Lemon Meringue Pie Recipe

My first ever meringue pie was a lemon meringue that had a recipe posted on the crisco website. My feelings are that if I can do it, so can you. So basic and easy to make even with the few steps it takes to get it done. Maybe one day I'll get better at the crust, but you can cheat and use a store bought one instead if your crust shrinks too much from not putting the fork to it properly on the sides of the pan.

Classic Lemon Meringue Pie

I've included the link above to the recipe. You can use any citrus you want for this recipe if you want. :-) Just give it a try and make something that will NOT last long. Do not be intimidated by the meringue making. It is actually easy to do if you follow the directions.

Getting Back To Blogging :-)

It's been forever since I posted my random blog entries, but I will be back and better than ever. One kink in my plan is getting a new laptop. My keyboard is angry so I have to use the on-screen keyboard to type about 30% of my letters :-(

So now I'm shopping for a new laptop and the #BlackFridayAds do not have any huge bargains to try to shoot for. Yay me!  NOT!!!

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH APPLE PIE

This is the BEST apple pie that I enjoy to make, bake, and eat. Pretty easy and straight forward that anyone can make this and serve at the holiday table. Practice with a homemade crust so you can keep your shopping costs down. :-) 

PENNSYLVANIA DUTCH APPLE PIE

7-10 apples, peeled, cored and sliced Place sliced apples in 9 inch unbaked pie shell. Mix and sprinkle over apples: 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon cloves Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water (or fresh lemon juice if you have it) over top. CRUMB CRUST: 1/2 cup sugar 3/4 cup flour 1 stick butter Mix together sugar and flour. Cut the butter into the sugar and flour mixture using a fork, pastry blender or food processor.Sprinkle over top of pie. Bake at 400°F for 40-45 minutes. If the pie begins to brown too rapidly, cover lightly with foil.

Lemon Bars Recipe Guaranteed not to Last on the plate

Lemon Bars
Crust:
2 Cups flour
1 C butter
1/2 C powdered sugar

Mix them together, pat into a 9X13 baking dish, and bake in 350F oven for 15 minutes or until slightly browned

Filling:
Sift together
2 Cups sugar
4 Tbsp flour
1 tsp baking powder

Then add:
4 eggs beaten
6 Tbsp lemon juice
Grated lemon rind from 1 lemon

Mix together and pour onto crust. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Dust with powdered sugar and cut into bars/squares when cooled.

Impossible Pie with an Eggnog Twist

If you love pie, this one is a good one. I've tweaked this recipe to make it into an Egg Nog Flavored pie and after several tries, I was able to get the flavors just right. This would be a great holiday pie to add to your menu and make it into a family favorite. I hope you enjoy!

Impossible Pie

3/4 C. Sugar 
1/2 C. Flour 
1 C. Coconut
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 C. Butter
4 eggs
2 C. milk
2 tsp vanilla

for a more egg nog flavor add this to the base recipe:

1 tsp rum extract & 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Put all ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until blended thoroughly. Pour mixture into a 9 inch greased pie plate. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until center is firm.

How it works: The flour settles for a crust, coconut rises for a topping and the center is a custard filling.

Recipe from: Family Favorites: From the Kitchen of the Brenneman Family. Pg 213

Sewing Baskets... I'm Clueless and researching...

Okay... so I don't know much about baskets, but grabbed a few up to get the stuff inside of them at an auction. So this post is dedicated to the baskets that I got and hope that with some help from Google and others that I can figure out what they are called and maybe who made them.  When I find a website or two while researching I'll post the links to the blog for fast research later in a similar manner to my Vintage or Antique Sewing Machine blog posts. :-)

 

This basket is a nice size. It is sitting on top of the Wards Brunswick sewing machine cabinet. It has all sorts of notions in it. The lid comes completely off and the handle is stationary. It is oval shaped.

The second basket is more squared and the lid is easily removed. The two handles will move out of the way to each side for easier access to the basket.

It had some needlework things in it and some patterns hiding in it. Nice sized as well on top of the same cabinet as the basket above.

This next basket is rather interesting. It's a nested basket with 2 baskets and one lid. The handle is stationary. 

The top picture shows it in the two separate baskets and the bottom picture is of it put together. Pretty neat basket.

The last basket I had gotten was this pretty blue one. I've left all the goodies I got in it instead of taking the picture of it empty.

So that is the baskets I have that I need help with identification. Like how to name them mainly. :-)

1895 Singer Model 27 with Sphinx Decals - Rusty Rescue

Nothing is as sad as seeing an OLD antique machine in this condition found at a hoarder's junk shop in Marshall, Missouri. In the freaking parking lot out in the weather.

Looks pretty rough doesn't it? Well... with a little bit of work for the last couple of days I have gotten her to this point: 

In the next few days I'll be working on getting the locked up mechanism to moving again so she can possibly stitch when I get the shuttle slides unrusted to the machine. Just wanted to show folks that you can take a super nasty looking machine and make them look a little better with Sewing Machine Oil, some metal polish, and a super fine grit sandpaper.