Recipe: Pie Lemorange

Sounds Fancy doesn't it? Pie Lemorange....say it with a French accent and you sound very culinary.

This is actually one of the simplest pies I have ever heard of. I received a cookbook that was my grandmother's, the one who passed away last year, and I love the simplicity and frugality of the recipes. It is a local church cookbook from her community and it is printed on "ditto" sheets and put in a three ring binder. As I first started to look through this book, I found things amusing, like using "oleo" instead of butter....and one of the recipes was how to make your own salami! But as I looked at each recipe, they are simple and inexpensive. I think today we are a little spoiled with the Food Network at our fingertips. These women had ingenuity and stretched their budgets to accommodate growing families, friends, and funerals...whatever they and the people in the community needed.

I saw this recipe and thought it sounded too simple....I didn't even know you could whip evaporated milk! Anyway, I made this and took it to an office party and it was quickly gobbled up. I also like it because it is light and not heavy on the calorie count either.

The original recipe called for orange jello, but I had lemon so I used it instead. I am fairly certain you could use any flavor of jello and it would work.

Ingredients:

1 cup of evaporated milk
1 cup of orange juice
1 small box of lemon jello (I used sugar free, and again, I think any flavor would work)
2 tablespoons of lemon juice (I used the stuff in the little plastic lemon)
1/3 cup of sugar
1 graham cracker pie crust, 9 inches

Chill the evaporated milk in the refridgerator for at least 20 minutes but I put it in overnight and it worked great! I think longer than 20 minutes would be better.

Take the cup of orange juice and microwave it until it is warm. Dissolve box of jello into the orange juice and add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir all together and let sit for 20 minutes to thicken and kind of gel.

Once the gel is thickened, take the evaporated milk and place in a mixing bow and mix with a whisk beater until stiff peaks form. Once they are formed, gently fold in the gelled mixture until the jello mixture is thoroughly mixed throughout the milk. Pour into a pie crust and chill for 2 hours. Garnish with a sprig of mint if you like.

EASY!!! Without the waiting and such, the total work time is like 5 minutes. Its a light, smooth, and a fairly health conscience pie!

Enjoy!