Then in a Cooking Light issues I read how I could get fresh pumpkin from a pie pumpkin. Then I saw a pumpkin pie recipe from Cooking Light. Reading the reviews several of the comments said use fresh pumpkin and not canned. Let me just tell you that I did not get the perfect pie (for me) on the first try. I had to tweak the recipe until I got it to MY TASTE. That is the key to recipes. You can start with a great basic recipe and change it to your families taste from there. Don’t be afraid to try something new.

The other Ah Ha moment I had getting to my favorite pumpkin pie was in the spice. I originally started with McCormicks Pumpkin Pie Spice. I looked at the ingredients and saw that it did not include cloves so I added cloves to my recipe. However, when I bought  Island Spice pumpkin pie spice I noticed it had cloves already added, so I left it out when I used that brand.

The other great thing about using fresh pumpkin, instead of canned pure pumpkin is that you can control the calories, sugar and other ingredients.  So just remember that here is a great start but tweak it to your taste.

Pumpkin Pie Ingredients

• Fresh Pumpkin from half of a pie pumpkin or 2 cups      
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (only if not included in spice)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 oz can lowfat evaporated milk
• 1-2 Tablespoons fat free condensed milk (optional for texture)
• 2 eggs
• Pie crust
• pie pan
• cooking spray

Place bottom rack of oven on lowest setting.

Preheat oven to 425F

Cover a cookie sheet or tray with foil for the pie plate to sit on and catch spills.

Spray Pie plate with cooking spray.

Lay pie crust in the middle of pie plate and gently push down to shape the bottom of the pie plate.

Form the edges of the pie as seen in the picture. It should not look perfect, it should look homemade.

Place the pie plate on the foil lined cookie sheet. Pie will be full to the edge so it should be ready to place straight in the oven.

Place Brown sugar and spice in mixing bowl. Mix with electric mixer to evenly mix together.

Add salt, evaporated milk, eggs, and condensed milk to sugar and spice.

Mix well for a minute.

Add pumpkin and mix another minute to make sure all ingredients are mixed well.

Pour pumpkin mixture in pie crust, making sure to get all the pumpkin off  beaters and bottom of bowl.

Carefully place baking sheet in oven with rack on lowest setting trying not to spill pie mixture.

Bake 10 minutes at 425F, then lower heat to 350F and bake an additional 45 minutes.

If knife does not come out clean in the middle,  keep adding 5 -10 minutes at a time until pie is done in the middle.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. Keep leftovers refrigerated and enjoy!

So check out my version of  Strawberry Cream Tart recipe from Cooking Light’s Strawberry Almond Cream Tart May 2010 issue. If you are a diabetic, my site will give you hope that you can make desserts that are low in sugar and high in taste. Let me know what you think and enjoy the season of strawberries.

Recipe: Chocolate Strawberry Butter Crisp

Summary: My sister and I ate lunch at a Tea Room in town and ordered a dessert that was delicious. I decided to come up with my own version and share it with my family. It was a hit!  It was simply chocolate spread on a butter crisp cookie topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. A delicate treat for dessert or brunch. Chocolate and Strawberries just go together.

Cooking time (duration): 5

Diet (other): Low calorie, Reduced fat

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: dessert

Culinary tradition: French

My rating: 5.0 stars

Recipe by Vickie
Microformatting by hRecipe.