Summer Strawberry Pie

Happy Sunday to everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your day and you weekend!

My account got hacked into!!  So if you receive any weird messages from me, please ignore!!  I am not in China, I am not stranded, and I don't need your money.  Although I'll take it, you know, if you are giving donations or something.  :)

So today is my daddy's birthday.  I love my daddy and have always been daddy's little girl.  I am the only daughter and I think that is a good thing because I don't think I could have shared my daddy with a sister.  So today, in celebration of his birthday, I made him his favorite, strawberry pie.  Marie Calendar's style.  I don't know if Marie Calendars is a national thing or just here, but he loves their strawberry pie.  So I figured out how to make it.  Here is a Natalia original!  The full recipe is at the bottom.

You start with some lovely California Strawberries bought from a street vendor.  Yum yum.

Then you have to go through and take out all the stems.  It isn't so bad if you have a stem taker-outer thing.  And we do, so perfect!

 Then make the crust.  Any recipe will do. 

 

Lay out the crust in the pie pan and trim the edges.  Save the leftovers, I have a little recipe for those too!

 

Make the pretty outer section of the pie.  These are my mom's hands, she is better at it than me.  More practice since my dad prefers homemade crust.  Spoiled, I know.  Because I was gonna buy it and it turns out that just wasn't gonna fly.  But if you don't have a picky pie crust eater in the home, buy one made. So much easier.

 Now back to the strawberries.  Throw some in a blender with some water and puree til smooth.

 If you want to sieve the seeds out, do so now.  I don't because it takes more time and you are eating seeds anyway. 

 

Pour into a saucepan with the heat on medium high.

 Pour in the sugar and mix together.  Then add the cornstarch in a little water and the butter.

 

Heat through until boiling and the sauce thickens.  Yum...

 

Pile up those strawberries high.  As high as you can get 'em!  The more the merrier and messier to eat.  But that is what makes this so yummy, right?

 

Pour the slightly cooled strawberry sauce over the mound of strawberries.  Make sure it gets into all the cracks there and seeps through.  You want to saturate the strawberries!

 

Et Voila!!!  It's complete!  Doesn't it look to die for?  And I am gonna chow on some of this tonight.  Yum-ee.  And easy, right?  Here is the recipe.  

Puree:

1 1/2 Cup strawberries

1/4 cup water plus

1 cup of sugar

3 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp butter

Puree strawberries in the blender until smooth.  Pour into saucepan.  Add sugar.  Mix cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water and add to saucepan.  Add butter.  Stir occasionally until mixture is brought to a boil and the sauce thickens.  

Pie Crust:

2 cups flour

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup shortening

8 to 10 Tbsp water

Mix together until it forms a crumb-like mixture.  DO NOT knead.  Form dough into a circle and lay out onto floured surface.  Roll out until it will fit your pie.  Insert into the pie dish and poke holes in the dough with a fork.  Bake at 475 degrees.  Remove and let it cool.

Pile up strawberries in cooled pie crust.  Pour over the strawberry sauce until covered and the sauce has been able to seep through.  Let it cool and refrigerate.  Serve with whipped cream or by itself.  It's good either way!

 And for the extra pie crust.  Throw some butter on them then some cinamon and sugar mixed together and pop those in the oven with the pie crusts.  Same amount of time same temp is fine.  Yummy little snacks to have in the meantime!  That is a secret family recipe, so shhh don't tell!  

Hope your Sunday is great!!