Chiles Rellenos Casserole

I used Low Carb Chic's recipe, except I used diced chiles instead of whole.

Special Cake with Fudge Sauce

The strawberries were gone too soon.

But, there was still plenty of Aunt Mary's Special Cake to be eaten.  I recalled my Mom's  famous Skillet Cake and Fudge Sauce that I always requested for my birthday.  This recipe is not like hers, but it was quite yummy and was gone very soon.  I even had to make another batch to finish off the Special Cake.  My oldest daughter couldn't get enough of it.  I think she had it for supper one night along with another piece (or two) for dessert!

I just kinda threw this together and here's my sketchy instructions.

Microwave Fudge Sauce

1 square of semi-sweet baking chocolate
1/3 stick butter
1/4 cup cream or sweet milk
powdered/confectioner sugar (as much as needed for taste and consistency - I think I used a cup or more)

Place chocolate, butter, and milk in a microwave dish.
Cook on high for 2-3 minutes.  Stir until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. Begin to add confectioner sugar, stirring after each addition until desired sauce consistency is achieved.

Butter Pecan Creme Brulee (Low Carb)

When my sister-in-law blessed me with two dozen farm-fresh country eggs yesterday,

I started digging through my old low carb recipes.  I had a breakfast custard recipe in mind, but ran across this creme brulee recipe.  I would love to find out the recipe creator, so I can give them thanks and proper credit. *Updated - I found out the recipe's creator is named Roni.  Thanks that for info, Linda Sue.

I found this particular recipe several years ago on one of my favorite low carb sites.  Some of the absolute best cooks congregate on the recipe board at Low Carb Friends!

I used my Pampered Chef Prep Cups (with storage lids) to bake the creme brulees.  Not fancy, but servicable.



I sprinkled a little nutmeg on the creme brulee before baking, like the breakfast custard recipe calls for.  Not sure why, since I planned on topping them with praline pecans. Don't you just love the sound of praline pecans?!



Butter-Pecan Creme Brulee

2 cups cream
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Dash of salt
2 tablespoons Splenda (I used 1/2 cup granulated Splenda)

Heat cream over medium heat, just until bubbles start to form.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly.
In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, vanilla, salt and Splenda.
Gradually whisk in cream. Strain mixture.
Divide into four custard cups.
Bake in a water bath for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.  (I baked mine for 50 minutes in a toaster oven.)
Custards should be set, but still jiggly.  Chill for one hour.
Make butter-pecan topping and divide between between cups.
Refrigerate for four more hours or overnight.

Butter-Pecan Topping:
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 cup pecans - finely chopped
1 teaspoon Splenda

Melt butter.
Stir in pecans and Splenda.
Heat just until nuts begin to color, being careful not to burn.

This is definitely a keeper! The butter pecan topping is delcious!  I think I will double or triple the topping recipe next time, so it will completely cover the top of each creme brulee dish.

See another low carb dessert.

Aunt Mary's Special Cake with Strawberries

Several years ago I had a chance

to go through Aunt Mary's little recipe box.  I copied down the recipes that I thought I might like to make and read through those that I remembered her making.  There was Date Nut Cake, Chess Pie, Pecan Crisp Cookies and even a recipe on stationery sent from a friend along with a greeting and personal  note.  One that stood out to me was hid near the back of the box, with no name other than Cake.  Not wanting it to get lost in my files I renamed it "Special Cake". 



Over the years, I've made Special Cake several times, usually during the summer to go with strawberries and fresh whipped cream.  My oldest daughter happens to love Strawberry Shortcake. 



I made it again this weekend and decided to use my new bundt pan (can you call it a pan if it's ceramic?) from Williams-Sonoma that was a gift from my dear youngest brother.



My cake wanted to stick a little and didn't brown as well as the one on the cake pan lable, even after baking for 45 minutes.  I took a slice of it and cubed it up for Strawberry Shortcake Trifle. 



Don't you just love spring?  Spring brings us those delicious little red bits of delectable fruit we call strawberries.  Aunt Mary brought me a Special Cake recipe to use with that delicious fruit,  along with many wonderful memories.



Happy Spring and happy Strawberry Shortcake Season!

Read more about Aunt Mary's life and recipes

Southern Pecan Pie

I have a young daughter that is an aspiring chef. 

She is only 11 but loves Martha Stewart and is always ready to help out in the kitchen.  She loves to peel, chop, flip, scrape, mix... and lick the bowl.  Whether it be making cucumber salad or baking a pie, my youngest is always ready.

A few weekends ago, my oldest daughter was visiting friends so B (also for Bossy) decided she wanted to bake a pie with a homemade crust.  We had all the ingredients, so I loaded Martha on the laptop and took her to the kitchen with us.  The pecan crop has been abundant in our area this year so we decided the pie would be Southern Pecan Pie.  I discovered my glass pie dish was left at Mom's house at Thanksgiving, so we ran to the store and picked up some foil pie plates and some more sugar. 

Back home we got all of our ingredients out and I did the measuring while B started putting the crust ingredients into the food processor.  As the crust chilled, we put together our pie ingredients.

We couldn't wait until it cooled to cut it, so that's why it's falling apart in our first picture.  ( I think it even steamed up my camera lens.)  The Southern Pecan Pie was divine!  The filling was light and and the crust flakey.  Well done, my Valentine!



Southern Pecan Pie

3/4 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pecan halves
3 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Combine corn syrup, sugar, beaten eggs, melted butter, vanilla and salt in a large bowl; mix well. Stir in pecan halves. Pour into prepared pie crust and bake for 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 35 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the center of pie.  Cool on wire rack before slicing, if you can.

Pate Brisee (the French version of classic pie or tart pastry, courtesy of Martha Stewart)

Makes 1 double-crust or 2 single-crust 9- to 10-inch pies.

· 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 teaspoon salt
· 1 teaspoon sugar
· 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
· 1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

In the bowl of a food processor, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Add butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse meal, 8 to 10 seconds. With machine running, add ice water in a slow, steady stream through feed tube. Pulse until dough holds together without being wet or sticky; be careful not to process more than 30 seconds. To test, squeeze a small amount together: If it is crumbly, add more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Divide dough into two equal balls. Flatten each ball into a disc and wrap in plastic. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill at least 1 hour. Dough may be stored, frozen, up to 1 month.