Strawberry Picking (Part 2) and Strawberry Pie!

My family and I are so excited about the strawberry picking season that is in full swing here in Delaware! You can read about our first u-pick adventure at Filasky's here on my family blog. This local farm is open from about 7 am each morning until 7 pm each night and if the weather stays just right, we have about 6-7 weeks left according to the guy I talked to last week. The boys and me and some friends went back this past Friday and the strawberries were even sweeter and better than the week before. I got about 5 pounds at $1.85/pound. They are a little cheaper at the Giant this week ($1.66/pound) and Walmart, but you can't beat picking them yourself, making memories with your children, and supporting the local farm. I consider it money well spent. I have frozen most of them for using in smoothies and one of my favorite desserts, strawberry pretzel salad!

I was so excited though to try to make a version of the classic Eat N Park Restaurant Strawberry Pie. (A favorite for the Pittsburgh, PA folks!) My friend and I decided we would do it together that afternoon while the kids played. I found this recipe and I think it turned out great! It was soo delicious! I bet it cost me about $3-4 at the most to make.

Here are some pictures of some of the steps in the recipe:

Half of the berries arrange in the pie shell.

Mashing the second half of the berries.

The strawberry/sugar mixture and the cornstarch mixture.

After pouring the glaze over the strawberries.

After being chilled (not long enough) with yummy cream! It was sooo good!

Strawberry Pie II (Allrecipes.com)

1 9 inch pie crust, baked (I used a deep dish and would recommend that)

1 quart (4 cups) fresh strawberries

1 cup sugar

3 Tbsp. cornstarch

3/4 cup water

1/2 heavy whipping cream (I just used regular whipped cream)

1. Arrange half of the strawberries in a baked pastry shell. Mash remaining berries and combine with sugar in a medium saucepan. Place saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring frequently.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water. Gradually stir cornstarch mixture into boiling strawberry mixture. Reduce heat and simmer mixture until thickened, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour mixture over berries in pastry shell. Chill for several hours before serving. In a small bowl, whip cream until soft peaks form. Serve each slice of chilled pie with a dollop of whipped cream.

My tips for success:

• Though I wasn't planning to use it, the 9-inch deep dish pie shell worked great as there were a lot of strawberries and strawberry mixture. I think it would overflow more easily in a regular pie shell.
• I did use whole strawberries as shown in the picture, but I think I may slice them at least in half next time to making it a little easier for the kids to eat.
• Make sure you chill it for at least 3-4 hours. I was so excited to eat it, that after about 2 hours, I cut into it and it wasn't solidified enough. Oooppps!