By Laura Edwins, Contributor
I've also made this pie with blueberries and blueberry Jell-o, which is good for a change.
1 small box of strawberry jello (make sure you don't buy the sugar-free kind)
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
4 cups of strawberries
Pie crust (see recipe below)
Whipped cream from a can for serving
1. Make your pie crust, or roll out one bought from the store. Place it in a pie pan and use a fork to prick the dough with holes, or use pie weights or beans and follow instructions for blind baking or prebaking (usually bake at a high heat for roughly 10 minutes). You want your pie crust to be a little thick and in one piece, otherwise the jello will leak through (but even if that happens the pie will still taste good).
2. Wash and cut up the strawberries. Cut the big ones into fourths, and halve the smaller ones.
3. In a medium saucepan combine jello mix, water, and sugar. Bring to a boil. Be careful not to let it boil over. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until jello mix and sugar are completely dissolved. Use a spoon to skim off foam. Remove from heat and cool slightly.
4. When pie crust is completely cooled, place strawberries in the shell, then pour the jello mixture over the berries. If your jello mixture forms a film on the top while cooling carefully spoon that off first.
5. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator until firm.
*In a hurry? Check the jello box for instructions on quick-setting jello, which requires replacing some of the water with ice cubes. You can also cool the jello mixture quickly in the freezer.
Pie crust
1 cup flour
1/3 cup Crisco, plus 1 tablespoon
1/2 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, Crisco, and salt in small bowl and use a pastry cutter to cut the Crisco into the dry ingredients.
3. When the dough starts to come together sprinkle the ice water on it, and quickly kneed it into a ball, working with the dough as little as possible.
4. Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface, or on wax paper, and roll it out. Carefully transfer to a pie pan, and use a fork to prick holes in the dough.
5. For blind baking (prebaking) this pie crust, bake for 8-10 minutes until golden. (If you've scalloped or crimped the edge of your pie crust err on the side of caution and bake for less time.)
