What to do with 12 pounds of carrots!

I had the opportunity to get 12 pounds of carrots for $7 at a farmstand in western Mass, sooo.. I bought TWELVE pounds of carrots. I came to realize that a guinea pig and one human can not go through 12 pounds of carrots in a timely manner, unless something creative was done. And so, today.... has been designated as Carrot Day!

Yesterday I had roasted up a bunch of carrots to add to the Pork and Cabbage dish, but... they never made it to the pot.  I do love roasted carrots!  I did slice up a bunch and put them into the dehydrator figuring I will make some carrot powder to add to soups etc. but.... they turned into a fun little chip type nom nom to snack on. I did, however then slice a bunch on the diagonal to actually MAKE carrot chips. 

I had thought of making carrot cake, but.. everyone makes carrot cake, and so I decided to make carrot pie!! (or two.. heck, I DO have enough carrots!)

I found a few recipes on line, and as I usually do, then tweeked them all into my own.  I used the same crust recipe as I did for the Apple Pie.

Carrot Pie:

1 (9 inch) unbaked pie shell
3/4 cup sugar
2 cups chopped carrots
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (I used coconut/almond milk)

• Preheat the oven to 400° F. Press the pie crust into the bottom and up the sides of a greased 9 inch pie plate. Bake the pie shell for 3 to 5 minutes, just to firm it up, then remove from the oven, and set aside.
•  Place carrots in a saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook until tender, it took a while for mine to get to the consistency that I was able to then mash them to oblivion for a puree type consistency.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the carrot puree, sugar and eggs. Mix in the cinnamon and vanilla. Gradually stir in the milk. Pour the mixture into the partially baked pie shell.

• Just like with a pumpkin or squash pie, you might want to put a cookie tray or pizza pan underneath in case of overflow!

• Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 350° F  Bake for an additional 40 to 45 minutes at the lower temperature, or until firm. 

I decorated my pie with some of the dehydrated carrots :)

I am thinking about roasting some more carrots, and then dehydrating them..  If you have any other ideas for what do to with an inordinate amount of carrots, please, PLEASE let me know!

Pork Chops... and Applesauce! .. Well, Smothered Pork Chops and Apple Pie

It all started with a head of cabbage the size of a basketball. 
I'm not exaggerating .. look! (and I got that cabbage for $1!!!)

Anyway, I had that, and a family size pack of pork chops in the fridge. I needed to use both of them and had no idea how. So, I Googled "Cabbage and Pork Chops" and found a decent looking recipe for "Smothered Pork Chops & Cabbage".

http://www.bakespace.com/recipes/detail/Smothered-Pork-Chops-&-Cabbage/18397/#

This was a fairly large recipe so I had my oldest and his fiance come for dinner. They both put their stamp of approval on it and had seconds!

It worked out great because it was a stove top recipe and I decided that I needed to make an apple pie to also use up my apples.  I was supposed to make an apple pie as a birthday pie a couple weekends ago and it never happened. Since then I have acquired a new bakers bible from that birthday boy. So, I found a recipe for Mom's Apple Pie.

Start with the Basic Pie Crust:

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

1½ tsp superfine sugar*, optional 

1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2 Tbsp cold margarine or shortening fat, cut into small pieces

2-4 Tbsp iced water

• Into a large bowl, sift the flour, salt, and sugar if using. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour mixture until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Don't over-work, as this causes a tough crust. 

• Sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of the water over the flour-crumb mixture and toss lightly with a fork. Gather the parts of pastry that have bound together to one side of the bowl. Add a little more water to any dry crumbs and toss again. 

• Gather the pastry into a rough ball and turn on to a sheet of plastic wrap. Lightly press the pastry  into a disc shape and flatten slightly. Wrap the pastry tightly and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight. 

Then we have "Mom's Apple Pie":

(the way this recipe is written is .. well.. silly. So I will be paraphrasing for sanity's sake.. )

Basic Pie Crust

2 lb pared tart apples (I used mac's and one gala)

½ cup golden raisins (I didn't have any, soooo I didn't use any)

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup superfine sugar*

2 tsp cornstarch

1 egg

1 Tbsp milk (I used almond coconut milk)

1 Tbsp granulated sugar

• Wash, peel and slice the apples and put into a saucepan with the raisins, cinnamon, and superfine sugar. Bring to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes, then "remove from heat and cool."  (as opposed to.. leaving it ON the heat and cooling??) 

• (At this point the recipe instructs you to "remove half the pastry from the refrigerator and roll out on a well floured surface with a floured rolling pin to a circle just larger than the pie plate" ... soooo, don't roll it out with a pair of pliers. )

• How 'bout we go with: roll out half the pastry and place in a greased pie plate.  (oh.. and "cut around the edges with a sharp knife".... as opposed to cutting around the edges with a shoe) 

• Sprinkle the cornstarch in the base of the pie to absorb any excess juices. 

• Preheat the oven to 400°. Beat the egg and milk and brush around the edge of the bottom pastry. Fill pie with fruit mixture (the recipe actually NEVER tells you to do this, it just jumps right to putting the top on!) Roll out the rest of the pastry for the top crust and cover the pie. Trim the edges and crimp together using your favorite method. Sometimes I try to get all fancy and make it uppy downy wavy, tonight I just went around with a fork. Brush the top of the pie with the egg mixture. (at this point I decorated the top with little apples and leaves I cut out of the pastry scraps) Make a couple vent slits in the top (with a "sharp knife") and sprinkle the granulated sugar over the top. 

• Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the pie is golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave it to cool on a rack.

Here is my finished product:

Amazingly I had a house full of offspring, their friends, and my mother... and I STILL have an untouched pie! So.. maybe birthday boy will get to see it whole as a birthday pie after all!