Fresh Blueberry Pie

I wanted to make a pie for Jer for father's day, and we had blueberries in the house, so I decided to go with a fresh blueberry pie.  This is my Gramma's recipe.

Fresh Blueberry Pie

1 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch
1 T lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 T butter
4 cup blueberries
1 pie crust - baked

Bake single pie crust according to box directions.  In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and water. Smash 1 cup of the blueberries into the sauce and cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and clear  Add 1 T of butter and stir until it melts in. Fold in remaining blueberries, pour into pie crust, and refrigerate to set.

Banana Energy Bites (Mini Muffins)

Jer was baking today.

Yep.  I am pretty sure that is the first time I have ever said that :)

Banana Energy Bites (Mini Muffins)

3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/2 cup agave syrup or honey
2 T vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas.  Stir in eggs, agave syrup, vegetable oil, and vanilla.  Add flour, baking soda, and salt and stir to combine. Spoon the batter into a lightly greased mini muffin pan, filling each cavity with 1 heaping teaspoon of batter (makes 36).  Bake at 350° for 15 minutes, rotating the trays halfway through. Let cool for 1 minute then remove the banana bites from the trays and cool on a rack. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze for up to a month.

No Bake Banana Energy Bites

Jer made some no-bake running snacks.

No Bake Banana Energy Bites

1 ripe banana
1/2 cup craisins
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 T mini chocolate chips (enjoy life - milk free)

In a food processor, add banana and craisins and blend well.  Add flour and oats and process until well combined.  Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir in chocolate chips. Scoop by heaping tablespoon and form into balls.  Store in airtight container in the fridge or freeze for longer storage.

White Chocolate Chex Mix

I have been craving one of these mixes and there is usually more peanuts in them than I want.  I kind of just made this one up based on some other mixes like this that I have had, then kept track of the approximate amount of chex and pretzels that I added.

White Chocolate Chex Mix

12 oz white chocolate
1/2 cup peanut butter
5 cup rice chex
5 cup pretzel sticks
1 cup plain m&m's
1/2 cup peanuts

In a very large bowl, melt white chocolate, mix in peanut butter.  Add the remaining mix ins and stir until well coated.  Keep adding cereal and pretzels as needed to use up the chocolate mixture.  Let cool and break apart.

Baked Dressing

Jer's Aunt Sue always made this at Thanksgiving every year.  The first time that I made it, I did not dry out the bread first and ended up with a soupy mess.  I still didn't plan ahead this year, but I dried the bread out by baking it in the oven for 5-10 minutes on a baking sheet. 

Baked Dressing

3 eggs - beaten
1 1/2 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup onion - chopped
1/4 cup celery - chopped
dash salt & pepper
2 quart bread cubes - dry

Mix eggs, milk, broth, onion, celery, and salt & pepper. Stir in bread cubes and pour into a lightly greased baking dish. Bake at 350° for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown on top and the center is thoroughly cooked.

Wendy's Copycat Chili

I entered the Chili cook-off at church this week and needed a winning recipe.   I scoured the internet for ideas - I don't personally enjoy chili, so this is a bit of a challenge.  I know lots of people who love some Wendy's chili, so in the end, I went with this copycat Wendy's chili recipe from Delish and modified it by adding some ideas from other recipes that I looked at - including bacon!

Wendy's Copycat Chili

1 T olive oil
5 slices bacon - chopped
1 onion - diced
2 garlic cloves - minced
1 green pepper - diced
2 stalks celery - diced
3 T tomato paste
3 lb hamburger
3 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
dash salt & pepper
1 can tomatoes & chiles
28 oz crushed tomatoes
2 cup beef broth
15 oz kidney beans - lightly drained
15 oz pinto beans - lightly drained

Brown hamburger, drain fat and set aside.  In a large pot over medium heat, heat olive oil, bacon, onion, garlic, pepper, and celery and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add in tomato paste, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.  Add browned hamburger and half of the beef broth so it doesn't burn. Add chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder, and season generously with salt and pepper. Pour in crushed tomatoes, using remaining beef broth to rinse the can to catch any remaining tomato. Add beans and stir to combine. Bring chili to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer until flavors meld and liquid is slightly reduced, about 40 minutes.  Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sour cream.

Pumpkin Seeds

We carved our pumpkins this year and decided to capture the seeds and roast them.  I made two different kinds because between 3 pumpkins, I had a lot of seeds.  After removing the seeds from the pumpkin, put them in a water bath - they float - and carefully scoop them out into a strainer avoiding the pumpkin guts.  I searched up a bunch of recipes and ended up basing them on this one and this one from Delish.  The butter salted ones were definitely the favorite.

Butter Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 T butter - melted
1 tsp salt
2 cup pumpkin seeds

Mix together butter and salt in a small bowl.  Stir in pumpkin seeds until well coated.  Spread over parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350° for 25 minutes.

Cinnamon & Sugar Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 T butter - melted
2 T cinnamon & sugar (recipe)
2 cup pumpkin seeds

Mix together butter and pumpkin seeds in a small bowl until well coated.  Toss with cinnamon and sugar.  Spread over parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350° for 25 minutes.  To make this recipe milk free for Henry, I substituted 1 T vegetable oil for the butter.  Another option is to add pumpkin pie spice to the cinnamon & sugar mixture.

This year I repeated the buttered ones and decided to make a second savory batch:

Seasoned Salt Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 tsp Lowry's seasoning salt

2 cup pumpkin seeds

Mix together oil and salt in a small bowl, then stir in seeds until well coated.  Spread over parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 350° for 25 minutes.