If you’re on Facebook or Pinterest, I’d really appreciate it if you could use one of the buttons above, thank you! 

This is another one of those recipes that I’m tempted not to even show you because it is just too simple – but those are often the recipes y’all end up loving the most! I love that we have that in common.  I make this pie with Splenda for a nice light treat, but you can use sugar if you prefer. It only takes minutes to make from start to finish and its delicious on it’s own or topped with fresh berries.

The crazy thing is, with all of the elaborate and more involved desserts I make from time to time, this one remains my husband’s favorite. In the old days, I used to be able to make this and have it last a few days but now that my son and daughter have decided they love it as much as my husband does, I’m doing good if it lasts one day.

To see what was left of this pie the morning after I made it, check out the bottom of this post

You’ll need: A graham crust, Splenda (I’m using generic) or sugar, light whipped topping*, cream cheese at room temp, and fresh berries (optional).

*I’m using generic Splenda and whipped topping because it saved me a few dollars to do so. However, if you really need or want to spend extra money, feel free to use name brand. Whatever cranks yer tractor.

Not pictured is lemon juice. I sometimes add a tablespoon of bottled lemon juice to this pie, depending on if I think about it or not. It’s a wonderful addition but totally up to you and good either way!

Place cream cheese and splenda in a bowl.

Make sure your cream cheese is room temp or it won’t get creamy.

Mix that with an electric mixer until well combined.

Toss in your whipped topping.

Mix that up again until well mixed, about a minute or two.

Spread into a graham cracker crust.

Cover this and refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Serve on it’s own or topped with fresh berries and more whipped topping.

 So the next day, I thought I’d have a slice of the pie. I figured there would be about half a pie left, but when I went to the fridge I found a teeny tiny sliver and sent the following text to my husband:

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.”

~Margaret Shepard

Submitted by Jackie, thanks so much Jackie!

To submit your quote or read almost 2000 others submitted by readers like you, please click here.

Mama and I had a wonderful time this past weekend in Nashville. To see photos from our trip (and some of the fun antiques we found), click here to visit my instagram page. If you missed my Birthday Challenge yesterday, it’s not too late to light candles! Click here to visit that post for details on how you can join us and light up the world!

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2013/02/splenda-cream-cheese-pie.html/feed 56 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/tomato-pie.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/tomato-pie.html#comments Tue, 19 Jun 2012 15:38:54 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=19302

If you’re on Pinterest or Facebook, I’d really appreciate it if you could use one of the buttons above, thank you!!

Nothing says summer like red, ripe tomatoes fresh from the garden. Nothing makes me give thanks for summer like a fresh tomato pie! 

I don’t have a big garden at my house, but not for lack of trying. You see, I have very fat, happy, and mischievous squirrels, rabbits, and various other critters. They gobble cucumbers, disconnect baby cantaloupes from the vine, pick my pecan trees clean, and even dig up and relocate plants from time to time as the mood strikes them.

I am fully capable of using a bb gun along with various other measures to rid myself of these critters but truth be told, we just enjoy them so much and get far more giggles than stress over their antics so I leave them be. Besides, we do have a truce of sorts – they let me grow tomatoes. As long as I can do that, I get to keep my Southern citizenship and make yummy things for you like this tomato pie.

Speaking of critters in our little Bountiful woods, last week we even had a hawk come watch us eat lunch. Dangdest thing! I’m pretty sure he was attracted by all of those fat, happy, and mischievous squirrels, rabbits, and various other critters…

I think the rabbits and squirrels tipped each other off this time though, and we were spared a scene from “Predators of the Fat and Happy” . Clearly, the hawk came, placed his order, and got tired of waiting. He left after an hour or so but he is still hanging around. Eventually one of our poor Henry’s will bite the dust (if you’ve been with us a while you know that all of our squirrels are named Henry).

Oh…pie. Tomato pie. Got ya, I’m on it! 

You’ll need: 3 or 4 tomatoes, cheddar cheese, mayo, fresh basil leaves, balsamic vinegar, kosher salt, and pepper.

You’re also gonna need a regular pie crust, already baked.

And just so you know, this is my official protest against basalmic vinegar being spelled balsamic. I’m just certain my way of spelling it and saying it is right somewhere in this world…

Wash and slice your tomatoes.

There is an important decision to make at this point. Do you want your tomato pie juicy or not? I like mine juicy, so I’m going right on ahead from here.

If you want yours to be less juicy, take these tomatoes and sprinkle a little bit of salt on them, then put them in a colander over the sink and allow to drain for about ten minutes. They’ll still be somewhat juicy but not nearly as much. This will make your tomato pie slices come out prettier. I suggest doing this if you are serving it to company. If you are serving it to family, just skip this step because they know you can cook and they’d rather have a big old slice of juicy tomato pie!

Arrange 1/2 of those gorgeous tomato slices in your baked pie crust.

Sprinkle 1/2 of your salt and pepper over them, then tear up some basil leaves and sprinkle those over them, too.

Now take one teaspoon of balsamic vinegar and drizzle that over them.

Like so. 

Top with half of your cheese.

Repeat with the rest of your tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil leaves and… 

Cheese.

Now spread the mayonnaise over the top of it all.

If you don’t like mayonnaise, don’t worry. You’re in good company. Not once in my entire life have I ever said “OOOH yum, mayonnaise!”. So if you don’t like mayonnaise, whenever you see me using it you should know that you aren’t going to end up with a mayonnaise taste when you’re done. So it’s safe mayo not-likers (because calling us mayo haters is just too harsh). Go ahead and spread that mayo because this stuff is gonna be good! 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until it is lightly browned like this. Serve warm or cold.

This some good eaten’!

• For another one of my favorite tomato recipes, click here to learn how to make tomato mozzarella melts. 
• Also, check out my post on how to put up tomatoes the easy way if you want some fine eating this winter! Nothing beats home grown tomatoes in winter stews.

“Do not anticipate trouble or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.”

~Benjamin Franklin

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/06/tomato-pie.html/feed 119 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/04/cherry-enemy-pie.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/04/cherry-enemy-pie.html#comments Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:52:32 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=18958

I’m thrilled to bring you this delicious cherry pie today. I just love cold fruit pies and this one is a new spin on my Fresh Strawberry Pie for the cherry lovers among us! Since it uses canned cherries, this is one of those pies you can keep all of the ingredients on hand for and make whenever the mood strikes you.

I had the best time this past weekend at the National Cornbread Festival. I was one of the judges in the big cook off so I got to taste each dish that was entered- and they sure were good! I was honored to be able to serve as judge alongside all of the other amazing folks who were judging and I was so glad there were as many of us as there were because judging was very difficult! One of the juges said “Next year can you try to get at least one recipe that isn’t so good to make this easier for us?”

He says I’m funny. ~grin~

I also had a great time getting to meet many of you beforehand. One little boy in particular stood out. I was talking to his Mama about my book and he was standing between us making short work of a sucker I’d given him. He was about three or four years old and as his mama and I were talking he took that sucker out and looked up at me with a serious tone as he said “You’re funny.”

I knelt down to talk to him with a smile as I responded “I am?”

He nodded and took the sucker out again to reply “Yeah. I seen them story videos of yours. You’re always funny.”

I grinned back and asked him which one was his favorite and he looked at me like I was crazy for expecting him to pick just one as he said “All of them.”

He was so sweet! I had a LOT of kids come up to me telling me that they’ve watched my story time videos and I can’t tell you how tickled that made me. I just love doing those and I really do them for my own fun and for my favorite folks – because I just love kids.

So today I’m bringing you another great story time video that my daughters librarian (the most brilliant librarian ever – read about her by clicking here) sent home with her for me to read to you. But this book has a recipe to go with it, too! So below is the video if you want to know why this pie is named like it is, then head on into your kitchen and whip up this deliciously fresh tasting Cherry Enemy Pie – the perfect way to kill your enemies – by making them your friends

If you would like to see any of my other story time videos, click here to go to that section of the website. 

The Recipe For Cherry Enemy Pie is below the video

Yowza. Don’t you just love that still photo shot of me before the video starts? Eep!

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

Click here for more story time videos. Keep reading for the recipe! 

You’ll need: Sugar, 1 can of sweet pitted cherries, small box of cherry gelatin, and some corn starch.

You’ll also need a regular sized pie crust (not deep dish) but I’m using my mix in the pan pie crust so you can use that as well if you like. I have a link to my pie crust recipe in the ingredients list at the bottom of this post.

 In a medium sauce pan, place your gelatin (check the recipe below for amount, we’re not using the whole box), sugar, and corn starch.

Stir those together.

Pour in your water and stir again.

Now place this over medium high heat and stir constantly until it becomes translucent.

This will take about ten minutes or so. It won’t become totally clear unless you are really, really patient.

I knew a patient person once – and it wasn’t me. So let’s just go for translucent.

See? Translucent.

Basically, you want to cook it long enough for everything to dissolve together and form a gel of sorts.

Then set that aside and let it cool for a bit, about half an hour.

Once cooled, drain cherries well and place them in your baked pie crust.

See this pretty crust? It’s my mix in the pan one. It’s so easy and I love how it tastes.

Now pour your cooled cherry pie gel over the cherries.

Cover and refrigerate until well chilled.

Serve to your friends, families, loved ones, and your very best enemies

For a Strawberry version of this pie, click here. 

If you would like to see any of my other story time videos, click here to go to that section of the website. 

Am I not destroying my enemies when I make friends of them?

~Abraham Lincoln

Thank you for all of the great feedback on the new Southern Plate Popular Recipes Newsletter! Once a week I send out a newsletter to email subscribers with the most popular Southern Plate recipes that week, the latest recipes posted on SouthernPlate.com, news, events, inspirational quotes and more! If you’d like to subscribe by email, you can do so by clicking here. No one will ever see your email address but me and I send out anywhere from 3-4 emails a week.

Have a GREAT day!

Gratefully,

Christy

Listen to more of my favorite stories below!

Interrupting Chicken

How Many Veggies? 

Featuring a surprise phone call from Larry The Cucumber!

Pirate Pete’s Talk Like A Pirate

Tacky The Penguin

Enemy Pie

Little Red Hen

When I Was Young In The Mountains

Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type

Bark, George

YES DAY!

Giraffes Can’t Dance

Pete The Cat

Kiss Good Night

Green Eggs And Ham

One Fish, Two Fish

WHAT! Cried Granny

Wocket In My Pocket

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/04/cherry-enemy-pie.html/feed 69 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/03/buttermilk-peach-pie.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/03/buttermilk-peach-pie.html#comments Mon, 12 Mar 2012 13:18:07 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=18615 clicking here and never miss a single recipe! While I finish up my second book, you can click here to order my first one. Also, I sure would appreciate it if you’d tell your friends to join us over here on SouthernPlate.com! There’s always room for more at the Southern Plate table. Gratefully, Christy

If you’re anything like me, the title alone drew you to this post. Anything with buttermilk gets five stars in my book. So let me just tell you right now that if you like buttermilk, pies, and peaches, this one won’t disappoint. This is an old fashioned buttermilk custard pie with juicy bites of peaches throughout and a hint of cinnamon in every bite.

It’s as good hot as it is cold – and as good for dessert as it is for breakfast. Oooh did I say that? Pie for breakfast? Oh I meant….mid morning snack with your coffee, as long as you got up at 4:00 AM and skipped breakfast just to have this “snack” at 7:00 Am. ~winks and grins~  It has buttermilk (calcium!), eggs (protein!) and peaches (fruit!), toss in the starches in the crust and all ya gotta do it throw a green bean on the side and you’ve practically eaten the food pyramid!

I’ll get to showing you how to make this easy and delicious pie again here in a minute but first I got some rambling to do because that’s just how I work

I had to run some errands yesterday afternoon and came home to find my husband washing his car and my daughter riding her bicycle in the driveway. She beamed from ear to ear as I got out of the car and she told me it was the first spring day of riding her bike. I put my groceries down and perched on a porch step as I watched her for a bit. It seems like yesterday, but it has been over thirty years since I was exactly where Katy Rose was.

Did you have a bicycle as a kid? I had a pink one with a banana style seat and the words “Powder puff” written on it. It was beautiful, my pride and joy. I put a piece of masking tape running down the center of the seat as soon as I got it. I’d get on it and line up the zipper of my brother’s hand me down jeans with that strip of tape to help me find my balance as I was teaching myself to ride.

Once I learned, man I was off! I imagine some folks who didn’t know any better might have thought I was just riding a bicycle as I wore trails into the roads in my neighborhood, but if you were ever in the seat of your own bicycle as a child you know the truth – I was flying!

Every morning I’d get up with the sun, get dressed as quickly as I could, and then head out for a day of peddling as fast as I could while the wind flew through my hair and I soared through the skies of Huntsville.

Oh how I remember the joy of that first day when it was warm enough to ride your bike after the winter! I’d ride all day long only to wake up the next day with legs so sore I could hardly walk, but by golly I’d still get on that bike and within a day or two be back to flying again.
You know, so much of life is like that.
It starts out fun, then we realize it’s hard, but we stick with it and pedal some more and eventually we’ll be rewarded with some good flight time.
If we just stick with it.
And keep pedaling.
If it feels hard today, if you’re a little sore from trying, don’t give up.
Keep pedaling.
You’ll fly soon.

Now lets park our bikes and make a pie.

You’ll need: Buttermilk, sugar, peaches, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, butter, and a few tablespoons of flour. The flour was camera shy. Some ingredients are just like that so I try to be flexible

Oh, and also a pie crust.

A Deep Dish one.

Drain your peaches and pour them into your unbaked pie crust.

Sometimes I end up with a little bit extra batter and it won’t quite fit into my crust, so I always eat one or two peach slices just to be on the safe side. ~winks~

Oh the things I go through for my family.

 Melt your butter in a medium mixing bowl.

 Stir in your buttermilk first.

This cools the butter down a bit so when we add our eggs they won’t cook, instead we’ll be able to whisk them up like we want to.

Add in all other ingredients.

 Stir them up until well blended.

If you look directly to the right beside this photo, you will see a rectangle with a play button in it that plays the Southern Fried Radio Show You can press play and then just go back to reading this post while you listen if you like.

Pour over your peaches.

 Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until the center is set (doesn’t jiggle when you gently shake it).

Serve hot or cold.

Ya might wanna make two like I usually do…

and let us know where you live…

and have plates and forks handy…

coz we’re gonna wanna dig in.

Be there soon, I’ll leave my bicycle in your front yard

 While you’re here, check out the latest edition of the Southern Fried Radio Show by clicking here and learn about my Uncle’s very unusual nicknames and why I truly am the ugliest baby that ever was.

“Never let your head hang down.

Never give up and sit down and grieve. Find another way.

And don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.”

— Satchel Paige.

Submitted by Natalie McLaren. Submit your quote by clicking here. I’m always looking for more quotes and don’t worry if you think yours might have been submitted already, that just means it bears repeating!

]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2012/03/buttermilk-peach-pie.html/feed 115 http://www.southernplate.com/2012/02/oatmeal-raisin-pie-and-they-say.html http://www.southernplate.com/2012/02/oatmeal-raisin-pie-and-they-say.html#comments Thu, 02 Feb 2012 13:51:22 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=18243 If you’re on Facebook, please click the “Like” button above, thank you!

So today something cool happened. Alright, actually several cool things happened but I’m gonna focus on one here because if I took the time to write about every little detail in my life that I felt was cool or neat or served as evidence to enforce my view that the world is mostly a good place full of good people, y’all would just have to clock in each morning by 5:00 AM and hang in there with me til I ran out of wind around midnight - And Repeat next day  

So I checked in on twitter and I saw a wonderful tweet from Charlie Daniels, so I retweeted it. Then I got to working in the kitchen and cranked up some CDB while I was cooking. I tweeted about that, too. Cool thing is, I heard back  “Bet you’re cooking something good” from Charlie Daniels himself!

As a girl I used to listen to his fiddle playing, begging my dad to play Devil Went Down To Georgia over and over again. When I took up classic violin in middle school I had visions of playing like him one day. The fact that I never got much beyond The Old Gray Goose is entirely beside the point… 

I called my mother and said “Guess who just talked to me on twitter? Charlie Daniels!” 

She replied, “Really? Now you know They say he’s just the nicest man.

I held in my chuckle. We do that a lot around here, talk about “They” say this or that.

“They” is a group of people that just about everyone I know has. “They” apparently get together frequently to discuss current events, recipes, people, and raising your kids.

I’ve spent my life hearing:  They say you should (insert should here)… They say this really tastes good…and when it comes to people “They say Charlie Daniels is the nicest man”

So I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who happens to be in our group of “They”. There are all sorts of “They” groups and I’m so thankful that the “They’s” in our lives are the kind that say nice things about people. :0)

If your group of “They” is like that, They say you should let them know how much they are appreciated! 

And now, On to the Pie! 

Okay, kinda. I have something else to talk about first but I promise we’re getting a lot closer to the pie…

The famous Miss Fay's portrait is also with us in this photo!

So this past weekend, my mother and I ended up at the famous Loveless Cafe in Nashville, Tennessee with our friends Shannon Kozee and Tamera Alexander. I’m gonna talk more about Shannon in a future post. If Tamera’s name sounds familiar it is because she is a wonderful author of historic fiction. (You can check out her blog here. You can also get her latest book here, which Mama is reading now and I’m reading as my treat once I get done writing my second cookbook.)

Getting to meet her was a complete thrill for me because we’ve had some of those encounters with each other via internet that you know just can’t be coincidences. The first time I was made aware of her blog was when I got a notice that someone had blogged about me (it is an automated thing that sometimes works but most of the time doesn’t). I looked at the name and thought it sounded familiar but couldn’t quite place it. Then, a few days later, someone was giving a copy of my cookbook away on Twitter and again, her name. So this time I decided to do a little investigating and went to visit her blog. As I scrolled down I saw the cover of a book she had written – and that book was sitting beside my chair because I had just finished reading it. LIGHTBULB.

We exchanged a few emails and Tammy was always so encouraging and warm in hers. I was actually a little nervous about meeting her but she was even warmer in person! She absolutely exudes kindness and grace and is just one of those people you want to sit around and soak in for as long as possible. She also had perfect hair. ~sigh~ But I shall not covet…much.

While there, of course we had to have dessert. They had a new offering which immediately caught my attention: Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Pie. Oh my goodness, how I love a good oatmeal raisin cookie! I had to get it.

When it came, I was not disappointed. Mama and I split the piece and it tasted like the ideal oatmeal cookie, hot from the oven (even thought it was served cold!) because the middle was nice and gooey with the richness of oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon. I set to looking for the recipe the moment I got home.

I found one of the original postings of it on Sun Maid Raisin’s website, so I contacted Sun Maid raisins and they graciously gave me permission to share their wonderful recipe with you. I have to tell you my funny Sun Maid story though..

When I was going to New York to do the Today show a little over a year ago, I was scheduled to promote my book by making Lela’s Fried Peach Pies. The secret to Lela’s fried pies is, of course, the dried peaches. Whe you make pies with dried fruit instead of canned or even fresh, you get a much bigger punch of flavor. Well, I got a call from the food stylist in NYC to see if I could bring the dried peaches with me. It turns out, they are almost impossible to find in the big city! So I headed to the “big town” with three bags of Sun Maid dried peaches in my suitcase. I guess tha tmakes those pies “fancy” since they were made with fruit imported all the way from Alabama If you’d like to see that segment and my recipe for fried peach pies, click here, but come back because I wanna show you this pie, too!

Oooh yum, de pie! de Pie!

(that was supposed to be my impersonation of Tattoo in Fantasy Island, in case you didn’t recognize it)

To make this delicious pie, you’ll need: Raisins, Cinnamon, quick oats, corn syrup, salt, brown sugar, and a wee bit of melted butter and flour.

You’ll also need a pie shell.

The original recipe called for a graham cracker crust but I’m using my traditional mix-in-the-pan pie crust. You can click here if you’d like that recipe.

Place brown sugar, eggs, corn syrup, and melted butter in a bowl. Mix well with a large spoon.

Until it looks like this

Now add in all of your other ingredients and mix again.

So it looks like this.

See how easy that was? Easy as pie, right?

Thus the expression

Oh! I forgot to show you my bowl.

You’ve probably seen this one before but just in case it is a Pyrex Cinderella Bowl in Amish Butterprint blue.

Ain’t it purty?

Spend time with those you love. One of these days you will say either, “I wish I had,” or “I’m glad I did.”

~Zig Zigler

Thank you to Angela for submitting this one! Add your motivational or inspiring quote to our collection by clicking here. 

A similar situation happened at my kid’s school when I took a few of these up there. One of the teachers came into the office talking about how good the pecan pie was and the secretary said “You mean the pecan less pecan pie?” she replied “Oh no, I got the one that had pecans in it…” ~snickers~ Of course, I hadn’t taken anything with pecans in it to the school.

This is a fabulous pie for those with nut allergies but that isn’t why I developed it, I actually didn’t even think about that until someone asked for the recipe, stating that they had a friend with allergies who would be excited to get pecan pie again! I developed it as a way of saving money. Have you seen the cost of pecans lately?

Right about now, making this pie with my recipe instead of pecans will save anywhere from five to seven dollars, depending on where you shop. Most folks I know can cook an entire supper for that amount of money!

So I guess there is a double bonus involved, but in hindsight having a faux pecan pie for those with nut allergies is a much greater purpose.

I have seen some varying recipes for faux pecan pie around the web. The most common one utilizing pinto beans in place of pecans. I have that on my list to try someday and I’ll probably do it around about the time I try raw oysters, but I couldn’t bring myself to suggest you put pintos in your pie so I set about developing my own faux pecan pie.

I started with my Mother’s No Fail Pecan Pie recipe and then blended it a bit with that crust of my Strawberry Pretzel Salad (which is in my cookbook, but not on SouthernPlate.com). Everyone is always surprised that the crust isn’t made of pecans, so what a great inspiration to add to my pie! It took about seven pies to get the proportions and cooking time just right, because this pie really needs to be made as a deep dish but I’m finally ready to bring it to you today in it’s final form.

I’m gonna start this post out with a disclaimer that I’m sure is obvious to just about everyone reading this: Pecan pie is not a health food. It’s not supposed to be. A good pecan pie is gonna contain butter, sometimes lots of it. It will also have sugar in various forms, usually granulated and corn syrup. A good pecan pie is not for the faint of heart but it is the golden nugget of pies. Rich, buttery, delicious. Unlike any other. This Faux Pecan Pie lives up to all of those expectations.

If you’re on a diet, just have one or two bites and make sure you savor them, then be sure and make it again when you’re not on a diet anymore. If you have a family member or friend with a nut allergy, this would be a welcome treat for them at your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner! But I suggest not telling anyone it doesn’t have pecans until they eat it, mainly because it is fun seeing the look on their face .

You’ll need: A Deep Dish Pie Crust, Light Corn Syrup, Butter, Pretzels, Sugar, Eggs, and Vanilla.

I recommend unsalted, real butter in this recipe.

I also recommend not spelling “recommend” unless you have to because it is one of those annoying words to spell. I really think it needs two “c” ‘s but Websters never listens to me. ~sigh~

Note: If all you have is margarine or you just can’t afford butter, go for it. Trust me, I’ve been there! The pie will taste slightly different but t’ain’t nobody here gonna judge because we were raised better than that. ~Grin~

Following my recipe below, place the butter for the pie filling in a large bowl and microwave it until melted. Allow to cool.

You ever hear the saying “Do as I say, don’t do as I do?” Well that applies here. Normally you could just dump all of your other filling ingredients in and give them a stir but I don’t really have time to allow my butter to cool so I’m gonna stir in my sugar real good to cool it down a bit before I add everything else.

If I just dumped everything in with hot butter, it would cook my eggs a bit, leaving me with thin ribbons of cooked egg mixed in with the custard of my pie and that isn’t very fun!

So at this point you can add in all of your other ingredients and give it a good stir until well combined.

But if you’re impatient like me, add your sugar first and stir that up a bit until your butter is cooler. 

Like this.

Now add all of the other filling ingredients and give it another good stir.

I’ve had a few questions about my flat whisk pictured here. I bought this when my friend Maralee McKee told me about it. It came from Williams Sonoma and is the only thing I have ever bought from that store, lol. I go in there from time to time just to look around and really enjoy it, but I find that specialized tools and pots aren’t a good use of my money when standard things I have around my kitchen will do just fine and I don’t have to find the storage space for them. I can just see my great grandmother staring at a wall of peculiar utensils and asking “Now what do ya need all them thangs for?”

You can also find these whisks on Amazon by searching for “flat whisk”. They really do work well and I prefer it over a traditional whisk.

Here is our pie filling all mixed up. Ready for an action shot now?

Isn’t that pretty? I’ve learned how to do a lot of things left handed since having to venture into the wonderful world of food photography.

Whoops, I was being a bit sarcastic there when I said “wonderful”. Food photography is actually the one thing I don’t really enjoy that much about blogging. Food is very uncooperative. I have yet to ask any item of food to pose pretty and not been met with a blank and vacant stare.

It doesn’t help that I’m not one to be more impressed with a piece of say, banana bread, just because it is encased in a soft focus vignette. I find banana bread on an old corelle plate, presented as is, has more heart. ~sighs~ I know, but I have to at least attempt pretty food pictures. I put a wee bit of my heart into it from time to time.

But if you ever think some of my food isn’t pretty, just imagine a sweet granny standing behind it, handing it to you with a loving expression.

That is how I picture all of my food, and it makes it quite beautiful. Tricks of the camera or photo shop can’t add an effect like that.

Oops, got sidetracked. Okay so here is your filling in the crust.

I know it looks yellow now but it will be that beautiful golden color once baked.

Now we need to crush our pretzels.

I’m using my heirloom rolling pin that my great grandmother bought for my mother with green stamps when Mama was just thirteen years old.

At thirteen, her parents divorced and she went to live with her father to take care of him. She cooked all of the meals and kept house until he remarried a few years later.

At thirteen, I was listening to bad eighties music, hanging out at the mall, and spending my spare time becoming proficient with aqua net hair styling techniques.

Never hurts to contrast your life with others in order to see how good you got it. 

Place your pretzels in a gallon zipper bag and crush those puppies. They don’t have to be pulverized, just broke up kinda good.

I took this rollin pin with me when I went to film at Paula Deen’s house and we used it on the show. I told her all about it and we talked green stamps for quite a while. That show airs this Saturday for the first time. November 5, 2011. Check the Food Network for times in your area and click here to rsvp on my Facebook page if you plan on watching and read a few behind the scenes stories I’ve posted.

Melt your butter for the topping (see recipe) and add in your tiny amount of sugar.

Add in pretzels and stir until coated well.

Sprinkle evenly over the top of your pie.

I know it will seem like a lot of pretzels but they sink down a bit as we cook, which is why I made this a deep dish pie. The first pie I tried wasn’t deep dish and it seemed like there was hardly any filling when the pretzels sunk down a little bit. This will come out in perfect proportions to the top crust and the filling.

Place pie plate on a baking sheet and bake at 350 for one hour, covering with foil after the first thirty minutes to prevent over browning.

Allow to cool completely before serving. 

This is a piece of pie posing on a Jewel Tea, Autumn Leaf plate.

This is a closer shot that shows the filling a little better (because I couldn’t pick which one I liked the most)

This post is dedicated to my sweet friend, Alyssa, who has a nut allergy.

I got to meet her yesterday when I had a book signing at a local elementary to support their book fair.

I mentioned today’s post and she was so excited for a nut free pecan pie!

Special thanks to everyone who invited me and were so kind yesterday.

I enjoyed getting to meet you all and what an honor it was to see a table filled with food from my cookbook!

Notice one piece of the pie is unaccounted for. ~looks innocent~

I hope you get to make this soon and enjoy your faux pecan pie!

Don’t forget to add this pie to your holiday menu!

If you’re coming to my Holiday Cooking Show on November 10th (see poster below this recipe), this is one of the many recipes I’ll be serving the entire audience!

Advance ticket purchase is recommended but you can also pay at the door. 

Sara submitted a great quote on our Give A Penny Page that I think really puts you in the right frame of mind for dealing with life sometimes. We can’t just go out meekly with a weak smile and hope for a good day, we have to do it with Gusto!

“Tackle the world with a smile, and the world will tackle you back with more than one.”

Thank you Sara! Submit your quote by clicking here.  ]]> http://www.southernplate.com/2011/11/faux-pecan-pie.html/feed 223 http://www.southernplate.com/2011/06/6-cool-summer-pies.html http://www.southernplate.com/2011/06/6-cool-summer-pies.html#comments Wed, 29 Jun 2011 13:31:56 +0000 Christy Jordan http://www.southernplate.com/?p=15444 Today’s post is a follow up to last week’s 6 Make Ahead Summer Cakes and I’m excited to bring you 6 cool summer pies just in time for the Fourth of July Weekend! These are tried and true, honest to goodness, old fashioned recipes that will pluck at your heartstrings and make your stomach smile.

Just click on the name of each pie to go to the recipe post!

Gratefully, Christy

Old Fashioned Coconut Meringue Pie

You can’t go to the grocery store and buy this pie. Sure, they have coconut pies for sale in the freezer section but the only resemblance they bear to a true old fashioned coconut pie is their name. This is one of those pies that, if you find yourself craving it, you’re just gonna have to make it yourself.

But don’t worry, it’s easy to do and you probably have everything you need on hand already except for the coconut.

Lemon Meringue Pie with Cookie Crumb Crust

Y’all, don’t tell anyone I told ya this but my friends at Southern Living bragged on this pie and said it was the best they’d ever tasted!

You have no idea what a red letter day that was for me!

Fresh Strawberry Pie

I have one bit of advice when it comes to this pie : Always make two! One is just never enough.

Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Pie

And a story about my Grandaddy

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

My Grandmama always made this especially for me growing up, and it is still a favorite today.

Lemon Chess Pie

And old fashioned pie for those of us who can appreciate the simple, delicious, and lemony things in life!

“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.”

- Mother Theresa Submitted by Jenny (thanks Jenny!). Submit your quote by clicking here.

Those of you familiar with the second recipe I ever posted on Southern Plate know how much I love my Mama’s Mandarin Orange Cake. It’s so light and refreshing and the little bits of mandarin oranges taste just like sunshine. This pie combines all the flavors in the Mandarin Orange Icing into the wonders of a pie. The cool thing about it (well other than the fact that is really is “cool”) is that the recipe makes two and you store them in the freezer. So you can have one for dessert and save the other one for unexpected company or little treats as you need them. Summer is prime time for drop-ins and I don’t know anyone in my neck of the woods who isn’t looking for something cool, light, and refreshing in the middle of a sunny day.

Speaking of sunshine, I like to bring my own with me. I’m a firm believer that sunny days have nothing to do with weather and everything to do with mindset. I usually post “Good Morning” greetings on the Southern Plate Family Facebook page but I’m gonna share one with you today. This is what I do each morning. I wake up around five and lay there in bed coming up with what I want to say to people to start the day. I lay there until I find the little bits of wisdom given to me by grace with the rising of the sun. Starting a day out like that really helps get your head screwed on straight.

Here is my lil bit of wisdom for today:

When you wake up to find you’ve been given an entire day, the world and all its possibilities, complete with sunshine, love, and hope -

The best first response would be “Thank you.” ~Me

At the beginning and end of the day, there is so very much for us to be grateful for. Wake up and look for it. Set your alarm ten minutes early if you have to just to give yourself time to lay there and think about it. It’s a crying shame so many folks spend their time counting their sorrows instead of counting their blessings. What you nurture is what you grow. I sure don’t wanna be caught nurturing negativity!

So sit back and count your blessings today. If this isn’t something you normally do each day then I challenge you to try it for a week. One whole week of taking just a few minutes to think on how very good life is right now. Do you have a house? Food on the table? Healthy kids? Some people have more money than we could ever dream of but they still can’t buy the blessings of a healthy child or sitting down to a meal cooked by someone who loves them.

If you have ever found yourself sitting around hoping to someday have more, I’m challenging you to set aside an entire week full of mornings contemplating the abundance you already have. Better yet, join me in posting a positive and uplifting good morning message on your facebook page each morning this week. I’d love for you to link to the Southern Plate page or come post it on my page as well and let’s all just join in lifting each other up all week long.

And while you’re at it, make this pie. Best served with love.

You’ll need: Mandarin Oranges, Crushed Pineapple (if you have chunks or tidbits that’d be fine too), Sweetened Condensed Milk, Lemon Juice, Whipped Topping, and two Graham Cracker Crusts.

Notice that I got the “Lite” whipped topping. Hey, every little effort counts .

Of course, you can make your own graham cracker crust if you want to. On that same note you can also relocate to the rain forest or memorize the entire United States Constitution. It’s a free country. As for me and my house, I’m buying the graham crust. No sense in complicating an easy recipe and just because I can make a graham cracker crust doesn’t mean I hafta!

Place your sweetened condensed milk, whipped topping, and lemon juice in a bowl.

If you don’t get a good taste of that sweetened condensed milk then I’m gonna disown ya here and now.

I love that stuff. Any recipe that has it in there is bound to be good.

Mix that up until nice and creamy.

Don’t blink, we’re almost done.

Drain your mandarin oranges and pineapple and toss them in.

Don’t worry about a little bit of liquid left in there. I know crushed pineapple tends to want to hang onto the juice a bit so no sense in arguing with it. It’ll be fine. You know, most recipes require a lot less fuss than we seem to think. Of course, it helps that I tend to avoid recipes that put on airs anyway. I find them as useful as I do people that put on airs. If it’s someone I can’t serve iced tea in a solo cup, there just isn’t any reason for them to be in my kitchen.

Now stir that up really well with a spoon, it won’t take much.

And spoon the filling into two graham shells. Place lids on and freeze.

Before serving, set out on counter for about ten minutes but even that is optional.

If you don’t feel like waiting, just dive on in.

Oh yum! LOVE this stuff!

Mandarin Orange Pie

Ingredients

• Mandarin Orange Pie
• 2 graham crusts
• 1/2 c lemon juice
• 1 -8 oz container cool whip
• 20 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
• 15 ounce mandarin oranges, drained
• 14 ounce sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1. Mix together whipped topping, sweetened condensed milk, and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Stir in drained fruit. Fill crusts and freeze. Remove from freezer approximately ten minutes or so before serving.

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Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed.

Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

– Denis Waitley. Submitted by Jenny

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I hope you’ll join us on the Southern Plate Front Porch! Ask questions, chat with other members of the Southern Plate Family, share recipes, and more!

We started it just a few weeks ago and already there are over 16,000 posts!

Click here to visit the Front Porch.

Registration is required to post but anyone can read. Registration is free, of course! Just visit the porch and register in the top right corner.

I didn’t see my grandmother, Audrey May Cox, often as a child.  My sister and I spent one week each summer with her and we visited briefly a few other times during the year, holidays and such.

There are so many things I remember fondly about those summers.  Lots of time to play with cousins, sitting at her red 1950s dinette table, running my hands over the lovely wood of the armoire that sat in the hall, listening to her clock chime on the hour and sleeping with the windows open – something we didn’t do in the city with central air conditioning.  She made for each of us grandkids – her little chickens, as she called us – a Dutch Doll quilt top and a crochet throw.  I still have both.

One weekend, after I was grown and no longer living with my parents, we had all gathered at Nanny and Granddaddy’s house.  She had made oatmeal pie, one of my favorite desserts and I asked her if I could copy the recipe.  I’ll never forget her words, “Here honey, just take this, I can make it from memory.” She handed me a heavily creased and just a little stained piece of notebook paper with the recipe written in her own hand.  I still have that, too.  I’ve made that pie time and again over the years and always get rave reviews from friends enjoying it for the first time.

When I pull out Nanny’s recipe, summer memories come flooding back and I see her soft smile and hear her voice one more time.

Nanny’s Oatmeal Pie – From Sherry Massey

Ingredients

• ¼ cup butter
• ½ cup sugar
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. cloves
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 cup dark corn syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
• 1 unbaked pie shell

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. Cream butter and sugar together. Add cinnamon, cloves and salt. Stir in syrup. Add eggs one at a time, stirring after each until well blended. Stir in rolled oats. Pour in pie shell. Bake about 1 hour or until knife comes out clean when inserted in middle.

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“If God had intended us to follow recipes, He wouldn’t have given us grandmothers.”

Sherry Massey, who so graciously shared her Nanny's Oatmeal Pie with us

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I blame this pie almost entirely for my childhood weight issues – and man was it ever worth it! Grandmama used to make this around Christmas time and she’d send an entire pie to our house! Fortunately, my brother was dropped on his head as a child and didn’t eat things like this, which meant I got to eat his share. My sister pretty much came out of the womb counting calories so I’m pretty sure I ate her share as well. Opening the refrigerator and finding this looking back at you sure was a beautiful sight!

The fact that it is so incredibly easy to make just adds to the wonderment of one of my favorite Christmas pies.

Did you have a grandmother who made you a special

Christmas treat as a child?

We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

You’ll need: Cream cheese, lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and a graham cracker crust.

Of course, you can make your crust from scratch but I just get the store bought ones for this because I love the handy little plastic lid to put on top for storage in the refrigerator.

You’ll also need one can of your favorite pie filling.

I’m just showing two here because these two are my favorites to use on this. Today I’ll be using cherry, just like my Grandmama always did.

Ironically, Grandmama could never eat this pie when she used cherry because she is allergic to red food coloring.

Place your softened cream cheese in a mixing bowl and add your sweetened condensed milk.

Add in your lemon juice.

and vanilla.

Mix that up until creamy and smooth.

Spread into pie crust.

Like so.

It is important to make sure your cream cheese is softened before you make this so you won’t have lumps in your pie…

Just disreard those teeny tiny lumps in mine.

Cover that and put it in the refrigerator for several hours.

I also refrigerate my pie filling at this time as well, just stick the whole can in there. You don’t have to, though.

After several hours, top with your favorite pie filling and return to refrigerator until ready to serve.

Note: This is a soft pie. It won’t ever get firm so it is important to get it well chilled before serving and store it in the refrigerator.

Look at this photo…

~Whimper~

These are Corelle dishes from the eighties. The pattern is called “Holly Days”.

Aren’t they purty?

If you’ve had this pie before, I hope you make yourself one soon because you’re probably wanting it as bad as I am right now!

If you haven’t had this pie before, isn’t it time you made a special treat for someone you love?

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie

Ingredients

• 8 ounce pkg cream cheese, softened
• 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/3 cup lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (use the cheap stuff like me if you want, no shame in that!)
• store bought graham cracker crust
• 1 Can of pie filling of your choice (I love cherry or blueberry)

Instructions

1. Make sure cream cheese is softened at room temperature to prevent pie from being lumpy. In mixing bowl, place cream cheese, condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Mix until creamy and smooth. Spread into pie crust and cover. Refrigerate several hours. Top with pie filling and return to refrigerator until completely chilled. Serve cold.
2. Note: This is a soft pie. It won't get firm so keep it in the refrigerator and serve cold.

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Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

I had a little pantry makeover this weekend. If you’d like to see it (with before and after pics) please click here to visit the post in the Life At Bountifulsection of the website.

J. McMurry made such a heartfelt contribution to our Give A Penny Quote Page and I just had to share it all with you.

“After I was home from surgeries and prior to my chemo beginning (I had been diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer…..and now in November am enjoying being in remission)….the best quote my dear hubby laid on my Bible for me to find…..it’s lengthy, but fits right in with Southern Cooking:

‘You are the cheese to my macaroni. You are the horizon to my sky. You are the bacon to my eggs; you are the laces to my sneakers. You are the jelly to my peanut butter; you are the smile to my face. You are the gravy to my mashed potatoes. You are the bubbles to my bath. You are the milk to my cookie; you are the ink to my pen. You are the ketchup to my French fries..you are the water to my ocean. You are the icing on my cupcake.’

Do you see why I feel so blessed?” ~J.McMurry. Yes, J, I sure do! Now we’re blessed because you shared this. Gratefully, Christy

Did you have a grandmother who made you a special

Christmas treat as a child?

We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!