Easy Chocolate Pie November 23, 2012

Happy Thanksgiving!
My mom and I made the best chocolate pie to go along with our pumpkin pies. We got this recipe from our neighbor Pat. This chocolate pie is so easy to make, and it tastes even better. I wish I could make the filling and eat it; all by myself. That’s how much I love this pie.
You can make your own pie crust, use a store bought pie crust, or a gluten free crust. Just remember to cook your crust beforehand and put your filling in once the crust is cool. To help your crust cool faster, keep it in the fridge for awhile.
(Thanksgiving 2014) My mom made this pie in a regular crust, but she reserved some filling and put it in cups for me. This chocolate pie filling makes the most glorious chocolate pudding! It is decadent and a delight. If you want a great pudding recipe, use this pie filling. Don’t forget to top your pudding with whipped cream.
Make chocolate filling and use it for cups of dirt. See the following link for our cup of dirt recipe: https://lewissisters.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/cups-of-dirt/
This pie makes a great banana cream pie as well. For that, use banana or vanilla pudding and place sliced bananas on top.
Itt will make coconut cream pie too, use coconut pudding for that. Don’t forget to top your pies with whipped cream.
This recipe makes one pie.
The Best chocolate pie!
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
3 cups milk
2 small boxes of instant pudding, any flavor (if making chocolate pie, use chocolate pudding)
Other flavors such as nuts, chocolate chips, etc
1 store bought pie crust, cooked, or you can make your own. (Gluten free pie crust) a graham cracker crust ( regular or gluten-free) is wonderful too.
With mixer, cream:
cream cheese until fluffy. If using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment; mix for 3 to 5 minutes.
Slowly add in the milk. Add in the packages of pudding and mix, be sure there are no lumps of cream cheese.
Then, use the whisk attachment and mix for 3 to 5 minutes. Add in flavorings such as nuts, chocolate chips etc.
Mix once more. Pour into baked pie shell and store in refrigerator.
For banana cream pie, use banana or vanilla pudding and place sliced bananas on top of the pie.
For chocolate pudding, make the pie filling and put into cups, top with whipped cream.
Enjoy!

Cashew Chicken November 19, 2012

My sister made cashew chicken for dinner. Our family loved this recipe, there is tons of great flavor. Along with chicken, waterchestnuts which we all love, celery, and bamboo, she left that out. This meal was filling and tasted like Chinese take out, only better. (To make this gluten free, use gluten free soy sauce.)
Cashew Chicken
2 tsps peanut oil (canola oil works just fine)
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 pound uncooked boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1 inch cubes
½ tsp salt, or more
1/4 tsp black pepper, or more
1 and ½ cups chicken broth, divided (if you want to cut down on the sodium, you can use reduced sodium, no fat broth)
2 Tbsps soy sauce, or more, (you could use low sodium soy sauce or gluten free soy sauce)
2 stalks uncooked celery chopped
1 8 oz can bamboo shoots, drained
1 8 oz can waterchestnuts, drained and sliced
1 and ½ Tbsps cornstarch
2 cups cooked white or brown rice, kept hot
1 and ¾ oz unsalted dry-roasted cashews, chopped, about 6 Tbsps
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season chicken on both sides with salt and pepper and add to skillet. Cook until browned on all sides, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.
2. Add 1 cup of broth, soy sauce, celery, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts to chicken and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
3. Dissolve cornstarch in remaining 1/2 cup of broth; add to skillet and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
4. To serve, divide rice among 4 shallow dishes. Spoon chicken mixture onto rice and sprinkle with cashews. Yields about 1 cup of chicken, 1/2 cup of rice and 1 1/2 tablespoons of cashews per serving.
For a burst of color, add 2 cups of chopped fresh baby bok choy in place of the bamboo shoots and water chestnuts. The tender greens will cook with the chicken in 5 minutes.
Enjoy!