photo by Rex Roof

DEAR SARA: I’m searching for pies that use half-and-half. I was given five quarts of half-and-half yesterday. I’ve got some piecrust dough to use up. Do you have a pie recipe that uses half-and-half? — Laurie, Florida

DEAR LAURIE: You can use some of the half-and-half in French toast, cream soup, scrambled eggs or homemade iced coffee, to name a few. Here are a couple of pie recipes, too. Enjoy!

Chicken Potpie

1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup potato, diced
1/3 cup melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
salt and pepper, to taste
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup peas
2 store-bought or homemade piecrusts

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a medium saucepan, add butter and saute onion, celery, carrots, mushrooms and potatoes for 10 minutes. Add flour to sauteed mixture. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. In a medium bowl, combine broth and half-and-half. Gradually stir into the vegetable mixture. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Season with salt and pepper, then add chicken and stir well. Fold in peas. Pour into shallow two-quart casserole dish or 9-by-13-inch pan, and top with pie shells. Cut slits in top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and filling is bubbly.

Vanilla-Cream Pie

1 (9-inch) piecrust, baked
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup white sugar
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2-1/4 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Mix cornstarch and sugar. Add butter and half-and-half. Cook on medium heat, stirring constantly, until it’s thick and creamy, with a pudding-like consistency. Add vanilla. Preheat oven broiler to high. Pour mixture into piecrust. Drizzle 2 tablespoons butter over top, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Put under broiler for one minute or until butter bubbles. Chill in refrigerator.

DEAR SARA: I’m outside looking at my son’s new truck, and I smell peppermint. As I walk over, I see this huge peppermint patch on the ground that my husband just filled over about a month ago. What possible frugal way can I get use out of this? I admit that I don’t use much peppermint for cooking, not even at Christmas, but this is so fragrant. I need to do something. — Cher, Ohio

DEAR CHER: You can make compound butter (mint and butter) and brush it onto corn on the cob or add it to peas, make granita, or use it in iced tea or lemonade. It tastes good in a cucumber sandwich, too. Combine 1/4 cup chopped mint leaves; 1/4 cup butter, softened; and 1/4 cup cream cheese, softened. Spread sandwich mixture onto a slice of white bread or half a bagel. Add a layer of thinly sliced cucumber. Top with another slice of bread or bagel. Cut sandwich in half. Refrigerate any leftover spread. Or add 1/4 cup of mint and 4 to 6 tablespoons sugar to your food processor, and pulse until well combined. Sprinkle sugar on fruit salad or fresh-cut peaches, cantaloupe, oranges, pears, honeydew or watermelon.

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