Tippin's French Silk Pie

• For everyone missing Tippin's Pie as much as me! I found a very very close copy cat recipe!!
• 8 ounces (half milk chocolate would be good) semisweet chocolate, chopped
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs,* separated
• 1/4 cup superfine sugar
• 1 1/4 cups cold heavy cream
• 1 prebaked pie crust
• Small chocolate shavings or chocolate nibs, for garnish

Directions

In the top of a double boiler or in a bowl set over a pot of hot water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring. Remove from the heat and beat with a heavy wooden spoon until smooth. Return to the heat and add the yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after the addition of each. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl.

In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks start to form. Add 2 tablespoons of the sugar and beat until stiff.

In a third bowl, beat the cream until it becomes frothy. add 2 Tbs sugar continue beating until it holds soft peaks.

Fold the egg whites into the chocolate mixture until no white specks appear. Gradually fold in the whipped cream, reserving about 1/2 cup for garnish.

Spoon the mousse into the pre-baked pie shell and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Refrigerate until well chilled.

To serve, spoon the reserved whipped cream on top and garnish with chocolate shavings. Cut into wedges and serve. I couldn't figure out how to make the chocolate curls on top!!! but yummy

The count down continues!

ok my guess on the appearance of Maryann! As many of you know, I have a tendencie to talk to people who aren't here a kinda 6th sense in a way! ( please try not to freak out if you didn't know this about me, it will be ok I am not crazy) Anyway this morning Maryann and I had a talk and this is really what she had to say.....

but first let's look at the facts! Almost everything in the house is washed and put away and the office is ready to run with out me for a little while!

I am going numb from my left breast down my tummy to my stretch marks! Too much pressure I guess!

She has dropped so low I can not get up from the floor or roll over with out some series effort and strain!

She has also moved into a optimal birthing position and has been there for 2 days! Oh and I stopped gaining weight 2 weeks ago! though my fundus is still growing.

I think she is coming tonight! and I think she will be 7lbs 4 oz and 16.5 in long- well that's my guess anyway lets see what happens!

****UPDATE****

We had contractions from 11:30-2 am 50 sec long and 2-4 minutes apart. Then they just stopped! Gurr, I guess she tryed to come last night :-(

Sheperds Pie

Shepherd’s Pie

8 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
8 medium carrots, cut into small chunks
1 lb. ground turkey or ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
20 ou. can tomato sauce, diced or stewed tomatoes
2 1/2 tsp. sweet basil leaves
1-2 Tbsp natural sweetener (honey, rapadura or sucanat)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground mustard
1 tsp garlic powder or more fresh garlic
1 bay leaf or 1 tsp chopped bay leaf
1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
3-4 cups total veggies – mushrooms, green beans, peas & corn, fresh or frozen
milk, butter & salt to season mashed potatoes, as desired (our favorite combination: 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp mayonaise, and 1 garlic clove)
1/2 – 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Boil and cook potatoes and carrots. Carrots take longer then potatoes, so I encourage starting with carrots and then adding potatoes after 10 minutes or so. While cooking, brown ground turkey/beef in a skillet adding onion and garlic when about half browned. Add remaining ingredients, except vegetables. Season as desired. Allow to simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add mushrooms, green beans, peas and corn, as desired in the last 5-10 minutes. Mash the potatoes and carrots once they are soft with a mixer and add milk, salt and butter to flavor. Layer the meat mixture in a 9×13 pan (or two 8×8 pans), followed by the mashed potatoes. Top with cheese and a dash of paprika (if desired). Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

For the Freezer:

Combine and assemble all the cooked ingredients as instructed but refrain from baking. Cover and freeze as desired. When ready to serve, thaw and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. For our smaller family, I divide this into two 8×8 pans and freeze one for later. Yum!

Crockpot Ragout

Jon is out of school for the summer! This means he will be home for dinner every night. Which of course means I must cook and not just heat up left overs! Three nights a week I work tell 6:30 and I am usually too starving to make much of anything healthy. So I turned my attention to the crock pot!

Recipe Try #1 Wish me Luck

CROCK POT RAGOUT – I love this simple dinner recipe from Sue Gregg. You simply saute 1 lb. ground turkey and then layer in crock pot with 1 onion, 6 carrots and 4 potatoes (all thinly sliced I use the food processor). You can also add green beans, corn, peas, all frozen. Throw in a little seasonings (garlic powder, salt, pepper) and 1/2 – 1 cup water you cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 2 1/2-3 hours.

Cost? I buy turkey meat on sale 4 times a year for $1 per lb and vacuum pack it in our deep freeze. Everything else adds up to around $2.50 so dinner for 4-6 people less than $4

We are having it with a salad tonight!

I like to prechop the salad fixin's lettuce, radishes, carrots, celery,(tomatoes cucumbers onions in a rubber maid separate with the Italian dressing or they make the rest of the stuff go bad 3 times as fast) and store in a gallon size zip bag- you layer paper towels with the salad in the middle and suck out all the air. It stays fresh for 5-7 days One day of chopping and instant salad any night!