Strawberry Fields Forever

Strawberry fields

Love those trees.

No roll pie crust

Beautiful berries.

Such a lovely pie.

I recently had the pleasure of escaping the dreadful, oppressive Texas heat to visit one of my very best friends near Portland, Oregon.  If I could transplant my family there I would move in a heartbeat as it is one of the most beautiful places I've visited.  There are farms where you can pick your own strawberries.  I must say Oregon strawberries are like no other I've tasted.  More colorful, juicy and sweet than what I've had in the past.  My friend is an excellent cook and baker among her other amazing talents in decorating a beautiful home.  We had a little trouble with this recipe not setting quite right, but that did not change the taste at all.  Her addition of spreading a cream cheese layer made this a great pie and keeps the crust from being soggy. This pie used a no roll pie crust which was amazing and so easy.

STRAWBERRY PIE

Pie Crust:
1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil
2 tablespoons cold milk

Sift dry ingredients into pie pan. Combine oil and cold milk in a measuring cup. Whip with a fork and pour all at once over the flour mixture. Mix together with fork until flour is completely dampened. Press evenly and firmly with fingers to line the bottom of pan, then press dough up the sides and partly cover the rim. Be sure dough is uniform thickness. Prick dough with a fork and bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes until golden brown. 

Mix together 6 ounces softened cream cheese with 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until smooth and spread over cooled crust.


Pie:
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 tablespoons strawberry gelatin mix
3 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced -- save some big ones for the top

Combine sugar, gelatin and cornstarch and stir well.  Add water and cook until thick and clear over medium high heat, stirring constantly to prevent scorching.  Set aside and let cool.  Hull and slice strawberries and place over cream cheese layer, placing whole strawberries on top.  Spread cooled gelatin mixture over all and refrigerate for several hours.  Can be served with whipped cream, but we didn't even need that.