Pecan (pronounced "puh-kawn") Pie

Pecan Pie. Another recipe I have had on my "to-do" list for a while. There were lots of pies to be made for Thanksgiving at the Blacks this year, and I knew this was my opportunity to finally try my hand at Pecan Pie! Thanks to Pioneer Woman who is a perfect source for a true Southern pie. The recipe was much easier than I anticipated and that even encompassed trying out a new pie crust recipe.

I can assure that it tasted as pretty (and even better) than it looks. I love the little fluted edges I made in the crust, and how pretty it looks in my new pie plate. Courtesy of my in-laws for my birthday. They gave me a Home Goods gift card and I was able to purchase my first (and heavily discounted) piece of Le Creuset. I think this is going to be the start of a very happy friendship. :)

Pecan Pie
(adapted from Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:
1 whole unbaked pie crust (I used Pâte Brisée from Simply Recipes)
1 cup granulated sugar
3 tbs. light brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter (salted)
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup (heaping) chopped pecans

Instructions:

1. First, whip up your pie crust and place in pie plate.
2. Next, mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl.
3. Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell.
4. Pour syrup mixture over the top. Cover top and crust lightly/gently with foil. Bake pie at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove foil, then continue baking for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans.
5. Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Serve in thin slivers.

NOTES:
- PIE SHOULD NOT BE OVERLY JIGGLY WHEN YOU REMOVE IT FROM THE OVEN. If it shakes a lot, cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minute or until set. 
- Required baking time seems to vary widely with this recipe. Sometimes it takes 50 minutes; sometimes it takes 75!

Moving...Sorta

 Over the next two days, Michael and will be officially be moving all our stuff out of our apartment here in Logan (farewell Utah State Aggies) and moving down to his parent's home in Taylorsville! We originally had planned to stay in Logan for the month of September, but decided to save some extra money from rent, utilities, etc. and Randy and Marlene had already said we could move in if needed. They'd actually told us that pretty soon after graduation, suggesting we do it sooner. But we still wanted some more of the summer in Logan and Michael's work was located here, so there was no reason to really move...until now. The company that Michael works for is actually relocating to Salt Lake, and it's perfect timing. We're really blessed that he will also be able to remote in to them while we are in Tallahassee, so there is still work for him to help support our family through our grand adventure down there.

Last night, when we left the Black house after bringing a load down for the weekend, Michael said, "Bye Roomie" to his dad and we all laughed. It's going to be a change to live with someone else while a married couple, but luckily we are incredibly comfortable with Michael's parents and they let us have our own "space" while being around them. Plus, they have plenty of room for us to stay and store the stuff we will be taking down to Florida.

I was worried about living with them at first because my pride didn't want to allow me to "depend" on parents for support EVER in our marriage. But Michael and I talked about it and he reminded me that it's not permanent, it's just a very small stepping stone until we're back in our own place. And he was right, it's not like we're destitute and can't make ends meet without support from family, we're just leaning on them a little right now. This is where I remember the reason we have family. To be there for each other and help in any way we can.

So today, I'm packing the last of our stuff in boxes, doing some cleaning, then we'll move the larger amount of furniture that's not going to Tallahassee to my mother's house tonight. Thankfully she has a two-car garage and only one car, so she's letting us store our unneeded stuff there. That's a relief! On Tuesday, Michael will be off work, and we will be loading everything else up to make the drive down to Taylorsville, most likely to NEVER live in Logan again. Crazy!

But I'm excited. We are ready to move on with life, past the college life and college town phase. Logan is beautiful and magical and special, but it's served its purpose for us. If it were larger and had more job opportunities for either of us, we'd consider moving back, but that's just not a reality. So, we'll make sure to come back and visit, because it really is beautiful and fun in the summertime! It's interesting to dream of what's going to happen after next May, once my internship is over. The basics have all been considered: home, baby, etc. But we've also considered a nice trip to France before we "settle" down in the family way! Personally, I think France sounds wonderful at Christmastime. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, since I'm going to be low on the cooking spectrum for the next few days, I thought I'd throw a little kitchen beauty and inspiration your way. Courtesy of Pinterest, where I find so much beauty and inspiration everyday. Love it. And love this little kitchen banquette, filled with bright colors in fabrics and plates, against the cream painted wood. Such a fun area to eat breakfast each morning, with the sunlight coming in through the window and fresh flowers nearby. Hope your week is starting out well, love ya!

TV Stand transformed

So, I have always loved food and cooking for that matter. I loved to pretend to be a waitress at a restaurant and "cook" up creations for my brother when we were little. I believe we even created a restaurant called "Michael's" one summer, with a menu and everything.

I think this is just about the coolest play kitchen I have EVER seen. Seriously. A TV stand transformed into a kitchen. How ingenious, and cheap to do!

I'm thinking Michael and I need to create something like this for our children someday. Knowing me, we will have a little girl just like me, interested in all things food. And what better place to inspire creativity and spark an imagination than in this imaginative piece of creativity?

{Before}

{After}

{Inside}

Too cute. I love the curtains and little picture window. Who wouldn't want to bake, cook, microwave, refrigerate, and wash dishes in this? Go here for step-by-step info and such.

Fun Kitchen Tools

I was perusing the website of Williams-Sonoma and found some fun kitchen tools. They are so cool that I decided to share them with you. I would LOVE to own some of these someday or either I just enjoy looking at them. So, here ya go!

Tortilla Press
{Michael and I make tortillas pretty often and this would make the actual shaping of them much easier!}

Pepper Corer
{Nifty little contraption. You just twist and all the seeds and the core are gone!}

Pineapple Easy Slicer
{Attach, twist, and perfect rings appear! Watch the video here}

Digital Nutritional Scale
{This does WAY more than a traditional countertop scale. Displays 11 nutritional values about what is being weighed and tracks the dietary progress of up to two users.}

Chef'n Garlic Zoom Chopper
{Just dropped peeled garlic in and roll across the countertop. Clean and easy!}

de Buyer Dicing Mandoline
{I would kill for one of these. It does anything from a small dice to julienne to waffle cuts}

And for dessert...

Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop
{Heat conductive handle draws on the natural warmth of the hand for easy scooping!}

Now wasn't that fun?!?