Mimi and Minny's Chocolate Chess Pie

If you haven't seen The Help yet, I urge you to do so. It is a wonderful movie that will have you both laughing and crying. One of the main characters in the film is Minny. She is a feisty lady who is an excellent cook and makes the best chocolate pies in town. The last time I was in Mississippi visiting family I came across a newspaper article about the chocolate pies that were used on the set of the movie. They were all made my a newspaper columnist named Lee Ann Flemming from Greenwood, Mississippi. At the end of the article was the recipe for Minny's pie. As I read the ingredients, they sounded very familiar.

My Mimi has made the same chocolate chess pie for as long as I can remember. It's not your typical chocolate pie topped with meringue. This pie is different. It is rich, smooth and oh so chocolaty. The best chocolate pie EVER in my book. She always has one in the fridge when we visit, and I usually have to get my piece early before my brother devours it all! While I was reading the recipe, I read it out loud to Mimi and it was the exact recipe that she had used all these years. I want to share it all with you because it is such a family favorite. Now, if you are looking for a low-fat, low calorie pie, I'm afraid this isn't for you. :)

I hope you make this pie and that your family enjoys it as much as ours has! Happy eating!

Mimi and Minny's Chocolate Chess Pie

1 packaged pie dough crust, such as Pillsbury

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 large eggs, beaten

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

Whipped cream or Cool Whip, for serving

Preheat the oven to 350°. Ease the pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate and crimp the edges decoratively. Prick the crust lightly with a fork. Line the crust with foil or parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes or until set. Remove the foil and weights and bake for about 5 minutes longer, just until the crust is dry but not browned.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, whisk the sugar with the cocoa powder, butter, eggs, evaporated milk, vanilla and salt until smooth.

Pour the filling into the pie shell and bake for about 45 minutes, until the filling is set around the edges but a little jiggly in the center. Cover the crust with strips of foil halfway through baking. Transfer the pie to a rack and let cool completely before cutting into wedges. Serve with whipped cream.

Back to Blogging!

Hello again! I am so excited to give blogging another "go". I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoy writing it! Most of you know that I have a *slight* obsession with anything food related. I have often said that if I could just pay for one cable channel it would be Food Network! I love to cook, bake, and experiment in the kitchen. This blog will be a place where I can share recipes, tips, and just life in general! I will blog more later, but for now I leave you with my father-in-law's Charro Bean recipe for the crockpot! I love to make these because they are so super easy and equally as yummy! I usually prep all the veggies the night before so it saves time. It's also WAY easier to chop bacon if it's frozen. Just a little FYI :). Enjoy!

Papaw's Charro Beans

1 lb pintos ( clean and soak overnight )

1/2 lb bacon chopped small ( or more if you like )

1 chopped tomato ( or can )

1 med onion chopped small

2-3 stalks celery chopped small

1 small green pepper chopped small

Chopped serrano or jalapeno pepper ( optional )

3 cloves garlic ( or garlic powder )

1 Tbsp chili powder ( I add a little more)

1 Tbsp cumin ( I add a little more)

Salt and pepper to taste

Brown bacon until semi-crisp. Add onions, peppers, celery and garlic to bacon

drippings and saute. Put bacon pieces and sauteed items in with beans in

slow cooker and cover with water. Add tomato and spices and cook on high

setting for 5 to 6 hours.

A Passion....

Well, I FINALLY saw the movie and I really liked it! I found myself relating to Julie, not in the job part, but definitely the passion for cooking part. I love the fact that Julia Child went to culinary school in her late 30's. It's never too late! I have decided to tackle one of the major recipes that Julie made in the movie....beef bourguignon. It looks like a very complicated recipe, but I am up for the challenge! Let the cooking begin! Bon Appetit!

Oui! Oui!

If you have never had crepes before, you are truly missing out! They are very thin, pancake like pastries that can be filled or topped with whatever your heart desires. I had my first crepe while Josh and I were visiting San Francisco a couple of years ago. I know you are probably thinking, "why would you eat crepes in San Francisco?" Well, they were so stinkin' good. I had strawberry crepes with powdered sugar. I have never attempted to make crepes before, due to the fact that I was a little intimidated by them :). Well, my good friend Ken Bridges brought some crepe mix home straight from Paris and I just had to try it out! I got it on my first try! I even flipped it in the air! I felt very French. Anyway, I slathered some Nutella on those bad boys and dusted them with powdered sugar. It will make you want to cry it's so good. Seriously. If you don't know what Nutella is, let me educate you.

Nutella is a chocolate hazelnut spread that can be found by the peanut butter at the grocery store. After you read this, you should go to the nearest store and buy some. You will thank me. Run along now....

Rollercoaster Ride

It's been a while since I have blogged! Needless to say, it's been a little crazy since the last blog entry. Shortly after my last entry Josh and I found out that we were going to have a baby. We were so excited! I wasn't really feeling up to blogging, so I took a hiatus for a while. Sadly, in May, we found out that we had lost our precious baby. The Lord really brought us through that tough time and we are stronger. I'm not going to lie and say that I am just great and that I don't have bad days, because I do. It's hard to see pregnant women and babies and not wish that I was still pregnant. We don't know why this happened, but we do know that God is sovereign, and that He is good, and that He knows what's best. We have the most amazing family and friends and are so incredibly thankful for their love and support through all of this. Like I said, God is good!

Since May, we have been a little busy. We traveled to Florida for family vacation, to Chicago (my favorite city!) with Josh's parents, and to Mississippi to visit my family. During this time, I also read all 5 Twilight books in a week, which is VERY fast for me. These books are highly addictive, so if you are planning on reading them, just go ahead and put water and a loaf of bread by your side, because you won't want to stop reading!

I have changed up my blog a little bit, because I plan on really focusing on my love and passion for baking (and food in general). I can't wait to share recipes, tips and a whole lot of yummi-ness with you!

Anniversary, Food Finds and the Bachelor

Well, let me start off this post by saying HAPPY ONE YEAR to my hubby! We celebrated this past weekend in San Antonio (pics to come) and had a blast! I am so blessed to have Josh not only as a husband, but as my friend. I love him more each day! He is so good to put up with me! hehehe

On a food note, I found these nifty little steam bags the other day:

They are AWESOME!!! I steamed some broccoli in them the other day and it was perfect! Last night I put two medium sized potatoes in one bag and microwaved for 7 minutes and voila! I topped my baked potato with some bbq beef that I had made out of leftover roast. YUM-O! What a quick little dinner! It says that you can even steam fish in the bags....I don't know if I would go that far, but at least there are options! Ha!

Last but not least, I would like to say how thouroughly dissapointed I am in last night's Bachelor. Yes, I know that it's reality t.v. and it's trash, but these are people with REAL feelings here! Poor Melissa. Jason really took her for a ride on his emotional rollercoaster. I think that Marion Jordan says it best in her blog. Check it out here: http://redeemedgirl.blogspot.com/.

Anniversary pics to come!

Does it get any better than this?

There are few things that excite me more than a warm, straight out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie. It's Friday and all I really want is to sit my happy behind on the couch with a plate of these bad boys and some ice cold milk and watch Food Network. It's the simple things in life. Can I get an amen?!? I did, however, make this batch with whole wheat flour (just to be a little health conscious). That hour long workout I put in today wasn't a total waste...ha! I am happiest in the kitchen; spatula in hand and mixer mixin' away. I think I get that from my Mimi and my mom. They always seem to have something sweet in their kitchen (besides them, of course). That's all for today.....MUST. GO. EAT. COOKIES!