Strawberry Pie Recipe

This is one of my favorites and I love that strawberries are now 99 cents at Aldi! Can they please stay that price from now to the end of summer?!?!

This is one of those recipes that I want to have memorized by heart and make the rest of my life to share with the ones I love. I have grand dreams of being the cute little old granny who makes the most delicious pies and treats that my future grandchildren savor, ask for seconds, and brag about. And they will wonder just how do I make it so delicious. Probably with some butter and love, of course! Until then, I've got lots of baking to master and meals to be made and pie crusts to perfect....

With each pie crust I make, I always think that it will be the one that's going to be picture perfect.

Then, there's usually some shrinking like this. I guess I just have to practice and make more! At least it tastes good :)

My husband got me The New Best Recipe recently which has become the kitchen bible. Of course, it's always out and I'm reading up on the science behind all 1000+ recipes.... or it's just so big that it doesn't fit in the cabinet with the rest of the cook books ;) It's definitely helping me on my way to pie crust perfection.

O.K. finally on to the recipe so you can savor strawberries all spring and summer!

Strawberry Pie

Ingredients

9-inch baked pie crust (I used the prebaked pie crust recipe from America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated in the above book)
6 cups strawberries (about 1 1/2 quarts)
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup water
3 ounces cream cheese, softened

Directions

Mash enough strawberries to measure 1 cup. Mix sugar and cornstarch in 2-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in water and mashed strawberries. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for 1 minute then cool.

Beat cream cheese until smooth, spread on bottom of pie shell. Fill shell with remaining strawberries, pour cooked strawberry mixture over top. Refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours.

{pre - glaze}

Ha now you know the secret of my wood backgrounds in most of my food photos! It's an upside down old Seven-Up crate.

Enjoy!

I'd love to know what recipes you want to be making for the rest of your life or your favorite for sharing with friends and family!

Julia Child Quote Printables

Hello Friends! I have not been too good about blogging lately, so sorry :(

Guess what!?! There are over 100 blog followers. Thank you! You are rockin' my world! In celebration and thanks of 100 blog followers I've got some printables for you :)

I love me some Julia Child and some of the things she has said crack me up. So here are a couple 8x10 prints with Julia quotes for you to enjoy! Hang them in your kitchen for some cooking and life inspiration.
Download from the links below!

Julia Child's White Sandwich Bread

Mmmm fresh out of the oven! I've been trying to make more bread instead of buying it. I found this recipe and knew it would be the next one to try.

And who doesn't love Julia!?! You should hear my husband's Julia voice :)

Here is the recipe from Dinner With Julie

Julia Child’s White Sandwich Bread

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
7 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup butter, softened

Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl (preferably that of a stand mixer) and stir in the yeast and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes, unit foamy. (If the yeast doesn’t do anything, toss it out and buy fresh yeast.)

Add the rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Stir until well blended. Add the rest of the flour, the salt and butter and stir with the dough hook (or by hand) until well combined and shaggy. Continue to knead (I let the dough hook go for about 8 minutes, poking it down once in awhile) until it’s smooth and elastic. You could do this by hand, too. If you used the dough hook, turn the dough out onto the countertop and knead a few times to make sure it’s evenly smooth. Doesn’t it feel great?
Shape it into a ball and put it back into the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and let it sit for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, until it’s doubled in size.

Butter two 4″x8″ loaf pans. Punch the dough down (love that part!) and pat each piece into a rectangle that’s about 9″x12″ – or a bit bigger than a standard piece of paper.
Starting at a short end, fold it in thirds, like a letter. Place seam side down in the loaf pans, tucking the ends in. Cover with the tea towel again and leave them for an hour, until they puff right up out of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the middle of the oven. Bake for 30-35 minutes, until the loaves are honey brown. Immediately turn the loaves out of their pans and onto a rack to cool.

Makes 2 loaves.

I think the next bread I'll try is a honey oat bread. It looks and sounds delish!