Fresh Strawberry Pie

Gotta love strawberry season. It is in full swing in my area. I had to make this wonderful pie last night to use up the last of my strawberries.


INGREDIENTS

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked
1 quart fresh strawberries
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream


DIRECTIONS
Arrange half of strawberries in baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.
In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of pie with a dollop of whipped cream.

Spring Time

Well I decided to go and raid the Rhubarb patch and make a wonderful pie. I love this time of year. Sweet, but slightly tart rhubarb paired with nutmeg in the best pie of the season. I am grateful to live in a place where I can plant and grow wonderful produce.



RHUBARB CUSTARD PIE

8 inch baked pie shell

FOR CUSTARD:1/4 c. sugar
2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 c. milk
2 egg yolks
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

FOR RHUBARB SAUCE:

3 c. rhubarb, cut 1/2 inch
2/3 c. sugar
2 tbsp. water

FOR MERINGUE:

3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
6 tbsp. sugar

Stir together sugar and cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg in small saucepan. Stir in milk and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Beat egg yolks slightly and stir a small amount of hot milk mixture into yolks, then stir that mixture back into pan. Cook and stir until custard is thickened and smooth. Cover custard to keep warm. Toss rhubarb with sugar in small pan. Add water and cook over very low heat just until rhubarb is tender-crisp - don't let it get soft. Cover sauce.
For Meringue: Beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Beat in sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time; continue beating until stiff and glossy. Do not underbeat. Drain rhubarb sauce and fold into custard. Turn warm custard into baked pie shell. Heap meringue onto filling; spread over filling, carefully sealing meringue to edge of crust. Bake in preheated 400 degree oven 10 minutes or until a delicate brown. Cool away from draft. If not served immediately, store pie in refrigerator.

Spring Has Finally Sprung

I want to let everyone know that Spring has finally sprung in my corner of the world. I want to let everyone know to check out Deal Seeking Mom and Kingdom First mom. For great frugal ideas. They are wonderful bloggers to learn some great money saving advice from.


The next recipe featured will be....

Chocolate Pie


Filling
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
6 large egg yolks
2 cups low-fat (1%) milk
1/2 cup chilled whipping cream
6 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 tablespoon dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Chocolate Crumb Crust

Topping
1 cup chilled whipping cream
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon dark rum
Chocolate curls

PreparationFor Filling:
Whisk first 4 ingredients in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Whisk in egg yolks to form thick paste. Gradually whisk in milk, then cream. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and boils 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and whisk until smooth. Whisk in rum and vanilla. Cool 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Transfer filling to frozen crust. Chill until cold, at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

For Topping:
Beat first 3 ingredients in large bowl until firm peaks form. Spoon whipped cream into pastry bag fitted with large star tip. Pipe rosettes around edge of pie. Garnish with chocolate curls. (Can be made 4 hours ahead; chill.)



This is not a frugal pie, but with it just being easter some of us may have leftover cream and such.

Happy Easter To ALL!!!

In the spirit of Easter, here is a pie festive for the occasion


STRAWBERRY EASTER PIE

1 1/4 c. crushed round buttery crackers
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. milk
1 pkg. instant sm. vanilla pudding
1 (4 1/2 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1/4 c. melted butter
2 tbsp. sugar
1 c. or more of halved strawberries
1 1/2 c. cold milk

Roll out crumbs, mix with melted butter. Bake in 8 x 8 cake pan at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Beat cream cheese with 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 tablespoons milk. Spread over crumbs, spread strawberries over cream cheese layer. Beat pudding and 1 1/2 cups milk until well blended, fold in 1 cup Cool Whip. Spoon over strawberries. Chill 2 hours. Can garnish with Cool Whip and/or a strawberry. Can be doubled for 9 x 13 pan.