Pear Pie

This was destined to be a 'miss' from the get-go. I learned something interesting about myself as I made this pie. I love pie, and even more, I love a good pie crust. But I absolutely detest, abhor, despise, fill in your own blank here, making the crust. So I cop out and buy them from the store. They aren't great, but I don't have to make them.
So I start making the pie and the first thing I do is take the store-bought pie crust out of the fridge and start rolling it out. You know what happened, don't you? It completely fell apart...in pieces... And I almost bailed right then and there. Remember what my wife does for a living? Right - she's a baker. So she had me read the instructions on the box - Duh! - and lo and behold, it says right there 'bring to room temperature before rolling out.' Double Duh!
We tried another crust but this time we brought it to room temp. Trouble is, I also learned that these thin pie crusts tend to burn in the oven (and it did), so my wife doubled up the crust for me. She's very good to me. The crust didn't burn too badly, and we saved it a little with some aluminum foil.
At that point, I had decided I was done making pies. Never again. I love them, but I will buy them, because I HATE making them. And then I made this one. And it was good. Very good. So I eat my words, and now claim that I will never make a pie crust, but as long as someone else will make it, roll it, crimp it, and whatever else needs to be done, I will make pies. This pie was a big hit at Easter (yes, I got a lot of 'He made this? Really??) and I think it would be fine any time of year.
Frankly, it felt and nearly tasted like an apple pie. But there was strong hints of pear in the flavor that really set it apart. It ended up being the hit of the day, and even my tiny niece who rarely eats anything had two pieces. So I guess I'll make it again. The pear mixture was easy to make and I used Bartlett pears. There were plenty of others to choose from at the store, but they seemed safe. The mixture ended up being nice and juice, and the cornmeal crumble on top had a nice twist to it - a change from the usual crumble recipe.
All in all, this was a big hit (again, with the caveat of the crust thing). I didn't capture a picture, as I expected this to be a one and done item, but I'm sorry I didn't. I'll post the recipe here (found at Relish Magazine, I think as part of a fall or Thanksgiving menu - who knew it would fit so well at Easter!)
Score:
Hits - 5
Misses - 6
Pear Pie with Cornmeal Crumble
1 9-inch unbaked pie crust
Crumble:
1/2 cup flour
3 Tbs. cornmeal
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Pear Filling:
2 pounds firm pears (I used 5 pears) peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 7 cups)
2/3 cup sugar
3 Tbs. cornstarch
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1.5 tsp. grated ginger
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 425.
2. Bake pie crust 10 min. Remove and cool. Note - this nearly burned the store-bought crust and added an extra half hour to my prep time. Plan ahead for this phase, and you might want to undercook this step a bit.
3. Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or your finders until large crumbs form.
4. In a different bowl, combine pears, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and ginger. Spoon into pie crust, then top with crumble.
5. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake an additional 35 minutes or until crumbs are golden brown.

Chicken Enchiladas

You just gotta love Campbell's Soup. I actually don't eat much of their soup, but when it comes to simple recipes that even cooking hicks like my can make, they are a cut above. This time I wanted to make something quick for my family but also something I could be proud of. And this did the trick!

For starters, the recipe includes a number of easy ingredients we had around the house, which is always a good place to start. Of course, Campbell's either owns or has relationships with other brands, so when it came to 'salsa' there was a specific brand recommended, but I simply used what we had. My biggest issue, strangely enough, was the chicken. I don't know why, but I find it a pain to cook chicken. We happened to have a roasted chicken in the fridge so when Itrimmed it, I almost had enough. But I did have to fry up a breast to make enough chicken. Other than that, in general, this was delicious and easy. It does take a bit to cook (40 minutes) so you have to plan ahead a bit on the timing.

My one other issue is that when I go for enchiladas at a restaurant, they are doused in sauce. This sauce was much thicker and didn't actually cover what I made. So I would have liked to see some sauce for the bottom (I will probably buy a jar of enchilada sauce and cover the dish with it) and perhaps some extra to spread on the top. But like I said, this was easy, quick (save for the cooking time), and tasty. Definitely a hit!

Easy Chicken and Cheese Enchiladas (Campbell's Soup)

1 can of Cream of Chicken soup

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

2 tsp. chili powder

2 cups chopped chicken

1/2 cup shredded cheese

6 flour tortillas (I made 9 with this recipe)

1 small tomato, chopped

1 green onion, sliced (instead of the tomato and onion, I added more salsa and cheese)

1. Stir the soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder in a bowl.

2. Stir 1 cup of the mixture, chicken, and cheese in a different bowl.

3. Divide the chicken mixture among the tortillas. Roll up the tortillas and place them seam side up in an 11x8" baking dish. (Note - I'm not sure why they go seam side up. Mine just opened up when I did that. Why not seam side down?) Pour the remaining salsa mixture over the filled tortillas, and cover.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Top with tomato and onion.

Score:

Hits: 4

Misses: 6

Mexi Meatball Stew

I really had high hopes for this. It combines meatballs (premade, thank goodness), tomatoes, black beans, and corn in a Crock Pot and then it all comes out perfect, right? Well, what was advertised as 'stew', I interpreted as 'sauce', and in reality, it was more like a soup. I had visions of pouring it over a bed of pasta, putting a new twist on the Italian-Mexican relationship. But instead, it never really jelled into a sauce. As a soup, it was ok. Easy to prepare, that's for sure. And I ended up cooking some rice and pouring the soup/stew/sauce over it - that worked out pretty nicely, actually. But in the end, the answer to the big questions of 'would I make it again?' is no. Sorry - sometimes easy ingredients, good price, easy instructions and even a palatable meal don't make for a repeat performance. Score: Hits - 3 Misses - 6