Easy Bananas Foster Pie

As soon as Passover was finished, I wanted pie.  There was a box of sugar-free vanilla pudding mix in the pantry, and I usually have a stray graham cracker crust on the baking shelf.  In case I ever want a spur of the moment pie.

I have an older, from-scratch Banana Rum Pie recipe.  Nothing wrong with it.  I should make it again sometime.  This one was about using items on hand, including half a bottle of whipping cream.  I only bought the bananas.

And unlike the original recipe, I'm using rum extract.  Bananas Foster is often brandy, but we're going with what I already have.  I'm so proud of using up the liquor cabinet, and don't want to buy a bottle for one recipe.  I feel weird about getting those little bottles.

I knocked this out in less than ten minutes, then it set up while I worked on the schlissel batch of challah.  I have bread again!

*1 4-serving box vanilla pudding mix (or banana for extra banananess)
*milk as suggested on box (probably 2C)
*1/2 tsp rum extract
dash nutmeg
*1 9" graham cracker crust
2 ripe bananas
*1 C whipping cream 
1 Tb sugar

1.  Thinly slice the bananas and have them ready to go.  If you want to garnish with them, use a third banana.  Bear in mind, they will start to turn brown within a few hours.  Don't slice that one until ready to serve.

2.  Beat the pudding mix and milk as directed on the box.  I got out my grandma's hand-crank beater, and it was the perfect speed for this project.  Easier than whisking or stirring, and not so fast that it splattered.  Before it gets too thick, beat in the extract and a few sprinkles of nutmeg to enhance the flavor.

3.  Line the bottom of the crust with banana slices.  Pour in the pudding, then dot with the remaining slices.  Cover with plastic wrap to prevent pudding skin and banana browning, then chill until firm, at least 2 hours.

4.  Whip cream and sugar to firm peaks.  For this one, I got out the electric whisk.  I added more nutmeg to my whip, and it was quite nice.  Remove film from pie and cover with the whipped cream.  I should have gone to the effort to make a cute design with a piping bag.  At that point, I had three recipes going simultaneously and not enough coordination for a last minute step.

5.  Chill until ready to serve.  If desired, add additional banana slices as garnish.

Serves 6-8

Difficulty rating  π

Sausage & Mincemeat Pie

Tasting History did a beef mincemeat pie during December.  Max wasn't all that impressed, but admitted he wasn't a huge fan of mincemeat.  I was planning to make mince pies and had a small jar of store-bought, all fruit mincemeat.  His post encouraged me to make it with added meat.  Since the only ground meat I had at the start of the Pantry Challenge was breakfast sausage, this turned into a breakfast pie.

Yes, it's kind of cheating to have only three ingredients, all of them store-bought conveniences, but it isn't simply a dump and go recipe.  What you end up with feels a lot more homemade than it is.

*1 prebaked 9" pie crust
*1 lb sausage of choice
*1 C prepared mincemeat (or to taste)

1.  Pre-bake crust according to package directions, but leave it light and barely done.

2.  In a skillet or saucepan, cook the sausage over medium-high heat.  Break it up as you go, and pour off the excess fat about halfway through cooking.  You need some fat to hold the pie together.

3.  Preheat the oven to 350º.  Stir the cooked sausage and mincemeat together.  If desired, add a pinch of salt and/or a splash of brandy to the mix.

4.  Pour sausage into pie shell and spread evenly.  Bake until browned on top and the crust is golden, about 20 minutes.  Allow to cool before slicing.

Serves 6-8

Difficulty rating  π

Quiche with Chicken and Chard

Eggs are finally a "normal" price again.  Ok, it was an extreme coupon sale, but we're back to 25¢ apiece.  The quiche that I've been wanting for months was about to happen.

I don't know if I've ever had a chicken quiche.  Don't see why not, but I usually just put veggies in mine.  Sometimes there's fish or pork, but it's usually vegetarian.  I'm glad I remembered to buy milk.  I want to say I tried using the powdered milk I keep in the pantry once, and it separated.

I forgot how good the pâte brisée is.  That is definitely the crust you should use for any custardy pie.  It stayed crisp until the quiche was finished, while most pastry crusts get soggy or stale by the third day.

Since everything in a quiche is pre-cooked, that makes this a good way to use canned or leftover chicken.  I keep looking for ways to use the chicken I canned last year that isn't pot pie.  So, here is an actual pie.

1 batch pâte brisée
1 Tb olive oil
*1/4 C diced onion
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1 bunch red chard, leaves only, finely chopped
*1 12 oz can chicken, drained or 2 C shredded leftover chicken
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp dried tarragon
3 eggs
1 C milk
4 oz Swiss or Havarti cheese, shredded

1.  Make the pastry, roll out, and shape in an 8" or 9" pie tin.  Full disclosure, I was using a 7" to make four servings (and one baby for a snack one day), and have adjusted the quantities here to a six-serving pie.  Place the pie tin in the freezer while you work on the filling, at least half an hour.

2.  In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.  Add the diced onion and garlic.  Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

3.  Add the chard and chicken.  Cook until the chard is thoroughly wilted and the chicken is heated through.  Set aside.

4.  Preheat oven to 375º.  In a bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, pepper, celery salt, and tarragon.

5.  Set the pie tin on a rimmed baking sheet, in case of overflow.  Add half of the filling.  Sprinkle with half of the cheese.  I bought slices, so they're just torn up and strategically distributed.  Add remaining filling and cheese.

6.  Slowly pour egg mixture over the filling, then let it sit up to five minutes.  It will gradually sink in.  Bake 30 minutes.  Rotate for even cooking and reduce the heat to 350º.  Bake an additional 15-20 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test.  Allow to rest at least 15 minutes before slicing.  May be served warm, room temperature, or chilled.  I prefer warm.

Makes 1 8" or 9" quiche, about 6 servings

Difficulty rating  :)

Carrot and Chickpea Tart

I bought two pounds of carrots, then kept not using them for their intended purpose.  While they do store for an extended period in the fridge, I didn't want to test the limits.  So "chickpea flour" on the meal calendar turned into this instead of a socca.

I bought a steamer basket at an estate sale for $2.  They probably cost just a bit more than that new, but it was there and in really good shape.  Maybe had been used twice.  I definitely need one, so I can stop gumming up mesh strainers when I steam.  Steaming the carrots for this dish was its first adventure.

This recipe is a dirty dishes factory, even if you use an immersion blender instead of a food processor.  I knew that going in and just did the best I could.  You have been warned.

I'm including the recipe for the yogurt and feta sauce I had with it, but you could have it with anything, or even no sauce at all.  This tart would be great with a side of roasted vegetables, or as the side dish for fish or chicken.  I happened to have it with a green salad because Smart & Final was having some crazy sale on salad ingredients and I ended up with a week's worth for $2.  Meal plans are adaptable.

1 lb carrots
*3/4 C chickpea flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
*1/2 C (about 2) chopped green onion
*1/4 C cilantro or parsley

1.  Peel carrots and trim off tops.  Chop into pieces and place in a steamer basket in a pot over 1" water.  Close lid, bring water to a boil over medium-high heat, and steam until easily pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.  Remove carrots to cool and dry out a bit.

2.  Preheat oven to 350º and grease an 8" pie pan with oil or pan spray.

3.  Place carrots, salt, curry powder, green onion, and cilantro in a food processor and pulse into a slightly chunky paste.  I wanted this to have some texture, and for the herbs to be visible.  If you run it all the way, green and orange make brown, and I didn't want that.

4.  In a bowl (or back in the original steamer pot), stir together purée and chickpea flour into a paste.  Pat into the cake pan.  If you plan to fill the finished tart with a sauce or other topping, make a rim around the edges.  Bake until set, about 30 minutes.

5.  Allow tart to cool in pan about 10 minutes, to firm up a little, but remove it while still warm so the oil hasn't hardened yet.  If you want to serve this in one piece, a removable-bottom tart pan or springform might be a good choice.  None of mine were the right size, so I cut wedges.  Serve warm or room temperature, with a sauce if desired.

Yogurt & Feta sauce

1 C plain yogurt
*1/2 C crumbled feta cheese
*1/4 tsp celery salt
*1/4 tsp sumac
1/4 tsp cumin

1.  Stir together all ingredients while the tart is baking.  Rest in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Serves 4-6

Difficulty rating  :)

Kale and Tomato Quiche

No, seriously, this kale is never going to die.  I thought a week of 90º was going to take care of it.  I have four gallon bags of it in the freezer.  I did find a recipe for canning greens, but the point of freezing is that it takes the place of kneading the tough kale to break down the fibers for raw eating.  There is one salad recipe I want to try which will use at least half a bag.

If kale isn't your thing, this works with fresh spinach or other greens.  It will taste different, but the general idea and quantities are the same.  You could also defrost leaf spinach if you squeeze it dry.

I had really hoped I would be using my own tomatoes for this.  How did 90º not ripen them faster?  Well, I have more recipes coming up that incorporate them.  I did get some gorgeous Campari salad tomatoes that I hated cooking down for this, but they were yummy.

1 Tb olive oil
*3 C chopped kale
1/2 lb tomatoes, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp celery salt
*1 tsp dried herbs of choice (I used thyme and savory, but I get that it's hard to find savory)
1/4 tsp white pepper
*1 unbaked 9" pie crust
3 eggs
*1 C milk
*3/4 C shredded Swiss or havarti cheese

1.  If you bought a frozen pie crust, start defrosting it in the fridge.  If you made your own or use refrigerated, put it back in the fridge to keep firm.

2.  Heat oil in a medium skillet.  Add kale and cook over medium heat until it starts to wilt.  Add diced tomatoes, garlic, celery salt, white pepper, and herbs and cook until all the veggies have given up their water, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching.  Set aside to cool.

3.  Preheat oven to 375º.  In a bowl, whisk together eggs and milk.  Place pie pan on a lined baking sheet in case of overflow.

4.  To assemble the quiche, spread cooled vegetable mixture on bottom of pie pan.  Top with cheese (yes, I used sliced instead of shredded, because that's what I had).  Pour egg custard into pie shell and allow it to settle a moment.

5.  Bake 40-45 minutes, until custard is set and crust is a medium brown.  Set on a rack to cool at least 15 minutes to serve warm, or an hour to serve at room temperature.  Quiches can also be served cold.

Serves 6-8, depending on sides and whether this is for a smaller meal like brunch or tea

Difficulty rating  :)

Chocolate Mint Pudding Pie

I started losing weight again.  Sigh, sugar makes me feel weird and cutting carbs makes me underweight.  So, we're compromising with keto pie filling in a regular graham crust.  It didn't make me gain weight, but things stabilized.

I invented this as I went along, hoping it would set up.  The thing about a "no-bake" dessert is that they sometimes take longer than a baked one, with tons of dishes.  I wanted this to stay easy and without too many ingredients.  This did come together in under ten minutes, plus chilling time, so mission accomplished.

*1 pre-made graham or chocolate cookie crust
* 8 oz block cream cheese
*3 Tb creme the menthe liqueur or 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
*1 4-serving package chocolate pudding (sugar-free ok)
*2 C milk
*1/2 C mini chocolate chips, optional
*whipped cream for garnish

1.  In mixer with the paddle, beat cream cheese until smooth.  Scrape down, add liqueur or extract, and beat again until incorporated.

2.  Add first cup of milk to cheese and beat until the cream cheese breaks up into it.  Switch to the whisk and add rest of milk and the pudding mix.  Whip on 4 or so until pudding thickens, 2-4 minutes.  If desired, stir in chocolate chips.

3.  Pour pudding mixture into pie crust.  Chill until set, at least 2 hours.  Garnish with whipped cream, extra chips, or even crushed peppermints.  Serve chilled or lightly frozen.

Makes one pie, 6-8 servings

Difficulty rating  π

Berry and Apple Pie

I cut back the boysenberry too much last year to get a big harvest in 2024.  However, I still had one quart bag of berries left in the freezer from 2023 and decided to make a pie.

Being a little short on berries for even a 7", I had to cut it with something.  Apples meant I didn't have to make a trip to the store.  Berries can also be a little intense, so the apple mellowed it out and meant I didn't have to add as much sugar.

I'm going to scale this to a traditional 9" pie crust, or about three more servings than the one I made.  Served with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, it makes a great summer dessert.

*Crust for a 2-crust 9" pie
*6 C berries: blackberry, raspberry, and/or boysenberry
*2 large apples: Gala, Fuji, or Granny Smith would be ideal
1/3 C sugar
2 Tb flour
2 Tb butter
egg wash and sanding sugar for top, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Roll out and place bottom crust in pie pan.  Roll out top crust and have it waiting.

2.  Peel, core, and dice apples.  In a bowl, combine apple chunks, berries, sugar, and flour.  Pour into crust.

3.  Dot top of filling with pieces of butter.  These will melt and use the flour to thicken the juices.

4.  Place top crust over the filling.  Crimp edges shut.  Make several slits in top for venting.  If desired, brush crust with an egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

5.  Place pie on a parchment, foil, or Silpat-lined rimmed baking sheet.  Odds are, it's going to bubble over.  Bake until filling has boiled for at least 5 minutes and crust is medium brown, about 45-55 minutes.

6.  Remove pie to a rack and allow to cool before slicing.  This will allow the filling to set.  Serve on its own, or with ice cream or whipped cream.

Makes one pie, about 8 servings

Difficulty rating  :)

Pumpkin Cream Pie

It was so not-hot this summer in my area that I never grew a pumpkin.  It was massively disappointing, especially after all the allergies I endured off the male flowers.  I had even bought new pumpkin patch signage last year on clearance, in anticipation.

All that, to say I have to crack open some cans for this fall's pumpkin creations, and no pumpkin martini jam.

It's too early for the pumpkin chiffon pie, but that doesn't use a whole can anyway.  I decided to scoop out what I was going to need for that and freeze it, then use the remainder in a recipe now.  But what to make?  What I really wanted was something like the peanut butter cream pie, but with pumpkin.  Took all of five minutes to find a recipe for it online, and yeah, it's a thing.

I'm altering the recipe on Lauren's Latest, mainly replacing some of the cream cheese with whipped cream.  A few of the other amounts are tweaked.  I happen to be using a chocolate nut crust I had in the pantry, but a graham cracker, cookie, or pre-baked flour crust are all fine.  I looked for pumpkin Oreos, because that would have been amazing.

Like the peanut butter pie, this will taste and feel like flavored whipped cream.  For something sturdier, either put back the other brick of cream cheese or use one of the recipes I saw that stirs vanilla pudding mix into the pumpkin.

*1 9" prebaked pie crust
1 8oz brick cream cheese, softened
1/2 C pumpkin purée
1/2 C granulated sugar
1/4 C lightly packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1-1/2 C whipping cream
2 Tb powdered sugar

1.  In a stand mixer with the paddle, cream together cream cheese, pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and spices.  To lower the sugar content, I subbed in erythritol for the white sugar, because I'm still trying not to eat a ton of refined sugar.

2.  Separately, beat whipping cream to soft peaks.  Add powdered sugar and beat to firm peaks.  If desired, set aside 1/2 C of the whipped cream for garnish.

3.  Stir together pumpkin mixture and whipped cream.  Pour into prepared pie crust and refrigerate, covered, until firm, about 4 hours.  If desired, garnish with reserved whipped cream.

Makes one pie, 8 servings

Difficulty rating  π

Blueberry Galette

I had pie crust scraps in the freezer and a bag of frozen blueberries taking up space.  I also had no interest in making a proper pie.  A galette is an easy way to make a not-perfect, rustic pie.

It really took about five minutes to put this together and shove it in the oven, which was already at temp from a challah-baking day.  It's taking me two months to go through a batch now, with eating half as much bread.  Yes, that means the same loaf is brought out for two Shabbats.  It also means that the next round will be the High Holy Days batch, and that will last until Thanksgiving, unless I start adding more bread into my life.  Now that the crisis is over, it's getting harder to justify to myself not eating as many carbs.  I don't want to get back to that place.

That said, I only added two tablespoons of sugar to this galette.  The berries were plenty sweet.  If you used a more tart berry, like raspberry, you would have to add more.  I wouldn't call this low-carb, but it wasn't excessively carby either.  Served with some no-sugar vanilla ice cream, I considered this guilt-free.

*Crust for one 9" pie
*3 C blueberries (frozen ok)
2 Tb sugar
1 Tb cornstarch
1 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb butter
Coarse or sanding sugar, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Line a baking sheet with parchment, because there's about a 90% chance this is going to get messy in the oven.

2.  In a bowl, toss together blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice.

3.  Lay crust on parchment.  Pour berries into the center.  Yes, they're going to roll.  Keep putting them back.

4.  Fold crust up and inward in segments.  It's easiest to slice if you make the same number of folds as servings, so you'll probably end up with an octagon.  It's perfectly fine if some of the berries are under the folds, like a stuffed crust.

5.  Dot the top with bits of butter.  If desired, sprinkle with coarse sugar.  You can even brush the crust with milk or egg wash if you want that look.  I left it bare.

6.  Bake 50 minutes to an hour, until the crust is done and the berries are bubbly.  There's probably going to be blueberry juice outside of the crust, which is why there's parchment.  If it gets on the baking sheet, start soaking the pan as soon as you remove the galette, before it sets, and it should come right off.  Allow to cool halfway on the sheet before moving to a cooling rack.  It's going to be a little fragile.

7.  Serve room temperature or slightly chilled.  Ice cream or whipped cream makes a great companion.

Serves about 8

Difficulty rating  π

Tomato and Swiss Quiche

I finally made my meal-planned quiche!  All it took was prepping some pâte brisée for the freezer and baking the pie the day before.  Honestly, the vast majority of the hangup was the crust, as usual.  It took less than ten minutes to prep the filling and get it in the oven.  If you buy the crust, this is something so easy you can get it baking, go run a quick errand, and have dinner on the table.

I did make this smaller, a 7" crust for four servings, which is why I didn't go the easy route.  I'm scaling up the recipe for a standard 9" pie pan or storebought crust.

Crust for 9" pie (raw)
*1 C shredded Swiss cheese
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
3 eggs
*1 C milk
*1 tsp dried tarragon
*1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp pepper

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Set pie pan on a lined baking sheet, in case of overflow.  Drain tomatoes.

2.  In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and spices.  I ground up the fennel a bit in the mortar, but not into powder, and it made a really nice note in the finished product.  Not overpowering at all.

3.  To assemble, arrange most of tomato pieces in bottom of pie dish.  Sprinkle with Swiss, then top with remaining tomato so you can see them when it's baked.

4.  Pour egg mixture over fillings and allow to settle for a couple of minutes.  Bake for 30 minutes, then lower temperature to 350º and continue to bake until crust is done and center is set when the pan is jiggled.  Areas of the filling that appear burned are just toasted cheese.

5.  Allow to cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.  Can also be served cold, or even frozen baked for the future.

Serves about 6

Difficulty rating  π

Blanched-Apple Pie

I didn't make apple pie filling this year.  I didn't make any canned pie fillings this year.  And now I'm starting to regret it, especially because I have batched pie crust in the freezer.  I want pie, and I don't want to go to so much effort, but canned pie fillings have gotten very expensive.  It's cheaper to buy a bakery pie in some cases.

I decided to go through the prepping process for canned filling, then bake it straight, just to see what happened.  Minus peeling the apples, since I'm not doing that if it isn't a food safety issue.

This actually turned into a cran-apple pie with the last itty bit of cranberries in the freezer.  And I got kind of tired when it came to the top and only did half of a lattice.  Whatever, I wasn't selling it or entering it in the county fair.  Just my weekly dessert.

So did the texture experiment work?  Partly.  The result was definitely more evenly cooked than from raw with the slices tossed in a sugar and flour mixture.  It didn't taste completely the same as canned, but that also made it more homemade and rustic.  I'm definitely considering another batch of canned filling the next time I fill the pot, which will probably be for some lemon marmalade.  I haven't made that in a few years.

Crust for a double-crust pie
2 lbs Granny Smith or other cooking apple
2 C water
2/3 C sugar
*2 Tb ClearJel
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 Tb lemon juice

1.  If crust is frozen, get out while you prep the filling.

2.  Start boiling a medium saucepan full of water.  Core apples, peel if desired, and cut into thin wedges.  If apples are large, cut wedges in half.

3.  Drop apple pieces into the boiling water.  Allow to simmer for about 4 minutes.  If you left the skin on, you can tell they're done when the peel starts to turn yellowish.  Drain and set aside to cool.

4.  In a smaller saucepan, bring water, sugar, ClearJel, and the remaining ingredients to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.  If you don't have ClearJel, you can substitute cornstarch.  The goo won't be as solid, but it will work.  Cook until gel forms, then remove from heat.  Add apples to the pot and coat thoroughly.

5.  Prepare your bottom crust and start preheating the oven to 400º.  Pour filling into the crust and arrange evenly.  Fill it more than I did; I underestimated how far the apples would cook down and could have put in one more.  Top with other crust, making sure there is some kind of venting mechanism.  That can be a lattice, cute cutouts, or simple slits.  Seal and crimp edges (not my specialty).  If desired, brush with milk or egg wash and sprinkle with sanding sugar.

6.  Place pie pan on a baking sheet in case of juice overflow.  Bake 40-50 minutes, until apples are done and crust is well browned.  If too brown, top with foil the last 10-15 minutes of baking.

7.  Allow pie to cool to room temperature for serving.

Makes 1 9" pie, about 8 servings

Difficulty rating  :-0