baking bonanza 2011

i've had thanksgiving on the brain since friday, when i was finally allowed to think about something other than school.

i'm looking forward to so many things. here are a few...

-baking
-mashed potatoes
-chocolate pecan pie
-the start of the christmas season

it's such a fun and happy time of year. don't you agree?

today started with a trip to raley's. i hadn't been in raley's for a while. i was back and forth all over the store. again and again and again. bleh.

i had ben, zach, and nattie cakes with me. i told them i was going to starbucks after raley's and if they behaved i would get them something. that's a win-win situation. peppermint mocha frappuccino to celebrate a successful shopping trip or to cheer me up after an awful one!

when we got out of the car we gathered in a circle, put our hands together, and cheered "we will listen, we will help, we will be sweet!" have you seen anyone rally their team in the grocery store parking lot before? ha!

the trip was mostly successful (minus the zig-zagging). ben jumped the little checkered squares down each aisle, completely oblivious to all other shoppers. it's like a cruel joke from grocery store designers. "let's see how many moms we can drive insane with a checker floor pattern." muhahaha.

however, i was happy to see only friendly faces in raley's today. lots of smiles and patient shoppers. unlike the rude shoppers i encountered in target yesterday, but i won't go there. oops, too late!

so after our starbucks treats, we headed home where i baked all day afternoon long.

i wanted to get an earlier start, but i tend to procrastinate. even though i was looking forward to baking, it can be a challenge to work around rowdy boys and a sleepy girl's nap schedule. but i finally got the ball rolling around 12:30 and i just pulled the final pie out of the oven. my favorite--chocolate pecan. it tastes like sticky sweet chocolatey candy bar goodness. oh my!

my chocolate pecan pie never looks pretty. in fact, it always bubbles over or the crust cracks... somehow the sticky goodness always gets under the crust, so cutting into it and serving pretty slices is impossible. but whatever, because it tastes amazing!

right now the boys are playing outside. in the dark. i remember how much fun that was when i was growing up. they are having the best time and i am enjoying having the windows open and listening to their laughter and smelling the pie aroma in my warm house. nattie is cruising around, alternating between throwing toys around and watching the wiggles. oh yeah, we have another wiggle fan in the house! i broke out a video the other day and the girl is mesmerized when i put them on.

i am so thankful for this break and time with my kids. they were driving me a little bonkers about two hours ago, but now they are asking if they can have a camp-out together. love that. and them! maybe sometimes all you need is some pie to sweeten your perspective?


apple pie with crumb topping. found the recipe on allrecipes.com. it had 4.5 stars and a lot of reviews. i doubled the crumb topping. wouldn't you?


libby's famous pumpkin pie. recipe is on the back of libby's canned pumpkin. i had to drive to my mom's and get a can of evaporated milk from her neighbor and our friend lynn. when i opened my can of evaporated milk, it was orange! gross.


my fave--chocolate pecan. zachary asked if there were beans on the top. then he asked if they were bugs. ha!!

i have one more pie to bake tomorrow and then baking bonanza 2011 will be over. phew!