This was a real tasty little dessert. I added golden raisins and a tsp of vanilla along with the almond extract. I sprinkled the top with course sugar and it came out great and crispy. My husband was standing behind me with the pie server in his hand when I took it out of the oven. He ate two pieces before dinner! We enjoyed this very much. Thanks, Jean!

Last week I sent my husband to the store to get me 4 leeks which I needed for a recipe. He brought home 4 POUNDS of leeks. So since I had an overabundance of them, I used leeks instead of onions in this recipe. I also added celery, carrots, zuccini, cut up green beans and spinach. I squeezed the innards out of 1 large, fresh hot Italian sausage and browned it before I put in the vegetables; just for a bit of meaty flavor. I threw in 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste to brown with the vegetables. I used one 15 oz can of tomato sauce and one 15 oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. Instead of grated Parmesan, I put in a couple of pieces of Parmigiano Reggiano rind that I had hanging out in the freezer. Oh, and I also threw in a bay leaf and fresh parsley instead of dry. As per other reviewer's suggestions, I only used 1 1/2 cups of pasta, and I used whole wheat elbows (that's all I had). This was scrumptious! My husband added it to his list of my top 7 soups (which is now up to 10) Thanks for the great recipe AVALERIO!!!

Excellent! This was the first time I made my own crust, so I was nervous about how it would turn out. No worries though, it came out BEAUTIFULLY! I used butter-flavoured Crisco instead of normal, since I was making a sweet, apple pie (Apple Pie by Grandma Ople). Also, I added 1 tsp of white sugar to further compliment the contents of the pie. After all of the intense warnings of stickiness, I had my wax paper ready, but it was unnecessary. Since I didn't have any pastry equipment, I just used my hands to combine everything. Next time I'll have to flour my hands first-- that was the time when the dough was really sticky! But after it was all combined, it wasn't sticky at all. It was very easy to work with and handle. I refrigerated it for about 15 or 20 minutes before putting it into the pie dish. I lightly coated the bottom crust in egg whites and put it in the oven for 2 minutes at 400 degrees to prevent sogginess. I used a lattice crust for my pie which, for the most part, went very well. HOWEVER-- this crust tears fairly easily, so be very careful with how thin you press it while you're working with it. Overall, a big thumbs up! I will be using this crust again and again :)