Substitute Ingredients

As I continue to cook my way through the Pioneer Woman Cooks…I kept looking at her Chicken Spaghetti recipe, but I could never remember to buy the pimientos! One night I just decided to make it and substitute a few ingredients. A good cook once told me “if you change one ingredient of any recipe it becomes your own”. So here is the DFD (Dairy Farmer’s Daughter) version of PW Chicken Spaghetti. I used the meat from a rotisserie chicken,  roasted red peppers instead of pimientos and celery instead of green bell pepper. Because I did not have any chicken broth from cooking my own chicken, I added some canned chicken broth to my water before I cooked the spaghetti. I thought the results were great!

Chicken Pot Pie

Once again, the Pioneer Woman has convinced me to try something new. This time…it is pie crust. Just for the record, I have made pie crust before, and I was not very successful, so I gave it up.

But chicken pot pie is another thing. I love chicken pot pie. I have never made a chicken pot pie…for fear of the crust. But her pie crust recipe looked rather simple and so I tried it. The crust was easy to make and so I continued on with the chicken pot pie. I am sure the butter and heavy cream added to the wonderful taste of this pot pie. If you have this cookbook, you will find the step by step directions/pictures on page 126. I very carefully followed step number 10 which notes that the rustic looking crust is a good thing. Here is her recipe for the perfect pie crust.

Ingredients

1-½ cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)
3 cups All-purpose Flour
1 whole Egg
5 Tablespoons Cold Water
1 Tablespoon White Vinegar
1 teaspoon Salt

Preparation Instructions
In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Separate the dough into halves. Form 2 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. (If you desire a thinner crust, divide dough into thirds.) Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it's still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it's a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it's about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Mocha Brownies

A little bit of coffee and a whole lotta butter – this IS what makes a great brownie!
This recipe comes from The Pioneer Women Cooks a wonderful cookbook that I received for Christmas. The best part of this cookbook is all the wonderful step by step photos that show you exactly what to do. The worst part of this cookbook is comparing my finished product to the photo of PW’s finished product. It might not look the same, but the taste is all that matters and these brownies tasted fabulous. The ladies at Bible study tonight didn’t care about the calorie content of this dessert, they were actually a little disappointed that I cut the icing recipe in half. So, indulge! Grab a pound of butter and enjoy these brownies!

Brownies

Four 1-ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
½ pound (two sticks) butter
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour

To make the brownies – preheat oven to 325 degrees, spray an 8-inch square baking pan with nonstick baking spray.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate in 30 increments, being careful not to let it burn. Set aside to cool slightly.
In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs.
With the mixer on low, drizzle in the melted chocolate. Add the vanilla and mix.
Add the flour and mix, just until combined. Do not over mix.
Pour the batter into the baking dish. Spread to even out the surface. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the center is no longer soft.
Set the brownies aside to cool completely before icing.

Mae’s Mocha Icing

½ pound (2 sticks) butter
5 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ to ¾ cup brewed coffee, cooled to room temperature

In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter and powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt and vanilla.
Mix until slightly combined, then add ½ cup coffee. Whip until icing is desired consistency, if the icing is overly thick, add more coffee. It should be very light and fluffy.
Spread the icing thick. Refrigerate until the icing is firm, then slice into squares. Makes 16 brownies.