Chocolate Meringue Pie

This is my Memaw's Chocolate pie recipe that has been a family favorite for years. (She has to make two at Christmas so that nobody argues over it, it is that good)

Custard
1 Cup Sugar
5 Tbs Cocoa
3/4 Cup Flour
1 3/4 Cup Milk
3 Egg Yolks
2 Tbs Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla

Meringue
3 Egg Whites
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar

Custard
1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and bake crust until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool while making custard. (Do not turn off oven)
2. In a sauce pan, mix sugar, flour, and cocoa together in a sauce pan.  Over medium heat, add milk, stirring constantly to avoid scalding. Stir until mixture starts to thicken.
3. Take off heat and add yolks, stirring quickly. 
4. Add vanilla and butter, stirring until well mixed
5. Pour custard into crust

Meringue
1. In a medium sized bowl, blend cream of tartar and egg whites until mixture is frothy. (For a higher volume meringue, use room temperature egg whites)
2. Add sugar in a little at a time until egg whites are glossy and firm.
3. Pour over custard and mold into shape you want, put in oven until tips are golden

Making a Fascinator

I love fascinators! They are so fun! But, they can get a little expensive and they don't always have what I like so I decided to make my own.

Here is what you'll need

Craft Felt
Fabric stiffener spray (I used
Glue Gun and Glue Sticks
Lace
A fascinator comb (you can find these in the hair accessories section at any store)
a needle and thread of a color that matches the felt
Wax paper and saran wrap (to catch the overspray)
Anything you would like to use to decorate your fascinator
Wide mesh tulle (if you want a veil)

1. Cut out the shape of the hat from the felt. I used the fascinator I already had as a pattern (If you are using a form, wrap it in saran wrap and lay a piece of wax paper on top of it.) Lay the felt on top of the wax paper and spray with the fabric stiffener. Let dry

2. Sew the comb to the bottom of the felt. (Don't worry about your stitches being seen, they will be covered up later.)

3. Cover the felt with the lace, making sure that there is enough overlap to secure the lace underneath the felt. I used ribbon lace, so it took three pieces to cover the entire hat. You can use a piece of lace fabric, just make sure there is an overlap.

4. Glue the lace to the underneath of the felt. (Don't worry, nobody will see this part, so it doesn't have to be perfect.) Make sure to fold as you glue so that the lace is flush around the hat so you don't get any uneven parts

5.  To make the veil, take a piece of the mesh and fold it into a triangle, fold it in half again and again until you have a narrow triangle. Cut an arc across the outside edge of the triangle, when you unfold it all, it will be a large circle.

6. Put down a line of glue across the top edge of the hat and tack down the veil, gather it a little bit as you glue it down. (You can put it anywhere you like, this is just where I chose.

7. Glue on the decorations to cover where the veil is tacked down.

8. Voila!

Making a Napkin from Fabric

Lynt is having a little party in July and she wanted to class it up, but she didn't want to spend too much money.  She got some cool fabric and handed it off to me as her sewing machine wasn't working. I already had some napkins so I got one of them to use as a pattern.

1. Place the napkin on top of the fabric and measure out the extra. I made it 3/4 of an inch. I traced the napkin so I would have a line to follow. Then cut out the napkin.

2. Fold the edge in and halfway and iron, then fold the edge again and iron. Then sew all the way around the edge.

3. The Finished Product:





DIY Hanging Tomato Planter

My tomato plant growing in all of its glory. It has a few flowers on top that you can't see yet.

These are made using a repurposed 2 liter soda bottle, a paper hole puncher, tissue paper, duct tape, clear postage tape, and string. You will need soil and a tomato plant that has already began growing in a pot. These are great for strawberries too!



Your materials.

First things first. Cut the bottom off of your soda bottle, and punch four holes spaced around the bottom. This will eventually be the top of your planter when it is hung. Tie the string (adjust the length of your string for how long you want your planter to hang) through your punched holes and gather the ends at the top and tie. Make sure you make a loop so that you can hang your planter from a hook.



You don't want the roots of your plant to be exposed to the sun!

Wrap your tissue paper around your bottle, you may need a few sheets. Once you have your paper where you want it, wrap the bottle with clear postage tape. Do this a few times, you want your tissue paper to be protected from water.

Now you can use your fancy duct tape to decorate however you'd like. I used 4 strips of zebra striped duct tape up sides of my bottle.



Your finished product.

Put your plant in the bottle so that it will grow out of the spout, fill with potting soil, water, and hang!

Delicious Jalapeno Poppers.

Looking for a delicious appetizer to share with friends? Or maybe a guilt-free snack to enjoy? These Jalapeno Poppers are delicious, easy to make, and only 47 calories per Popper (with only 4 grams of fat!).

This recipe makes 12 Poppers.

What you'll need:

• 6 Jalapenos sliced in half, guts and seeds removed.
• 1 container of Weight Watchers Cream Cheese Spread.
• 1 package of turkey bacon.
• 1 baking sheet, foiled (ungreased).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill each Jalapeno half with about one tablespoon of cream cheese (more or less depending on the size of your peppers). Wrap one slice of turkey bacon around your filled pepper, place on baking sheet, and pop in the oven for about 30 minutes or until your bacon is crispy and the peppers are cooked.

Word to the wise: I tried the Weight Watchers Whipped Cream Cheese and it was far too runny for the Poppers. The original WW Cream Cheese Spread works much better and it tastes just like the Philadelphia brand. 

Homemade Pizza

I have to say, I love pinterest. It has been so fun discovering recipes to make at home. Some don't always turn out the way you hoped, but the process is fun. My favorites so far have been the copycat recipes from restaurants. Tonight's dinner is copycat deepdish pizza from Pizza Hut. I'm very picky about my pizza, I don't like frozen pizza so dinner is usually brought to us by restaurants. With the economic downturn, we have been trying to spend less money, which mean homemade dinners. Enter pinterest! I love this pizza so much that I just had to share it so here it is!

This recipe makes 3 pizzas in 9" cake pans. If you want it to be less or more, I use this recipe divider here and the original recipe came from here

Dough:
1 1/3 Cup Warm water (105 degrees or run the tap water all the way on hot)
1/4 Cup non-fat dry milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 Cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 pkg dry yeast
2 Tbl vegetable oil (or canola or olive, whichever you prefer)

Sauce:
1 Can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1/2 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp garlic salt

Other Ingredients:
Mozzarella Cheese shredded (2-3 Cups)
Desired Toppings (I chose bacon and pepperoni we are meatlovers)
9 Tablespoons vegetable oil (3 Tbl per pan)
Butter flavored cooking spray

Directions:
Dough:
Put yeast, sugar, salt, and dry milk in a large bowl. Add hot water and stir to mix well. Allow to sit for 2 minutes. Add oil and stir again. Add flour and stir until dough forms. Turn out on to flat surface and knead for about 10 minutes. Divide into 3 balls.

In a 9" cake pan, put 3 Tbls of vegetable oil, making sure to evenly cover the bottom. Using a rolling pin, roll out each dough ball to about a 9" circle. Place in cake pans. Spray the outer edge of the dough w/ cooking spray (I brused butter on it) Cover with a plate. Place in warm area and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Sauce:
Combine tomato sauce, oregan, marjoram, basil, and garlic salt.

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Spoon 1/3 Cup of Sauce on dough and spread to within 1" of edge. Distribute 1/4 Cup Shredded mozzarella cheese on sauce. Place toppings of your choice in this order: pepperoni or ham, vegetables, cooked meats (ground beef or sausage). Top with cheese. Cook until cheese is brown. (Between 10-15 minutes)

Enjoy!

Pork, Sauerkraut and Potatoes

The title of this recipe says it all basically. Here's what you will need:

5-6 Large russet potatoes quartered
3-4 Lbs of boneless pork chops or pork roast
2 Jars of Crispy Sauerkraut
1/2 cup. fresh pressed organic apple juice
3 Tbs. Caraway seed

Place all the ingredients into a large crock pot in the order listed above. Cook on low for 8 hours uninterupted. Garnish with additional caraway seed if desired. Serve with an Ice cold Shiner Bock. Prost!