Pecan Pie

Being a keeper of my home involves spending much time meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking, and feeding my family.  I've been wanting to compile a digital notebook with all of my tried and true recipes for a while, and I thought this would be a good way to do so and share recipes with others.  Since joining pinterest last summer, many of my newest recipes have come from blogs.  I am appreciative of others taking the time to share their recipes, so I thought I would join the fun.  I'll also be listing several recipes from family, friends, and cookbooks.

My husband's 29th birthday is today and he requested a pecan pie for his birthday cake.  This recipe comes from his Mamaw (Joyce Dodds) who got it from her mother (Mary Nesler).  It is a very quick and easy family favorite, and no holiday is complete without it.

                                  

Ingredients:

3 eggs beaten

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup corn syrup (1/2 cup white and 1/2 cup dark)

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups pecan halves

1 pie crust

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Place pie crust in bottom and edges of pie plate 

3.  Place pecans on top of pie crust.

4.  Beat eggs in bowl. 

5.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir to combine.  Pour into uncooked pie crust (over pecan, they will rise) and do not pick crust.

6.  Bake 45 minutes.  Let it set for about 10 minutes after removing from oven.

This was the birthday boy's piece today - before he added a few scoops of BlueBell homemade vanilla ice cream.

Chocolate Chip Waffles

Although I'm a huge fan of the "Mama's Pancake Breakfast" at Cracker Barrel, I've always preferred waffles over pancakes.  Last Christmas, my parents gave me my very own waffle iron, so now I have the privilege of enjoying them often.  I found this recipe for classic waffles at allrecipes, and now it has become a Saturday morning favorite.  I always sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the batter after pouring it on the iron, but you could add blueberries instead, and/or top with strawberries.


Ingredients:
2 cups, unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups warm milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
chocolate chips (as much as desired)


Directions:
1.  Mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
2.  Preheat waffle iron
3.  In separate bowl, beat the eggs.  Stir in the milk, butter, and vanilla.  Pour this mixture into flour mixture and beat until blended.
4.  Spray waffle iron with non-stick spray before adding batter.  Repeat this step before making each waffle.
5.  Pour the batter into preheated waffle iron and sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the batter.  Cook until golden.  Serve warm.

Yummy Blueberry Muffins

When it comes to muffins, I usually just use the mixes and add the wet ingredients for a quick breakfast.  We like blueberry muffins with crumb toppings around here, so one Saturday I decided to try this recipe from allrecipes which claims they are "to die for blueberry muffins."  We thought they were very yummy!

MUFFINS
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups unbleached, all purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2.  Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and baking powder.
3.  Put the oil in a 1 cup measuring cup, add the egg, add enough milk to fill the cup and add this to the flour mixture.
4.  Fold in blueberries.
5.  Fill 12 muffin cups to the top.
6.  Make crumb topping...

TOPPING
Ingredients:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:
1.  Mix all four ingredients with a fork and sprinkle over muffins.
2.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.


                                                                   ENJOY!
                           

Tavern Chicken

The iPhoto definitely doesn't do this dish justice!  At our house, the husband does the grilling, so he put the marinated chicken on while I cooked the pasta and in no time we had a delicious meal.  I used penne pasta(because that is what I had in the pantry)and a store bought bottle of alfredo sauce to save on time. 

Ingredients:
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/2 bottle of garlic and herb marinade
4 thin slices of prosciutto
4 slices of provolone cheese
pasta
alfredo sauce

Directions:
1.  Put chicken in a gallon baggie and pour garlic and herb marinade over it to marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours.

2.  When ready to cook, place a dry towel over the bag of chicken and pound the chicken breasts to ensure quick and even cooking.

3.  Grill chicken until almost done.  Place a slice of prosciutto on each chicken breast and then a piece of provolone over the prosciutto and close lid to melt cheese for about 2 minutes.

4.  Serve over cooked pasta tossed with alfredo sauce.

Inspiration found at plainchicken

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

WARNING: These fudge-like bars are extremely rich!  My husband  really likes desserts that mix chocolate and peanut butter, so when I saw these on pinterest (the-girl-who-ate-everything) I knew I had to try them.  He loved them, and they are very easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 package plain yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp butter
2 tsp vanilla extract


Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2.  Combine cake mix, 1/2 cup melted butter, peanut butter, and eggs.  Press into a 9x13 pan reserving 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to crumble on top.
3.  Melt chocolate chips, condensed milk, and 2 Tbsp butter on stovetop. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
4.  Spread chocolate mixture over the peanut butter mixture in pan and then crumble (or plop) the reserved peanut butter mixture on top evenly.
5.  Bake 20 minutes.  Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Easter Story Eggs

"And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain . . . . And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins . . . . If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.  But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead."    - 1 Corinthians 15:14,17,19-20




Teaching the Bible to my kids is great for so many reasons, one of which is that it allows me to see these stories through their eyes as if for the first time again.  It's good to have a fresh look at the resurrection story.  The truth of Christ rising from the dead gives us HOPE as Christians. It is what our faith is based on.  A real man - JESUS - walked on this earth, lived a perfectly obedient life, and paid the penalty for our sins on the cross.  The fact that he is God and rose from the dead conquering sin and death means that we have the hope of everlasting life.  I want my children to have this hope!  


This year I decided to tell them the story by using the "12 days of Easter" egg idea.  I used deliacreates and anordinarymom for inspiration, and used objects I already had around the house.  I did buy the dozen eggs at Dollar General for $1.


After numbering the eggs 1-12 with a Sharpie, I collected the items needed to fill the eggs and here is my list:
1.  Matthew 26:26-27, 39 (piece of bread)
2.  Matthew 26:14-15 (3 dimes)
3.  Matthew 26:48-49 (lips sticker or chocolate kiss)
4.  Matthew 27:1-2 (knotted twine)
5.  Matthew 27:15,17,21, 24-26 (piece of bar soap)
6.  Mark 15:16-17 (purple fabric, thorn)
7.  Matthew 27:31-32 (nail, toothpick cross)
8.  Matthew 27:50-51, 54 (crushed rocks)
9.  Matthew 27:57-60 (strip of white cloth)
10.  Matthew 27:60-66 (a flat stone)
11.  Mark 16:1-6 (bay leaf)
12.  Matthew 28:5-6 (empty)

I wrote all of the Scripture references out and included them in each egg along with the object for the day.  We read the first one at lunch today, and because my kids are 2 and 3 I have included two objects in each egg, one for each of them.  Today, Alivia opened egg #1 and said, "Oh, a snack," since it was a piece of bread.  She ate her piece of bread, closed the egg,  and passed it to Weston so that he could have a turn opening it to find the surprise.  This is a good idea for young kids with short attention spans because you only read a few verses a day and then discuss them.  I can't wait until we open the empty egg on Easter to reveal that "He is not here, for he has risen, as he said." (Matthew 28:6)

Happy Easter!

Chicken Piccata

I'm an Italian food fan and this dish is just as good, if not better, than what you can order at an Italian restaurant.  My husband says it's one of his new favorites.  While engaged to my now husband, my grandfather told me that "the key to a man's heart is his stomach."  So thank you, pinterest, for your help in this area.

Chicken
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions:
1.  Place chicken breasts in plastic ziplock bag
2.  Combine first 6 ingredients and pour over chicken in bag
3.  Marinate overnight in refrigerator
4.  When ready, grill until done
5.  Allow to rest for a few minutes before cutting to retain juices

Pasta
Ingredients:
2 cups dried penne pasta
2 Tbsp butter
6 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup half and half
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1.  While chicken is cooking, prepare pasta according to directions.
2.  Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
3.  In the same sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.  Whisk in garlic and lemon juice.
4.  Pour in half and half and whisk until hot.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Add parmesan cheese and basil and whisk until cheese melts.  Add reserved pasta water until you reach desired consistency.
6.  Toss with pasta.  Serve with chicken.





inspiration from plainchicken