Quick & Easy Backyard Rhubarb Pie

This quick and simple pie is a real life saver if you're in a rush and need something yummy to bring to a friend's party.

Picture this:

It's a typical Saturday at my house when I remember that I have plans to go over to a friend's for dinner and I had promised to bring dessert. My toddler is napping, so I can't make a trip to the store. I search through the pantry and fridge without much luck until I see some frozen pie shells in the freezer. Then I remember that it's June and my backyard rhubarb is out of control. Bingo! I can have a delicious pie ready to go before my son even wakes up.

For this pie, you'll need:

• 2 pie shells (if you can make your own pie crust, congratulations, you're a better baker than I am)
• 4½ cups of chopped rhubarb
• 1 cup of sugar
• ¼ cup of flour
• 1 tablespoon of butter or margarine

Set the pie shells out on the counter to thaw. They will be easier to work with if they have had a chance to warm up.

Preheat your oven to 450°.

Run to your backyard to pick a bunch of rhubarb. Pull off the leaves and throw them in the compost. The raspberry bushes in my yard didn't have any fruit on them yet, or I would have thrown in some berries too.

Wash and chop up the rhubarb. Throw any excess rhubarb in the freezer for a future dessert emergency.

Mix the flour and sugar together in a bowl.

Add a layer of the sugar and flour mixture to the bottom of one of the pie shells.

Fill the pie shell with a heaping mound of rhubarb.

Pour the remaining sugar and flour mix on top of the rhubarb. Give the pie pan a little shake so the flour and sugar settle into all the spaces between the rhubarb bits.

Add little dollops of butter or margarine on top of the rhubarb.

Mentally prepare yourself for the trickiest part of this whole process.

Carefully place the empty pie shell on top of the one with the filling.*

Slowly lift off the metal pie pan, being careful not to tear the pastry.

Pinch together all the edges and poke some holes in the top with a fork.

*Apparently you will have better luck getting the pie shells to stick together if you wet the edges with cold water.

If, like me, you are not totally confident in how well you have sealed the edges of your pie crust, place the pie on a baking sheet. The only cookie sheet I could find didn't have a lip around the edges, so I added tin foil to contain any leaking pie filling.

Bake at 450° for 15 minutes.

Turn the temperature on your oven down to 350° and let the pie bake for another 45 minutes.

Realize that your son is still sleeping and start writing an instructable. (This step is optional)

If any of the filling oozes out of the pie, after it is baked you can place the pie in the extra pie pan (left over from the top crust) so it looks prettier and you won't get sticky fingers carrying it to the dinner party.

Serve warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.