PIE DAY

What to make, what to make ?

I was leaning all morning to a coconut cream pie, which I have never made, but for some reason went with this, a chia tea pie, which not only had I never made, but never really even heard of. Thing is, I had everything but a pie shell on hand, so that helped. If you do a lot of Indian cooking, like me, this is a snap, if not - it would cost a lot of money to buy the spices that you need.
I just made the first one that popped up, and it happened to be from Light Cooking - which is not a bad thing. It tasted nice - different, Neil seemed to like it.
Id make it again , doubling the amount of filling - or look for a different recipe

CHAI CREAM PIE

• 1/2 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury) I just used a bought pie crust and pre baked
• Cooking spray
• 2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk - I used whole
• 8 cardamom pods, crushed
• 8 whole cloves
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, broken
• 1 (1/2-inch) piece peeled fresh ginger, crushed  - i used more and I added a star annis and a little piece of nutmeg
• 1 black tea bag
• • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preparation

1. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under, and flute. Bake piecrust according to package directions. Cool completely on a wire rack.

2. Combine milk and the next 4 ingredients (through ginger) in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; cook until the mixture reaches 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge. Remove from heat. Add tea bag; cover and let stand for 15 minutes. Strain the mixture through a sieve over a bowl, and discard solids. Return milk mixture to pan, and cook over medium-high heat until the milk reaches 180° or until tiny bubbles form around edge.

3. Combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, and eggs in a large bowl, stirring well. Gradually add the hot milk mixture to sugar mixture, stirring constantly with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan, and cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in butter. This too no time at all , becomes thick really fast.

4. Place pan in a large ice-filled bowl for 10 minutes or until filling cools, stirring occasionally. Spoon mixture into crust; cover surface with plastic wrap. Chill 3 hours or until set; remove plastic wrap. Top pie with whipped topping; garnish with ground cinnamon.