Honey pie? Quit pollen my leg!

I love pie! Pie is great! Everyone should eat pie. But I know so many people that hate to make pie. I understand, but that is not gonna stop me :P Usually I make fruit pies, so I wanted to try something a little out of the ordinary. The recipe I made is a Honey Pie, from my United States of Pie cookbook. Of course this book is awesome, because it's all about pies. The other thing I like about it is that there are no pictures. No unrealistic expectations of what everything is supposed to look like.

Honey Pie

3/4 c honey
1/4 c sour cream
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch of salt

pie crust (Everyone has their own favorite, or just buy the roll-out stuff from the store, that's what I do when I'm feeling lazy!)

Preheat oven to 375º.
One a well-floured surface, roll out the rough until it is about 1/8" thick and will fit a 9" pie plate. Pick up the rough and ease into the plate. Trim the edges of the dough to leave a 1" overhang. Fold the edges under, and then decoratively crimp the perimeter. Return the pie shell to the refrigerator to chill until the filling is ready.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, warm the honey until it is completely fluid. Once heated, the honey should have the consistency of heavy cream. Set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, combine the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, nutmeg, ginger, and salt, and whisk to blend. Add the warm honey, and whisk until thoroughly incorporated.
Remove the pie shell from the refrigerator, and pour the filling into the shell. Bake the pie for about 40 minutes, or until the filling is set. The filling will puff substantially while baking, but will collapse once you remove the pie from the oven. Let the pie cool to room temperature before enjoying.

I also made honey whipped cream to put on top, as seen in the photo! The pie looks just like a pumpkin pie, but less orange, when it's done. I highly recommend tenting your pie crust with aluminum foil, or getting a crust protector. I put it on right when the pie went into the oven, and as you can see the crust still got pretty brown. I would rather be safe with the crust edges then end up with burnt ones! This pie is very very easy to make, and I will definitely do it again. I did just use the roll out pie crust for this recipe. Since you get two rounds in a box, I just put my extra one in the freezer for the next time I want to make a single crust pie!

I'm finally catching up on my posts. This finishes off May, and I have three for June. July has started off extremely well! I have already made three recipes this month, and will be making another today. Halfway through the year and despite a slow start I have completed half (16) of my recipes, woohoo!

Any has-bean can whip up this one!

My Slow Cooker Revolution cookbook is one of my favorites. I use it all the time and even try out new recipes regularly. I have had a hard time finding a chili recipe that I really like, but this might be the one! It is a Smoky Sausage and Bean Chili—yum! I did my best to keep to the correct ingredients, but I ended up making a few minimal adjustments. My favorite thing about slow cooker food has to be that it is super easy, and this fits that bill!

Smoky Sausage and Bean Chili

2 onions, miced
2 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1/4 c chili powder
3 tbs vegetable oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbs ground cumin
1 tbs dried oregano
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 1/2 c water
1 lb dried navy beans (2 1/2 cups), picked over and rinsed
1 lb kielbasa sausage, sliced 1/2" thick
8 oz andouille sausage, cut into 1/2" pieces
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
1 tsp liquid smoke
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper

Microwave onions, bell pepper, chili powder, oil, garlic, cumin, and oregano in bowl, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened (about 5 minutes). Transfer to slow cooker.

Stir broth, water, beans, kielbasa, andouille, soy sauce, sugar, chipotles, liquid smoke, and bay leaves into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beans are tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

Let chili settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface. Discard bay leaves. Transfer 1 cup cooked beans to bowl and mash with a potato masher. Stir mashed beans into chili and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

There ended up being two things I did differently. First, the amount of kielbasa and andouille was a little off. The kielbasa I got was about 12oz, so I just put in a little extra andouille. This definitely did make it pretty hot! Andouille is spicy as is, so if you like it like that, try doing it that way too. The other adjustment was with the liquid smoke. I really didn't feel like buying it, and I actually have a smoked chili powder. So I used that chili powder in lieu of having liquid smoke. The whole thing turned out great! Since it makes so much I put some in my freezer to enjoy for later. One of my other favorite things to make with chili is chilimac! Make a cheap batch of mac and cheese, put in a cup of chili and you've got yourself a tasty meal.