Apple Pie

I got this recipe from a roommate. It quickly became my favorite apple pie recipe. She made it with the favorite pie crust recipe.

Favorite pie crust - 2 crusts

Granny Smith apples, about 8 - 10 (any apples work, but tart ones are the best for this pie)
1 1/2 cups sugar (she filled a mug with sugar, so I'm guessing on the quantity)
1 Tbsp flour
Cinnamon
Nutmeg

1/8 cup butter

Milk and sugar (optional)

Peel apples and slice them with the slicer side of a cheese grater. Fill mug with sugar and add flour. Add cinnamon and nutmeg to taste. Mix with apples. Place pie crust in pie dish. Fill with apple mixture. Place about 4 small pats of butter on top of apples. Cover the pie with the top crust with a couple of holes for vents. Brush top of crust with milk and some sprinkles of sugar. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes and then turn it down to 350 degrees to bake for another 45 minutes.

Strawberry Ice Cream

This is the classic family recipe for strawberry ice cream from our grandma and adjusted by our dad. The recipe is for a 1 gallon electric ice cream freezer.

2 - 3 oranges, juiced
Strawberries, fresh or frozen
1 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 pint heavy whipping cream
1 lemon, juiced
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Milk

Blend the orange juice and strawberries in a blender. Add salt, cream, lemon juice, sugar and vanilla. Mix thoroughly. Pour contents into ice cream freezer. Add milk to fill the freezer. Churn ice cream until thick and until the freezer becomes impossible to turn. Serve and enjoy!

Apple Yam Casserole

This recipe is from Dub. A lot of us in our family don't particularly like sweet potatoes or yams, but Dub has been making this recipe for a few years now. I kind of like it myself and have developed a taste for some sweet potato dishes.

Apple Yam Casserole (from Dub adapted from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes or yams (the orange ones -- NOT the yellow ones)
2 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup water + 1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (or 1 tablespoon corn starch)
3 slices lemon, thinly sliced

Directions

1. Boil sweet potatoes in water in large saucepan for 30 minutes. Peel and cube.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish.
3. In the casserole dish, alternately layer the sweet potatoes and apples.
4. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together brown sugar, 1/3 cup water, cinnamon, raisins, butter and salt. Cook 5 minutes.
5. In a small bowl, stir together remaining water and flour or corn starch. Combine with the brown sugar mixture. Pick out any lumps that may have formed, heh heh. Pour sauce over the sweet potatoes and apples. Place the lemon slices on top.
6. Bake covered in the preheated oven 20 minutes. Uncover and continue baking 20 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes and apples are tender.

Cranberry Jell-O

Mom used to make this for Thanksgiving all the time. Our family doesn't typically love cranberry items, so a lot of the time there would be leftovers of it. Consequently, this recipe was eventually abandoned as we got older. I think that Mom should make it now because I bet that my brother-in-law Noj would really like it. I still wouldn't like it, though, because I'm generally opposed to celery.

Cranberry Jello from Mom (originally from Joan M.)

1 large package cherry Jell-O
1 c jellied cranberry sauce, melted
1 c diced celery
1 c chopped walnuts
1 c crushed pineapple, drained

Dissolve the package of cherry Jell-O in 2 cups hot water. Stir in melted cranberry sauce. Stir in celery, walnuts, and crushed pineapple. Pour liquid into an 8 x 11 x 2 inch glass pan. Chill for a few hours until set. Serve in squares on a lettuce leaf.