THE PYREX PIE PLATE

When Andy and I got married, we had a beautiful wedding shower where several of our friends and family came to celebrate our upcoming nuptials.  My matron-of-honor and myself opened countless gifts from our guests.  We, at one point, tallied close to 22 platters that I had received.  They were spectacular!  The majority of them were all white and they came in several shapes and sizes.  Rectangular, round, square, they were all lovely.  I still use the majority of these platters that I received as gifts sixteen years ago.

What I also received were Pyrex pie plates.  I believe I received a four pack of them and I graciously smiled when I opened them.  Honestly though, I was thinking to myself I truly had no idea what I would be using these plates for in the future.  I had never baked a pie in my life and I was not anticipating any interest to start baking once I was married.

That certainly held up to be the truth.  I have never baked a pie in my life — ever.  My mother makes the most incredible strawberry pie. The strawberries glisten with a deep red and the flavor is infused with the sweet and fresh ingredients she uses.  My mother-in-law makes an apple pie that has a handmade crust and the perfectly laid crisscross design of the dough is a vision out of a magazine.  Bottomline — all pies are made by others in my family and I am completely fine with that.

So what shall I do with these pie plates?  There was even a fleeting moment where I thought giving them to Goodwill was the answer.  I had moved them from one house to the other and they never were used.  Until one day, I had a dinner at my house.  It was just a small gathering but I quickly wanted to make some green beans.  I washed the fresh green beans, placed a small amount of water in the bottom of the Pyrex dish, popped them in the microwave for 5 minutes, and had wonderfully cooked green beans when the microwave dinged!  I transferred the green beans into another Pyrex pie plate, crumbled gorgonzola cheese on top, and finished it off with bacon pieces.  Straight to the table went my Pyrex pie plate.

The rest is history, as they say.  I have used these pie plates as serving dishes so many times since the initial green bean presentation.  Now that the dinner table is often surrounded by my children, it makes passing what is being served, much easier.  The edges of the dishes prevent slippery potatoes from falling over the edge.  The watermelon slices stack easily in these pie plates too.  The uses are countless.

We have also discovered the Pyrex pie plate does a beautiful job in holding Lego kit pieces in place and prevents them spilling on the floor.  My daughter gets so excited when she gets a new Lego set, but often she runs out of steam when building the entire kit.  The Pyrex pie dish is a holding zone for all her pieces.  It offers a sense of task accomplishment as she gets to the final pieces of “Bag 1 or 2” that remain in her dish.  She gets excited to open a new bag and refill her bowl.

We use these dishes for sorting exercises too.  I have lined them up and my other little girl will dump out her beads and stickers and other treasures that may have gotten mixed up in her arts and crafts bin.  One by one, she will go an sort her colorful beads and place them in a Pyrex dish.

Finally, the Pyrex pie plate could possibly be the best snack container in the house.  From boiled peanuts, to popcorn on a Friday night, they get filled with all the goodies.  However, my boys claim they are the best nacho plates in the world.  They will grab them and fill them with some tortilla chips, sprinkle on some Mexican cheese, and transfer the dish straight to the microwave.  A fun and happy snack to fill their bellies in a pinch.

So there you have it, just some of the fun ways we use the Pyrex pie dish in the Pepperberry house.  I don’t anticipate them ever getting used for baking a pie … ever.  We will leave that for Nana and Busia.

Let me know how you use your Pyrex pie plates — I’d love to hear other ideas!

Make it a great day!

Kellie