Fudgy Pecan Chocolate Pie & getting lost in a novel -As divine as their creators- Antonella & Jessica

Last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, my dear sister Shana and I went to Jessica and Antonella's home.  Jessica has been writing an incredible book about another magical realm and a predestined princess who has to overcome many obstacles.  She's woven deep truths and principles throughout the book which she has been trying to teach me since we were both 5 years old and in Kindergarten.  Antonella, Jessica's mother, and my mother, started chatting on the first day of our kindergarten class at Centerville Elementary.  I can just imagine us nervously holding our mothers' hands outside the Kindergarten room door, wearing our favorite outfits wondering if our mothers were ever going to stop talking to each other.  My favorite dress in elementary was a hand-me-down jumper that had Minnie Mouses' face as the top and a pink skirt as the bottom.  Minnie's head was bigger than mine.  We were probably as adorable as they come! 

Thus started the long friendship that we've shared.  When Shana and I had schedule to visit them on "Black Friday" we hadn't even thought about what scrumptious leftovers we'd find.  We were in for a treat.  Antonella had 11 people over but had cooked for about 44.  She had made over 31 pies, 4 types of stuffing, a huge turkey and loads of mashed potatoes and gravy.  (There never seems to be enough mashed potatoes at my house and so I also am in awe when someone has leftovers.)  She quickly loaded our plates and sent us off to Jessica's room to enjoy the two best things in life: Jessica's writing and Antonella's cooking! 

Not only do Antonella & Jess feed me with excitement and food but they unconditionally share ACCEPTANCE.  It doesn't matter who you are, you are adored and FAMILY in their home. 

Antonella still had over 10 pies left and Shana and my favorite was one that she had invented:

Fudgy Pecan Chocolate Pie

1 unbaked pie shell

1 package (4 oz) german sweet chocolate

1/4 c. butter

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c water

2 eggs beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp salt

1- 1.5 cups chopped pecans

Filling

1 c. cold milk

1 package instant chocolate pudding mix (3.9 oz)

i c whipped topping

Topping 

1 c whipping cream

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Line unpricked pie shell with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 5-7 mintues.  Remove foil and set aside.  Reduce oven to 375 degrees. 

In a saucepan, melt chocolate & butter.  Remove from heat.  Stir in milk and water.  Slowly add some of the chocolate mixture to eggs, to temper them and so they don't cook, then return all to the pan.  Stir in vanilla & salt.  Pour the mixture to pie shell and add nuts.  Cover edges with foil.  Bake for 35 minutes or until done. 

Cool completely.

In a mixing bowl beat milk and pudding mix until smooth.  Fold in whipped topping.  Spread over nut layer.  Cover & refridgerate.

In a mixing bowl beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Add sugar & vanilla, beating until stiff peaks form.  Spread over pudding layer.  Refrigerate until set.  (About 4 hours.)

*Bonus: This fugdy pie wasn't too rich, it was just right!

Double Chocolate Rebels & Aunt Nat

Today's been a long hard day at the office and on the way home I listened to Amanda Dickson's book on CD, "Wake up to a Happier Life."  Those few minutes of listening got me smiling.  She said something so amazing that I stopped and replayed it the clip.  She said, "Why would you do anything because youshould when you could do it because you love it!"   Infusing all that I do with love stirs creative thoughts and ideas and gets me excited about life.  I'm sitting in the BYU Salt Lake Extension Center Library as I write this and asking myself, "What do I love about this place?"  "What things are going to make me wildly happy today?"  The answers come so easily when I ask these simple questions.

I feel so much better.

Now, I started with those thoughts because Amanda Dickson and the phrase "infuse joy" remind me of a very special woman in my life.  Aunt Nat.  She's an avid blogger and beautiful writer.  She's passionate about library books, treasure hunting at consignment stores, her family and God.

She always is helping me discover wonder in new hobbies and talents. 

When I asked her to send me a recipe, she said she loves to look to her mother's amazingly good recipes because they bring back memories.  She took me back to her childhood memory in McCallan, Texas.  She was holding a teaspoon in her hand near the kitchen sink and making a Nestle's cookie recipe when her mother pronounced her the "Best cookie maker in the family."  She's confidently lived up to that honor since that day.  As a young girl I remember going down to her house and making cookies with her and her kids on Sunday nights.  I always loved going to their house on Main Street!  I was younger than all of them but they made me feel so important.  I remember when all the McKassons (her family) would come up to our house for waffle parties on the holidays.  At one of these Fourth of July breakfasts, I can proudly remember running the waffle iron when my own mother proclaimed that I was the "little cook of the family."  Since then I too have tried to live up to that honor.  

Natalie's conversation uplifted me and she ended by telling me how much she loves me.  

She wanted to share my Grandma's Double Chocolate Rebels recipe

Mary Ann Bradford

1 ½ cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 1/4 cup margarine

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sifted flour

½ tsp. soda

½ tsp. salt

6 Tbsp. cocoa

3 cups rolled oats

6 oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips (or half white, half semi-sweet) (Nat's lil addition.)

Sift dry ingredients together, cream butter and sugar and vanilla.  Add beaten eggs in thirds.  Mix in dry ingredients and water in between.  Add oatmeal and chips.  Bake on ungreased cookie sheet 350° for 10 to 12 minutes. 

White Chili From the Kitchen of Mary

Mary Mary quite contrary how does your garden grow?

Mary is my big sister, previous roommate (when we were in Elementary), my example and friend.

For my wedding she spent hours making me a recipe book filled with her delicious favorites.  Now a mother of three and an excellent chef, she is always telling Shana and I about fun things to try.  As sisters we share this love for cooking.  

Although Mary is in Spokane, we had the fam over for one of her recipes: White Chili.

Ingredients

1 T. vegetable oil

2 medium onions (1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

3 cups chicken broth

2 T. chopped fresh cilantro or 1/2 tsp ground coriander

2 T. lime juice

1 t. ground cumin

1/2 t. dried oregano

1/4 t. red pepper sauce (I couldn't find this and used Cayenne pepper instead)

1/4 t. salt

1 (11-oz) can white shoepeg or whole kernel corn, drained

1 (15-oz) can great northern beans, drained

1 (15 1/2-oz) can butter beans, drained (I couldn't find these and used white canellini beans instead)

2 cups cooked chicken breast (we grilled our chicken)

Directions: 

1) In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Cook onions and garlic in oil 4-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are tneder.

2) Stir in remaining ingredients except chicken  Heat to boiling, reduce heat.  Simmer uncovered 20 minutes.  Stir in chicken; simmer about 5 minutes until hot.

(Can cook in a dutch oven)

We enjoyed this with salad and tortilla chips!  I really appreciate Mary and that she in constantly igniting creativity in me in so many ways!

Serving Stroganoff Cooked in a Pumpkin

Now that Halloween is over, pumpkins are very inexpensive!  My husband said that one of his favorite meals he ate in Brazil as a missionary was stroganoff in a pumpkin.  I'd never heard of cooking dinner in a pumpkin nor had I ever eaten pumpkin like I would squash, but it sounded exciting.  We had his awesome side of the family over for dinner and it was scrumptious!  We place the cooked pumpkin in the middle of the table in a large serving bowl and scooped out the hot stroganoff onto our rice.  We ate it with a bread and salad.  After we had pumpkin pie milk shakes.

I used this recipe with a few changes.  I doubled the amount of veggies and used 1 pound of ground turkey instead of beef.  This serves about 8 people. 


dinner in a pumpkin: creamy spiced sausage stroganoff with broccoli, carrot and apple
an original recipe by rachelle

1 medium sized (10-12" diameter, basketball sized, ~10 lbs.) pumpkin
1 pound ground beef
1 pound (a chub.) mild sausage
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons oil

1 head broccoli, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 large green apple, diced

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar/mozz/jack cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
dash red pepper
dash pumpkin pie spice

6 cups cooked hot rice, for serving

remove top racks from the oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
cut the top off the pumpkin and remove all the seeds and stringy pulp inside. season inside pumpkin with a little salt, pepper, and pumpkin pie spice.
heat oil in a large saute pan and bring a big pot of water to a boil. add beef, sausage and onions into saute pan and cook until browned. add broccoli, carrots and apple into boiling water and cook for 8 minutes to soften. (skip this step if you like a little bite to your veg.) drain vegetables. in your biggest mixing bowl, whisk together the softened cream cheese, milk, cheese, parmesan, garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper. stir in meat and onions and veggies. carefully pour into prepared pumpkin and replace pumpkin top. place pumpkin on a heavy duty cookie sheet or in a casserole dish. carefully put in oven and cook for 1 1/2 hours at 375 degrees. to serve, scrape sides and bottom of pumpkin to get bits of pumpkin with stroganoff. serve over hot rice.

* recipe may be halved and prepared in a small pumpkin for a cute little family.
* cook in crock pot instead for a yummy meal post-holiday. 3 hours on low.*

I want to thank other exciting bloggers for sharing their family traditions and igniting that creativity in me. 
This recipe & picture comes from the following blog:  http://fashionablyfoodie.blogspot.com/2008/10/dinner-in-pumpkin-creamy-spiced-sausage.html