Pumpkin Pie

Best served with a dollop of Cool Whip or a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Ingredients

• 1 pie crust (perhaps Pillsbury's)
• 1½ cups pumpkin (canned or fresh, see below)
• ¾ cup sugar
• ½ tsp salt
• 1½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ginger
• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 3 slightly beaten eggs
• 1 cup milk (or soy milk)

To Prepare

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves
2. Add eggs and milk
3. Pre-bake pie crust for 7 minutes at 350 degrees
4. Pour in filling, then raise temperature to 400 degrees and bake for 15 minutes
5. Once the pie crust is golden brown (after about 5 minutes), cover the edges with aluminum foil (a sheet with the center cut out so that the pie filling can vent) to prevent burning
6. After 15 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 40 minutes
7. Turn off the oven, wait 15 minutes, crack the oven door, and then let the pie cool in the oven for about an hour; this reduces the chance that the filling will split

Variations

• Use 2 cups of pumpkin and only 2 eggs
• Substitute 12 oz of evaporated skim milk for the milk
• Use brown sugar instead of white sugar
• To use fresh pumpkin: Use 1 1/2 pounds of skin-on, raw pumpkin to yield 2 cups of mashed. Halve pumpkin and scoop out seeds and pith. Cut pumpkin into large chunks. In saucepan over medium heat, in 1 inch of water, heat the pumpkin to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until tender. Drain, cool and remove the peel. Return pumpkin to the saucepan and mash with a potato masher.