It's been awhile since I have posted, because I was in training from one company to another and then a trip last week, but today I have made a pie. A very easy pie for bunco tonight. For those of you not familiar with bunco, it is a dice game and can be played with 12-20 people. Actually, tomorrow I play Harvey Bunco, which is a similar game, but played with cards. I play both of these games once a month and they both always come on the same weekend. I also made very easy chicken parmesan to bring, but I digress.
Cherry Cheese Pie
1 (9-inch) graham cracker crumb crust
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese softened
1 (14-oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 1/3 cup lemon juice from concentrate
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling, chilled.
When I started purchasing these ingredients, I really had to think whether or not I wanted to make this, because this was a very easy, but very expensive pie to make. The cherry pie filling along was almost $4.00, but I perservered.
In a large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour into prepared crust. Chill 3 hours or until set. Top with desired amount of pie filling before serving. Refrigerate leftovers.
Now, I used a prepared graham cracker crust, because they are only 99 cents at the Dollar Tree (and they are good as I can make). However if you are a purist and want to make this from scratch, here's the recipe.
Graham Cracker Pie Crust (from scratch)
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
Combine margarine, crumbs and sugar; press firmly on bottom and sides of 9-inch pie pan. That's it. It doesn't need to be pre-baked.
Tomorrow-maybe, I am trying to rev myself up to try make pastry pie crusts again. My only excuse is I need more flour and sugar.
