Hunny's Chocolate Meringue Pie

I never have been much of a cook, but there are a few things that I have mastered.  Chocolate Meringue Pie has become a specialty, and I even adapted a pudding recipe to make my pie.  I made this one for the PTO School carnival.


Chocolate Meringue Pie


1 Cooked Pie Crust (I always use deep dish, store bought)
1/2 cup sugar
3 Tblsp all-purpose flour
Dash of salt
1 egg
3 eggs, separated
2 cups milk
chocolate syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar


Combine 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and salt in top of a double boiler and mix well.  Combine milk and chocolate syrup to make chocolate milk.  Stir in 1 egg, 3 egg yolks, and milk.  Mix well.  Place over boiling water; cook stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened.  Remove mixture from heat and stir in vanilla.


Beat 3 egg whites (at room temperature) at high speed for 1 minute.  Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, beating until stiff peaks form and sugar dissolves (2 to 4 minutes).  Spread meringue over warm pie, sealing to edge of pie.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Knock on wood, the meringue has not wept on the last few pies that I have made.  It is my understanding that if you beat the egg whites to the proper stiffness and spread it on a warm pie that makes a big difference with that.  :)

Linked to Blessed with Grace Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

 

Tutu Bow Holder for the Princess

We were shopping recently, and my granddaughter (aka the Princess) saw a tutu bow holder that she really wanted.  The price tag made me frown, so I told my daughter I wanted to make her one if she would help me.

My daughter had a form, some fabric, and tulle that we could use for this project.  We only had to buy some ribbon at Hobby Lobby and we were ready to transform this:

We hot glued the fabric on and added some elastic banding to assemble the tutu.  We spray painted the hanger and re-attached it to the form.  Finally we added a pink flower (the princess' favorite color) and called it a job well done.  We are so proud of our teamwork!!

Linked to Metamorphosis Monday

Vacation 2011 (Part I)

To celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, we went on a Carribean cruise and had a total blast. It was so relaxing and totally amazing. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity to see some beautiful places with my wonderful husband.

Danita, Josh, Brie & Brodie took us to DFW, so we could fly to Miami. We were so excited that we got all of our stuff packed in carry-on bags. From Miami, we flew to Puerto Rico the the Carnival Victory. It was a beautiful ship and was great not having to make up the bed, cook, wash dishes, or do anything we didn't want--we were definitely spoiled for the week!!



We didn't get to spend much time in Puerto Rico, but we did do a little exploring near the port. San Juan is quite a lovely city.




First stop was St. Thomas Virgin Island. It was a beautiful island and we felt like we were in Paradise. We went to Magen's Bay Beach and on a shopping excursion downtown. The beach was beautiful with crystal clear water.


The next stop was Barbados. It was a cloudy and pleasant day (sure beat the 100_ degree weather back home in Texas). We went on a coast to coast tour and stopped at Bathsheba which was beautiful with it's giant rocks and strong tides (definitely not for swimming).

30 Years and Counting

Poppa and I celebrated our 30th anniversary last month with our kids and 3 of our 4 grandkids. It was an enjoyable weekend for the most part, except an ugly stomach bug kept rearing its head starting with our grandsons and ending with Poppa and I actually spending the day of our anniversary in bed feeling awful. I teased him that the family that pukes together stays together (sorry bad humor)!!

Anyway I can still remember that day so clearly. It was my fairy tale wedding and I don't think I have ever felt more beautiful and loved than I did that day--not only by Poppa but by my family and friends.

We have had many ups and downs over the years, and it takes a lot of hard work to keep our marriage on the right track. Our life together has been filled with great blessings & joy. We have a beautiful daughter and a handsome son together and their spouses, a step-son and 4 beautiful grandchildren who have definitely made the journey worthwhile! I look forward to the blessings that God has in store for our family.

We are looking forward to a cruise to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands in July to celebrate this milestone.

Butterfinger Ice Cream

One of my family's favorite desserts that I make is Butterfinger Ice Cream. And in order for everyone to be able to access it quickly, I decided to post it on my blog.


Ingredients:

6 eggs
2-1/2 cups sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
dash of salt

Mix well and put in ice cream freezer.

Fill to full line of ice cream freezer with milk.

Crush 3 Butterfinger bars and add to mixture.

Freeze according to freeezer directions.

ENJOY!!! :)

Birthday Boy!!

Happy 4th Birthday Brodie!! You have a wonderful and creative personality and makes us laugh constantly. We love you so much!!

Why Yes I Really Did Make It :)

Well this is the year that many of my classmates turn the big "5-0". No way can it be that many years since we graduated from high school. Anyway one of my dearest friends has her birthday in April, and I wanted to make her a cross for her collection!

So I asked Poppa to help me make one after I had gotten my idea together of what I wanted to make. I used my drawing skills (which are minimal) to make a pattern for him to cut it out of plywood.



Then I painted the edges and Mod Podged scrapbook paper to it and sanded the edges.



I added another cross and some ribbon that I found at Hobby Lobby. I added a hanger on the back and wrapped it up for my friend. When I gave it to her, I told her that Poppa & I made it for her, and she didn't believe me at first. Yes, I will definitely take that as a complement! :)



Linking to:
Skip To My Lou Made By You Monday
Metamorphosis Monday

Long Time No Post...

Wow, time has gotten away from me. I cannot believe I have not posted anything since February.

We took Dane & Hunter to see the World of Wheels. Last year we took Brie & Brodie, and the boys loved looking at the pictures and said they wanted to go. We had a great time looking at all the cars, and they loved having their pictures made by all the different cars!







Freddie had hand surgery in February to remove several cysts and a bone spur. I was blessed to have Danita and my two good friends, Chylene & Kay there. The last time he had surgery, he had a hard time coming out of the anesthesia so I was a little concerned, but the Lord is good and he did fine for the surgery. It has been the recovery that has been long and difficult. He finally began therapy to regain his strength and help with some swelling which seems to be helping.

Fun Day

Hunny + four grandkids + beautiful day + park = FUN, FUN, FUN

Happy Valentine's Day!

The loves of our life! Happy Valentine's Day!!

Blizzard 2011

On Jan. 31st it began to thunder and rain which froze and left a layer of ice that was covered by 4-5" of snow throughout the night. It was freezing cold and when Poppa tried to go to work in the snow he couldn't get out of the driveway. There was a pickup stuck across the street, so we got to take a grown up snow day (yay). Because the temperature remained below freezing and the roads were dangerous it turned into a snow week!! It was the first time in a long time that life slowed down enough to relax and just enjoy being at home.



It snowed again on Feb. 8th, but not as much as the first time. The roads were a little slick in spots but driving slowly made it easy to get around.

I have always loved snow and am thankful for God's beauty!

Goodbye 2010

Goodbye 2010!! It was a memorable year and it was a blessed year.

I managed to meet my goal of Project 52. I have 52 posts with photos from 2010. It was challenging at times, but I am proud of what I accomplished. I took more pictures and think that maybe I even improved my photography skills somewhat.

Both sets of our kids celebrated their 5th wedding anniversaries! Three of our grandchildren--Brie, Dane, and Hunter started going to school. Brodie started going to school daycare which he calls school. Gabe started his last year of college, woo hoo!!!

Poppa shot his first deer ever.






We traveled to Kentucky to see our Brandon graduate from Army basic training and we are so very proud of him.





And we lost our dear brother, Ronnie, after a courageous 5 year battle with cancer. He was diagnosed shortly before our kids started getting married. He endured and fought hard to the end, but his healing was to happen in heaven. Our family lost a very precious person whom we loved very much and our lives are richer for having him in our lives!