Overnight Frig Oatmeal Yogurt Parfait

Originally from: http://fruits.com/tropical-overnight-oatmeal/
As originally seen in the Costco Connection magazine.

Ingredients:
•⅔ cup old fashion oats, uncooked
•⅔ cup non-fat milk
•⅔ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
•⅛ tsp ground allspice
•1 cup fresh Del Monte Gold® Extra Sweet pineapple chunks
•1 medium Del Monte® banana, sliced
•2 Tbsp sliced almonds

Directions:
Mix oats, milk, yogurt and allspice in two bowls or glass jars. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Just before serving, add pineapple, banana and almonds.

Hot Mama Grade: B-

Hot Mama Notes: I made this recipe with a cream & yogurt mixture that I had leftover from Pioneer Woman's Blueberries & Cream Yogurt recipe. I think it will be even more delicious since that recipe is made with heavy whipping cream, plain yogurt, and brown sugar. I halved this recipe to make sure I liked it. My trial will be ready tonight! :) I plan on putting in strawberries, blueberries, and slivered almonds, since that is what I have available. I don't care for bananas much, but fresh pineapple would undoubtedly be delicious. Next time! This sounds like an amazing yogurt parfait.

Updated: I do not love oatmeal.  I keep trying, but I just don't love it! :/  

Apple Pie

Filling: 

5-6  cups of small green apples, from a friend's tree in Payson, AZ
3/4  cup sugar
1/4  cup brown sugar
3T   cornstarch

Crust:

Barb's Butter Crust Recipe is shown in this post: http://hotmamacookbook.blogspot.com/2013/08/fresh-peach-pie.html



Hot Mama Notes: This pie turned out AWESOME!!!  Next time, I think I will use 1/2 c brown sugar and 1/4 c white sugar for the filling.  But, yum yum yum.  The pie crust was perfect: flakey and sweet.  I actually made two pies using this recipe, and they both turned out great.  :)  I got lots and lots of compliments.  They were very tasty, and only last a few days before being DEVOURED.  The best compliment, really.  My grade: A.

Fresh Peach Pie

Original Recipe from the Book: The Lost Art of Pie-Making by Barbara Swell, see cover image below.

 My Magnificent Pie, straight out of the oven.

Hot Mama Notes: 

I used the butter crust, "Barb's Butter Crust".  I have a fondness for butter, and I have had much success in the past using a savory butter crust for quiches and pot pies.  I do hear that shortening crusts are great, but it's hard to mess with a good thing.  And shortening creeps me out, whereas butter does not!  This crust is not as easy to work with as the previous crust I used (a bit sticky), but it was doable.  I highly recommend the use of a pasty cutter.  A very useful tool.  I refrigerated my crust dough for about 30 minutes.  I think next time I will try overnight.

I opted for the recommended amount of sugar (3/4 cup) in the filling.  I did not want the filling overly sweet, and these were home-grown peaches, fresh off the tree a few days before.  They were delicious and sweet raw, I didn't need to add much sugar.  I am not sure if I have ever had peach pie before, but I will say that the filling in this pie tasted very much like canned peaches.  I am not sure if that is the consistency and flavor that peach pie filling is supposed to take on, but it was good.  The crust was phenomenal.  :)  I used 5 cups of peaches.  Also, I did brush the top crust with heavy whipping cream (since I happened to have some), and sprinkled granulated white sugar on top of it.  This made the pie very beautiful.  I covered up the edges with foil about 20 or 30 minutes in.  The pie took quite a long time to bake.  I kept baking it until the top pie crust no longer looked like raw dough, but rather like a golden brown pie crust.  :)

Overall Grade: B+ 
(Crust Grade: A)
(Filling Grade: B)