Raspberry Pie

We had a pretty crazy Thanksgiving. It involved our car dying 50 miles from civilization in the bitter cold, having no cell service, trying to get a ride home when my husband thinks the other drivers thought he was a shooter from Moab, my sister in law and her husband coming to get us--driving all night and getting no sleep....going to a house with cats when I am allergic to cats and just wanting desperately to sleep.
Pretty much my favorite part of Thanksgiving day was this pie. And seeing how much my son loved, loved, loved his baby cousin. :) That was absolutely adorable.
Don't get me wrong--I have a lot to be grateful for--for instance prayer, and answers to it, a family who stopped for us and just happened to be going to visit their family in the town we live in. My husband teaches their niece, so it was like we already knew them. They even invited us to their family Thanksgiving dinner where we would have gone if we hadn't been taken to Utah by my sister-in-law and her husband who towed our car and saved us a huge tow truck bill, we had plenty of good food to eat, I became better friends with my sister in law. There is a lot to be grateful for. it was just a very unusual Thanksgiving day filled with less than optimum circumstances. :) Maybe I should say this pie was my favorite part of the meal. I really, really loved it--and I'm not the one who made it, I just wanted to share the recipe. :)

Fresh Raspberry Pie

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons cold water
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 
  FILLING:
• 1-1/3 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 5 cups fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1 tablespoon 2% milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt; cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the egg, water and vinegar; stir into flour mixture just until moistened. Divide dough in half so that one ball is slightly larger than the other; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until easy to handle.
• Meanwhile, in another large bowl, combine the sugar, tapioca, cornstarch and raspberries; let stand for 15 minutes.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll out larger ball of dough to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer dough to pie plate; trim even with edge. Add raspberry filling; dot with butter.
• Roll out remaining dough to fit top of pie; place over filling. Trim, seal and flute edges. Cut slits in top. Brush with milk; sprinkle with sugar.
• Bake at 350° for 50-55 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool on a wire rack. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Easy as Pie

Maybe it's just the right time of year...but lately I am so enamored with pies. Mostly my experience with making pies involves using pre-made pie dough and pie filling bought at the grocery store. We used to live in a small apartment complex where one of the girls there would make pies and give slices of pie to people in the apartment. They were always so delicious and ever since then I have really wanted to start making pies, really making pies. Where everything is from scratch.
So I have this huge long list of pies I want to make, and here is one more that looks delicious! Although this one looks too easy to count towards my goal of making pies from scratch.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
• 2-3/4 cups whipped topping, divided
• 1 package (4.67 ounces) mint Andes candies, chopped, divided
• 1 chocolate crumb crust (9 inches)
• 1/4 teaspoon mint extract
• 2 drops green food coloring, optional

Directions

• In a small bowl, whisk milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Let stand for 2 minutes or until soft-set. Fold in 3/4 cup whipped topping. Fold in 3/4 cup candies. Spoon into crust.
• In another bowl, combine extract and remaining whipped topping; add food coloring if desired. Spread over pudding layer; sprinkle with remaining candies. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. Yield: 8 servings.

Remembering Grandma

I remember my Grandma making Dixie Salad when I was little...all I really remember about it is that it had pomegranates and was delicious. My Grandma lived in Southern Utah, so it was an authentic Dixie Salad.:) A couple years ago, we decided to have our own little family Thanksgiving dinner and we tried our own version of Dixie Salad, which was pretty good, not quite like I remembered, but it was still really good.
I just found this recipe on Studio 5 from Becky Lowe, who happens to remind me very much of my grandma. It made me smile that she would make this salad which also reminds me of my grandma. :) I had to share it with you! I sure miss you Grandma.
One thing I love about this salad is how versatile it can be...I'm not a nut fan, so I leave the nuts out and we added grapes and bananas when we made it. But you can put whatever fruits you like! Or nuts, or whatever. If you need to bring a salad or a side dish to Thanksgiving dinner...you should try this salad. It doesn't disappoint! You can even watch a video here that shows how to seed a pomegranate, or to get some other crazy salad ideas. :)

Dixie Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pomegranate seeds (about 2 pomegranates)
• 2 cups chopped apples (about 2 medium)
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 2-4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Method:

Whip cream with sugar and vanilla until stiff peaks form.

Combine pomegranates, apples, pecans (and any additional desired fruit). Gently fold in whipped cream. Garnish with a few pomegranate seeds. Serves approximately 8

NOTES:
To reduce fat, reduce or eliminate nuts. There are many additions to this basic salad created in Utah's Dixie. Some like it ‘pure' and use only the products found in Southern Utah; others add drained canned fruit cocktail, mandarin oranges, sliced bananas, grapes and fruit of their choice. Adjust the portions and ingredients to suite your taste preferences.

To seed the pomegranate (with as little mess as possible), cut a cross in the base of the pomegranate down to but not into the seeds. Carefully pull the cross open, breaking the pomegranate in half. Gently break sections away from each half, pulling the skin back and turning the pomegranate inside out; gently nudge the seeds from the exposed section. Work over or in water, dropping the seeds into the water as you go. The pithy membrane and bits of skin will float to the surface of the water and can easily be skimmed away leaving intact the juicy kernels.

Later in pomegranate season the skin becomes dry and the fruit is hard to break open. Place the pomegranate in water to soak before following directions above.

Turkey Placemat

I think this Turkey Placemat is so darling! It would be such a fun project to make for your family, and it looks like it was bought at some boutique! Love it!

Make it and Love it

I think this shirt looks so cute! I'm not usually a fan of big embellishments on my clothes, but I like this one. Find info on how to make your own here!
I think this beautiful Cranberry Cake looks so delicious! And to me it screams thanksgiving because of the cranberries! Find the recipe here!

I got both of these ideas at Make it and Love it--I love this website! You should check it out!

Give Thanks

I came across a really cute turkey tutorial today, this picture doesn't show the whole thing...that picture was too big for my blog, but go here and see the finished result and find instructions! So cute!

I think this garland looks so pretty and fun to make. Find instructions here.

I would love to make this turkey with my little boy--how fun and easy!

Feathers

It's that time of year we get to think about feathers...or at least turkeys, and they have feathers. :) Once upon a time I made a dream catcher and recently have been wondering how I did that so I could make another one. I was happy to find this tutorial to make your own dream catcher!
I have feathers hanging from the one I made long ago, and I think you should definitely add some to yours if you make one!



I love this cute turkey applique on a t-shirt! Do you think if you used different fabrics it could be cute for a boy too? This one is definitely girly... Find the info on how to do this here.
Enjoy your feathers!

Several Ideas

One thing I love about holidays is decorating for them! I was so excited to find these fun, easy, and inexpensive ways to decorate from Blue Cricket Designs. Here's to hoping I can whip these up this year to decorate our house!

Bleeding Candles...I was surprised how easy these are! Check out the instructions here.

I love garlands and banners...this one is cute, inexpensive, and could last through Thanksgiving if you wanted! Find instructions for this here.

This idea I absolutely love! I don't have a chandelier, but how fun would it be to put these on your light fixtures or maybe your mirror? Find instructions here. Any ideas how to get vinyl bats (I think spiders would be cute too!) if you don't have a Silhouette or other vinyl cutting machine?

Do you have any favorite decoration ideas?

Not Sure When I'll Be Back Again

I'm not riding on a jet plane, but probably as you are reading this, dozens of boxes full of our possessions are being loaded onto a truck, my husband is already in our new home, and I will be there within a week. As a result, I'm not sure when (or if!) we will have internet...hopefully we will. If not, I will be visiting the library frequently or something. :) But I plan on resuming normal posts again soon! Until then...I can not thank friends and family enough for all the help they have given! I will miss you. Please let's stay friends? If you would like an invite to read our family blog, just ask!

Thanks Giving

I have been so excited about Halloween this year and now it is all over. I love Christmas time and get so excited for it too, but in between is Thanksgiving and I have always felt that Thanksgiving is the left out holiday of the three. Well this year I am excited to try and bring more Thanksgiving-ness to my family, and here is a great way to start! I saw this idea of making a Thanksgiving tree on another blog and I want to do it! You can be as creative as bringing in a branch and hang leaves from it that you write what you are thankful for, or just print off these Thanks and Giving trees from Chocolate on my Cranium. That is what we are going to be doing for family home evening tonight!