Decadent Pecan Pie

Sorry, this is Betty Crocker image. I don't have any that I took yet. Next time I make this AWESOME pie, I'll take a pic and repost this recipe.  ;D  I've been making this recipe over 20 years!  Maybe this week since it's my sister's FAVORITE and her birthday is TOMORROW!! Posting this today for YOU, Kalea!!

This recipe comes from my OLD ORANGE Betty Crocker cook book and has always been a favorite! This poor book has been through SO MUCH abuse!! some pages stick, the cover is coming apart... HOORAY!! It's the exact same recipe on BettyCrocker.com! I'm going  to go check all my favorites so I don't have to abuse this book so much, anymore AND can decipher some of the mess from pulling apart pages! HAH!  

This PIE for every holiday, baby! The best part about this pie is that it is yummy goodness without being TOO RICH like many pecan pies and recipes out there. I hope you enjoy it, too! It's a GREAT Thanksgiving pie!!

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BEST Pecan Pie

from Betty Crocker

Pastry

1	cup Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2	teaspoon salt
1/3	cup plus 1 tablespoon shortening
2	to 3 tablespoons cold water

Filling

2/3	cup sugar
1/3	cup butter or margarine, melted
1	cup corn syrup
1/2	teaspoon salt
3	eggs
1	cup pecan halves or broken pecans

1. In medium bowl, mix flour and salt. Cut in shortening, using pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through ingredients in opposite directions), until particles are size of small peas. Sprinkle with cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time, tossing with fork until all flour is moistened and pastry almost leaves side of bowl (1 to 2 teaspoons more water can be added if necessary).
2. Gather pastry into a ball. Shape into flattened round on lightly floured surface. Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate about 45 minutes or until dough is firm and cold, yet pliable. This allows the shortening to become slightly firm, which helps make the baked pastry more flaky. If refrigerated longer, let pastry soften slightly before rolling.
3. Heat oven to 375°F. With floured rolling pin, roll pastry into round 2 inches larger than upside-down 9-inch glass pie plate. Fold pastry into fourths; place in pie plate. Unfold and ease into plate, pressing firmly against bottom and side. Trim overhanging edge of pastry 1 inch from rim of pie plate. Fold and roll pastry under, even with plate; press with times of fork or flute if desired.
4. In another medium bowl, beat all filling ingredients except pecans with wire whisk or hand beater until well blended. Stir in pecans. Pour into pastry-lined pie plate.
5. Cover edge of pastry with 2- to 3-inch-wide strip of foil to prevent excessive browning. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until center is set, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Refrigerate at least 2 hours until chilled before serving. Store in refrigerator.

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving (1 Serving)

• Calories 530
• (Calories from Fat 260),

• Total Fat 29g
• (Saturated Fat 9g,
• Trans Fat 2g),
• Cholesterol 100mg;
• Sodium 400mg;
• Total Carbohydrate 63g
• (Dietary Fiber 1g,
• Sugars 34g),
• Protein 5g;

Percent Daily Value*:

• Vitamin A 8%;
• Vitamin C 0%;
• Calcium 2%;
• Iron 8%;

Exchanges:

• 1 1/2 Starch;
• 0 Fruit;
• 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrate;
• 0 Skim Milk;
• 0 Low-Fat Milk;
• 0 Milk;
• 0 Vegetable;
• 0 Very Lean Meat;
• 0 Lean Meat;
• 0 High-Fat Meat;
• 5 1/2 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choices:

• 4;

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

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Now, I KNOW the calories and fat are ASTRONOMICAL and this is the most AWESOME thing that I found at BettyCrocker.com! Not ONLY did they HAVE my recipe, but they gave an alternatvie LIGHT recipe!! SWEET!!!

LIGHTER (not exactly LIGHT...) Filling

Lighter Filling

2/3	cup sugar
1/4	cup margarine, melted
1	cup corn syrup
1/2	teaspoon salt
1	egg
4	egg whites
1	teaspoon vanilla
1/2	cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
1/2	cup chopped pecans Nutrition Information: 1 Serving (1 Serving) Calories 470 (Calories from Fat 190), Total Fat 21g (Saturated Fat 4 1/2g, Trans Fat 3 1/2g), Cholesterol 25mg; Sodium 450mg; Total Carbohydrate 65g (Dietary Fiber 2g, Sugars 33g), Protein 6g; Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 0%; Iron 6%; Exchanges: 2 Starch; 0 Fruit; 2 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 0 High-Fat Meat; 4 Fat; Carbohydrate Choices: 4; *Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

"Healthified" Turtle Ice Cream Cake

"Healthified" Turtle Ice Cream Cake

10 chocolate wafer cookies, finely crushed (1/2 cup) 1 tablespoon no-trans-fat 68% vegetable oil spread stick, melted 3 cups chocolate reduced-fat ice cream, slightly softened 1/2 cup fat-free hot fudge topping 2/3 cup chopped pecans 3 cups vanilla reduced-fat ice cream, slightly softened 1/4 cup fat-free caramel topping 1. In small bowl, mix wafer cookie crumbs and melted vegetable oil spread until crumbly. Press gently and evenly in bottom of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Freeze 30 minutes. 2. Drop chocolate ice cream by small spoonfuls over crust; carefully spread until smooth. Freeze 1 hour or until firm. 3. Spoon and carefully spread fudge topping over ice cream. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of the pecans; press lightly. Freeze 1 hour or until firm. 4. Drop vanilla ice cream by small spoonfuls over pecan layer; carefully spread until smooth. Sprinkle with remaining 1/3 cup pecans. Cover; freeze at least 8 hours or overnight. 5. To serve, let stand at room temperature 5 to 10 minutes to soften. Carefully remove side of pan. Cut into 12 wedges. Place each wedge on individual dessert plate; drizzle each with 1 teaspoon of the caramel topping. Store remaining ice cream cake covered in freezer. High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): No change.

Prep Time: 30 min70% less sat fat • 62% less fat • 45% fewer calories than the original recipe. With fewer calories and less fat, this turtle won’t take a bite out of your diet!

Total Time: 11 hours 0 min

Makes: 12 servings

Nutrition Information:

1 Serving: Calories 240 (Calories from Fat 80); Total Fat 9g (Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol15mg; Sodium 125mg; Total Carbohydrate 34g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 25g); Protein 4g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 10%; Iron 4% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 1 Other Carbohydrate;0 Vegetable; 2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 2 

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Traditional Florida Key Lime Pie

This post is dedicated to T from You Asked For It in response to this post! Just wanted to help a gal out!! ;D

This is an awesome recipe I got from June's Princess Captain's Circle Newsletter:

A Taste of Princess^® — Recipe of the Month

Many Princess cruises depart from sunny Florida, and our traditional Key Lime Pie brings the sunshine directly to your table. Simple to prepare, beautiful to serve and wonderfully light and delicious, Princess chefs take great pride in serving this fresh pie to passengers and we know you’ll delight in sharing it with friends at home. 

Traditional Florida Key Lime Pie 

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp melted butter
Filling:
14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
½ cup key lime juice
Whipped cream
2 tsp lime zest

For Crust: Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add melted butter and mix well. Press graham cracker crumb mixture evenly over bottom and sides of a 9" pie pan. Bake for about 10 minutes until crust just starts to darken slightly. Remove from oven and set aside.

For Filling: Pour sweetened condensed milk in a mixing bowl. Add egg yolks one at a time, mixing after each addition. Slowly add the key lime juice while mixing. Pour mixture into baked pie crust. Bake for about 15 minutes until filling is set in the center. 

To serve, spread top of pie with whipped cream and sprinkle with lime zest. 

If green color is desired, add 1-2 drops of green food coloring to filling before baking. 

Serves 6

"Dan's" Chocolate Cake from Am @ The Family Trifecta

Right from the top, this is NOT MY post!!

We have AMY at The Family Trifecta to thank for this lovely post.

Thanks for letting me share, Amy!

Now everybody thank her by checking out her AWESOME blog! ;D

Dan’s Chocolate Cake

Many of you have commented on how delicious Dan’s cake looks and wondered if it was as tasty as it was beautiful.  The answer is yes.  And the best part about it is that it is super easy to make…

1. Use any chocolate cake recipe (Dan used a devil’s food boxed cake mix) to make two 9″ cakes. 
2. Create four layers by slicing each cake in half. 
3. Spread seedless raspberry jam on each layer 
4. followed by a thick layer of chocolate ganache 
5. use whatever bittersweet chocolate you prefer and heat half as much cream, 
6. add the broken chocolate to the hot cream and let it sit until melted, 
7. when all melted stir together. 
8. Spread the ganache over the top and sides of the assembled cake. 
9. Grate white chocolate and coat sides of cake. 
10. Add fresh berries and a sprig of mint as a garnish. 
11. Top each slice with fresh whipped cream.

So, there you have it.  Easy and Yummy.
~Amy @ The Family Trifecta