It's my last full day here (I'm about 800 miles from home) helping out with The Littles and their Mama is due home tonight right before dinner. Before she left she had a couple requests; one of which was if I could please make a pot of chili for Friday night's dinner! She was craving it! She was hoping perhaps I'd have a pot of chili, cinnamon rolls, cornbread and strawberry rhubarb pie ready for Friday nights dinner.
And I do.
Well, it's only 1pm so the chili is slowly simmering on the stove, the pie is cooling on the counter and the cornbread and cinnamon rolls won't be made until after 4:pm so they are fresh at mealtime.
I had a bag of frozen strawberries, a bag of frozen rhubarb and a frozen deep dish pie crust in the freezer to work with so that's what I used! Because the frozen fruits have so much liquid, I made sure to use plenty of thickener. I also had to bake it longer than if I had used fresh fruit. Play with the recipe to make it your own. We'll be serving ours with homemade whipped cream!
Strawberry & Rhubarb Pie
3 c frozen rhubarb pieces (the whole bag)
3 c frozen strawberries, whole (the whole bag)
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
1/4 c cornstarch
1/4 c flour (I used this in addition to the corn starch since it was frozen fruit)
3/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/2 t lemon juice
1/2 t vanilla
egg white
sugar
Mix all but the egg white and extra sugar into a bowl. Stir and blend well. Pour into a prepared deep dish pie crust. You can choose to prick it ahead of time and brush with a beaten egg white or not. Totally up to you. Fill the pie crust and use an additional bit of pie crust dough or a second frozen pie crust to roll out on a lightly floured surface.
Cut strips about 3/4 of an inch wide. Use these to make a lattice top on your pie OR use the 2nd crust to cover the fruit filling without bothering with a lattice. Seal the edges in your favorite way (finger seal or fork). Place the pie on a baking sheet (foil lined baking sheet if you hate scrubbing pans like I do!) Beat the egg white with about a teaspoon of water and brush it on the top and sides of your pie and then sprinkle with a bit of sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake an additional 1 1/2 hours. Turn off oven and let it sit in the hot oven for another 15 minutes if you feel it needs a bit more time. Remove and cool completely before slicing.
The fruit, sugars and spices all mixed in a bowl
I pricked and brushed the bottom crust but it's totally optional
After filling the pie dish, either top with a second crust or cut strips to make a lattice crust
Trim if you have excess on the edges
Seal either with fingers or fork. I had extra dough so I laid a small rope around the entire edge and pressed it down and then sealed.
Brush the top with beaten egg white and sprinkle with additional cinnamon and sugar
Cool completely before slicing so it's allowed to 'set up' - you can also chill it or just let it set out on the counter until the next day before slicing so it will set up nice. When a fruit pie is sliced too soon or when warm, it's quite liquidy. Not a bad thing at all - especially if you serve the pie with ice cream!
If you enjoy visiting An American Housewife, please consider using this affiliate link if you are planning to shop for anything (seriously, anything!) at Amazon. - An American Housewife at Amazon
Products related to this post available through Amazon include:
CorningWare Etch 9.5 Inch Pie Plate in Brick
Pyrex 2-Pack Easy Grab Glass Pie Plate, 9.5-Inch
OvenStuff Non-Stick Pie Pan 2 Piece Set, 9"
