Gather: A Sunday Dinner with Friends

I've missed Sunday dinners for a long time. They weren't ever a huge or elaborate affair in my household growing up, however there was still something sweet and wonderful about them. I have a lot of nostalgia remembering the things Mom would cook; I'm pretty sure mashed potatoes were my obsession? But I tell Asa often that I miss Michigan (okay, ALL the time...) and one of the reasons I wish we could be closer than the six hours that we are, is because I wish we could pop in on Sundays after church to eat a meal with my family...

Sigh. Who knows where the Lord will take us in the years to come, but as you can see, meals and fellowship are important to me--to us. We've been blessed by the church we joined last September and with it, some truly amazing friends. Tim and Steph are ones that it's been so evident, God is just using immensely to be a part of our village. Y'all know the familiar saying, 'it takes a village,' in regards to raising kids--as cliche as it may sound, it is TRUE! So these two had the brilliant idea of getting together on Sundays to come around a meal; to eat food, hang out, and to just spend time together. Of course we said YES! Our kids love them, they love our kids, and both Tim and Asa love to cook. So duh. 

Not only am I obsessed with mashed potatoes (pictured above!!), I LOVE Asa's deviled eggs. He adds a piece of bacon on top and they are creamy AND tangy. I could have literally devoured the entire plate but go figure, Tim and Steph loved them too. Tim made the fried chicken (omg!!) and the greens. The whole thing was a giant Southern dream. 

It does my heart good to be able to just carefree sit around the table with friends AND our kids. Let's be real...eating with children is not exactly stress free. They whip their utensils around, spill 90% of what's on their plate, and talk/bicker LOUDLY. Oh wait, I have some proof of a big table spill below! Ha!

Reese had been playing with the salt shaker on the dining room table prior to dinner, but obviously we weren't aware. When one of us went to USE said salt shaker......well, you see what happened. It dumped ALL, OVER, THE, TABLE!!!!!!!!!!! So the second photo was everyone scrambling (minus me, oops) trying to clean it up. Oh my word, I love these people.

And last but not least, I *finally* made a homemade blueberry pie for the first time in a VERY long time. (Remember when I made a new pie a month for 12 months, a tribute to my Grandma?)

Tonight we just had our second dinner together, that I'm sure I'll get around to blogging here soon as well. On my list of must reads is Shauna Niequist's book 'Bread and Wine,' but from this book there is this magical quote that speaks to my soul: 

“The heart of hospitality is about creating space for someone to feel seen and heard and loved. It's about declaring your table a safe zone, a place of warmth and nourishment.”

Now that you've seen OUR Sunday dinner, what do you love about Sundays? Or maybe what is a nostalgic meal you remember from your childhood? Leave a comment below and I hope you have the greatest week! 

xox

Meals With my Man: Rustic Peach Pie

2015 was my year of pies. It was the first New Year's Resolution I've EVER kept. I'm a little sad to say SINCE December I haven't made another one until this week, with my handsome hunk of a husband. Full disclosure: he came up with this recipe and did most (ahem, all, ahem) of the work, (except for rolling out the crust)...What can I say, I have probably used up all my die-hard-pie-baking-motivation with the twelve I did last year! ;) 

Ingredients:
6 Fresh Peaches
1/3 Cup Flour
2/3 Cup Sugar
1Tsp Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Half & Half
¼ cup Brown Sugar
Store Bought Flat Pie Crust (to save time), OR you can use my Grandmother's recipe here

Directions:
-Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Score the bottom of the peaches with an X, not too deep, just enough to pierce the skin. Place in boiling water for 60 seconds, and remove with a slotted spoon. When the peaches are cool enough to handle, gently peel the skin. Slice the skinless peaches into eighths, or whatever size peach you like.
- Place in a large bowl. Add the flour, sugar and cinnamon to the peaches and gently toss until combined. Roll out the pie crust into a 9 inch circle. Pile peaches in the middle of the crust leaving about 2 inches of crust to the edge. Fold the edge of the crust around the peach filling. Brush the edge of the crust with half and half, sprinkle crust and top of peach filling with brown sugar.
-Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.  

This recipe works with many different fruits, blueberries, strawberries, apples, etc. Don’t feel confined to peaches! If you've given this recipe a go, leave a comment! We would love to hear what kind of fruit YOU used!

Blueberry Goodness: A Pie to Welcome Spring

2015 was the year that I managed to keep a New Years Resolution for the first time EVER. If you followed my journey on Instagram, you can find the collection of posts under #piesbyashley.

Here we are, well into another new year, but  I wanted to share one of these goodies with you today! Currently in Kentucky, it is pouring rain, dark and dreary; however, this pie is sure to warm up your house AND mood. Inspired by my Grandmother (who lived to be one-hundred years old), blueberry pies are my absolute favorite traditional pie. I was blessed to inherit a couple of her journals and as I turned the pages I would often read bits like this:

"Baked four pies (blueberry) today. Put two in the freezer, ate one, and gave Beth one for the kids. Hope I can get at least four in the freezer. They're so nice to have ready in case of unexpected company..." [August 2, 1996).

My mom baked pies often as well. Living in Michigan, my summers were filled with fresh blueberries and warm, home-made blueberry pies. I have to say for this one, I highly recommend a from-scratch pie crust. There were several times I needed to buy a store bought one (I would often remember the last day of the month that I needed to bake in order to stand true to my Resolution!) After I post the recipe, I'll also share my devastating story that goes along with this particular blueberry pie, so keep reading!

Standard Crust {the recipe my mom and Grandma always used}
*This recipe makes two pie crusts so that you can use one for the lattice topping, should you choose*
2/3C + 2 tablespoons shortening
2C all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
4 to 5 tablespoons COLD water

Directions for the crust:
Cut the shortening into flour and salt until particles are size of small peas.
Sprinkle in the water, 1 TBS at a time, tossing with a fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost cleans sides of bowl (1-2 TBS can be added if necessary).
Gather the pastry into a ball; divide pastry into halves and shape into two rounds (since this is for a two crust recipe).
Roll pastry two inches larger than inverted pie plate with floured stockinet-covered rolling pin.
Fold pastry into quarters; unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side.
Put the second crust once flattened into the fridge until you are finished making the filling.

Filling Ingredients (for an 8 inch pie)
1/3 C sugar
1/4 C all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3C fresh blueberries
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon margarine or butter

Directions:
Heat oven to 425-degrees.
Mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon and then stir in blueberries.
Pour into the prepared pie crust and sprinkle with lemon juice and dot with butter.
Cover the top crust however you prefer (i.e. lattice or covered with holes poked through)
Bake until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through the top crust, 35-45 minutes.
*Cover the edges with 2-3 inch strip of foil if edges are getting too brown*
Allow the pie to cool and then voila! Enjoy with your favorite scoop of ice cream! 

I was SUPER proud of this pie. A homemade crust, the beautiful lattice on top, the juicy and bubbly blueberry goodness... So I enjoyed one slice that evening for dinner, as did my kids. We all loved it and sang this recipe many praises. We went to Church the next morning and left the pie pushed back on our kitchen counter. Well... lo and behold, when we came back from the service, the pie dish remained (somehow!!?) on the counter, but the contents were no longer THERE!!!

Our ginormous Chocolate Lab had helped himself to my tasty treat and the blueberry goodness was no more... I actually sat on our steps and when my husband said, "Ash, I'm SO sorry!" I replied, "I am going to need a minute."

Lesson learned, dog. Lesson learned. And next time I make this heavenly pastry, I will NOT be leaving it on the kitchen counter unattended!
 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

There is one delicious exception to my "I'm-not-a-sweets-girl" theory...

Every year on my Dad's birthday he wanted a chocolate peanut butter pie. A quaint little bakery in my hometown of Allegan made the perfect one and whenever Mom brought it home, I was ready; fork in hand with a glimmer in my eye because THIS, this was my favorite pie e-v-e-r. 

It's not surprising then that I craved peanut butter pie with both of my pregnancies and while I am obsessed with our local Sweet Surrender's version, going for a slice was never enough and I couldn't justify spending twenty bucks for one as often as I craved it. So praise the Lord I found THIS pie; even if it was two years ago since I had my last babe ;)

If you've followed along, you know that my 2015 Resolution was to bake a new pie each month. Well, December finally came and this would obviously be my very last pie... I had to make it count! I was at my parents home in Michigan, our 'fake Christmas' was in a few days and I knew I wanted to bake something to contribute. My genius husband was actually the one who thought of a chocolate peanut butter pie and my sister-in-law volunteered to make a grocery run with the men while I took kid duty. I asked her to look for a simple peanut butter pie recipe, and that I wanted a chocolate crust. So it's thanks to her for finding The Pioneer Woman's recipe on Food Network so that I could simply re-create and therefore EAT it. I promise you don't want to miss out on this peanut butter, chocolate goodness. Every ounce of a whipped bite is going to have you in absolute pie heaven.

Crust Ingredients:
1 package of chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos
4 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1 eight-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 eight-ounce pakage whipped topping, such as Cool Whip (thawed)

Directions for the crust:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Crush the cookies until they're fine crumbs (I used a food processor). Pour the melted butter over the top and stir with a fork to combine. Press into a pie pan and bake until set, 5-7 minutes (it took my crust 10). Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

Directions for the filling:
Beat the peanut butter with the cream cheese until smooth. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add in the thawed whipped topping and also beat until smooth, scraping the sides as necessary. Pour the filling into the crust and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

And that's IT! THE easiest chocolate peanut butter pie recipe. Did we like it?! Heck to the yeah we did and my dad especially was wowed. I am fairly certain now I need to make this pie again asap because now I'm drooling.