While at Publix, I zipped around the store grabbing the staples like yogurt, milk, eggs, bacon, orange juice, fresh fruit, and the ingredients for Strawberry-Pretzel Icebox Pie. After I brewed a cup of coffee, I set out to make a pie. It was slightly time consuming in that there was some food processing going on - first with the pretzels for the crust and then the strawberries - then I had to whip some heavy cream... But, I had help from my 11 year old sous chef so it turned out wonderfully delicious - - - and quite pretty! (See recipe at the bottom)
First, we mixed up the pretzel crust which consisted of crushed pretzel sticks, brown sugar and melted butter.
We pressed it into a pie pan and baked it for 10 minutes.
Matthew sliced two cups of fresh strawberries - aren't they beautiful??
The fun (really yummy) part was making the filling which included sweetened condensed milk, strawberry gelatin (which I searched for, for a LONG time before I realized that this is just strawberry jello mix), pureed strawberries and heavy whipping cream. I poured this mixture into the prepared pretzel pie crust.
After making homemade whipping cream (which is just heavy whipping cream and sugar), I spread it on top and put it in the freezer for 8 hours.
Do you remember when your elementary school teachers told you over and over again to read through ALL of the directions before beginning your assignment? Well, that rings true for a recipe, too. I am in fast forward all the time, it feels like. And though I was excited about making this pie, I knew I needed to be quick and efficient as time is always of the essence. There is only so much time during the day when I can enjoy some ME time while Brooke sleeps. Anyway, I went straight to step 1, step 2, step 3 before I realized that I was supposed to freeze pie for 8 hours BEFORE spreading the whipped topping on the top. That's why, in the picture above, the whipped cream is only in the middle -the pie filling was too soft to allow me to spread the whipped topping all over it.
We dug into it with passion after 8 hours and enjoyed every single robust bite that was on our plates. The frozen strawberry goodness in the middle was delicious and coupled with the salty pretzel pie crust....well, those of you who like sweet & savory will be most appreciative of this marriage. It looks like such a happy Summertime pie, doesn't it?
I was in a "pink" mood yesterday, so I made some raspberry lemonade which the kids were so excited about...
After completely destroying the cleanliness of the kitchen, we cleaned up and headed to the pool.
See that ball that she's holding in the picture? Well, that was not her ball. In fact, hardly anything that she played with was actually hers. I learned a lot yesterday as I watched her interact with other "little people" in the pool. She didn't think twice about walking up to the other children and gently (or not) removing the item they were holding from their hands and playing with it herself. I know with certainty that I needn't worry about her not sticking up for herself or being bullied. This girl will take care of herself, whatever the situation. We just need to work on that sharing thing.
We are knee deep in the throws of two very rigorous baseball schedules this month, but right here in the middle of the season, we are being blessed with a night off - neither son of mine has baseball Friday night, so we are going to actually enjoy a meal together as a family. I can't wait! Just like spending a normal Summer day together at the pool, a family dinner together is a seemingly "normal" thing to do - but as life progresses and our kids (& us) get busier and busier, our meals together are fewer and farther between. The ordinary continues to be so much more than that - it just takes various scenarios and circumstances to remind us that life - simple life - is truly beautiful :).
Strawberry Pretzel Icebox Pie
2 cups finely crushed pretzel sticks
3/4 cup butter, melted (***I used this amount but I think it needed more to bind the pretzels and sugar together better - my crust turned out a little crumbly - but still delicious)
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 oz package cream cheese, softened
4 TBS plus 1 tsp strawberry gelatin (Jello)
2 cups whipping cream, divided
1/3 cup sugar
Preheat the oven to 350. Stir together first 3 ingredients; firmly press on bottom, up sides, and onto lip of a lightly greased 10 inch pie plate. Bake 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven to a wire rack and cool completely.
Process strawberries in a food processor until finely chopped, stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
Beat condensed milk and next 2 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add strawberries; beat at low speed just until blended. Transfer to a large bowl.
Beat 3/4 cup whipping cream at high speed until soft peaks form; gently fold whipped cream into strawberry mixture. Spoon into prepared crust. Cover and freeze 8-12 hours or until firm.
Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups whipping cream at high speed until foamy; gradually add sugar, beating until soft peaks form. Spread over pie. Freeze one hour or until whipped cream is firm.
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