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Well its nearing that time of year again, Apple pie time. Well they were always called ''Apple cakes in our home growing up. My mother would always bake loads, some for relatives and neighbours ect.. All made with homemade pastry and baked in a range oven. At Halloween she would put money/coins in the pie wrapped in foil. It was great getting a slice with a 10p in it. Anyway there is a glut of apples about locally and I've some blackberries in the freezer. So apple and blackberry pies will soon be on the go, along with some eves pudding,crumbles ect..! We had to purchase a new washing machine a few months back and whilst in the shop I noticed a small pie maker that was reduced to half price. Since its near impossible to get a good steak and kidney pie around these parts as kidney has gone out of fashion, it prompted me to make my own. Stewing beef,kidney,carrots,onions, seasoned and browned and put in the slow cooker with some good stock for 7hrs on low. Cooled and the put into shop bought pastry😱 for convenience as it was a trial,shortcrust for the bottom and puff for the lid. I put a dollop of ''Cashel blue'' in a couple as I knew it would complement the pie filling. They turned out well, although you can't get a lot of filling in this particular model. I make bigger pies, although our local butchers steak pies are unreal and the whole house eats them. I used the wee pie machine for small apple pies also. Handy for using up some left over dinner and it's OK to have some ready-made pastry in the freezer.