A "Berry" Nice Weekend!

It's officially here... strawberry season!!!  I love living 2 miles from a strawberry farm.  My kids and I love riding the 4wheeler over to the strawberry farm and eating, er, I mean picking a gallon of strawberries.  This past week the Cody Strawberry Farm opened up.  It's raining today, but the strawberry stands are still open, so I picked up a gallon of fresh berries.  After eating a cereal bowl full of sliced berries, I thought about what I wanted to make first, with this first batch of fresh berries.  I immediately thought of my Mom's strawberry custard pie!  I called my mom to get her recipe (which she knew by heart) and the recipe originally came from my Aunt Helen - do you remember her Blueberry Crunch recipe???  Well, thank you again, Aunt Helen for another yummy fruit dessert!

Turns out, I would need to make my own pie crust, because the one I had in my freezer was cracked in a million pieces.  This would be a test of my memory, because I learned how to make a pie crust wayyy back in 1997 in my Foods & Nutrition class in high school.  I had the most awesome teacher, by the way!  My Mom is not just an amazing cook, but she's an amazing teacher too! ;)

First of all, I made my pie crust dough... It's pretty simple, if you've never done it before.  Just know that is takes a little time and will make a little mess, but it's highly-rewarding, once you've accomplished this feat!  I highly recommend using a pastry blender, though.  It's a simple little tool that is very helpful when making pie crusts!  *If you want to use a unbaked pie crust, feel free to skip this part, and just make the custard
You will need:
PIE CRUST -
1 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 stick of butter, cut into small pieces
4-5 Tbsp. ice cold water

-Mix flour, salt, sugar.  Then put butter pieces in and blend with pastry blender or you can use two forks.  Basically, you'll mix it until the entire mixture is grainy, with small butter flecks no bigger than peas.  Yes, your hand may start to hurt by the time you're finished. :)

Then drizzle 4 Tbsp of cold water over the dough and mix.  I usually just use my clean hands for this, because it's just easier!  It should all combine into one ball of dough.  Use a little more water, if the dough is still too dry to all stick together.  Don't over-mix.  Shape into a disc and wrap in plastic wrap; then refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

STRAWBERRY CUSTARD -
1 1/2 c. sliced berries
1 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla flavoring

-Meanwhile, cut up about 1 1/2 cups of berries (enough to cover the bottom of the pie plate you're using.  Blend 1 c. milk, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 heaping Tbsp. cornstarch, 1 tsp. vanilla flavoring, and 3 eggs until smooth.

-Once dough is chilled, roll out on a floured surface - make it about 3 inches larger in diameter than your pie plate, so it will come up the sides of the dish.   Lay over the dish carefully and then cut off an excess dough.  You can crimp the top to make it pretty - I am not very good with this, as you can see.

-Place berries in crust.  Pour custard liquid mixture on top of the berries.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes, until set.  You may have to cover edges of the crust with foil, if the crust starts to get too dark, before the custard sets.

*Please do not judge how messy I am in the kitchen! :)

If you've never had a custard pie before, think of a texture slightly firmer than pudding, but richer in taste.  It's the perfect light dessert! I hope you enjoy!  This will be a great way to end a nice weekend and a great kick-off to the next few weeks of strawberry season!

**Wish you could smell this!! Can't wait for it to cool, so I can dig in!!!**