Pecan Pie

h/t: Big Mama
difficulty: medium
1 unbaked 9" pie crust
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. vanilla 1 cup light Karo syrup 3 eggs, beaten 1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice 1 cup pecan halves
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

In saucepan, brown butter until golden. Don’t let it burn. Set aside to cool. Add sugar, salt, vanilla, syrup and eggs. Mix well. Add lemon juice and pecans. Pour into unbaked pie shell and bake at 425 for 10 minutes. Then, reduce heat to 325 and bake for 55 minutes.
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This was an unbelievably wonderful recipe. I made it the night before Thanksgiving, and put it in the fridge overnight to chill. I like my pies cold. I will advise you to make sure and put the pie on a cookie sheet to catch drips.

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup
h/t: from The Pampered Chef "It's Good For You" cookbook
difficulty: easy to medium
2 cups chopped cooked chicken (I buy this already cooked & chopped)
2 cups chopped carrots (I buy this already chopped up)
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 pressed garlic clove
1 can 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
14 1/2 ounces fat-free chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup uncooked white rice

Chop chicken, carrots and onion and into soup pot with lemon juice, soup, chicken broth and black pepper. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Add in the uncooked rice, cover and simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until rice is tender.
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This is a low fat, low cholesterol, and low calorie recipe! But seriously, the chicken broth adds lots of taste! It is wonderful, light soup that is perfect for nice crisp Fall evenings. This fed Cory and I with a healthy portion left over for Cory's lunch tomorrow. I think this would be a very good recipe for company, it was very pretty in the bowl.

Fabulous French Pork Chops

Don't let the "French" in the name scare you, this is a super-easy crock pot recipe!


French Pork Chops
difficulty: so easy it almost makes itself
1 (14-ounce) bag frozen sliced carrots
1 (8-ounce) package sliced fresh button mushrooms
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans
4 boneless, thick-cut, pork loin chops, rinsed and patted dry
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 can condensed cream of potato soup
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1 cup sherry cooking wine

Combine carrots, mushrooms, and beans in the bottom of a 5-quart slow cooker. Season pork chops with salt, and pepper. Place in slow cooker on top of vegetables. In a small bowl, combine potato soup, Dijon mustard, tomato sauce, and sherry. Pour over pork chops. Cover and cook on low setting for 4 to 6 hours.
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I have made this recipe twice now. Once I dumped it in the crock pot the night before, and had my husband take it out of the fridge and turn it on when he came home for lunch. And the other time, I made it on a Sunday that we were actually home all day. Just keep in mind it only takes four to six hours to cook.

This is a delicious meal, but a slight warning: this is not a pretty dish when it is done. Maybe if I scooped out the veggies and put them on a tray and then carefully arranged the pork chops on top of it, they might look better. But where is the easy in that? I would rather scoop everyone's share out of the crock pot itself, less dirty dishes that way. So, just keep that in mind.

Bottom line? Very yummy, and super easy!

Pumpkin-Chocolate Muffins

These are incredibly good. I made them in the afternoon for a snack for everyone, and we all loved them. They are very rich, and I could only eat one, and so could everyone else. I made them in my Pampered Chef stoneware muffin pan, which holds twelve muffins.


Pumpkin-Chocolate Muffins
h/t: inspired by Splendid Sustenance
difficulty: easy
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 can pumpkin
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons dark Karo syrup
bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400˚ and lightly grease a 12 muffin tin. Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices together in large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, milk, oil, and molasses. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Stir in half a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. Fill the muffin cups 2/3s full. Bake 18-20 minutes, until toothpick or knife inserted in center comes out clean. Wait until they cool to pop them out of the pan.
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This recipe is definitely going in my keep pile. I think it's a bit rich for just normal breakfast, but I can see it going well with coffee and tea if you had friends over for brunch.