Mom's Fruit Pizza

I don't know if my mother made this one up on her own, but I've never seen or heard of it elsewhere. Like most home-grown recipes, there's no quantities because you can vary them to suit yourself.

Mom usually did this with apples or peaches; if you use apples, use tart baking apples. Have fun and experiment with other fruit: pears, for instance, would also work well.

1 biscuit recipe (Mom made hers from Bisquick, but homemade works well too.)
Peeled, cored and sliced fruit
Granulated sugar

Roll out the biscuit dough to fill a lightly-greased baking sheet, about 1/4 inch thick. Lay out the fruit in a single layer, covering the entire dough. Sprinkle the top with sugar; if you're using apples, also sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 450 degrees until the dough is a light golden brown, about 15 minutes.

It's wonderful served warm, with ice cream!

Mincemeat Pie (the EASIER version)

If you're not into the previous mincemeat's all-day recipe.....

2 cups prepared mincemeat (Cross & Blackwell is my family's favorite)
2 cups thinly-sliced pared tart apples
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Pastry for a 2-crust 8-inch pie

Combine mincemeat, apples and lemon peel. Pour filling into the unbaked bottom crust; cover with top crust and crimp edges. Cut vents in top crust. Sprinkle lightly with sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees about 35 minutes.

Homemade Mincemeat Pie (NOT from a jar!)

Someone mentioned how she hadn't had a good mincemeat pie in a while; it's even gotten hard to find the jarred fillings at the holidays anymore. Hrumph. Well, for all the deprived mincemeat lovers, here's an older from-scratch recipe --- it's very good, but boy is it ever a lot more work than opening a jar! Serve it warm; it's great with a really good vanilla ice cream.

(I honestly can't say how many total pies this will make..... I started to simply eat bowls-full of it.....)

2 pounds beef neck
1 pound suet
4 pounds tart apples
4 cups sugar
2 pounds currants
3 pounds raisins
1/2 pound finely-chopped citron
Juice and grated peel of 2 oranges
Juice and grated peel of 2 lemons
1 pint apple cider or apple juice
1 tablespoon salt
1 and 1/4 teaspoons grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon mace

Simmer beef, covered in water, until tender, approximately 3 hours. Cool. Coarsely chop with suet and apples.
Add all other ingredients and mix. Simmer 1 hour.
Fill the unbaked bottom crust of an 8-inch pie with 2 to 2 and 1/2 cups of the mixture; cover with top crust, seal edges. Make vents in top crust. Bake at 450 degrees about 35 minutes. (Yes, a very hot 450 degree oven is correct!)