Tausi Insider

Photo : LightField Studios ( Shutterstock ) The holiday season is the perfect time to lie to your family. Whether it’s “no presents this year,” or giving everyone an extra slice of the “low-fat” cheesecake, I know you have your reasons. Now we’ve got a whopper to lay on your annoying pastry chef cousin: “This crust is from scratch.” Here’s how to manipulate a store bought pie crust so that you can effectively fool your family into thinking you’ve got pastry skills. The best liars believe their lies, but to enjoy a good hoodwink, you have to invest in your deception by going all in. That means a good story, and the appropriate details in the right places. We’re talking taste, bakeware, and shape. A store bought pie shell is a great way to lighten the load on baking days, but it’s a near necessity for folks who struggle with pastry. There are many big name brands out there and a handful of them are terrible. Luckily, I did the hard work for you and tested out some store bought pie...

Photo : Brent Hofacker ( Shutterstock ) The best pot pies are homemade ones, but lazy pot pies are the best answer to cold weather and low energy. You have every right to eat thick meat stews in pie form, but not everyone has the gumption to toil away for hours. There is a way to have it all. Summon up your inner Sandra Lee: T his hearty dish is made with store-bought components, so you can manipulate them into a delicious and worthy pie. For a proper lazy pie that tastes better than anything in the frozen section, you’ll need a can of soup and a sheet of packaged, frozen pastry. You can use puff pastry, or a sheet of pie dough, if you prefer. Thaw the pastry in the refrigerator according to the package directions, and preheat the oven to 400°F. Grab a can of creamy chicken soup. Maybe you already have a favorite: It might be chicken corn chowder, or chicken and dumplings, maybe even creamy chicken noodle, Progresso makes a chicken pot pie style soup , but whatever it is, t...