WEEK FIFTEEN: Skinny 'Scratch-esque' Strawberry, Apple, Rhubarb Pie

Being 6 months pregnant has some advantages--DESSERTS ARE ALLOWED!
But, in trying to keep somewhat of my girlish figure, I thought I'd throw out my skinny pie recipe for those who love pie but hate the crazy calories, for those who don't want to spend an afternoon baking and for those wanna-be-scratch pie makers as this pie recipe is simple, guiltless and scratch-esque! 

In all, a pretty easy and calorie free result: Strawberry, Apple + Rhubarb pie with no butter, oil and to boot, reduced sugar with only 30 minutes of prep. Try it out:

RHUBARB-APPLE-STRAWBERRY PIE

INGREDIENTS

fruit:
2 cups of chopped rhubarb
2 cups of chopped strawberries
1 cup of chopped apple

wet ingredients:
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
2 tbs. vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 tsp. lemon zest
1 tsp. vanilla

dry ingredients:
1 cup of Splenda
1/2 cups of white sugar
5 tbs. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

other:
1 egg white (put in separate, mini bowl)

INSTRUCTION:

Round up strawberries, apples and rhubarb. We grew rhubarb in our garden this summer and the apples came from the tree outside our place after IRENE wrecked havoc on the crop this past weekend. The strawberries alas, are from our local grocer. Chop 2 cups rhubarb, 2 cups strawberries and 1 cup apple. I used the mandolin for the rhubarb and it saved me at least 10 minutes of chopping. If you don't have a mandolin-->pick one up for $20, it's a great must-have!

Put all your dry ingredients together (flour, Splenda, sugar and cinnamon) and your fruit and wet ingredients together (rhubarb, strawberries, apple, lemon juice, lemon zest, Greek yogurt and vanilla).

**PIE CRUST TIME SAVER** I should probably be shammed for not making dough from scratch but honestly, who has the time or the patience. I picked up two deep dish shells at the grocery store. Washed the first one in eggwhites and put all my ingredients into it. To make your pie look even more legit get rid of that store-bought silver pie shell it comes in and put it in a glass or ceramic pie plate for baking. The second pie shell, I heated up for one minute in the oven then layed flat on a cutting board. 

With a pizza cutter I made stripes with the extra pie shell then weaved the pastry to finish off the top of the pie. It took me no time to do, gave it more of a 'homemade' look and saved on what was sure to be a disaster of me trying to lay a full pie crust on top! 

To add to my faux traditional pie, I used the leftover dough and built up the edges so the pre-made indents couldn't be seen anymore.

Bake at 425C for 15 mintues then drop the temperature down to 375C for 45-50 minutes and VOILA!! Just like Grandma's with a third of the sugar and no butter. Just add vanilla frozen yogurt and you've got a home-run!