pie wisdom; it's more than a recipe

i don't like making dinner.

i mean, cooking doesn't bother me, but i think at this point i'm just so used to the picky eaters in my house that i associate cooking food with half of the people looking at me with tortured eyes.

seriously?

i'm not that bad of a cook!

lots of things go through my head...

...i remember eating the things MY mom made whether i liked it or not,

...there are children who don't have enough to eat

...i have created this by spoiling them.

but, i have decided, at this point, to just let it go.

they are picky.

most of them don't like my food.

so i am going to put less energy into making dinner.

and more into...pie!

and fun stuff.

while we are having turkey sandwiches AGAIN for dinner tonight, i might make sugar cookies with them this afternoon.

and while you might want to judge, i say, it's neat that your kids eat your food...go pay attention to THEM...i'm eating cookies.

with all that said, i want to share with you a little wisdom from the bible....

the bible of cooking.

Good old Joy

my mom gave this to me the year i got married.

lots of people have asked about my mini jar pies.

i did do a post about them last year... with a recipe link.

and while i could give you lots of different recipes, i thought i'd just point you toward inventing your own!

that's my style!

i'm not one to follow a recipe to the tee.

joy of cooking taught me this basic fruit pie filling recipe.

this makes enough for one big pie or 9 jar pies.

5 cups sliced fruit or berries

3/4 cup sugar

3 tblspns cornstarch

1 tblspn fresh lemon juice

1/8 tsp salt

2 tblspns cold butter cut into tiny peices

now, i sometimes do less sugar if the fruit is really sweet.

i sometimes don't use the lemon juice or salt.

just use your own judgement.

they've always turned out great. lemon juice or not.

it's not worth going to the store.

sometimes you just need pie.

as for the crust, i use trader joes frozen crusts.

they are great.

they run out around thanksgiving and then again in summer when the fruit is great, so if you see them, buy 5.

they can just hang out in the freezer until you NEED them!

for 9 jar pies i use a box and half. three crusts.

i thaw the crusts, uses the jar lids to cut out 9 circles for the tops of the pies, and then use the rest to press into the jars covering up the sides.

fill those guys with filling and cover with the circles and use a fork to crimp the tops tot he crust on the sides.

then vent the top by sticking a knife in the top a couple times. i like to make it a star.

i bake mine on a cookie sheet, on the bottom half of the oven at 400 degrees for 25 minutes.

then move them to the top for maybe 10 minutes.

bubbling! mmmm

and if the kids don't like them.... GREAT!!!

what kind of fruit are you gonna try?

i've made peach and boysenberry and apple.

i want to try cherry next.

to me, the best way to do it is with fresh picked fruit!

so get cute pickers!

PS.
these can be frozen unbaked.
just pop the jar lids on them and put them in the freezer!
you can then put them in the oven frozen,
just add a few extra minutes on to the baking time.