Blueberry Sour Cream Pie

My absolute most favorite thing to make is pie. Pie is for birthdays. Family reunions. It's for Thanksgiving and Christmas and breakfast, even dinner. 

And it's definitely for the Fourth of July.

I made several over the weekend, and while we enjoyed all of them, this one was the clear favorite. Now, let me make a disclaimer: I don't like blueberries. I find them to be mushy in texture and ho-hum in flavor. 

The exception is fresh-picked blueberries from the blueberry farm. Every summer, we go out and pick several pounds, and I bake. It's the only time I make anything with blueberries. 

So keep that in mind as you try this recipe.

Ingredients:

dough for 9-inch pie crust

filling:

1 C sour cream

1/4 C sugar

2 1/2 T flour

1 egg, beaten

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 1/2 C fresh blueberries

topping:

6 T flour

1/4 C butter, chilled and cubed

1/2 C chopped pecans

2 T sugar

Roll out your pie crust. Line a 9-inch pie plate, trimming and crimping the edges. FREEZE your pie plate with the crust for ten minutes. If you skip this step, your pie crust will burn!

Remove from freezer. Line your pie crust with aluminum foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights/beans. Set aside.

Whisk sour cream, sugar, flour, egg, salt, and almond extract together. Mix in blueberries. Spoon into pie crust. Bake until set, about 25 minutes. Check your pie crust around 15 minutes. If it's getting too dark, place a pie shield or aluminum foil on the edges.

Remove from oven. Set aside while you make the topping.

In a bowl, combine the flour and butter with your fingers until small clumps form. Mix in pecans and sugar. Sprinkle over the pie. Leaving the pie shield in place, bake another 12 minutes until the topping browns slightly.

Cool completely and serve at room temperature.

Tastefully,

Tamara 

Bacon-Potato Stacks

These are a fun bite-sized side dish that tastes like a baked potato. I used cotija cheese, but you could use cheddar or blue cheese.

Ingredients:

4-5 small red potatoes

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp olive oil

4 slices bacon, cooked

2 oz. cotija cheese

1/2 tomato, diced

2 T sour cream

2 T chives

Thinly slice the potatoes, discarding the ends. A mandolin works well for this if you have one. You should end up with about 50 slices.

Spray 18 muffin tins. combine the potato slices, black pepper, and oil in a bowl. Toss well to coat. Crumble the bacon. 

Press one potato slice into each muffin cup. Sprinkle with half the bacon and cheese. Repeat the layering, putting another potato slice on top, followed by the rest of the bacon and cheese. Top with the remaining potato slice.

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 15-20 minutes. The longer you bake them, the crispier they get, so a lot of this depends on preference. Remove pans from oven and immediately remove stacks to a cooling rack.

Dice the tomatoes. Put a dollop of sour cream on each potato stack, sprinkle on the tomatoes and chives. Serve!

Tastefully,

Tamara