Krista G. representing Lucky Leaf® gave me two full-size cans of Lucky Leaf® Apple Pie Filling and Strawberry Pie Filling as well as a Lucky Leaf® cook book—which contains contest-winning recipes that were tested and approved by the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen.  She asked me to test the recipes out in my own kitchen, and tell her (and others) what I thought.

Well, I thought of something much more interesting than just my opinion.  I asked her if she would donate extra cans and cook books for a pie kit giveaway.  Krista responded with a most generous, "YES!"  She mailed TWO BOXES, each filled with two cans of Lucky Leaf® Pie Filling, the Lucky Leaf® cook book, a can-opener and a Fire-King glass pie plate.  WOO HOO!!!  THANK YOU KRISTA! I'm throwing in a Must Have Tool for pie baking, a Super Pie Crust Shield that fits 9.5-inch and 10-inch pies AND a pie keeper and carrier!  The pie carrier is just what we need to haul our beautiful pie to that special occasion without it getting damaged on the way.

I have two Simple Pie Kits to giveaway to two lucky Simple Daily Recipes readers.  Does that make sense? One kit per winner.

I'll let you know in another post what I thought of the taste of Lucky Leaf® Apple Pie Filling.  I'm planning to bake the Blueberry Gallette recipe in the Lucky Leaf cook book on page 17, but substitute the blueberry filling for the apple filling they sent me.  I'm totally curious to try it.  I mean, really, apples held in a flaky pie crust bowl with whipped vanilla cream on top.  Oh yea, my mouth is watering.

READY TO FILL OUT THE FORM FOR A CHANCE TO WIN?
Have you read Giveaway Guidelines for You and Me?  Be sure and read that first because I won't ship outside the U.S.

NOW LET'S PLAY!

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With proper planning and a little prep work, Creamy Creole Shrimp and Pasta is a pretty simple dinner to pull off.  My sweet friend, Cheryl, emailed this recipe to me and said it was one of her family's all time favorite dinners.  I changed it up just a bit to match what I had on hand.  At first, I worried the kiddos would find it too spicy, so I chose a can of MILD diced tomatoes with green chilies and left out the Tabasco sauce.  That was a good choice.  The kids gobbled up their dinners faster than I could photograph my plate and sit down.

I asked my dear friends to taste test this recipe with me.  John and Kim frequently travel through Louisiana to visit family and they KNOW good Cajun and Creole food.  They found this to be an excellent dinner!  Kim recognized right away it did not have the heavy cream sauce or spicy heat traditional in Creole cooking, but she truly preferred the lighter sauce.  As for the spicy heat, next time I'll set the Tabasco bottle on the table and let the grown ups dash to their heart's content.

HERE'S WHAT IT TAKES

• 1 (8 oz) package linguine

• 1/2 cup or 1 stick salted butter
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

• 6 garlic cloves, sliced
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 bunch green onions, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped

• 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes with Mild green chilies, drained
• 1 tablespoon Creole seasoning
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 1 teaspoon dried
• ¼ teaspoon pepper

• 1 (2 lb.) bag frozen shrimp, medium size, peeled/deveined, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups Half-n-half
• a few dashes of Tabasco sauce (optional)

• Parmesan cheese, shredded
• fresh chopped parsley, garnish

PREP

Wash and chop all the vegetables, place in a medium bowl and set aside.  Make sure to have shrimp thawed, peeled and deveined; set aside and ready.

Heat chicken broth in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes in a 2 cup container.  Then, add the drained diced tomatoes with green chilies, Creole seasoning, dried parsley and pepper.  Set aside.

Begin large pot of water to boil to cook linguine according to package directions.

COOK

Melt butter in heavy saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add flour and cook for up to 5 minutes until mixture is a caramel color.  Stir frequently.

Add the bowl of finely chopped vegetables, cook 5 to 8 minutes or until soften. Stir frequently.

- - - This is a good time to add linguine to cooking pot of boiling water.

Add hot chicken broth with spices. Cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in as many dashes of  hot sauce as you can muster, if desired.

Stir in shrimp and half-n-half, cook 10 minutes.  Inside this time, the pasta should be cooked and ready to drain.
Add drained linguine to creamy shrimp mixture.   Stir until pasta is well coated.

Top individual servings with shredded Parmesan cheese and garnish with parsley if you like it that much.

Just so you know...

I heated up the chicken broth beforehand to keep the cooking temperature consistent.  I didn't have to wait to bring the mixture back up to a simmer before going onto the next step.

I didn't mention it above, but I warmed up the half-n-half, too.  I popped it in the microwave for 1 minute, just long enough to knock off the cold.  I didn't want it to bring down the temperature when I needed a full 10 minutes of medium heat to cook the shrimp.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

Think of a blueberry syrup that you would use to make fresh fruit sodas or stir into a milkshake, yogurt or ice cream.  This recipe makes a thin, flavor packed syrup, not a thick pancake syrup.  Now with that being said, let me just say this stuff is GRRRRR-EAT!  The kiddos and I have been enjoying blueberry sodas made with 1 part blueberry syrup and 2 parts club soda on ice.  They LOVE mixing up their own drinks and away they go.  I feel good knowing they're drinking a carbonated soda free of high-fructose corn syrup and unnecessary ingredients.  We're back to the basics, blueberries, water, sugar, carbonated soda.  Everyone is happy!

Before I start explaining the steps to canning the syrup, I just realized we could easily store the cooled syrup in freezer containers and freeze it.  Just divide up the syrup in portions that can be consumed in 2 weeks time.  Store thawed or unused syrup in refrigerator.

Now if you've never tried home canning, this is a super simple recipe to begin with.  Don't be scared.  It's too easy. And so long as you follow the instructions, you can't go wrong and make anyone ill.  Let's just have fun with the whole experience.

TOOLS & JARS

• wide mouth funnel
• magnetic lid lifter
• vinyl coated jar lifter
• vinyl coated tongs
  All easily obtained from an inexpensive canning kit. I paid $10 for mine.

TOOLS continued

• tall, large stockpot with lid and cooking rack
  I happen to have a 30 quart stockpot with a strainer basket. Works great.
• 4 pint (16 ounce) glass preserving jars
• 4 lids and bands
• cooking thermometer that registers over 230ºF
• large saucepan
• small saucepan
• tea towel or jelly bag, dampened
• wire mesh strainer
• large bowl
• stirring spoon
• clean towel

INGREDIENTS

• 8 cups blueberries (about 3 1/2 pounds)
• 6 cups water, divided
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

HERE'S WHAT TO DO

Combine blueberries, 2 cups of water and lemon zest in a large stainless steel saucepan.  Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat and boil gently for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a dampened tea towel or a strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth set over a deep bowl.  Let drip, undisturbed for at least 2 hours.  Save the drained blueberries to make a delicious blueberry spread.

Prepare boiling water canner.  Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use.  Do not boil.  Set bands aside.

Combine sugar and remaining 4 cups of water in a clean large stainless steel saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar, and cook until temperature reaches 230ºF, adjusting for altitude.  Add blueberry juice.  Increase heat to high, bring to a boil and boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice.

Ladle hot syrup into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.  Remove jars and cool.  Check lids for seal after 24 hours.  Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

While you have everything out and the water canner is still hot, you may as well use those leftover blueberries to make a fruit spread for your morning toast or over your yogurt.  You know what Memaw used to say, "Waste not, want not."

Blueberry Spread Recipe

If you would like to watch a veteran home-canner in the kitchen, then watch my mentor Linda Tanton in this video.  In the video she's cooking up a Cucumber Relish to be canned.  The tools and steps for canning are the virtually the same.  She shows us just how simple it is.

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My good friend, Mark, asked me over the Summer if I would steep a batch on Limoncello.  I had never tasted it but remembered that scene from the movie Under the Tuscan Sun when Diane Lane drinks it with her new Italian friend on the beach.  Limoncello is a lemon liqueur that is served well chilled.  It is meant to cleanse the palate after dinner or served as an after dinner drink.  It is to be consumed in a very small amount.  The strong, refreshing lemon flavor married with the simple sugar syrup makes it easy for the vodka to go down.  Mark brought over 100 proof vodka and the recipe and I started to work on the Italian concoction.

It takes a full 80 days to have the fullest lemon vodka flavor from this recipe.  There's two stages of steeping that last 40 days each.  The original recipe said 30 days works, too, but 40 is better.  Locate a cool, dark place to store the jar during the stages.  My bedroom closet was the perfect spot in my house.

HERE'S WHAT IT TAKES

• A large 1 gallon glass container with lid, like a pickle jar, sterilized
• 15 small size lemons
• 2 (750 ml) bottles 100 or 80 proof vodka, save the bottles
• 4 cups granulated sugar
• 5 cups water
• extra sterile bottles or jars with lids for storing in the freezer

Wash the lemons and pat dry.  Carefully shave off the lemon's rind without picking up the white pith.  The white pith is bitter and said to spoil the lemon vodka concoction.  It's almost impossible not to get a little white in the mix, but try to keep it to a very minimum.

Finding the right tools to remove the rind was by trial and error for me.  Because the recipe I was following said to "zest", I naturally started with a microplane zester.  That made fine particles of zest that made me worry I would not be able to strain out later.  Then I tried a vegetable peeler, it picked up more pith and was hard to make thin shavings. Finally, I settled on my trusty pairing knife.  I had a much easier time getting under the rind and moving over the small lemons much quicker.  This step takes time.  Time enough to watch a Jane Austin film on Netflix on my laptop while I shaved lemons.  The large pickle jar shown in the picture was my vessel of choice for my home brew.  It turned out to be just large enough to hold all the liquid.

STEP ONE
In the large jar, add one bottle of vodka to the lemon rinds.  Cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for 40 days in a cool dark place.  There is no need to stir.  All you have to do is wait.  Meanwhile, the vodka slowly takes on the flavor and rich yellow color of the lemon rinds.

STEP TWO

41st DAY In a large saucepan, stir 4 cups of sugar into 5 cups of water and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until all the sugar is dissolved and syrup thickens.  Allow the syrup to cool before adding to the lemon-vodka jar.  Add the second bottle of vodka. Give a light stir and cover with lid.  Allow to rest for another 40 days.

STEP THREE

80th DAY Notice the lemon peels sink to the bottom of the jar.  Use a clean tea towel over a strainer to strain lemon vodka, discarding the lemon peels.  Bottle Limoncello and keep in the freezer until ready to serve.

This makes A LOT of Lemon Vodka, so plan to share it out to friends and family.  A little goes a LONG way.  This recipe would make great gifts to all those who appreciate homemade foods.

The Limoncello turned out a beautiful bright yellow with a surprisingly fresh taste. We threw an Italian potluck dinner to celebrate. A few of us, not accustomed to drinking liqueurs, were completely surprised by the light and fresh taste. And even though we were drinking straight vodka, it was extremely smooth and sweet. It was not difficult to take it in and appreciate.

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My beautiful friend, Cheryl, brought this incredibly addictive salad slash dip to our party the other night.  She carried it in a BIG ol'bowl.  I thought she might have gone overboard and made too much.  It turned out, she knew exactly how much to make.   We couldn't get enough of this tangy sweet collage of goodness.  We walked past it dipping our chips all night long.  And when it was time to eat our grilled fajitas, we went back to the bowl to make it a condiment. I was lucky there was just enough leftover that I could photograph it in good light the next day.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 1 (14 oz.) can shoe peg corn with liquid
• 1 (14 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 oz.) can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
• 1 small jar diced pimentos with liquid
• 2 bell peppers, red, green, yellow or mix, cored, seeded, medium diced
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 cup celery, finely diced (optional)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded, finely diced

Mix all the vegetables in a large bowl.

• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

In small saucepan over medium heat, bring remaining ingredients to a boil.  Pour dressing over vegetables and toss to coat evenly.  Marinade in the fridge 4 hours or overnight.

Serve with tortilla chips as a dip.  Most scrumptious as a condiment with fajitas or as a side salad

Makes 10 cups.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.

This is a very good dessert to throw together, especially with apples and pears being on sale right now.
The recipe makes a big batch, but once you've shared it with your babysitter and your friends, it only lasts about 36 hours in the frig.  Sigh.  Oh the memories.

I pretty much followed Ina Garten's Pear, Apple and Cranberry Crisp recipe.  Naturally, I was missing an ingredient or two, so improvised.  Nobody noticed.

HERE'S ALL IT TAKES

• 5 Gala apples
• 4 Bosc pears
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons orange juice (I used what we drink)

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

For the crisp topping

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup toasted pecans
• 2 sticks cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
Peel and core the apples and pears and cut them into large chunks.  Place the fruit in a large bowl.  Toss with the cranberries, zest, juices.

Mix the next four dry ingredients together first, then pour over the apples and pears, toss again until they're evenly coated.  Pour into a buttered 9 by 12 by 2 inch baking dish.

As for the topping

Use your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment to combine the flour, sugars, salt, oatmeal, pecans and cold butter. Mix until the mixture is in large crumbles.  Sprinkle evenly over the fruit, covering it completely.

If you like crunchy edges, get extra crumble into the sides and corners.
MMM, mmm!

BAKE FOR 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the top is brown and the fruit is bubbly. Serve warm or cold, both ways taste wonderful.  Always better the second day.

Pick up the NEW book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg & Zoe Francois from Amazon here.