Kelly Times Two

Pie crust 101 Get a cold stick of butter, cut it into sixteen pieces. Put some ice cubes into a measuring cup with water to get it cold. Measure 1-1/4 cups flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove ice cubes (and excess water) to measure to 1/4 cup ice cold water. Add butter, flour, and salt into food processor and pulse until it is all mixed into fine, crumbled, and loose pieces. Slowly pour the cold water in until it turns into a big ball. Take it all out and put into a gallon sized zippered plastic bag, pressing dough to form a thick, slightly flattened disc, that will be rolled out later. Refrigerate for approximately an hour. I like to use a mat for rolling out my pie dough, although I have made a ton of pie crusts directly on a clean and floured countertop surface. Sprinkle flour over the surface, and take the chilled dough from the refrigerator and place in the center of floured surface. Add additional flour to the top of the dough. Press the dough down to flatten ...

Coconut cream pie, one of Kelly's and my favorites! Here's how I make the filling. Filling 5 tablespoons corn starch 1 cup sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 2-1/2 cups milk 3/4 cup heavy cream 3 egg yolks 2 tablespoons butter 2 teaspoons vanilla 1/2 cup coconut Mix cornstarch, sugar, salt, milk, cream in pan and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly until smooth and thick. Pour small amount of egg mixture into egg yolks, blend thoroughly, then pour back into pan. Cook additional 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pour into cooked pie crust.  (My preference is to use a tart pan with the bottom circle that lifts out, rather than a traditional pie pan or plate. I used a tart pan to make the pie in these pictures.)   Chill 3 to 4 hours. Whip one cup heavy cream, add sugar as it starts to thicken, then spread whipped cream over top. Calories: 458 per 1/8 slice.   

My most favorite pie in the world is pecan pie.  Recently I treated myself to a new set of these mini tart pans and want to share how easy these completely irresistible petite versions are of this family favorite recipe that I got from my sister, Tracy, that came from our Grandma Jackson.   The set of six mini tart pans from The Pampered Chef each has a removable bottom, which is perfect for removing the dessert without any problems.  I used one Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust, and rolled it out to make an oblong piece of dough, to be able to fit all six pans.   As you can see, I sprinkled a little bit of flour onto the counter top to prevent the dough from sticking.   I cut the dough into six sections using a tiny paring knife, then one by one, placed dough inside a tart pan, and gently pressed it down into the bottom, to fit closely around the fluted edges, then used my fingers to press down and cut off any excess dough from along the top edges....

Toasted homemade canape bread that I baked in a metal flower-shaped tube accents a mini crab salad for an individual serving. I bought the adorable mini flare dish in a set  of 24, which includes twelve flares and twelve petite tasting spoons , from Pier 1 Imports.  Love them! Here it is served as a dip, served with store-bought bagel crisps to scoop it up.  There have been many requests for my crab dip/salad recipe, and I finally am posting it.  It's so delish to snack on if you are a fan of imitation crab meat, cream cheese and veggies, which apparently, I am.  I have adapted this from a recipe in one of my old Pampered Chef Season's Best Recipe Collections.  Enjoy! 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 small bell pepper, chopped 1 handful of fresh (rinsed and patted dry) parsley, chopped 8 ounces imitation crab meat, chopped 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened juice from 1/2 of a large lemon 1/4 teaspoon salt 3 garlic c...

Happy new year! All is well with our family in the year 2014.  Flights have been canceling all over the country  in the past few days due to snow and ice, and it's even been kind of chilly here in Austin, so I have been in a soup and comfort food state of mind lately. Tonight, I made what was probably the best goulash I have made, and want to remember what I did, so I can duplicate it in the future.  It's mainly from Paula Deen's recipe, but I have made a few changes.  Here's what I concocted, that was a big hit with my family. By cooking the ground beef mixture in advance, this would be a perfect recipe to have waiting in the crockpot when we get home late from church at 6 pm now that our ward meets from 2:30 to 5:30 pm.  The final step of putting the noodles in the mixture would still need to be done, but that's not too bad. Step One 3 pounds ground beef 2 medium onions, chopped in food processor 1 green bell pepper, chopped in food chopper Brown the ...

For a refreshing and simple treat, I made these individual Haunting Berry Salad mini dessert cups for a Relief Society event that I attended last night where we were invited to take a Halloween themed goody to share.  The original recipe is called Holiday Berry Salad , but I put a plastic spider on top and renamed it.  Actually, I was calling them Haunting Berry Salad of Death last night while I was assembling them with Megan, because that's what my husband does when he puts on a fireworks show for us each July, everything gets the "of death" added to the end, Sparklers of Death, Roman Candles of Death, Forbidden Fountain of Death. I felt like I was being quite clever, but he never commented on my Haunting Berry Salad of Death name, so it was probably just comical to me. Typical.  I'm funny. Just the right serving size. I bought some black cheesecloth at Target yesterday when I picked up the little package of sparkly spiders to line the bottom of my trays, ...

Step One (slow cook pork) pork loin (about 2.25 pounds) 1 can (10 ounces) red enchilada sauce 1 chicken flavor ramen noodles seasoning packet Cook pork for several hours in a crockpot with the seasoning packet (not the noodles!) and enchilada sauce.  NOTE:  This will make enough meat for TWO batches of the recipe.  Freeze the other portion to have on hand for a quick meal for a later time, or take a meal to someone. Step Two (pull the pork apart) 1 1/2 cups sour cream 1 can (7 ounces) diced green chilis When the pork is tender and easily shreds, then using two forks, shred the pork, leaving small shreds, without any big chunks of meat.  Add the green chilis and sour cream. Step Three (assembling)  1 package of 10 corn tortillas  HALF of the pulled pork mixture, warmed for assembly (if you refrigerated it previously) 1 can charro beans (can substitute for any other kind of beans), drained 1 can hominy (or corn), drained 1 jar (11 oun...

  Obviously, this isn't the actual picture of the finished enchiladas, but for now, this is all I've got.  I was too busy making a bajillion batches of chicken ahead for my Activity Days girls' cooking class, to actually take any pictures of the finished casserole.  I should be making it in the next few days, and will be sure to add some pictures of it. Thanks to my friend, Stephanie, for sharing her delicious recipe with me.  I've made a few minor changes. Step One--cook chicken in grill pan skinless, boneless chicken breasts to yield 2 cups, cubed Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning olive oil Season the chicken breast halves on each side, then drizzle approximately 1 tablespoon olive oil in a hot grill pan on medium high, then heat the oil a bit, then place chicken pieces in pan, and place grill press on top of chicken.  Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes per side.  Be sure to only turn the chicken once, to leave the grill marks in the chicken and t...