Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

This pie makes for one happy husband :)

Nothing says Southern like a warm and gooey chocolate chip pecan pie. Believe it or not at first I wasn't even sure that I would like it! Luckily growing up my mama taught me some manners and this time politely trying something a guest brings to your table paid off big time! I was first introduced to this heavenly desert when we invited two of our good friends over for a week-night dinner. Being brought up the right way herself, my friend Courtney made a desert to go with our dinner. When she came it she sat it on the kitchen counter and I asked what she had brought, "chocolate chip pecan pie" she said. In my head I am thinking great I really do not like pecan pie but was I in for a surprise. After the dinner plates were cleared away we broke out the pie. My husband whose favorite pie in the whole world is pecan was super pumped to try Courtney's pie and got a gigantic slice, I on the other hand only took a small ensie piece. I nervously raised the fork to my mouth and  OH MY LORD it was good! Thanks to Courtney and my mama's manners it is now tied for my favorite pie in the whole world and I can't keep it all to myself.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

1 unbaked pie shell
1 cup of sugar
1/4 cup all purpose (plain) flour
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla ( I just pour some in)
1 stick of butter
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips ( I just fill the 1 cup measuring cup up all the way)
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix sugar, flour, eggs and vanilla together ( I just use a whisk, no need to break out the mixer!) Melt the stick of butter and let it cool for a few seconds. Pour into the sugar mixture, stir well and add chocolate chips and pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees. Walllla that is IT! How easy is that?! At out house we like it best right out of the oven with an ice cold glass of milk.

just in the oven :)

Done!! Doesn't that look like a GIANT cookie?!

Yummmmy!

A little bit of life and The BEST chocolate chip cookies ever

It has been a whole month since I have written anything. I am still loving my job, and I found out a couple of weeks ago that I will be staying with these children the rest of the school year. I am excited and very overwhelmed at the same time. I pray that I can help these children, and mainly love them in the short time that I will be in their lives. I pray daily that God will show me the best way to show these children that I care about them and that I am there for them. I learn new things about them and myself almost daily.
On a different note I finally got a new car!! I said good bye to the baby blue Honda that has gotten me every where I  needed to go in the past 8 years. We had been through a lot together, but it was time for an upgrade... If you have seen the Honda you know what I mean!

While I do love my job, I very much miss being a housewife. I have dirty floors, dirty dishes, and Mountains (literally) of laundry, both clean and dirty. I miss doing my projects, eating lunch with my mom almost daily, and goodwill trips with my 3 grandmas.  It has been a major adjustment! Trying to keep up my housewife skills, I made some chocolate chip cookies last night and I have to say they are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever made. They are so soft and chewy, even after they cooled they weren't hard or crunchy at all! My husband was way impressed so I have to share!

Chocolate Chip Cookies:

3/4 Cup Granulated sugar

3/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1 cup crisco.... bad for you I know but it's what makes them soft and chewy
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp molasses
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used the whole bag!)

Mix sugars together, add crisco and mix until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time mixing between eggs. Mix in vanilla and molasses. In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. Hradia;;u add flour mixture to the batter. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake of 8-10 minutes on 350.

I rolled my cookies into balls and they were kind of big. I also let the cookies cool on the baking sheet of a few minutes to fully set up before moving them to a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

It has been a busy week in the Wilson house. On Monday night I am pooped but happy! Friday night I made corn bread for the first time ever! I was way nervous because my husband has told me all of these great stories about his mom's and his grandma's cornbread, but I was up for the challange. Last week my daddy gave me a lesson on how to make cornbread the right way, so I set out to copy his recipe. My husband loved it and I was relieved! Daddy's go to recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens 1980something was a hit! I was a little impressed with myself !

Recipe: 1 cup flour (all purpose)

             1 cup corn meal

             2 tbsp Sugar

             1 tsp baking powder

             1/2 Tsp salt

             2 eggs

             1 cup milk- I use 1/2 sweet milk and 1/2 butter milk

             1/4 cup crisco melted.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and pour melted crisco in a cast iron skillet. Put in the oven to heat. Mix dry ingredients first, then add in eggs one at a time. Pour in the milk and pour the hot grease from the pan into the cornbread batter. Mix well adn bake for 20 minutes and Thats All!



For my sweet friend Heather's baby shower I made two hats for her baby that is due in Feburary. I was able to view the patterns for free so I will post them here to share... later when I find the website again!

And finally Saturday night we threw my mother-in-law a birthday party at out house. It was a small gathering of family and some good food but she said it was the best party she had in a while! Before the baby shower Saturday morning I made her gift as well! I had picked up a cute rectangle frame from goodwill Friday while my mom and I were shopping. I got home to take it apart to make her gift and the painting had real butterflies pressed under the glass. I was totally grossed out! I threw all of the nastyness away and made her a chicken wire earing holder like all of those cute ones I have seen on pinterest. It was a busy weekend, but I'm greatful for all of the people I get to share my life with.

Before

After

Happy Birthday!

-Enjoy 

Marlboro Man Sandwich

Tonight I tried out a new recipe on my hubby, the Marlboro Man Sandwich found on http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/. (thanks for the suggestion Heather!) I modified mine slightly because my husband is strictly a meat and potatoes kind of man, but he loved it! I baked home made french fries to go with it too. I think this might be one of his new favorites!

The Pioneer Woman's Recipe:
2 Whole Medium Onions, Halved and Sliced
1 1/4 sicck butter
2 lbs cube steak cut into strips
salt
pepper
1/4 cup Whorcestershire sauce
5 dashes Tobasco
4 Deli Roles
8 slices fresh Mozzarella
8 slices tomato
1 1/2 cup Arugula

My Recipe:
1 stick butter
1 Package Cube Steak
salt
pepper
garlic salt
1/4 cup Worcestershire  sauce
Many dashes of hot sauce
Pepper Jack Cheese Slices
Sandwich Rolls

I seasoned the meat with salt and pepper, then melted a glob of butter in the skillet. Once the butter was melted I added the meat. Let it sit on one side for at least 1 minute on high heat then use a spatula to flip it. Add Worcestershire and hot sauce and more butter if needed. Put another glob of butter in a different skillet to toast sliced sandwich rolls. Remove meat from heat, and remove bread when it gets a little crispy. Put the meat on the rolls first and drizzle a spoon full of pan sauce over it. Add pepper jack cheese slices, and add the top piece of bread . Eat while warm and enjoy!

Tater Tot Casserole

At one of my wedding showers last year, a sweet lady gave me a copy of our church cookbook with a list of her family's top 10 favorite recipes. Believe it or not all the years growing up at home and using the very same cookbook I had never even heard of tater tot casserole. I don't even want to think about all of the calories but it has become one of my husband's favorite dishes! According to him it contains the all of the 3 basic food groups: meat, potatoes and cheese!

-Enjoy-

Tater Tot Casserole

2 lbs ground beef                                         

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 can cream of potato soup

1 cab cream of chicken soup

2 cups shredded cheese

1 bag of tater tots

Saute onions in a small amount of oil. Add ground beef: brown, then drain. Pour into large Pyrex dish. Mix soups with 1 can of water, then spread over ground beef. Place grated cheese on top of soup. Add tater tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I modify this by only using 1 lb of ground beef because there is only 2 of us and we can still eat leftovers for a week! Also I only use a little more than half a can of water. If your husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy he will LOVE this!