P is for Pecan Pie

Oh…and chemotherapy

Even though chemotherapy doesn’t start with “P.”

Well, they say 3 times the charm.

So, if that’s the case, I’ll be blogging the rest of my life.

Because I have literally stopped and started this blog process 3 times.

Or is it 4?

Honestly, I’m beginning to think this whole blogging thing might be a little too much for me.

But maybe not.

Because, well, I think each time I have started and stopped it’s been with very good reasons.

Like…really good reasons.

And this time is not any different.

Trust me, I hate talking about it, really I do.

But readers, I had a bit of a medical setback.

But, do we really want to belabor that?

I know I don’t…all I want to do is move ahead!

And solider on!

But not without a short update…this week I had my 9^th round of chemo.

And I’ve done extraordinarily well, friends, I mean…really well.

By well, I mean minimal side effects…and with very good results.

Isn’t that the best you can hope for when you have to take chemotherapy?

But guess what? It’s almost in my rear view mirror now.

And like so many things in my life, I am trying to put this in a perspective that will allow me to help other people who have to travel a similar path.

I mean, isn’t that we are ALL called to do?

Also, I have had some pretty amazing support through these last six months.

Support I couldn’t have done without.

And I wish I could have been blogging simultaneous with my treatment, because I really love to blog.

Like really love to blog.

But sometimes, you have to stop and take care of your life…of yourself.

Which is what I did.

However, blogging comes as natural to me as anything I have ever done in my life…so here we go again.

And thank you to ALL of you who have continuously reached out and encouraged me to “restart.”

Because here I am today, back again and resuming with P is for pecan pie.

And let me tell you, chemotherapy got me off the hook for how much of this pie I ate.

I’m calling it “MeMe’s Pecan Pie” because it’s her recipe and she’s been making it for us my entire life.

Incidentally, it’s my dad’s favorite dessert.

And it will become one of yours, too.

If you top it with a little ice cream or whipping cream, it is a delicious and messy treat.

Messy in a good way… like ooey and gooey and messy.

Speaking of messy, I can’t let this P post get by without telling you about my P book.

I should have written it about Shelley, my sister who is an “adult” neat freak.

But that wasn’t always the case.

Better put, Shelley wasn’t always a tidy person…and I’m wondering if she will comment when she reads this post?

When I say “Patti Pig, Please Clean Your Digs” SHOULD have been written about Shelley, what I meant to say it WAS written about her.

Because she had more science projects growing under her bed than a laboratory at NASA.

In my book, Patti and Paul are polar opposite twins.

One is a neat freak…that would be Paul.

One is a slob…that would be Patti.

I’ll let you read the book to see what happens but let’s just say, if you have a “Messy Marvin” at your house, there is still hope.

Because Shelley rose from lowly messy beginnings to everything has its place kind of a neat freak.

And as a result of this silly story in my life, we now have “Patti Pig, Please Clean Your Digs.”

Get this book…and read it to your kiddos who have a hard time keeping their room clean…or their bathroom…or their dorm room (hey, these books aren’t just for kids!)

And then go straight to the kitchen and make this pie.

You can’t believe how good it is and with minimal ingredients.

Now, let’s start with a deep dish pie crust.

Can we talk about pie crusts for just a minute?

I know I can make one from scratch, just like you can, but why would we want to?

A frozen one or one you roll out of a box are both easy and really good.

So if time allows, make it from scratch, but if you need it in a hurry or you don’t want to be Loretta Lynn and break out the Crisco, get you a frozen one.

In that pie crust, dump one cup of chopped pecans.

It is a pecan pie, after all.

To the mixing bowl we go to start with a cup of sugar.

To this add 3 tablespoons of melted REAL butter.

Next, beat 3 eggs in a separate bowl and add to the sugar.

Then the magic happens when you add 1 cup Karo syrup and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.

Mix well and pour over pecans.

Pour mixture over pecans…we aren’t building a space shuttle, this is super easy.

Bake at 350 for one hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Watch your pie near the end, you don’t want it too brown on top, and depending on your oven, it may take a little less than an hour.

I cool mine for about an hour to give it time to set.

If you can wait that long!

Thanks MeMe for a perfect pecan pie!

And readers, don’t panic…we will be coming back to finish cooking through the alphabet but we are going to take a few weeks break.

Hang on though…it’s going to be fun!

And we are starting with a give-away!

There’s TWO ways to enter…listen to me very carefully.

One, LIKE my Instagram PAGE or Facebook PAGE at Alphabet Mom.

Or, if you already like those pages, simply LIKE this POST on Instagram or Facebook at Alphabet Mom to enter to win this fondue pot.

I’ll draw a winner on Friday, February 12th…just in time for Valentine’s Day!

And, tomorrow I’ll be showing you how to use this fun new kitchen must-have!

It is, after all, the month of chocolate!