Mom's Pecan Pie

I thought I'd go ahead and share my mom's pecan pie recipe. It's seriously one of the BEST pecan pies we've tried, and I think between my mom, mother-in-law, and I, we've tried a few.

Mom's Pecan Pie (not sure where she got the recipe to be honest... but if I find it, I'll source it)

1 cup light corn syrup

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large eggs, slightly beaten

1 heaping cup of pecans, chopped

9 in deep pie shell

In a large bowl, combine corn syrup, brown sugar, salt, butter, and vanilla, and mix well. Add slightly beaten eggs and blend well. Stir in pecans. Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Bake in a pre-heated 350 degree over for 45 minutes, or until set. Remember to cover pie crust edges with aluminum foil.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Here’s the recipe…

Adapted from Beautiful Flight

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust

1 cup graham cracker crumbs

3 tbsp margarine or butter

2 tbsp sugar

Mix the ingredients together and put in the bottom of a spring-foam pan.  Tightly wrap the bottom of the pan in aluminum foil to prevent water from leaking into the spring-foam pan and bake in a water bath for 10 minutes.  Cool completely on wire rack. 

Filling

2 – 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened

1 ¼ cups sugar

16 oz. solid pack, canned pumpkin

¾ cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp allspice

¼ tsp salt

4 large eggs

Beat the cream cheese.  Add the remainder of the ingredients except the eggs.  After the ingredients are mixed together, add one egg at a time.  Do not over beat.  Pour mixture into cooled crust.  Place the spring-foam pan inside another pan.  Add boiling water to the pan until it comes up one inch of the sides of the spring-foam pan.  Baker for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center barely jiggles.

Topping

1 cup sour cream

3 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

After the cheesecake is removed from the water bath, spread the topping on the top of the cheesecake.  Bake for another 5 minutes.  Place completed cheesecake on wire rack.  Loosen the sides of the cheesecake.  Refrigerate at least six hours or overnight.

So now that you have the recipe – let’s talk about what happened to me.  Hah.  I always have to have a story.  So I crush up my graham crackers, add the sugar, and butter and put the crush in the bottom of my spring-foam pan.  Awesome, right?!  I even cover the pan with aluminum foil like I’m supposed to.  Apparently, my foil had a leak, because not more than 30 seconds after I sat the crust in the water bath, the pan was full of water.  So I called Carie, who gave me some quick instructions on how NOT to do it the second time. 

Here’s what I did differently…

I added 1 more tbsp of butter to the crust.  I don’t know why. I just did.  I probably shouldn’t have, but it turned out okay either way. 

Instead of using allspice and cinnamon – I just put 2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice into the mixture.  It was one less spice I had to buy.  I’m cheap.

I did the topping on this cheesecake, but I don’t think it really adds anything to it.  Next time, I’ll leave it off. 

All in all – my first cheesecake experience was a good one, and holy crap, this cheesecake is good!  A and I have already eaten ½ of it.  In one day.  Because we’re just that AWESOME.  J

Cranberry Jalapeno Dip

Here's the recipe from Mel's Kitchen

Cranberry-Jalapeno Cream Cheese Dip

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces fresh cranberries
4-5 green onions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 cup sugar (more or less to taste)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 large lemon)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 (8 ounces each) packages cream cheese, light or regular, softened
Crackers, for serving

DIRECTIONS:
Pulse the cranberries in a food processor or blender until coarsely chopped (alternately, you can do this task by hand). Add the green onions, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, cumin, lemon juice and salt and pulse until the ingredients are well combined and finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a covered bowl or Tupperware and refrigerate for 4 hours (or up to overnight) so the flavors have time to develop and the cranberries lose a bit of their tartness.

When ready to serve, spread the cream cheese in an even layer on a serving plate or 9-inch pie dish. Top with the cranberry-jalapeno mixture, spreading evenly over the top of the cream cheese.  Refrigerate for up to an hour before serving. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

Creamy Garlic Pasta

Creamy Garlic Pasta

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 cups chicken stock
1/2 lb spaghetti or angel hair pasta
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

In a pot, bring the olive oil to medium-low heat.  Add the garlic and stir, allowing it to cook for 1 - 2 minutes.  Mix in the butter until melted.  Add the salt, pepper, and chicken stock.  Raise the heat to high and let it come to a boil.

Once it is at a rolling boil, add the pasta and cook for as long as the box's directions indicate.  Reduce the stove to medium heat and mix in the Parmesan until completely melted.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cream and parsley.  Serve immediately.

Sour Cream Parmesan Chicken

Sour Cream Parmesan Chicken

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup parmesan
Italian bread crumbs
Chicken breasts

INSTRUCTIONS FROM PINTEREST

Simply mix 1/2 cup of sour cream and 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Spread over chicken breast in a baking dish. Sprinkle Italian bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

MY INSTRUCTIONS

I seasoned the chicken on both sides first, using onion powder, garlic powder, Lawry's, salt and pepper.  I mixed up the sour cream and the parmesan mixture, and spread it evenly over three chicken breasts in a glass baking dish.  I sprinkled the Italian bread crumbs on top of that, and put it in the oven, uncovered, @ 350* for 45 minutes. 

Italian Sausage Tortellini Bake

Italian Sausage Tortellini Bake - allrecipes.com
Of course, I had to make my own adaptions to the recipe, so here's my version.
1 pound hot Italian sausage
1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 (24 oz) jar marinara sauce
1 (14 oz) can Italian-sytle diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (20 ounce) package frozen cheese-filled tortellini
2 cups shreeded mozzarella cheese

Heat a large pot over medium heat. Crumble sausage into the saucepan; add onion and green bell pepper. Cook and stir the sausage mixture until the sausage is completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain grease.

Pour marinara sauce and diced tomatoes over the sausage mixture; season with garlic powder and stir. Bring the mixture to a simmer, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the diced tomatoes break down into the sauce, 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

*** Because I didn't buy frozen tortellini, I was able to skip the step of cooking them. I bought them in the deli section of my local Target.  ***

Gently fold the cooked tortellini into the simmering sauce; cook together another 5 minutes. Pour tortellini and sauce into a 13x9-inch baking dish; top with mozzarella cheese.

Bake in preheated oven until cheese is golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

Strawberry Jello Cake

Here's the recipe with my modifications...

Cake Crust

1 16.5 ounce Strawberry Cake Mix 

1 Stick of Butter (Melted)

1 Egg

Filing

2 cup Boiling Water

1 6 ounce Package Strawberry Jell-o

20 ounces Frozen Strawberries (Thawed) (For this, I ended up buying a 24 ounce container of frozen strawberries, and using the additional 4 ounces for the topping)

1/4 cup Sugar

Topping

1 8 ounce Cream Cheese (room temp)

1/4 cup Sugar

1 12 oz Whipped Topping

4 ounces Frozen Strawberries

Pre-heat oven to 375*.  

In a large bowl, mix cake mix, melted butter and egg until blended.  Press into a greased 9 x 13 cake pan.  Bake at 375 for 15 minutes.  Let cool.

Dissolve jell-o and sugar in boiling water.  Make sure it is completely dissolved before adding the strawberries.  (Cool slightly.)  Pour strawberries over cake and refrigerate until set.    

With an electric hand blender or stand mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, and frozen strawberries until well blended.  Add whipped topping and continue to whip until smooth and creamy.  Top cake and chill for 3 - 4 hours.