Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

You guys. I made my first strawberry rhubarb pie and it was amazing. It was pretty easy too. I used this recipe as a guide for the filling and made my favorite box pie crust (Betty Crocker, the same crust that my Mom has always used for her apple pie).

Our friends recently moved into a new house and had an excess of rhubarb growing in their yard, and generously gave us a bouquet of it. Thanks James and Bethany! The first thing that came to my mind was starwberry rhubarb pie, even though I've never used rhubarb before. Isn't it pretty? The giant leaves are poisonous, I learned. The bright red stalks are for eating, but are very tart/bitter and need a lot of sweetening. 

Enter strawberries and sugar. A winning combination! Such beautiful red. 

I had fun rolling out the dough, making a lattice top (use a pizza cutter), and adding a pair of hearts, just to make it cute. I'm no good at crimping the pie crust edges so I just try to roll it down and make it look halfway decent! 

The top got a tiny bit too golden brown but I caught it just in time. It was still perfectly cooked with the right amount of flakiness. The filling was sweet and bubbly and gooey, almost like strawberry jam. Yum. 

I cut the first beautiful slice and I was hooked! It tasted better than I imagined.

I confess, I ate three quarters of this pie. All. By. Myself. Not in one sitting. 

In my defense, I'm the only one in my house who likes sweets (until Marshall can decide for himself). 

I did share two slices. 

This is why I can't bake pies. 

I am weak. 

Ingredients:
3 cups of sliced fresh strawberries
2 cups of sliced rhubarb stalks
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
Splash of orange juice or lemon juice
Pie crust of your choice (2 if you do a lattice top)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Mix all filling ingredients in a bowl and toss to coat fruit.
Pour filling into prepared pie crust. 
Cut dough to form lattice top. Brush crust with milk and sprinkle granulated sugar on top, if desired. 
Bake for 55-65 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling.
If crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with aluminum foil. 
Cool for 1 hour before serving.

Raspberry Jell-O Whipped Pie

Did you know that January 23 was National Pie Day? I work with a bunch of foodies, so we celebrated by bringing pies to work of course. I tried a new recipe that was quick and easy. This isn't your typical pie because you don't have to bake it and it took about 20 minutes to make. The recipe called for strawberry, but I switched everything to raspberry. It was delicious, light and refreshing. This pink pie would make a sweet treat for your valentine! The original strawberry recipe can be found here at the Kraft Foods website.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 - 2 cups fresh raspberries
2/3 cup boiling water
1 package (3 oz) Jell-O Raspberry Flavored Gelatin
Ice cubes
1/2 cup cold water
1 tub (8 oz) Light Whipped Topping, thawed
1 ready-to-use graham cracker crust (6 oz)


Directions:
Wash and dry raspberries (I left them whole, but you can chop them if you prefer). Add boiling water to gelatin mix, stir 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Add enough ice to cold water to make 1 cup. Add to gelatin; stir until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice. Whisk in whipped topping. Stir in raspberries, saving enough for garnishing top of pie. Refrigerate mixture 20 to 30 minutes or until mixture is very thick and will mound. Spoon into crust. Top with remaining raspberries. Refrigerate 6 hours or until firm.