No-Sugar Apple Pie

In our family's attempt to eat healthier, one of the things that has been the hardest to cut back on is SUGAR.

I rarely crave a bag of salty chips...but, whisper icy, cold Coke or Dove chocolate or OREOS in my ear and it's all downhill from there!

We're working on it, though!

I made some cookies for a church get-together a few weeks ago, and when I pulled down my white sugar tub from the pantry, I realized it's been several weeks since I've used it!!

Now, lest you think I haven't had sweets:

Simple Lemon Pie Filling

This is a super easy Lemon Pie Filling. I like this filling better than homemade, because I can usually taste too much "eggy-ness" in the homemade.

I usually pour this into a baked pie shell, but you'll see in my pictures that I used a square baking dish...and a graham cracker crust. Both ways are delicious! Filling little tart cups or mini cakes would also be YUM! I'm sure you could come up with many great ideas for this filling!

Place 1 package of cook & serve vanilla pudding and 1 package of lemon jello into a small saucepan.

Add 2 1/3 cup of water and 1/3 cup of lemon juice, whisking to combine.


Cook and stir over medium heat until mixture comes to a boil. Cook and stir 1-2 minutes longer or until thickened.


Cool slightly. Pour into desired "pie" vehicle! :-) Place in fridge to cool and set.


Once set, top with cool whip...


Cut, serve, and enjoy! :-)


If you like all things lemon, check out Kim's scrumptious looking Pink Lemonade Cupcakes!

Recommend: YES




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Tags: recipes lemon pie filling pink lemonade cupcakes lemon meringue pie lemons lemon recipes lemon pie

Grandma's Apple Pie and a Favorite Kitchen Gadget

My grandma made the best apple pie. Ever.

As a little girl, I spent many hours in her kitchen "helping" her bake pies and cookies. Grandma saved the little metal tins that potpies used to come in, and would give me and my sisters the leftover dough to make our own mini pies.

I loved spending time with my grandma, and I know my husband is especially grateful that she taught me how to make a good pie! ;-)

I remember staring, fascinated that my grandma could peel an apple in one long, thin spiral. I never could. Still can't.

In fact, I dislike peeling apples so much, that years ago, I made a trade with my sister. I gave her a Pampered Chef stoneware baker that I was never going to use, and she gave me her Pampered Chef apple peeler/corer/slicer that she was never going to use. It was a happy trade!


Although Grandma always used Macs, I purposely buy Granny Smith apples so I can use my nifty gadget. You need a nice firm apple, or else you'll end up with applesauce! ;-)

Grandma also always "dumped" her sugar over her apples. Some recipes call for stirring the apples together with the sugar and spices, making a syrup. I don't think that method turns out the same pie... so, Grandma's dumping method is mine. :-)


Grandma was also a butter and cholesterol girl. lol. Had to place 4-5 pats of butter on top of the apples. If you knew my grandma, you'd know that my pats are much smaller than hers. :-D



Mmm, yeah. Grandma's pies were the best.

I must *shamefacedly* admit that the pie in the pictures was made with a storebought crust. But, I will still share Grandma's pie crust recipe with you.

I will share her recipes exactly as they are written on my recipe cards from her. No instructions on the pie crust. I'm sure she couldn't imagine that someone didn't already know to make pie crust by blending the shortening into the flour and then adding just enough water to form a dough... I can still hear her voice, "Don't overwork it! It'll be tough!"

So, here is the recipe for my Grandma's Apple Pie:

Pie Crust (2 crust pie)
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Crisco
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/3 cup cold water

Apple Pie
5-6 apples (peeled and sliced) (I tend to use all but 2 apples in a 3-lb bag...my husband likes a LOT of apples in the pie!)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
butter

Prepare pie crust. Heap apples into crust. Sprinkle with sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Dot with butter.

Cover with top crust. Cut slit for steam.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.


Mmmm, eat and enjoy!

Recommend: YES




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Tags: apple pie apple pie recipe Grandma's apple pie apples apple recipes Granny Smith apples Pampered Chef recipes

Mixed Berry Streusel Pie

There is something about men and pies...they love them. My husband requests pie for his birthday "cake" every year. I believe he would rather I make pie than any other dessert.

Unfortunately for him, I don't make pie every day...or every week...or every month for that matter! He's probably pretty lucky if he gets a pie 3-4 times a year! Poor guy. :-)

I must say, though, that I was taught to make pie crust by one of the best pie makers I know: my grandma! I have dutifully blended the shortening and flour and water and rolled the ball of dough by hand for many, many years. I finally succumbed to store-bought pastry dough one Thanksgiving when I was pregnant and just didn't want to go through all the work of rolling dough (I didn't make sugar cookies for Christmas that year, either)!

I'm ashamed to admit, that my last several pies were also cheats, using the store-bought stuff.

Hey, my husband didn't care... so, why should I?! :-)

I excuse me by telling myself, somewhat haughtily, that at least I *do* know how to make *real* pie crust, if I have to. :-)

So, whichever method you decide to use... try this filling for your next pie! ;-)

MIXED BERRY STREUSEL PIE

pastry for a 1-crust pie
1 can cherry pie filling
1 pkg (16 oz) frozen mixed berry blend, thawed and drained

Place rolled pie dough into pie pan and flute or crimp edges. Combine pie filling and berries and pour into crust.

Streusel topping:
1/3 c. butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
3/4 c. flour

Combine streusel ingredients and sprinkle over berry mixture.

Bake pie at 400 degrees for about 40 minutes. If pie edges brown too quickly before bottom crust is done, cover with aluminum foil.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or cool whip...yum!

*Hey, forget the crust!! Make this into a cobbler or crisp...! Just as yummy that way too!*

Be sure to check out Melissa's Pear Pie recipe! We recently moved and have a pear tree in our new yard that we were told yields lots of fruit!! I can't wait to try this pie out!




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Tags: berry pie streusel pie berry cobbler cherry pie filling recipes pie recipes pie dough