PEI Potato Pie

While vacationing on the east coast this summer...we were told that we must try the P.E.I. potato pie while we were there.  We ate at a lovely place called Prince Edward Island Preserve Co. and enjoyed their potato pie.  The server also brought us a copy of the recipe...and we have enjoyed the British Columbia version of it at home since then.  It takes a little while to assemble and several hours to bake but is a delightful dish. 

Ingredients:

• 3-4 lb peeled potatoes, thinly sliced  (Yukon Gold are great)
• 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese (or more)
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup chopped chives (fresh or dry)
• 1 lb (500 g) bacon
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Line a pie plate or casserole dish with bacon, leaving half of the slices of bacon hanging over the edge of dish.
2. Thinly slice potatoes.
3. Arrange a layer of potatoes on top of the bacon in pie plate. Sprinkle with all the chopped  thyme, chives, salt and pepper and a generous amount of grated cheese. Thyme is only used on the first layer. (photo #1)
4. Repeat until you have four layers (photo #2)...ending with a layer of cheese sprinkled with chopped chives. (photo #3)
5. Pull bacon up over top of pie. (photo #4)
6. Pie should be about 4 inches high in the center .
7. Trim a small piece of parchment paper and place it on top of the bacon. Then wrap entire pie in heavy duty foil, place on baking sheet and bake at 375° F for 2 hours.
8. Remove foil and parchment paper and continue to bake for another 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender and bacon is cooked.
9. Pour off as much of the fat around the edges as possible. Let stand for about 15 minutes and then slide onto a cutting surface.
10. Slice into wedges and serve immediately. 
11. Top with Maple Bacon Sauce (photo #6)  Recipe Below

Maple Bacon Sauce:

• 1 cup  mayonnaise
• ½ cup  sour cream
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• bacon bits (as desired)

1. Combine mayo, sour cream and maple syrup. Blend until smooth.
2. Stir in bacon bits.

Pumpkin Parfait in a Jar

Just in case you need another pumpkin fix... I have got a dessert for you!  Perfect to prepare ahead...it is a combination of gingersnap goodness and pumpkin cheesecake.  I used 1 cup (250 ml) wide-mouth Mason jars but these also make up nicely in the mini Mason jars (125 ml).

Crumbs:

• 1 1/2 cups ginger-snap cookie crumbs
• 6 tablespoons melted butter

 Cream Filling:

• 1 cup whipping cream*
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 4 oz. / 125 ml cream cheese
• 1/2 cup icing sugar (confectioners sugar)

 Pumpkin Filling:

• 1 - 14 oz (398 ml) can of canned pumpkin 
• 1 cup milk
• 1 package (4 serving size) vanilla instant pudding
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup whipping cream (whipped with 1 tablespoon sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla)*

1. To prepare the base, combine cookie crumbs and butter.  Pack crumbs into the bottom of 8-10 Mason jars.
2. For cream filling...combine whipping cream, sugar and vanilla and beat until stiff.  In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese and icing sugar; beat until smooth.  Add the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and whip to combine well.  Carefully spoon cream cheese layer over gingersnap crust.
3. In a medium-sized bowl combine canned pumpkin, milk, pudding mix, and spices. Mix slowly with electric beater until blended, about 1 minute. Fold in whipped cream. Add pumpkin layer carefully to parfaits.   
4. Refrigerate. (Even better made the previous day!) 
5. Just before serving, top each parfait with a dollop of whipped cream and garnish with a ginger snap. 

*Whip all the cream at once (with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla) and use half for cream layer and half for pumpkin layer. 

**Put fillings into large Ziploc bags and cut off tip of a corner off for mess-free dispensing!

Yield: 8-10 (1 cup / 250 ml) Mason jar parfaits. 

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken

We have a local Thai restaurant that serves a delicious chicken curry dish that is a favorite of ours.  This recipe is similar...with cubed potatoes, chicken and red peppers smothered in a zippy curry sauce.

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in bite-sized cubes
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• 1 can (156ml) tomato paste*
• 1 can light coconut milk (400 ml. or about 1 1/2 cups)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 Tbsp Garam Masala  (add an extra tablespoon of curry powder instead, if you prefer)
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or less, if you don't like the heat!)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Place cubed potatoes, red pepper and onion in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Cover with cubed chicken breast.
3. Place remaining ingredients (except cornstarch and water) in a food processor  or blender and process until smooth.
4. Pour sauce over ingredients in slow cooker.
5. Close lid and cook on low for 6 hours.
6. One hour before serving, stir together water and cornstarch until smooth. Add to the chicken curry and mix well. Cover and cook for remaining time.
7. Serve on a bed of rice, topped with chopped onion greens. 

*I discovered that if there is no tomato paste in the pantry, it can be omitted and is still delicious!
 

The Apple ~ Any Way You Slice It!

Apple season is upon us...and there's nothing quite like enjoying a crisp, fresh apple right off the tree.

Here's a simple way of slicing the apple without an apple corer...perfect for including in a lunch bag.

• Set apple with stem side down on a cutting board..
• Slice apple in a tic-tac-toe pattern, holding the pieces together firmly as you slice through. (#1)
• Snap an elastic band around the apple to hold the pieces together. (#2)
• Many hours later...the apple slices have stayed almost totally white.  
• Discard core section and enjoy eight slices of crisp, white apple. (#3)

There are many wonderful recipes that feature apples...and it seems the perfect time of the year to highlight a few of those.

 Caramel Apple Cake is a favorite over here....and has often doubled as a birthday cake at this time of year.  We enjoyed it around the table with friends this past week.

How about Apple Fritter Rings for brunch?

Or Apple Muffins...for breakfast, lunch or coffee break.

Apple Pie Squares...a crowd-sized version of apple pie!

Here's a perfect accompaniment for an apple tray...Caramel Apple Dip.

Apple Pancakes...always a treat!

If you still haven't found the apple recipe you are looking for...try entering the word 'apple' in the recipe search on the sidebar of this blog and you will be overwhelmed with apple everything!   Don't you just feel like cooking with apples?
 

As for me...I'm slicing up apples every which way over here!  We have one wee tree...which bears several varieties of apples. The one variety (on the left) grew to be the size of small pumpkins this year. The apple pictured here weighed well over a pound...as compared to the average sized McIntosh apple on the right.  Enjoy these 'apple days' of autumn!

 

Tomato Corn Chowder

Fall is in the air...and soups are on the menu! For this week's Flashback Friday recipe, I'm featuring one of our favorite fall soups. This tomato-corn chowder is based on a recipe that I clipped from a paper many years ago. It has a south-of-the-border flavour to it and was first posted here in August of 2008 as Mexican Tomato Chowder.  Fresh herbs are wonderful...but dried oregano and basil are fine as well.  It's a great way to use those end-of-the-season tomatoes.
 

Mexican Tomato Chowder

• 2 pounds field tomatoes 
• 1 large onion 
• 1 clove garlic, minced 
• 3 cups chicken broth 
• 1 large can black beans, drained (19 oz.) 
• 1 can beans in tomato sauce 
• 2 cups sweet corn kernels (fresh, canned or frozen) 
• 1 tsp. each of salt, oregano and basil (more if using fresh herbs)
• pinch of cayenne pepper (make that a generous pinch...if you like a little zip)
• 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

1. Scald tomatoes to remove skins and chop coarsely. 
2. In large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat until softened (about 3 minutes). 
3. Stir in stock, chopped tomatoes, corn, beans, salt, oregano, basil and cayenne. 
4. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. 
5. Stir in cilantro and serve. 
6. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream.

Loaded Granola Cookies

Loaded Granola Cookies

 

Hearty, chewy and crunchy at the same time...and Oh So Good!  Our favorite lunchtime treat has always been an oatmeal raisin cookie. But for some time now, that cookie has been upgraded to a 'loaded granola cookie'. I add homemade cinnamon spice granola along with assorted dried fruits to come up with a wholesome and flavourful gourmet cookie. And here's how we like them best...right out of the freezer!

• 1 cup butter or margarine, softened (but not melted)
• 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup old fashioned oats 
• 3 cups granola (your favorite or mine)
• 1 1/2 cups dried fruits (cranberries, blueberries, apricots, raisins, etc.)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat butter and sugar.  
3. Add vanilla and eggs and blend well.
4. Add flour, baking soda and salt and blend. 
5. Add all remaining ingredients and stir just to combine. 
6. Drop from a large cookie scoop (1/4 cup mounds) onto a cookie sheet...leaving several inches between mounds.  Flatten slightly.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are golden.
8. Remove from oven and allow to cool for several minutes on cookie sheet before moving to cooling rack.

Yield: 30 large cookies.

Cinnamon Spice Granola

Here is a basic granola recipe that is easy to switch up to include the seeds and nuts of your choice.   Who knew granola could taste so good?  We love it with fruit and yogurt for breakfast or even as a salad topper.  I'll be sharing our favorite granola cookie recipe here next week.

• 4 cups large flake oats (not quick oats)
• 3 cups of nuts and seeds of your choice (1 cup sliced almonds, 1 cup pumpkin seeds, 1 cup sunflower seeds)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (or maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325° F (300°F for convection oven).
2. In a large bowl, mix together the oats, nuts and seeds. 
3. Combine the oil, honey, brown sugar (or maple syrup) and spices in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly so that everything is moistened.
5. Spread on two ungreased large rimmed baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until golden, stirring every 10 minutes. Let cool.
6. Store granola in an airtight container at room temperature for up to several weeks....or store in freezer.

  
Suggestions:

•  Breakfast parfait.
• Topping for baked apples.
• Salad topping (great on kale salad or any salad with fruit).
• Eat it with various fruits, nuts and seeds as add-ins.   (i.e. raisins, craisins, cashews, dried apricots, dried apples, dried cherries).
• Makes a great neighbor gift.  Pour granola in cellophane bag and tie with ribbon...or fill a glass jar.
• Add to cookies along with dried fruits.