Mile High Meringue Pie

 

In the past, lemon has not been a fan favorite in our house. Citrus in general is not desired here, unfortunately. I keep trying, now more than ever, as I move into a new age category that has forced me to re-think my diet.

 

Recently, I have been experimenting with new recipes that contain more citrus, and look at that! They like it! Some are more enjoyed than others, but this one was a hit across the board.

 

 

I combined a few different recipes to make this work. It’s so important to make sure the curd doesn’t separate from the rest of the pie; it needs to be creamy and dreamy all the way. Same with the meringue on top. It needs to be whipped to create the peaks, but not overdone, which causes the meringue to slide off the pie. This is all about balance.

 

This recipe is awesome! It hits all the marks, and left the kids asking for more. So glad I finally put this together and got it into my recipe box. Total must try!

 

 

 

Mile High Lemon Meringue Pie

 

 

The Filling:

1 ½ c sugar

1/3 c and 1 Tbs cornstarch

1 ½ c cold water

3 egg yolks, slightly beaten

3 Tbs butter

2 tsp lemon peel

½ c lemon juice

1 pie crust, fully baked

 

The Meringue:

6 egg whites

¼ tsp cream of tartar

¼ tsp vanilla

3 Tbs sugar

 

In a saucepan, mix together sugar and cornstarch. Add the water and turn on the heat to medium. Stir constantly until it thickens and becomes translucent, about 10 minutes. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove it from the heat. In a measuring cup, fluff the egg yolks and then add about a tablespoon of the heated liquid to the yolks, whisking constantly to avoid eggs curdling. Continue this process until the yolk mix is warm, about a third to half of the liquid. Then, add the yolk mix to the rest of the liquid and return it to the heat. Over a medium heat, add the butter, lemon peel, and lemon juice to the saucepan. Continue to stirring until it boils, then remove it from the heat and allow it to cool.

 

Heat up the oven to 375°F. Place the egg whites in a mixer with a whisk beater. Beat the egg whites until fluffy. Add the cream of tartar and vanilla. Continue beating and add 1 Tbs of sugar to the mixture every minute. Beat for about 7 - 8 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Once it’s cooled, add the filling to the pie crust. Pile the meringue on top, making sure to cover all the filling completely. Bake for about 10 minutes; when the meringue is a golden brown. Let cool at room temperature for about 3 hours before cutting. Do not refrigerate.

 

Crispy Orange Chicken

 

Man, I love Chinese food. It has been a cuisine that has eluded me for years. I just haven’t been able to get my flavors right, and at the end of the day, I want to hit the takeout and call it a night.

 

 

But, alas I am not good a quitting and I had to figure this out. I discovered that the thing I was missing was technique, and during the pandemic I got to play with it more and figure out how to use the deep fryer effectively.

 

 

The trick with this recipe is having a good, crispy batter and real orange juice in the sauce. Those two things will make this recipe amazing! I played with several different recipes to find the right batter that makes a great crisp and mingles with the sauce without becoming soft and loosing the crisp. I also wanted light and fluffy batter, not something heavy or difficult to bite after cooking. 

 

 

Now, like I said, I have found the deep fryer works best for me. It’s the least amount of mess, and creates a nice crunchy shell on the juicy chicken bites. If you don’t have a deep fryer, that’s okay too. You can simply use heated oil on the stove top. It works well, and your chicken will still taste wonderful with the sauce.

 

 

Don’t forget to add some yummy veggies to your meal, and as always, serve it with some amazing rice! And enjoy your homemade Chinese food. You will love it!

 

 

 

Orange Chicken

 

 

The Chicken:

2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

2 Tbs cornstarch

Black pepper to taste

 

The Batter:

¾ c cornstarch

¼ c flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp granulated sugar

½ tsp kosher salt

2/3 c ice-cold water

1 lg egg

Oil for frying

 

The Orange Sauce:

1 c fresh orange juice

½ c sugar

2 T rice vinegar

2 T soy sauce or lite soy sauce

¼ t ginger

¼ t garlic powder (or 2 cloves garlic finely minced)

½ t red pepper flakes

Orange zest from orange

1 T cornstarch

2 T water

 

In a bowl, mix together the chicken with the onion powder, garlic powder, cornstarch, and black pepper to taste. Set aside, and in a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients for the batter. In a measuring cup or small bowl, whisk together the water and the egg. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients for the batter and mix together. Finally, add the chicken to the batter and stir to combine.

Place the frying oil in the deep fryer and heat it to 350°F. Fry the chicken pieces in batches so they don’t stick together. Flip the chicken after a few minutes and let it cook for a few more minutes, until it has a nice golden color. Remove and place on a cooling rack lined with paper towel.

While cooking the batches of chicken, prepare the orange sauce. In a medium saucepan, mix together the orange juice, sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and orange zest. Bring to a simmer, mix the cornstarch with 2 T water and add it to the sauce. Cook for a couple of minutes, until thickened.

Place the cooked chicken pieces in a bowl and pour the sauce over it to coat. You can also serve the sauce on the side for dipping. Serve with rice and possibly some pineapple slices, pepper and onion slices, or some broccoli.

Mom's Texas Flower Garden Quilt

 

Years ago, I was on the hunt for a specific color fabric. I can’t remember what it was, but I was searching through my mom’s bins of fabrics. This is always a fun adventure because she has some pretty awesome pieces buried and hidden for years.

 

 

While searching through the different bins, I came across this cute little panel she had. It was Texas flowers in a window pane style panel. There were only four blocks on the panel, and she only had one panel. It really caught my eye.

 

I took it home with me and tucked it away on my shelf while I contemplated what to do with it.

 

 

During the second year of the pandemic, I had one kiddo stay home for online school. While she was working, I had lots of time to play with fabrics. This little guy came out and I debated what I could do with it. At first thought I’d cut out each individual flower, but thought better of that as it would make lots of work.

 

 

Instead, I cut it into the four pieces and then added black to accentuate the window panel look. I picked a couple of colors that really popped and added to the flowers, and then used the black to allow the window pane look to continue out into the colors.

 

 

The backing was another fabric that I found at my mom’s. I thought it was a nice touch to have butterflies in search of all those beautiful flowers.

 

 

I kept the quilting really simple with a meander. Obviously, the flowers were the focus.  Finally, I used black for the binding, completing the window pane look. 

 

 

This quilt was a lot of fun to put together. It’s nice and small; a beautiful wall hanging or table décor. It always fun to have cute and quick little successes like this one.