• bottom pie crust for a 9 or 10 inch pie plate

• 3 cups mincemeat

• 8 ounces of cream cheese (softened)

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 egg

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Make the pie crust and line the pie plate with the crust (I know this seems obvious, but one time when I happened to listen to Oprah -- I have listened to the show about 3 times in my life -- there was a chef who was talking about cooking something in one of those plastic cooking bags. "When you take it out of the oven, cut open the bag and throw it away," Oprah said. "You have to say that because there are people out there who will eat the bag if you don't tell them to throw it away.")

Put the mincemeat on top of the pie

Using an electric mixer, whip the softened cream cheese, sugar, the egg and the lemon juice until smooth. Pour on top of the mincemeat and bake for another 25 to 30 minutes or until set.

LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books "Cream of the Crop (More True Stories from Wisconsin Farm)" (trade paperback, Sept. 2005); "Christmas in Dairyland (True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (trade paperback 2003); "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade paperback 2004); "Preserve Your Family History (A Step-by-Step Guide for Interviewing Family Members and Writing Oral Histories" (e-book 2004). You are invited to read sample chapters, order books and sign up for the free newsletter, Rural Route 2 News -- http://ruralroute2.com

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