Baby don't be blue, gonna make for you, gonna make a pie with a heart in the middle

Meet my Nana...

(On the left. The right is my mother.)

This is my Nana when she was young.

She showed me a photo book of some pictures from a while back.

She is to thank for my interest in cooking.

As a tribute to my Nana, here is a recipe that she taught me quite recently.

Coming to South Carolina by myself for a mini road trip/ vacation, my Nana taught me how to make Magic Lemon Meringue Pie. My first thoughts were, "I don't like lemon meringue."

This recipe change my mind!

Here we have the crust. I, as well as my Nana, am health conscious. Typically any sweet I eat has been modified to be less fattening. This recipe was no different, but it did not suffer in the least from the carefully added ingredients.

Crust

1 1/3 cups graham crackers

1/3 cup butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar (Nana substitutes the sugar in the crust for a bit more butter)

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and melt the butter on the stove

2. Crush the graham crackers into find crumbles

3. Mix the butter and graham cracker crumbs

4. Press the buttered crumbles onto the bottom of a pie pan until spread evenly

5. Bake the crust at 375 for 8 minutes

6. Once you remove it from the oven let it chill before putting the lemon mixture into the crust

Lemon Pie Filling

2 egg yolks (Don't forget to save the whites for the meringue)

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

1/2 cup lemon juice (preferably fresh squeezed from lemons)

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

(The original recipe also calls for 1/4 teaspoon tartar, but I like the pie with a creamy filling instead of a gel like consistency)

1. Preheat the oven (or let it cool from the previous 375 for the crust) to 350 degrees

2. Beat the egg yolks

3. Gradually add the condensed milk, lemon juice, and rind

Meringue

2 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

1. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl

2. Gradually add the granulated sugar

3. Beat the mixture until it is still, but not dry

Putting it all together

1. Once the crust has cooled pour the lemon filling into the crust

2. Spread the meringue onto the pie with a knife

3. Bake the pie for 15 minutes or until the meringue is a golden brown

4. Let cool

5. Chill until ready to serve

This picture is before the Meringue is browned (we actually forgot to brown this one)

TA- DA!

And there you have it: you're own Magic Lemon Meringue Pie