Easter weekend turned out really nice despite the unusually cool April temperatures. In all honesty though, it was probably a blessing. . . or Easter dinner may never have gotten cooked.

The last few years, I’ve had to come to terms with the fact that Easter AFTER your kids are grown has a whole new feel to it. There are no eggs to dye, hide, or hunt. There are no Easter baskets full of candy. No dressing them in little suits to go to church.

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Nope, it’s just not the same as when they were THIS little (Easter 1987). But we managed to have a very nice day nonetheless.

With all the lost little joys of Easter, I STILL cooked a great Easter dinner. And since it WAS Easter, I just HAD to boil some eggs. It was a compulsion. I couldn’t help myself. Be honest. . . It’s just not Easter without boiling eggs. So I made deviled eggs for an appetizer. My mom brought over a gigantic ham. I made a hashbrown casserole, corn, garden salad and rolls to go with it. Oh! And I made a lemon meringue pie for dessert!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Lemon Meringue Pie!!! It’s really easy to make and it’s light and fresh like a sunny Spring day, so it was the perfect dessert. Here’s what you need:

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LEMON MERINGUE PIE

1 – 8″ graham cracker crust pie shell
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
4 Tbl sugar
1/4 tsp lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, lemon extract and egg yolks into a mixing bowl; whisk until mixture thickens. Pour into chilled crumb crust.

In a small mixing bowl, beat egg whites until almost stiff enough to hold a peak. Add sugar gradually beating until stiff and glossy but not dry. Pile lightly on pie filling and seal to edge of pie shell.

Bake until lightly browned (about 12 – 15 minutes). Cool, then refrigerate.

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This is what it looks like when it comes right out of the oven. My meringue didn’t do too well because it was so overcast and humid, but it was good enough.

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I’ve been making this pie as long as I can remember. It’s one of my mom’s standards. Sadly, I’ve been known to make this pie and eat the whole thing myself, but that was back when I was a teenager and I had the weight to prove it. Now I make desserts just because I want a bite. I’ll eat one piece and give the rest away. It’s how I roll. But seriously, this is a really really good pie.

What’s your favorite pie?