Our Crazy Anniversary...Bread of Life section

In an antique store over fifteen years ago, my husband Ace proposed to me over an ivory lace and mesh wedding dress. It was soon to be officially the union of two crazy souls. For the record, he dropped one of his contact lenses because he was shaking so badly the morning of our wedding. This tragedy ended with him wearing his old thick "back-up" glasses. At first, when he showed up to take me to the ceremony...I almost started laughing. Anyone who knows my husband also knows his crazy sense of humor. We call it Aceism. I thought he was totally pulling my leg with the giant glasses. Good thing I actually like him. On Wednesday this week, it will officially be 15 years.

We had a very brief engagement and courtship. From the day we met until the day we married, it was just under six months. Do you blame me ladies? Look at him. He looks like he's carved out of cream cheese. Absolutely beautiful...in a manly kind of way.

Yet, if you had asked me then if I would still be married, I would have said yes. Ace was special. It wasn't just the dimples and the Superman hair either.

I was just twenty-one years old when we made our vow. Young, sweet...super crazy. I had only a small idea of what a commitment I was getting into. Yet, I knew that I was a one man woman. Ace was, is, and will always be a totally devoted spouse. I'm thankful for that. I know it's rare.

What makes a good marriage?

"The supreme happiness of life is in the conviction that we are loved; loved for ourselves, or rather, in spite of ourselves."--Victor Hugo

Ace doesn't expect me to be perfect. He doesn't expect me to look like a movie star or have perfect grammar. He doesn't even expect that his chef-wife cook dinner every night. The one thing I have learned from living with him around, is that I am perfectly adored by one man on earth. In spite of myself. I can only hope that our love will continue to grow every day. It is truly a gift. Thank you Ace...for buying me that beautiful old lace wedding gown. As he handed the money to the cashier, I asked him, "Is it official then?" Looking into those steel blue eyes of his I saw one tiny tear trickle down. "Stephanie...it was official the day we met." (Swoon ladies...)

I'm glad I said yes.
The best marriage advice I ever received goes like this,
"Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." 1 Corinthians 13:4–7, 13.

If I can have perfect Christ-like love for this man I call Ace...and he can have that love for me, there isn't anything we can't face. I'm so thankful for that.

There you go.

Happy Birthday Ace!

Elvis has been a theme around my house for a long time. My boys sang a song once for my husband when they where really small. It was originally sung by Elvis Presley in Aloha from Hawaii album and they would fall to sleep listening to it. To this day, I can't listen to it without thinking of how much these boys love their father...more today than yesterday.

Happy Birthday to a wonderful dad. These little guys, though not so little now, are so blessed to have you as their father.

Dude...That's Ace-ism

Random thoughts. My husband Ace says the wildest stuff. I've started calling them "Ace-isms" when he rattles off a "one liner" that makes so much simple sense it's almost scary. Here's a few. In random order, as random thoughts should be. Sometimes, I have to think about the word use and then...it's even more funny. Here goes.

1. "Perhaps you've never heard of me?"
2. "Nobody should pinch dad's nipples! I can't afford the swelling!"
3. "In my fourteen years of marriage to you, I have learned one very important thing about myself...I am an @#$%*&@!!"
4. "Things you will never see...Nessy, Big Foot, Elvis...and Ace passing up lunch."
5. " I recently learned that tomatoes are made of ketchup."
6. "If they're laying on the hoods of cars...they're not ladies."
7. Proudly... "Son, why did you poop on the toy Ford car?" (Ace worked at a GM facility for years).
8. Or his ever famous Random Email, "Because I'm so busy today, I only have time for the punch lines on these last jokes.
.....Oh, I thought you said beer nuts!
....Chickens don't drive!
....Heck if I know, she's a midget!"
9. "Ben Franklin didn't laugh at his own jokes?...He must not have been very funny."
10. "Gum I swallowed in junior high came out!"
11. "When a goat walks through your yard, it's over."
12. "You treat cars like you treat women...just do whatever they say."
13. "Ladies, I'm not a piece of meat."
14. "In my humble, yet accurate opinion..."
15. "I could've used a baby wipe!"
16. " Uh...officer...my weight is no longer accurate."
17. "If German rocket scientists are so smart, how come they've never been to the moon?"
18. " I look thinner on TV."
19. "...then her colostomy bag broke...they scrapped that car."
20. "No, it's not candy son, it's a suppository."
21. "...but you're not in the Ukraine Ron."
22. " I can't act like a grown up for long."
23. "They're from Macadamia."
24. "You named your kid after a weather man?"
25. "It's not going to make that noise much longer."
26. "Did you notice it's up-side-down?"
27. "This is what you've come up with?!"
28. "He had a Tweety Bird tattoo the size of my hand."
29. "After that zipper thing in Kindergarten, I take my time in the bathroom."
30. "He had a forehead like a drive in theater."
31. "Hitler wanted to take over the world because they needed the parking?"
32. " Why do I have to be the dumb one?"
33." Just keep going left until I say right."
34. "It's only hard 'til it gets easy."
35. "It's a dry heat... so is flame."
36. "He threw up with an accent."
37. "Vomit is very warm."
38. "They're chimpanzee strong!"
39. "That feeling you're having...it's called respect."
40. "Offering the chubby guy a cookie is profiling."
41. "I haven't had a hunger pain since 1982."
42. "That shouldn't be funny..."
43. "That yam scared the #@!! out of me."
44. "I'm not really a fighter either..."
45. "There's a joke in there somewhere."
46. "That's not for mixed company."
46. "It's only inappropriate if your mom hears."
47. It's not a secret, just don't tell anyone."
48. "I've never been this smart."
49. "There's nothing like sneezing."
50. " "Someone explain this to Jim."

That's all I have to say about that.

Ace Moments...Random

Tell me, does this man look like he is the kind of guy...

Who drives like this....?

Officially meet Ace.

My Mother-in-law had a birthday party last night. This is me alone with a crazy guy who won't eat chicken and cleans the toilet so I don't have to. He can also sing like Elvis...the later years.


Here's a link to what someone posted of Ace's driving. It really wasn't supposed to be taped: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGCptVfdsFU It's hard to believe that the man thrashing that Trailblazer is really married to me, yet here he is. Ace. I've been married 13 years to Ace. Ace is my little nickname for him because he is a driving genius. Did I mention I can't park to save my life. Don't ask me about Friday night...I got high centered on a curb. When I called Ace to have him talk me through getting free...oh the open mock-age. It's embarrassing.

Ace on the other hand is a high performance driver and has done a lot of test driving for Nascar teams and training for fire and police departments. He trains the instructors for the academy...so he's a step above the academy. He's the only guy I know who has a plaque on the living room wall from the United States Secret Service for his valued assistance and cooperation with their driver training program. Like I say, he's an ACE!

So, last night at his mom's birthday party, I was reminded again why I love this guy. He's a sleeper. Nobody on the street would look at this guy and say "hot dog, there goes Jeff Gordon"...it just won't happen. He's a softy who misses Elvis (I think he's really expecting him to come back...), writes me random notes and memorizes WW2 bombers. In any given situation, he can find humor. It's a gift. In nutshell, I'm glad he's around. So, there you go.

Chocolate Chip Cookies of Love.

It's been done before. I know. Everyone has a favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. I was talking to another food blogger about this phenomenon. It's the "BEST EVER"--syndrome.

It may be a wonderful recipe, the best I have ever used. Later, however, I may find one to top it. Not to mention that there is no accounting for taste and that though I may prefer a crisp on the outside, gooey on the inside cookie with a lot of substance, others may prefer one crispy and a lot flatter. It's like anything in life. I can love my husband, adore him without restraint, and yet if someone else was dating him, they may not feel the same way. For the record, if someone else WAS dating him, it better be a WAS. I've thankfully never once had to doubt his fidelity. He's one of those. Which may be one of the reasons I have total respect for the man.

Life, love, the spot on the dial. Whatever it is, right now this is the beginning and end of chocolate chip cookies...for ME. I hope you will agree, but then again, I won't die if you don't.

This is another Ace entry. I decided these cookies are a man's cookie. Needing to be pictured with a race helmet (He actually uses it when he works with Nascar teams), plaid and a grenade (yea, it's a toy so don't get your pantyhose is a knot). The TP is definitely a man thing. He doesn't care what is on the counter with the cookies...as long as there are cookies. I have to double the chocolate chips too, because every time I make them, Ace walks in the kitchen and wants to eat chips...


This is the girlie picture. See, the ladies can still eat them too.

The kicker is that half way through baking I turned around and Ace was eating the dough right off the pan. I made him stop so I could take the picture for "State's" evidence. Yup. I have proof. He eats right off the pan.

One of my favorite things to do is to top my cookies with a little coconut. If you don't like coconut, don't use it. Ace loves it...

The Chocolate chip cookie. A great American tradition.

My Sister, Auntie Em, sent me this recipe about a year ago. Ever since I have never returned to my older recipes. I know there are a million food blogs with similar entries. What would make anyone put another chocolate chip cookie posting? Well, I am posting one. My husband can't keep his hands off them. It's called Mrs Fields Cookies (but I've never seen them on any other Mrs. Fields knock-off website postings). Lets see if I can remember these from my brain....

or Em's brain. This is her recipe.

1 cup butter (I melt it a little so it makes a Carmel like cookie)

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
3 cups flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
2 cups chocolate chips (my family loves Guitard semi sweet )

1 tsp vanilla (I double the vanilla and also add a 1/2 tsp almond extract.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla.

Combine the flour mixture with the creamed butter mixture, just until combined. Add the chocolate chips. Scoop by rounded Tablespoon onto ungreased cookie sheet or sheet lined with parchment paper.

In preheated 350 degree oven bake until lightly golden, about 10-13 minutes. Remove these fluffy bits of goodness from baking sheet and allow to cool on dish cloth or foil on the counter top

Can you tell me what it is about these cookies that have such a power over me? Like my husband, they are irresistible.

There must be a scientific reason for my addiction! These are also good frozen. Form into balls using cookie scooper and freeze. Dump into freezer bag. To cook, pull from freezer desired amount to cook. Bake from frozen at 375 for 15 minutes, or allow to warm to room temperature and bake as directed above.

Variations:

Add 2T orange zest to batter.

Add 1 Cup chopped nuts of your choice (so awesome with hazelnuts or almonds, but pecans and walnuts are traditional)

Add raisins for the "Raisinette"

(which is the nickname I had for Auntie Em in High school but for a totally different reason...)

Whatever you add, be sure to watch your back, these seem to disappear without explanation!

Sundried tomato blush sauce and pasta

This one is for Ace, who had pasta and blush sauce Monday at our favorite restaurant. Candle light and a cute face...who could ask for more? Ace did. He wanted to drink the sauce. Really. Very classy. He did start chanting under his breath "I will not embarrass Steph, I will not embarrass Steph..." For those wondering, I am Steph. Tess is my nickname. Where was I? Oh yea...

Monday was our wedding anniversary. I've been married 13 years to Ace. Ace is my little nickname for him because he is a driving genius. Did I mention I can't park to save my life. Ace on the other hand is a high performance driver and has done a lot of test driving for Nascar teams and training for fire and police departments. He trains the instructors for the academy...so he's a step above the academy. He's the only guy I know who has a plaque on the living room wall from the United States Secret Service for his valued assistance and cooperation with their driver training program. Like I say, he's an ACE!

Why do I bring this up? Well, probably because for all the experience he has driving fast cars, he has no idea how to cook dinner. I take that back. He learned how to cook rice this week. He can also make spaghetti in a pinch, just don't ask him to make the sauce from scratch. No idea where to start...I usually start with something similar to these...

So I decided that my little guys would be all around experts. My youngest son, pet named Face, has a tool belt...

Today we strapped on the belt. It was time to make dinner, and Face is always eager to start a cooking project with yours truly. Tess. I love cooking with the kiddos. This was a mission to duplicate the blush sauce for Ace adapting it from a recipe I already had from the Pampered Chef. This isn't their recipe. I've changed it. It's a skillet dish, but I have a huge skillet. You may need a bigger pan...like a 2 quart stock pot. Here is what we came up with.

The ingredients:

6 cloves of crushed garlic...yea. We like it a lot. Can you tell?
1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes

2T sun dried tomato oil or infused oil (basil oil is awesome here)

1 cup chopped, peeled fresh tomatoes

5 cups vegetable stock

2T Italian seasoning

1/2 cup chopped parsley (I use flat leaf Italian parsley)

1 lb rigatoni pasta

1/2 cup chopped olives

1 cup frozen carrots, or fresh carrots, peeled and cooked until tender (Face loves to do this part.)

2 cups broccoli, steamed

8 oz light cream cheese

4 oz. shredded mozzarella

4 oz shredded Parmesan or Feta

Fresh cracked pepper and additional chopped flat leaf Italian parsley for garnish

Saute garlic in 2T sun dried tomato oil, from the jar your tomatoes are packed in.

Take a look at my homemade sun dried tomatoes. Oh my heart just sings for joy.Obviously these are what we used. I think one of my next entries should be how to make these at home like I do, huh?

Once the garlic cooks 2-3 minutes on medium, we added 5 cups vegetable stock,

1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, 1 cup peeled chopped fresh tomatoes, 2T Italian seasoning (again, this is a preference thing...I grind my own spices and herbs for my Italian blend, but you can use a store brand...I'm not checking your cupboard.) I also added 1/2 cup chopped olives (pick your favorite), and 1/2 cup chopped parsley. Normally I would add it at the end, but this cooks so fast there really isn't a need to worry about flavor loss of the fresh. It also brings the dried herbs to life. Quite amazing really.

Bring to a boil and add 1 lb Rigatoni. Don't panic. It will cook just fine and this will also help thicken the sauce...

When pasta is almost cooked, after about 7 minutes, add the cream cheese.

Add the cooked carrots and broccoli.

When heated through add the cheeses and transfer to serving dishes. Garnish with extra chopped parsley and give a generous cracking of black pepper...

Happy eats. Ace licked the plate...at home. What a good guy. I'll keep him!

The Mixer...

Look what Ace got me for Christmas. A new Kitchen Aid Professional. I cried. Really. Tears of joy, for the record. Then I giggled like a new culinary school grad. Then I cried again. If anyone read about our water heater fiasco (Oh Fudge On a Sheetpan! ), then I have to say it is true, I was not expecting ANYTHING for Christmas. Which was fine, it's about the kiddos anyway. I don't know how he did it, but I am sooo happy! Hmmm. I wonder what the cookie jar is doing there?

I Live in Aceland...

Random thoughts. If it looks enough like Christmas 1975 at my house can Elvis come back? Please!! My husband Ace is a huge fan! Yes. I live in Ace Land. I have a sequin suit and some seriously wicked decent deep fried peanut butter and pickle sandwiches. Of course I am plum out of ham hocks and guitar strings. Hmm. What to do...

I just finished my rendition of "Here Comes Santa Clause" in my soggy pink slippers and polk-a-dot jammies instead of the good blue suede. I have to say I love the parent side of this Santa tradition. Ace says Santa is much smarter than he remembers (since he now gets everything he really wants). Back to the Santa thing. I reserve some of the fun cookies for the tree. Yes we hang gobs and gobs of sugar cookies from our tree...what's not to love about that? It's the funky sugar high that makes me do ninja kicks that really is worth seeing. No you cannot borrow my rhinestone pink sunglasses. Yes, you can be creative and hang cookies from your tree too...well maybe next year, it is the wee of the morning. So technically...Merry Christmas.

Toffee House

I am pretty sure it's Christmas now. I made the Toffee. I know there is a recipe in every family where this is true. Now, mind you, this toffee may not last until Christmas day actually arrives but we will be laughing all the way!! The packages are optional but I think they look so festive all wrapped up in red! Don't you? My husband gets these from me every year and it's as close as he gets to house made of toffee, which he would take if it wouldn't get bugs. So this one is for Ace, my Dear Hunny who would do just about anything for toffee. He's getting these before Christmas.

My Favorite English Toffee recipe

2 cups butter (1 lb)
2 cups sugar
1T light corn syrup
1 cup high quality milk chocolate chips
1 cup toasted pecans (omit nuts if they are a problem for ya)

Grease a 15 inch by 10 inch by 1 inch baking pan with non-stick coating. In a heavy 3 quart sauce pan, melt the butter. Add the sugar and corn syrup. stir over medium heat until a candy thermometer reads 295 degrees, hard crack stage. Quickly pour into the prepared pan. Let stand at room temperature about 30 minutes and then top with chocolate chips and smooth them out over the candy when melted. Sprinkle with pecans. Let stand 2 hours. Break into bite size pieces. Store in an airtight container at room temperature. yield --about 2 lbs toffee.

Yea, 2 lbs. Mind you it will put more than 2 lbs on your bum should you eat all the toffee yourself!

Note: Test your candy thermometer before use by bringing water to a rolling boil. It should read 212 degrees . Adjust your recipe according to the number on your thermometer, as water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes.

The Pie and My Guy...

I love it when my friends "write in" and ask me to do a specific news. It helps me to not have to think too much. My mother asked me how to make a good pie crust. It's not often I get to teach my mom a thing or two, but this one is for her. So, this time it's about pie crust. Thank you for making it easy!

I once dated a boy from church who's mom told him to marry me after she tried my pie crust. She was the bishop's wife. Her exact words where, "You can't buy crust like that!" She meant it in a good way and I was utterly flattered. I was only 17 years old. I don't think she meant for her son to marry me right then! I say this because her words hit me hard. One may never know what great encouragement will do for a youth. I'm glad she said what she did. I had no idea what I wanted to be when I "grew up". Why did it hit me? Granted, my parents had told me for years they thought I was a great baker, but she helped it sink into my heart. I think it had something to do with her adorable son. I didn't marry her son by the way. I don't even know where he or his mother are today. It was what I needed at the time. 2 years later I was in culinary school for pastry training. I met my husband, Ace-man, in Arizona during that time. When we met, my husband thought I was going to culinary school to be an eye doctor. He had no idea what "culinary" was. Seriously. We've been married almost 13 years. I tell that story because this upcoming recipe is the one I used on " that pie"-- the pivotal pie-- and have used for the last 17 years. That pie may have changed the course of history --for me anyway!. I'm so glad I made that pie crust!! It's one of my core recipes. It's pretty basic. I used it to make a pastry crust good enough to pass the inspection of some pretty cranky chefs. Once I used it for a final exam that was so high stress I think it took 10 years off my life. The pie crust was well received and I passed with an "A". More importantly, it brought me here to Arizona where I met Ace-man. Hi Honey!

If you want to make some great crust, here are some tips. The most basic tips pertain to the main ingredients in crust. Flour and fat I am often asked a lot about flour. Here's a little "101". Typically I have three kinds of flour on hand for most of my baking. Cake flour, bread flour, and pastry flour. Those who are unfamiliar with the different types of flour may be excited to know that if you use all purpose flour, it works for almost all the things you bake (thus the "all purpose" term). The main differences in flour type is the protein content of the flour. This gets important for bread because generally one wants there to be a lot of wheat protein (or gluten). That protein sticks together when exposed to liquid to form long strands and a balloon like mesh to hold gas caused by yeast action. However, if you want a tender cake or pastry, you don't want a lot of that protein to get stuck together! If that happens, your cookie, cake or pie will have a very hard (hockey puck) texture. This also explains the generally high fat, low moisture content of most cookie and pastry recipes. The fat coats the protein and won't let it stick together. Ever heard of short bread? It's called that because the protein strands are "short". Pastry flour has a slightly lower protein content than all purpose flour 9% as opposed to 11%. That 2% can make a real difference. For pie crust, pastry flour is best! If you use whole wheat, find whole wheat pastry flour in the health food section of your grocery store. Yes, you can still use all purpose flour!! Please--please-- please--Just don't mix the dough so terribly long that the proteins get terribly over connected and your crust is terribly hard. How many times can I use "terribly" in a sentence?!

More words on pie:
*Pie dough is good in the fridge up to 4 days--Pat the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap. Allow dough to soften to room temperature a bit before trying to roll it out.

*Did you know pie dough is good in the freezer for up to 3 months? Yes!! You can make your own freezer pies! Most custard based pies will become runny, and remember that cornstarch will not hold it's thickening once frozen(except for the weird stuff added in processed foods). However, if you thicken your filling with all natural flour (birds and flowers in a light green meadow...ahhhh) it will hold forever!

*You can freeze a pie filled with fruit filling and just add 20 minutes to the baking time of the original recipe.

*Freeze uncooked crust in aluminum pie pans, put in a gallon size freezer bag and stack them if you want to maximize freezer space.

*When you want to bake frozen pies transfer them out of the foil into a stoneware pie plate for crispiest crust.

*Unbaked pie shells can also be filled with savory fillings like Quiche and pot pie stew!

*Now here is the bonus of freezing. Because of the expansion of freezing and defrosting, those protein strands we talked about will stretch, break, and become even more tender. Meaning if you freeze your dough, you can count on flakier crust! How cool is that?!

Basic Pastry crust:
2 9 inch single shells or
1 9 inch two crust pie:

2 1/4 cup pastry flour (for whole wheat pastry flour increase water to about 1/3 cup)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup shortening (crisco works but if you want non trans-fat try "Spectrum" brand)
3T cold water
3T vinegar--this is my secret ingredient! SShhhhhh!
Directions: Mix flour and salt, cut in shortening with a pastry blender. combine lightly until the mix resembles course meal or tiny peas: its texture will not be uniform, but will contain small crumbs and small bits and pieces. Sprinkle water and vinegar over mixture one Tablespoon at a time and mix lightly with a fork, using only enough water so that the pastry will hold together when pressed gently into a ball. This will vary on the moisture content of the flour.
Divide the dough into two balls. Roll the bottom dough out in a circle 2 inches larger than the pie pan(that's 11 inches in diameter), then fit it loosely but firmly into the pan. I do this by lightly folding the dough in half and gently picking it up with my hands. You may roll it out on parchment paper or wax paper to ease this "pick up" process. By far my favorite method is to roll dough between two pieces of parchment paper. I use a light swipe of a damp washcloth first on the counter, this moisture holds the paper in place. Once rolled, I remove the top piece of paper, flip the crust into the pan and remove the second piece of paper. Roll out the top crust. Fill the pie generously with pie filling of your choice, then put on the top and prick in several places with a fork or cut vents. Crimp or flute the edges and bake as directed I usually cover the edges with a strip of foil or a metal ring called a pie guard. Pie will get nice and brown but the edges will get almost black without the pie guard.
Or... just buy the dough from the freezer section! You don't have to make your own! But try it once! You may be surprised how much you like it!! I don't know how many hundred thousand recipes there are for pie filling, but here are 3.I don't want my letters to be too long so I won't do too many recipes!
Diabetic: Please note that if you are sugar restricted, sugar is optional or if you use Splenda sweetener, it won't "cook out". Yes! You can just use a can of pre-made pie filling. No, I am not coming to your house to check!
Apple pie filling:
1/2 cup sugar or 1/4 cup honey (splenda is okay)
1/2 tsp salt2 tsp cinnamon plus spice blend
3T flour
6 large firm granny smith apples, cored, peeled and cut in thin slices
1T vanilla
3T melted butter

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and put in a prepared pie crust (bottom). Top with other half of the dough, rolled out to a 12 inch diameter. Using a knife, cut off the extra edge so that there is about a half inch of dough hanging all around the outside edge of the pie plate. Roll this "dough lip" under until almost flush with the edge. Seal edged lightly pressing down with a fork or pinching with your fingers into a crimped fashion. Cut several vents in the top (small decorative cookie cutters are sometimes used)--you can now freeze it or bake at 425 degrees 10 minutes. Cover edges with foil or pie guard and lower oven to 350 degrees and bake 30-40 minutes. For frozen, bake at 425 10 minutes and lower to 350, then bake 50 min. to an hour.
Blueberry is my favorite pie-
-the Ooompa Looumpa's usually have to roll me out of the chocolate factory for a squeeze!

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
3T flour
1/2 cup of brown sugar1
T lemon juice1
1/2 tsp double strength Madagascar Vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2T melted butter

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line the pie pan (9 inch) with half the pastry dough . Wash over the blueberries if you use fresh. If using frozen blueberries, it is not necessary to defrost them completely. Sprinkle the flour over the blueberries in a large bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Mix and coat well. Pile the mixture into the pan and roll remaining pastry dough to 12 inch diameter. Drape over the top of the blueberry filling of love and happiness. Follow crimping instructions used for the apple pie filling. Cut vents (5-6 cute little holes or one 1 inch hole in the middle). Freeze, then put in a gallon size bag with baking instructions-- or just Bake 10 minutes at 425 then lower to 350 for 30-40 minutes. To bake from frozen, add 20 minutes to final baking time.

Tough guys eat Quiche!
Ham and Cheese Quiche For the freezer (or not)
2 9 inch pastry shells
2 cups diced fully cooked ham (soo good with crab instead of ham)
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese
2T minced fresh onion
1 clove fresh pressed garlic
4 eggs
2 cups half and half
3/4 tsp dill weed
fresh cracked pepper
Directions: Bake pastry crust 10 minutes at 400 degrees. While baking crust, combine onion, garlic, eggs, half and half, and seasonings. Removed crusts from oven and cool, divide cheese and ham between the two shells, then pour in the egg mixture. Cover and Freeze up to 3 months (make sure they are set up flat or they'll leak all over!) or... put back in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. To cook from frozen bake 400 degrees 50-55 minutes. If you cut the pie into 8 pieces it is 25 carbs. each.

Tess notes: In general, it takes between 2 and 3 T of flour to thicken a 4 cup recipe of fresh fruit for a pie filling. Except peaches-- they take 4T of flour. Sugar is optional always! I don't use a lot of Splenda but a lot of my diabetic friends do. You can cook your own pie filling on the stove top too! Just simmer 10-12 minutes. Cook the full amount of time to allow the flour to thicken and the starch to cook fully. Allow to cool and use as you would any can of pre-made filling! The benefit is that this will have more fruit and no additives! If I am going to use a filling right away and not freeze it... I use cornstarch to thicken it. It takes 1-2T (usually right about half as much flour), and the starch cooks much faster so it will be ready quickly- 5-7 minutes. I have been know to use maple syrup in place of sugar in peach pie or Carmel sauce in place of sugar in apple pie--or vise versa.
. If you grind your own flour (over-achiever!--You are probably one of my best students!),Pastry flour: use 2/3 hard wheat, 1/3 whole barley or whole oats by weight (for cake flour I do exactly half and half) . Oats and barley have a very very low gluten content--unfortunately for those on gluten free diets, they do have a small amount of gluten. The flavor of these grains in pretty neutral. Or you can just use soft wheat for the cake flour and add 1/3 hard wheat for pastry. I love the taste of oats and barley.

Here's to more pie... and having a great guy to eat it with!! Thanks Ace!