Happy Monday!

And what a weekend it was.  I don't think we did a whole lot of anything.  Except get the house dirty.  *sigh*  So I spent today catching up the laundry, cleaning little man's room, cleaning up after the cowboy, and made the man/child bring me his dirty clothes and dishes.  I try not to venture into his cave very often if I can help it.  But I also finished the revisions on my partial and sent it out to the crit partners.  I've already heard back from two of them and it looks like I can get it submitted by Wednesday.  Which means I might be able to finish the second request and get it sent to the crit partners by next Monday.  Man...that would be HUGE if I could get them both sent out and off my to-do list.  I've got two short stories that need attention.  Like yesterday.

I found the secret to getting more writing time.  Keep the family stuffed with good food.  The boys are extremely happy with me because I've been cooking more lately.  Last night I made homemade sausage/bacon pizza.  My man/child is usually the picky one, but he ate three huge pieces.  They are so big it's like a deep dish.  Tonight?  I made parmesan crusted chicken with a vodka cream sauce spaghetti.  Tomorrow I'll have to do a thick and hearty soup with vegetables and pasta.  Maybe even some homemade bread.  It'll be perfect for the cold front we've got coming in as I type and it'll also be an easy fix.

Okay...as promised. Here is my recipe for chocolate pecan pie.  I've found similiar recipes but I think the reason we like it is because I add Kahlua. Yummo.  Add/delete ingredients to your taste...but enjoy.


Aunt Susie’s Chocolate Pecan Pie

Deep dish pie shell or handmade
¾ cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
½   cup real butter
4 eggs
2 tbsp bourbon (I tried Kahlua)
1 tsp. vanilla extract (Madagascar pref.)
¼   tsp. salt
½   cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a small pan over medium heat, constantly stirring until sugar dissolves. Set aside and let it cool.  Combine eggs, liquor, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and mix well.  Pour sugar mixture slowly into the egg mixture, whisking constantly.  Pour chocolate chips and chopped pecans into bottom of the pie crust.  Pour pie mixture on top and bake for at least 50 minutes or lightly brown.  If you want it to be pretty for company, before baking you can top the pie with pecan halves in circles or designs.
 
I found very similar pecan pie recipes online but I think the bourbon or Kahlua makes a richer pie for holidays.