Chocolate Meringue Pie

My grandma has made Chocolate Meringue Pie for Thanksgiving  for as long as I can remember. This year I requested it but through all of the confusion it was forgotten.  So I decided top takes matters onto my own hands since I was still craving it on Monday.  So I found a recipe online and set to work. It's even called Grandma's Chocolate Meringue Pie.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup sugar
5 T baking cocoa
3 T cornstarch
1/4 tsp salt
2 c. milk
3 egg yolks, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pie shell (9 inches), baked

MERINGUE:
3 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
6 T sugar

Directions:
In a saucepan, mix sugar, cocoa, cornstarch and salt; gradually add milk. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir about 1 cup of the hot filling into the egg yolks. Return to saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Cook and stir 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour hot filling into pie crust. For meringue, immediately beat egg whites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until stiff and glossy. Spread evenly over hot filling, sealing meringue to pie crust. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Yield: 8 servings.

Side note: you need to use electric bearers for making the meringue unless you want your arm to fall off. And "peaks" means when you lift up the beaters they stand up stiff.

After it cooled a bit I sprinkled chocolate sprinkles on it just like my Grandma does. Later I found out Kaylee had been picking the sprinkles and eating the while it was cooling.  Needless to say it was wonderful, everything I had hoped it would be.

Lydia may have loved it the most...

Little Fix-it Girl

Grandpa Seating came over and worked on our Toyota the other day and Kaylee has begun to be our little fix-it Girl. She found a couple tools and went to work on her toy sroller. (Which by the way, I made the seat since she sat in the other one so many times it ripped off & was beyond worth trying to repair.)  Then it was her beds. She has also worked on our bed and the crib.

Christmas Gifts

Since Jordan and I are poor, we decided it would be best other were resourceful for Christmas this year.  Since this gift is for Lydia I can post pictures of it now without spoiling anyone's gift.  Well, anyone who cares.

When Lydia was born,since it was the middle of winter, I bought various kinds of fleece fabric and made several little receiving blankets that were warmer than the paper thin ones they sell in the store.  An added bonus was I could pick out patterns I liked.

Well, Lydia is now 9 months and she doesn't have much use for several warm blankets that cover half her body.  Enter resourcefulness!  I cut the blankets in to 9" squares and sewed them onto a large blanket!  I also didn't want to have to deal with raw edges (and I thought it would be cute) I clipped the edges.  So one side is neatly put together and the other is cute and fun!  Go saving money!

I have plans to post my other gifts after Christmas.

The Lion King

Kaylee loves riding the antique carousel in Story City with her cousin Evie. So it's only natural that she would want to ride the one at the mall. But if Kaylee were expecting me to fork out $2 every time we went to the mall, that would get expensive. So I opt to sit and watch the carousel turn while other parents dish out the money.

This week, however, watching wasn't enough for Kaylee. She saw the Lion King going around and around and around and she wanted a ride. Luckily, being the smart mommy I am (which will probably come back to nip me in the bum later)  I told her she could ask to sit on it and not ride.  The carousel worker, the extremely bored carousel worker agreed and she was able to sit in the Lion King. Happy Kaylee! And happy Lydia, who got to share with her sister.