Crust and Pie Recipes

For Christmas my grandma, Nanny, gave me this beautiful pie pan.  I instantly fell in love with it!  After I thanked her, she made mention of something my grandpa, Poppy, said.  He thought I should be the one to use this for pies.  Since then, Poppy has passed away.  Coming from two wonderful grandparents, this pan is something I will cherish forever.

This week, I was in the mood for some baking, so naturally, I used the pan.

I'm thinking most of you already know how to make pumpkin pie, but if you don't, I'm going to give you my recipe.  And, being the true pie baker that I am, I always make my own crust.  I'm going to include my favorite crust recipe as well.  Also, I try to use real, fresh filling, in this case, real pumpkin.   

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Best Pie Crust
Makes 3 single crusts

2 1/2 cup flour
1 cup shortening
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1/4 cup cold water
1 Tbsp. vinegar

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.  Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Mix egg, water, and vinegar together in a separate bowl.  Pour into flour mixture and blend with fork till dough forms.
Wrap in plastic and chill until you're ready to use it.

Pumpkin Pie
Makes two pies

1 16oz can pumpkin (2 cups)
1 14oz can Eagle Brand
2 eggs
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 425*F.
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well.
Put some of the crust you made into the pan, and pour mixture into it.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Reduce oven to 350*F and bake for another 35 to 40 minutes. 
Stick a knife in it and if it comes out clean, it's done.

 

Photobomb

 

Because we all need a good photobomber from time to time!  But it seems Bashful, the girl bombing this pic, is stepping out of her comfort zone, therefore, not living up to her name.  Silly girl.

 

And, yes, that's Dad and Elsie in the background.  Miss Elsie is expecting and Daddy was checking her in the picture.  (I sorta didn't time the picture right...in more ways than one.  Ha.)

 

Anyway, all's going well here at the ranch.  We're enjoying the everyday activities and trying to enjoy the cold, cloudy weather.  Hope you're enjoying life as well. 

 

 

 



The Ranch Life

Never before have I gone into real detail about the ranch I live on or how we operate.  I think, this being the fifth year of blogging, it's high time!  Hopefully, you will leave knowing how our ranch works. 

How it Began.

 



It all started in a 14 or 15 year old boy's head.  My dad had gone on a class picnic to a ranch on the Beaver River and it was during that day that he said to himself, "When I grow up, I'm going to buy a ranch on the river."

He worked hard, saved what he made, and prayed for a future ranch.

25 +/- years later and about 75 miles from where he grew up, he bought this ranch on the Beaver River.  Without a long history of traditional ranching, he didn't have a lot of traditions or paradigms to break.  Therefore, he was more open to try things.
 

Present Time

Dad's point of view

We try to do grazing management that supports the cows/ranch, and at the same time improve the grass and land.

1.  We calve in sync with nature, meaning, the calves are born when the weather is pretty and the grass is green.  This just seems to be "common sense", to calve when the wild game have their babies.  Other pluses for this method are:  there's less feed cost, less labor, and it's all together more fun.

2.  We have/use smaller, more adapted livestock which take less feed and equals more profit.

3.  We're very aware of our marketing.  We try to sell livestock at their highest value, and keep the class of cattle that are appreciating.  Still learning...

We're in the Oklahoma Panhandle, and anyone familiar with our area knows that our weather varies...to say the least.... we are drought prone, have blizzards, wind, no wind etc.
While ranching in the OK Panhandle, we are managing chaos. 

We make plans, then what we actually do depends on a lot of things.  Our finances change.  Weather varies.  Cattle prices fluctuate.  Cattle have minds of their own.  Drought.  All that's happening in life...in the world.  We try to pay attention, and make right decisions at that time.

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More Info!

Back to my point of view



The cattle we run are based on Angus, though we have some Corrientes, longhorns, and a couple of other breeds, including a Jersey heifer (soon-to-be cow) and a Mashona bull.
Along with cattle, we've had goats, pigs (both wild and domestic), horses, mules, a deer, a raccoon, turtles, rabbits, mice, chickens, ducks, doves, pigeons, and the common pets like dogs, cats, parakeets, fish, and hamsters. 

Each late summer, usually August or September, we have our own branding.  If you've been reading my blog, you have an idea about what a branding is.  (To read a little more about brandings, please look into the "Blog Archives" on the right side of my blog.  April 2013's post, "Branding" gives some info, to name one post.)  Our branding is one highlight of the whole year, for not only us, but our friends and family.

The rest of the time, Dad checks the cattle's condition, water, grass, and fences.  He also says "yea or nay" when and where to move them.  And if we need to move some, we three kids and Mom are here to help.  Usually, we use our horses, but occasionally we walk the cattle on foot or just call them through the gate.

Because Dad checks the cattle nearly everyday, they are overall very gentle and kind.  Some of the cows will even eat out of our hands.  

In short, this ranch life has some unexpected turns, but it is still great.  We--the whole family--are glad we can make a living by doing this.

Writing Goals

A lot of bloggers this time of year create a list of goals they would like to fulfill in the new year.  I'm wondering if I should do the same.  I haven't in the past for fear of failing to live up to it.  But, on the other hand, maybe making my goals known on the world wide web will encourage me to follow through with them.

So on that note--

Yesterday, Little J. and I went to our local writers' critique group.  "Goals" was one thing brought up in the time spent together.  We all received a blank piece of paper on which we wrote things we wanted to do this year in our writing life.

I wrote:

1. Enter at least one contest before Feb. 
2. Write something daily.
3. Finish my big book, completely.  Editing, proofing, rewriting, the whole works.
4. Look into publishing and do so before I graduate from high school.  (I'm currently a Junior if you were wondering.)
5. Create better blog posts.
6. Read more books and stories.  It is said if you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write.

Now it's out.  You all have permission to check up on me.