Easter Egg Strawberry Pie

This is a re-post but this recipe is so good for dessert this time of year.

This is a strawberry pie I’ve been making for at least 15 years.

This recipe makes 2 pies.

You’ll need:

Darn it! I forgot to stick the pastel peanut M&M’s in the picture. Here’s the list:

2 packs of Graham crackers (inside the box, there are 3 packs . . use 2 of those)
2/3 c. butter, softened
2 T. sugar
1-1/2 C. boiling water
1 – 6 oz. package strawberry Jello
1 pint strawberry ice cream, softened
1 – 6 oz. container strawberry yogurt
3 cups Cool Whip
1 – 12 – 16 oz. container of fresh strawberries, cut into small pieces
1 c. toasted coconut
A few pastel M&M’s with peanuts

To toast the coconut, spread it out in a baking dish and bake at 375 for about 10 minutes, stirring often and watching it closely.

To make the crust, place the graham crackers in a food processor or blender or crush them in a Ziplock bag with a rolling pin. Mix in 2 T. sugar and the butter. Spread into 2 pie pans and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

For the pie filling:

Pour the boiling water into a mixing bowl and stir in the jello.

Add the softened ice cream and yogurt and stir til blended completely.

Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. Stir several times during that time.

Try not to eat the strawberries while chopping them.

Stir the strawberries and 1 cup of Cool Whip into the pie filling.

Pour into the 2 pie pans. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Top with Cool Whip.

Build coconut nests and place the pastel colored “eggs” (M&M’s really!) in the nests. Refrigerate at least two hours. Store in fridge (if there are any leftovers!)

Fabric Rag Dolls

Jessi had been telling me about these dolls made from fabric strips and when she was at the house last time, she and I made them.  The lime green one is for me and the purple/aqua one is for a friend of hers.

Jessie suggested that next time I send quilts to the children’s home, I can send matching dolls for the girl quilts.  Wouldn’t that be cute?

Quilt Magazines

This post was started last week, and I didn’t know I’d have a project in the current American Quilter magazine.  This post is about quilt magazines in general . . not any one in particular and not written for any personal gain on my part.  Full disclosure . . you know!

Seems like every quilt list or group has recently had a discussion about quilt magazines.  Without saying bad things about your least favorites, tell me about your favorite magazines.  Why are they your favorite?  What do you enjoy seeing in the magazines? Articles about quilters, tips on saving time with maybe cooking and cleaning so you can have more quilting time?  What about patterns, challenges?  Are you more likely to make the patterns that look quick and easy – maybe as a quick gift for a niece or neighbor?  Or do the more elaborate patterns call out to you?

I’ve always known it is impossible to please everyone but just from having the blog, I realize how hard it seems some days to please even a few.  I’d hate to be a magazine editor!   Before you’re too critical of any magazine, remember how many people they hear from each and every day — probably like everything else in life, they don’t hear so much praise but they surely hear the complaints.  And, I’m not saying this because anyone has told me this . . I’m just kinda guessing.

My guess (why do I write a blog post full of guesses?) is that financially, it’s hard to make it these days.  With Electric Quilt, we’re all designers.  With the blog, there are free articles and patterns everywhere!

Everything seems to cycle.  Several years ago, I let all  my subscriptions run out.  I’d look at the magazines at the bookstore and buy the ones that looked interesting.  I didn’t miss getting them in the mail.  But sometime last year, I kinda missed getting a magazine in my mailbox every now and then and I re-subbed to several and I find that I can hardly wait to sit down and read them when they come in.  Some of the magazines that I dearly loved a few years back are no longer my favorites.  Some of the ones I wasn’t so crazy about, I now love.  Did they change?  Did I change?  I don’t know but I’m happy to be looking forward to receiving them again.

There was a time when all the ads in the magazines aggravated me . . a lot!  Even knowing that the ads kept the cost of the magazine down, the number of pages devoted to ads bugged me.  But now that I so rarely get to a quilt shop, I love seeing the ads – seeing the new gadgets, seeing the new fabrics, seeing where the quilt shows will be held.

So, if you’ve turned your back on some of the quilt magazines, give them another chance.  At least look at them in the bookstore to see if they mighte something you might like.  We don’t want there to ever come a time when there are one or two or even no quilt magazines out there so let’s give them our support!

Brie in Puff Pastry

Do you love brie?  I do!  I love this recipe too — it’s so easy and it’s cute!

Ingredients:

1 box of puff pastry, thawed (only one sheet is used — 2 sheets are in the box)
1 wheel of brie
1 egg

Directions:

1.  Peheat oven to 400°.
2.  Open the puff pastry onto a lightly floured surface.
3.  Scrape the rind off the brie, if desired.  I don’t like the rind but some people do.  It scrapes off real easy with just a butter knife.
4.  Set the brie in the center of the puff pastry rectangle.
5.  Bring the sides up and seal the pastry around the brie.
6.  Cut away excess pastry dough and use it to decorate the top.
7.  Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water.  Brush over pastry dough.
8.  Bake for 20 minutes.
9.  Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

It’s really good!