Frugal Feasting Friday (Belated, Again)

Yes, I know ... I am "tardy" again with a Frugal Feasting Friday post ... What ever are we going to do with me?

Today's frugal feasting tip: Stretching a 2 pie recipe into 3 pies. Earlier this week I volunteered to donate a couple pumpkin pies to our church for a bake sale. Yesterday, I realized that I was out of the disposable aluminum pie pans that are perfect for bake sales. So, off I went to my local dollar store to purchase a 3 or 4 pack for, well, a dollar. However, my local store was out of 9 & 10 inch plates, all they had in stock were the 8 inch size. I purchased a three pack.

My pumpkin pie recipe makes two nice 10 in. pies, with only 8 in. pans what would I do with the left over pie crust and pumpkin filling? I decided to try "stretching" two 10 in. pumpkin pie recipes into three 8 in. pies tins. Guess what? It worked beautifully. By 8:00 am I had three beautiful, perfect pumpkin pies - no overages or shortages. So, I took two to the bake sale and the littles and I shared a LARGE slice of the third when we returned home this afternoon ... a Thanksgiving tease.

Here's my pumpkin pie recipe, it will make two 10 in. pies OR three 8 in. pies.

Pie Crust (from Amish Cooking pg. 182 - This is, by the way, the BEST pie crust recipe you'll ever find anywhere)

3 c. sifted all-purpose flour

1 c. shortening

1/2 tsp. salt

1 egg, slightly beaten

5 tbsp. ice water

1 tsp. vinegar

Mix flour and salt. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, cut in shortening. Combine egg, water and vinegar. Stir egg mixture into flour mixture until a soft dough forms. (If necessary add more ice water 1/2 tsp. at a time). Divide dough into two or three equal portions. Refrigerate while making pie filling.

*When ready to roll out the pie dough, I have found using a floured pastry cloth and covering your rolling pin with a floured knit rolling pin tube (a clean stray sock with the toe cut out also works well) is a tremendous benefit - I highly recommend purchasing these - they are machine washable and can be reused for years.

*I've found the easiest method of transferring the pie crust from the pastry cloth to the pie plate is to roll the pie crust around the rolling pin and then un-roll the crust over the pie plate. I then trim and /or fold under the excess and flute the edges.

Pumpkin Pie Filling

2 15 oz. cans pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

2 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk

4 eggs, slightly beaten

2 10 in. unbaked pie shells OR 3 unbaked 8in pie shells

Mix pumpkin, vanilla, and ground spices well. Add sweetened condensed milk and eggs. Stir until well combined. Pour equal amounts into unbaked pie shells. Bake in a pre-heated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue to bake another 35 - 40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool pies completely before cutting. Refrigerate leftovers. This recipe freezes well; thaw in refrigerator.

Makes 2 10 in. pies / 16 servings OR 3 8 in. pies / 24 servings

Frugal Calorie Tip:

When each pie is sliced into 8 servings, the 8 in. slices result in a smaller serving than the 10 in. slices- thus, fewer calories.