant yeast

½ cup plus 2 tbsp. (5 oz.) water, at room temperature

1½ tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened

For the sauce:

1 tbsp. unsalted butter

2 tbsp. grated onion

Pinch of dried oregano

¼ tsp. salt

1 clove garlic, minced or pressed

1 (14.5 oz) can crushed tomatoes

Pinch of sugar

2 tbsp. fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

1½ tsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Ground black pepper

For assembling and topping:

2 tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)

¼ oz. Parmesan cheese, grated (about 2 tbsp.)

Directions:

To make the dough, combine the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook on low speed. Mix until blended, about 1 minute. Add the water and melted butter and continue mixing on low speed until fully incorporated, 1-2 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is glossy and smooth, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, 4-5 minutes.

Using your hands, coat a medium bowl with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil. Transfer the dough to the bowl, turning once to coat with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, about 45-60 minutes.

While the dough is rising, prepare the sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, oregano, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the onion is golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then lower the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer until reduced to about 1¼ cups, about 25 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil and oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To laminate the dough, turn the dough out onto a dry work surface and roll into a 8- by 6-inch rectangle. Using an offset spatula, spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Starting at the short end, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. With the seam side down, flatten the cylinder into a 9- by 2 inch rectangle. Fold into thirds like a business letter, pinch the seams to form a ball, and return to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until nearly doubled in size, 40-50 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. To assemble, coat a 9-inch round cake pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer the dough ball to a dry work surface and roll out into a 13-inch disk about ¼-inch thick. Transfer the dough to the pan. Lightly press the dough into the pan, working into the corners and 1 inch up the sides. If the dough resists stretching, let rest 5 minutes before trying again.

Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella over the surface of the dough. Spread the tomato sauce over the cheese and top with Parmesan. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 20-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

***Although the recipe only called for cheese, I added desired toppings on top of the cheese before adding the sauce.  

Yield: 1 9-inch deep-dish pizza

***The first time I made one and the second two pizzas.  1 pizza will serve 4 as the pieces are very filling, but we had no leftovers, therefore we went for doubling the recipe the next time.  The crust ends up very thick.  You could possibly make a small individual serving out of each recipe as well.