Alphabet Soup

Did you know that today is National Pie Day? Well, it is. And in honor of the occasion, I am going to share a recipe for a pie that I currently have no picture for. I got this recipe from my granmother's sister Francene many years ago. She called it Millionaire Pie. It's very quick and easy to put together. While it's great in the summer (it's a chilled pie) I get just as many requests for it in the winter...and I now officially have a craving for it. As soon as I can get to the grocery store, I will probably be making this! And yes, I'm a math nerd, and proud of it!! ;) That's a real Pi plate , and I want one!!! Cene's Millionaire Pie 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk 4 Tbsp lemon juice 1 (8 oz) carton Cool-Whip, thawed 1 (15.25 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained 1 cup chopped pecans 2 prepared graham cracker crusts Mix first five ingredients together. Pour into pie crusts, chill well and enjoy! Makes 2 pies. See, I said it was easy. ;)

I had originally planned on ending my TWD break in January, but when I saw that a pecan pie had been chosen...well the break had to end early! I'm always on the lookout for a new pecan pie recipe. I've been baking pecan pies for years, and once I decided that I wasn't satisfied with the recipe on the back on the Karo syrup bottle...well, it's been a neverending quest ever since. Beth of Someone's in the Kitchen with Brina made the selection for this week, chosing a pie that Dorie lists as her favorite pecan pie . After reading the recipe, I decided that there was no way that my family would actually go for this pie -- it contains espresso powder, cinnamon and chocolate in it!! I thought about making it without those ingredients, but then decided just to go for it! It sounded intriguing and I really wanted to try it. I figure I can always make the "plain" version for Christmas if I need to. The only change I made in the ingredients was the addition of a...

Happy Belated Fourth of July everyone!! Christi and her family came over yesterday, and I decided to celebrate the occasion by baking... a lot! :) She had requested homemade ice cream. I was happy to oblige that request! I tried a new recipe, which can be a scary thing when you're having company over, but this one is definitely a keeper! A friend had shared this online article about ice cream with me, and I chose to try the Vanilla Bean Ice Cream recipe. It has some ingredients in it that I would never have thought of in ice cream - namely cream cheese and cornstarch! But they worked. With great results! If you've never made vanilla bean ice cream, you should definitely give it a try at least once - you won't be disappointed! And I can highly recommend this recipe. It is simple and easy to follow. I should also add that the size of the recipe is made for a smaller electric ice cream freezer, like the one I have . If you have a larger one, you may have to play around with d...