Recipe(tried): Frozen Strawberries & Rhubarb

Hi Michele - I used to have a nice little rhubarb patch, and would harvest them, trim and wash the stalks, then slice them into 1 inch pieces - putting them into zip-lock baggies, 3 or 4 cups per bag. Then lay the baggies flat on a cookie sheet, and freeze them in single layers. Try to get as much air out of the baggies as possible.(No blanching, or you would end up with mush!)

Do the same thing with strawberries - freeze them in the zip-lock baggies after rinsing and taking off the stem, cut in half, but with no sugar added - These I usually did in 1 cup amts. in small baggies. The ratio of rhubarb to strawberries is a little flexible - at least 3 c. rhubarb to 1 c. strawberries, but I like a bigger pie, so I usually do 4 c. rhubarb to at least 1 or more strawberries (then I also have to adjust the sugar and flour I use, too)

When it's time to make a pie, just take one bag of the rhubarb, one bag of strawberries, bang them on the counter to loosen them up and separate them. Put them in a bowl, add your sugar, (about 1 and 1/2 cup) 2 Tbsp flour, a nice grating of fresh nutmeg. Mix up and let stand while making your crusts. Do not allow them to thaw completely, or you will end up with mush again! A little defrosting is OK.

Make your pies as usual, with dots of butter before topping with top crust, make the slits, sprinkle sugar over the top and bake at 425 degrees in a glass pie plate (I don't like metal - the bottom crust doesn't brown as well, and gets mushy instead of crispy, flaky) Bake for approx. 15-20 minutes at the 425 degrees, then lower heat to 375 degrees and bake another 45 minutes or until juices are bubbling out of center slits.

It make take a bit longer since the fruits are frozen - you'll be able to tell when the "frost" is out of the fruit - that section of the top crust will still look uncooked for awhile longer than a regular room temperature pie.

If it's getting too brown at the 375, but seems like it still needs more cooking, I turn the heat to 350 and just cook until those juices are bubbling up thru the center.

It's my favorite pie and I miss my rhubarb garden now that I live in FL - I have to really search down there in grocery stores to find a few scraggly stalks of rhubarb every spring to make at least one pie.

By the way, I have also baked many, many pies, berry types or apple, cooled them and then frozen them, well sealed with heavy foil - then when it's time to use them, I just put the frozen pie in the oven, THEN turn on the heat to 350, and cook for about 20 minutes to refresh and thaw the pie - they taste like they just were done. I would never put a frozen pie using a glass pie plate into a pre-heated oven - but if you put the pie into the cold oven, then turn the heat on, I've never had a problem with breaking the plate.

My 95 year old aunt told me about this method many years ago, she used to make blackberry pies this way, freeze them, and reheat the cooked pie and they were wonderful - I've never had as good luck making an uncooked pie, then freezing it, then baking it frozen - mine would never get flaky for some reason. Just my experiences.

Enjoy!