Julie's Irresistible Pecan Pie

Not a pecan pie fan? Well maybe you need to reconsider. This recipe has been a work in progress over the years and last year it finally became perfected. So I'm proud to say that I've had people tell me that they've hated pecan pie until they've had mine. I hope that you will try to make this pie and give pecan pie a whirl...it's my most favorite pie ever!

Julie's Irresistible Pecan Pie

Crust:
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
½ cup butter, chilled
4 tablespoons ice water (OR a prepared store bought 9” pie shell)

In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and white sugar. Cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Gradually sprinkle the water over the dry mixture, stirring until dough starts to come together. Then, using one hand, squeeze dough together until it forms a nice ball. Remove to countertop and shape into a 5” flat disc. Remember not to handle the dough too much or you will start melting the butter. Cover dough in plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. Just until pie mixture is made.

Pie:
3 eggs
1 cup corn syrup
1 ½ tablespoons molasses
¾ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 pinch salt
1 ½ - 2 cups pecans, chopped

In another medium bowl, combine first 6 ingredients, add pecans and thoroughly combine. Set aside.

Remove pie crust and lightly flour countertop surface, roll crust dough out into a large circle, place into ungreased pie plate. Remove extra dough and crimp using two fingers and thumb. Re-stir pie mixture and pour into pie plate. Place pie into a preheated 350 F degree oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Be careful and watch crust so that it doesn’t burn. Place strips of tin foil around edges if crust starts to get too dark. Let pie cool completely before serving.

Corn chip Chili Casserole

This recipe really threw me off when I first checked it out. I was confused by the instructions and wondered why you just couldn't put the chips on top of your bowl of chili??? Well, let me just say, I was surprised by the results. There was something about the chips being baked in with the meat, beans and cheese. It almost had an enchilada taste to it. It was pleasantly delicious!

I also ended up halving the recipe because we wouldn't eat a 9x13 baking dish size for our family. I baked it in a 9x9 baking dish instead.

Corn chip Chili Casserole

3 (15 oz.) cans of assorted beans: kidney, pinto, black, etc...

2 (10 oz.) cans red enchilada sauce

2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 1/2 tbsp. chili powder

1 (9 3/4 oz.) bag of Fritos corn chips

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef

1 medium sized onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

Sour Cream for topping

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

In a skillet over medium high heat, add ground beef, diced onion, minced garlic and brown until meat is cooked and onion is tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a medium sized mixing bowl, add beans, enchilada sauce and chili powder, stir to thoroughly combine. Add drained meat mixture to the beans and stir again to combine. In a 9 x 13" baking dish, place half of the meat & bean mixture on bottom. Next, layer with corn chips, cheese and repeat one more layer ending with the cheese. Bake in preheat oven for 30 minutes or until casserole is bubbly and chips are lightly browned. Remove from oven and serve warm with a topping of sour cream, if desired.

Note:

To half the recipe use: 2 cans beans, 1 can enchilado sauce, 1 lb. ground beef, 2 cups cheese, 1 tbls. chili powder, 1/2 of an onion, 1 garlic clove and 2/3 bag of corn chips. Regular corn chips, broken up, could also be used in place of Fritos corn chips.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

Our local grocery store has been making these pumpkin bread bowls and selling them in their bakery department. I couldn't pass them up and knew I had to find a yummy cream-type soup to put inside them. Last month, we had a potluck dinner at work and one of my co-workers, Nina, made a delicious, creamy soup with cheese and vegetables. It was so good, we all asked for the recipe. I knew this was the soup for these cute pumpkin bread bowls. This recipe can easily be made in the crockpot once the veggies are cooked. It also makes a lot, but the recipe can be cut in half too.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

5 cups water
1/4 cup onion, minced
2 large potatoes, cubed into 1/2" squares
2 stalks of celery, sliced thin
3 chicken boullion cubes

Boil above ingredients in a large pot for 8-10 minutes.

Add:
2 (16 oz.) pkgs. frozen broccoli, cauliflower & carrot mix, thawed and cut into smaller pieces

Boil for 5 minutes more

Stir in:
2 cans Cream of Chicken soup, undiluted
2 cans creamed corn
1 lb. pkg. Velveeta Cheese, cut into 1" cubes

Keep stirring until melted. If soup is too thin, add some instant potato flakes to thicken. If the soup is too thick, add a can of chicken broth. If using a crockpot, set on Low and warm for 2-3 hours.

Edward's Blood Muffins

In honor of Halloween and for those of you who are waaaayyy into the "Twilight" series. This part was cut from the original version of the book. I understand that Edward did a lot of cooking for Bella and these were the muffins he made for her one crisp, Fall morning. Unfortunately, he could not eat them, and in his envious, heated state of mind, mistakenly dripped his vampire venom all over them which gave her some extra added vitamins to jump start her day.

Edward's Blood Muffins

Open one box of this muffin mix, mix and bake according to package directions. Serve warm. Hopefully, in the right circumstances, your muffins will mistakenly have vampire venom dripped all over them too.
Note: I, and my blog, take no responsibility if a real vampire shows up at your door and desires your neck instead of these muffins. Please take extra care when baking and have some garlic and a crucifix handy. By the way, this was just for fun...go with it!

White Bean and Chicken Soup

As the weather turns to Fall, soups begin to show up as dinner in our house. This one is a first for us. And it turns out, it was very delicious! Even my kids ate it! In this recipe I used a garlic chicken sausage, but you can easily use diced chicken instead. I also really liked the simplicity of this soup. Ready in about 30 minutes. You may also cook this longer if you want the flavors to mesh more thoroughly and enhance the chicken broth. I served this with crackers and we, the parental figures, added a dollop of sour cream and grated Pepperjack Cheese. Mmmm...

White Bean and Chicken Soup

3 (15 oz.) can white beans, drained
6 cups chicken broth
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbls. olive oil
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced into 1/2" cubes
2 (4 oz.) cans whole green chilies
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teas. ground cumin
1 1/2 teas. dried oregano, crushed
1/4 teas. red pepper flakes, crushed
1 teas. salt
1/2 teas. black pepper

Place olive oil, chopped onions, garlic and cubed chicken into a large skillet over medium heat. Cook until onions are tender and chicken is longer pink. Transfer mixture to a stock pot or large soup pot. Add in green chilies, cumin, oregano and red pepper flakes. Cook until the smell of the spices have been released, about 1 minute. Add in chicken broth, then white beans, stir thoroughly. Add in salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another 10-15 on medium high to combine all of the flavors. Turn off heat and serve warm.

Julie's Peach Cobbler

If you haven't taken the time to enjoy the peaches from your local grocer or friendly neighbor who's been so kind to let you pick their peaches, then hurry up and get some and make this cobbler. It's our family's favorite!

Once again, I've made a recipe that has no exact amounts to the ingredients. Because the topping can be adjusted to fit any amount of peaches, I usually go by the size of the baking dish to determine how much topping I'm going to make. In this recipe, I used a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with sliced peaches filled to about 1 1/2 inches full. And yes, there is one stick of butter being used in this recipe but one stick is really not much for a 9 x 13 pan. So enjoy...

Julie's Peach Cobbler

5-12 peaches, washed, pitted and sliced
3-4 tbls. sugar (depending on sweetness of peaches)
1/2 teas. ground nutmeg
1 teas. ground cinnamon

Prepare peaches and place into a large mixing bowl. Coat with sugar, nutmeg and cinnamon and toss until fully mixed. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees.

Topping:
1 1/2 cups yellow cake mix, dry
1 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teas. ground cinnamon
1 stick of butter (not margarine) at room temperature, sliced
Vanilla ice cream, optional

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the first 4 ingredients. Mix and add in sliced butter. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until mixture resembles a doughy crumble.

Pour prepared peaches into a 9 x 13 baking dish and top with crumble mixture. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until medium golden brown on top and peaches have bubbled on the sides. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with ice cream, if desired.

The Essential Chewy Oatmeal Cookie

This cookie was absolutely amazing! The flavor reminded me of something you could enjoy during the Fall season. I got the recipe from a cookbook my mother in-law had called The Best of the Best. I think it was the best oatmeal cookies I've had in a long time. It held true to it's name. I hope you'll try them!

Before I give you the recipe, I need to comment on the ingredients first. First off, I replaced most of the shortening with a 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce. Second, I don't understand why it needed corn syrup and milk? If you understand some of the science of baking, you would know what I'm talking about. Those items are added for moisture, which you need to soften the oatmeal, but with the extra applesauce I felt it was a waste of ingredients. So I will leave adding those to your recipe up to you. I personally didn't think it needed it. But on the other hand, I know corn syrup can help with chewiness which is why I loved this recipe. Ah, what the heck, just add all the ingredients it asks for except try cutting back on the butters with the applesauce. It sure was a yummy cookie! And finally, it also states at the end of the recipe to lightly grease your baking sheet. If you are using a metal one, then you will need to do this step or line it with some parchment paper. I used my baking stone and it had a slight resistance when I removed them with my spatula (a good thing from a well seasoned stone). So on with the recipe:

The Essential Chewy Oatmeal Cookie

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/2 sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 teas. vanilla extract
1/4 teas. almond extract
3/4 teas. cinnamon
1/8 teas. ground cloves
1/4 teas. nutmeg
1 teas. salt
1 teas. baking soda
1 large egg
6 tbls. corn syrup
2 tbls. milk
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. raisins
1 c. chopped pecans/walnuts
3 cup old fashioned oats

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease baking sheet; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, shortening and sugars until smooth. Add in vanilla and almond extracts and spices, salt and baking soda. Beat in egg, corn syrup and milk. Add in flour, raisins, nuts and oats. Thoroughly combine, scoop onto baking sheet and bake for 11-13 minutes (depending on oven) until golden brown. Let cool for 2 minutes and then remove from baking sheet onto a cooling rack. Makes approx. 30-40 cookies depending on size.