Pot Pies

• A lot of us have eaten pot pie, but few have made the effort to make a homemade pot pie. Pot pie is not as hard as it seems, especially if you already have a crust or dough ready. This classic recipe from www.potpierecipe.net is fun and easy to bake.

  Homestyle Turkey Pot Pie

  Ingredients:

  1 tablespoon Butter
  1 small Sweet Onion, chopped
  1/2 cup Carrots, peeled and chopped
  1/2 cup Potatoes, peeled and chopped
  1/2 cup Celery, chopped
  1/2 teaspoon Salt
  1/2 teaspoon Dried Thyme
  1/2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary, crushed
  pinch Black Pepper
  1 Bay Leaf
  2 cups Turkey Broth
  1/3 cup Flour
  1 cup Frozen Peas
  2 cups Cooked Turkey, chopped
  2 (9-inch) Pie Crusts
  2 tablespoons Milk

  Preparation:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
  2. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat.
  3. Stir in chopped sweet onion, chopped carrots, chopped potatoes and chopped celery.
  4. Cook vegetables until soft, about five minutes.
  5. Stir in salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried rosemary, bay leaf, and 1-1/2 cups turkey broth.
  6. In small bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour with remaining ½ cup turkey broth.
  7. Stir flour mixture into hot vegetables.
  8. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  9. Remove bay leaf.
  10. Stir in frozen peas and cooked turkey.
  11. Place pie crust in glass pie plate.
  12. Spoon pot pie mixture into pie crust.
  13. Place second crust over top and crimp to seal edges.
  14. Cut slits in top crust.
  15. Brush top pie crust with milk.
  16. Bake 10-15 minutes, or until top crust is golden brown.

Fruit

• Bake fruit on its own or with a glaze or sauce like chocolate. Some fruit, such as pears and berries, go great with wine. Try this recipes from http://lastminutecook.wordpress.com/2007/03/17/baked-fruit-desserts/.

  Wine-baked Pears

  Ingredients:

  3 pears, cored and sliced thinly
  2 T. brown sugar
  1 c. red wine
  1 dash each of cinnamon and cloves

  Preparation:

  Arrange the slices of pear in an eight inch square baking pan. Sprinkle each layer with a little brown sugar. Pour the wine over the whole thing and season with cinnamon and cloves. Bake for 25 minutes at 350º. Serve hot or cold.

Soft Pretzels

• Make a special treat into a homemade one and bake soft pretzels. It's fun to shape and bake soft pretzels, especially for kids. Simple bread dough plus a beaten egg (and salt if you desire) are all you need to bake soft pretzels. A variety of sweet and savory toppings and dips work well with them too. Try this basic recipe from http://www.creativekidsathome.com/activities/activity_1.html#Soft Pretzels:

  Soft Pretzels

  Ingredients:

  2 - 16 oz. loaves frozen bread dough
  1 egg white, slightly beaten with 1 teaspoon water
  Coarse salt

  1. Separate thawed bread into 24- 1 and 1/2 inch balls.
  2. Roll each ball into a rope 14 and 1/2 inches long.
  3. Have children plan and design pretzel shapes (letters or numerals).
  4. Put pretzels one inch apart on a baking sheet.
  5. Brush with egg white mixture.
  6. Sprinkle with salt.
  7. Follow baking directions for bread dough.
  8. Check early since they will cook faster than a loaf of bread