Mom had done pie from scratch before I was born, but she and Dad didn’t think it tasted any better than the canned filling and it was a LOT more work!

Pumpkin Pie

• 1 large can pumpkin pie filling
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cloves
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 2 uncooked pie crusts

Mix the first 7 ingredients together in a large bowl. Beat in the eggs, then milk. Divide the pumpkin mixture between the two pie crusts. Bake at 375 F for 1 hour. Makes 2 pies.

Not so surprisingly, my first batch of wine was rhubarb, a noxious mixture that I’m surprised anyone choked down!

Rhubarb Pie

• 8″ pie (9″ pie, 10″ pie)
• 1-1/4 cups (1-2/3 cups, 2 cups) sugar
• 1/4 cup (1/3 cup, 1/2 cup) flour
• 1/4 tsp (1/2 tsp, 1/2 tsp) grated orange peel
• 3 cups (4 cups, 5 cups) rhubarb
• 1 Tbsp (2 Tbsp, 3 Tbsp) butter
• double pie crust (top & bottom)

Preheat oven to 425 F; prepare pie crust. Stir together sugar, flour, & orange peel. Turn half the rhubarb into pastry-lined pie pan; sprinkle with half the sugar mixture. Repeat with remaining rhubarb and sugar; dot with butter. Cover with a top crust which has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Sprinkle with sugar. Cover edge with 2″ to 3″ strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during the last 15 minutes of baking. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is brown and juice begins to bubble through the slits in the crust.

Strawberry/Rhubarb Pie: Substitute sliced strawberries for half the rhubarb. Decrease sugar to 1 cup for the 8″ pie, 1-1/3 cup for the 9″ pie, or 1-3/4 cup for the 10″ pie.