Do you want some pie? Oh my! I would love some pie. Maybe a piece of this...

Or a piece of that...

I have a confession. It's serious. I thought I didn't like pie for the longgggest time. I don't know why. I would only get Boston Cream Pie, which really isn't a pie. Or I might pick out the bananas in banana cream. My parents often picked up Marie Callender's pie for Sunday night dessert, and I'd grumble. If only I knew what I was missing.

Then when we moved to Seattle and the idea for pie instead of cake for our wedding came up, I started to like pie. Maybe I just hadn't had the right pie. Or maybe my tastes changed. Or maybe I was just plain crazy. Luckily for me, I saw the light and now I like pie.

My favorite pie...oh that's hard...but if I had to chose it would be Apple pie with crumble topping. I love crumble topping. Then again, I made this apple pie once and it was heavenly. But wait, I love pumpkin pie too like this one. Ohh, and graham cracker crusts. That's another favorite. At our wedding, we had pumpkin pie with graham cracker crust. It was superb.

Anyway, do I have you craving pie yet? I hope so because I made two pies recently and I want YOU to make them, too. Get into that kitchen my friend!

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

The inspiration for this pie came when I found rhubarb growing in our backyard. It was a sign - a sign to make pie! My favorite pairing with rhubarb is strawberry. Strawberries and rhubarb, rhubarb and strawberries...it's like peanut butter & jelly or coffee & donuts...classic. Plus, the strawberries add a nice sweetness. I had to buy the strawberries, though. They weren't magically growing my backyard.

For the recipe, I went with the trusty Joy the Baker's Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble Pie. I pretty much followed the recipe to the tee, but left out the pecans and coconut in the crumble. Why? I don't like coconut flakes and I didn't have pecans. It turned out great.

I did make double the crust, though. I stored the second crust in the refrigerator since I knew I'd want to make another pie soon.

Lemon Meringue Pie

And sure enough, I did make another pie soon after. I made it for my in-laws that were visiting. I saved a whole step in the pie making process with having the pre-made pie. I think I'll always make double the crust now - just nice to have on hand for pie emergencies.

This time I wanted to make something new. I was stuck between banana cream and lemon. I think you can figure out where I landed with my decision. I was a bit intimidated by the meringue, but it wasn't all that tough after all. Also, I was always under the assumption you needed a torch tool for meringue pies - wrong!

One thing to know before you head into this pie - you bake the crust first. I thought you thoroughly baked it, but you should only par-bake it. I would try this next go-around since the edges were a bit crunchy. Still delicious, though.

This time I went with another trusty resource, Gimme Some Oven's Lemon Meringue Pie. Again, I followed the recipe with really no modifications. It was delicious and I think everyone who ate it agrees with me.