I am more of a cake baker then a pie maker, therefore my pie does not look great.  I wanted to pipe whipping cream on it to make it prettier, but my husband wouldn't let me and said I was too busy cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  I found this recipe in Taste of Home and changed up the sugar.  The recipe was from Charlene Chambers.  I loved the crust, but my husband wasn't a fan - it was super easy too! 

Crust
3/4 cup chopped pecans toasted
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp flour (I used half wheat and half all-purpose)
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
7 Tbsp shortening
2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp ice water

Filling
2 eggs
3/4 cup palm sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 can(12 oz) evaporated milk

1.  Chop the pecans (I used my chopper but you can use a food processor to make it fine).  In a large bowl, combine the pecans, flour, ginger and salt.  Cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly.  Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball.  Press dough onto the bottom and up the sides of an ungreased pie pan.  I would recommend a deep dish 9 inch or 10 inch.  Isn't that crust easy?  You could even use gluten free flour if you wanted, but I would add a tsp of guar gum also if you do.

2.  For filling, in a mixer, beat the eggs, sugar spices and salt until smooth.  Beat in pumpkin.  Gradually beat in the milk.  (I used raw milk)  Pour into crust.

3. I recommend placing it on a cookie sheet in case it spills like mine did.  I learned that trick a few years ago.  Bake at 400° for 40-45 minutes or until a knife you inserted near the center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.  I recommend cooking it the day before and chilling it.  I had a friend who always served hers warm, never liked it that way.  She wouldn't refrigerate them either and they would mold.  GROSS!

Also make sure you don't put the big bag of shelled pecans on the stove on the back burner where they will cook.  Luckily only a few were burnt, but I still have not gotten the burnt plastic off my burner yet.  :)

Let me tell you about my bad sewing day.  I'm making a cape, but the cute, expensive material I bought is not wide enough and I cannot afford to buy more of it.  I also just sewed two rows of my sister's rag quilt backwards, so now I need to sit down and rip the seams out.  Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Enjoy your pumpkin pie!
Missy

I have several posts running around in my head for ya'll, but a dear friend at church has passed away.  Miss Diane was one of the older ladies in my church.  Tit 2:3 "The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;"
Miss diane was very quiet and shy, she was not the type of person who would come up to you and strike up a conversation.  I liked to sit with her during lunch and talk to her because when she smiled, her whole face would light up.  She reminded me a lot of my grandmother with her soft giggle.  I loved her dearly and she will be sorely missed.  Her daughter, Marie, and I are good friends.  Marie just lost her younger brother a couple of months ago also and was very close to her mom.  I know her heart is aching right now, but she will see her mother again in Heaven.  Col 1:5  "For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;"
You see, both Marie and Miss Diane have asked the Lord into their hearts so both of them will be in Heaven with our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  Marie will still miss her mother of course, and will still be sad, but she has the assurance that her mother is rejoicing with the angels in Heaven now.  Please join me in prayers as she now has to plan her mother's funeral and her coming days without a very dear woman.
I would like to leave you with a passage from scripture:
"12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."
I Corinthians 2:12-14
Sincerely,
 Missy

Our church has a healthy cookbook that we are selling.  We have recipes from green berry smoothies, barley coffee, lemonade, mango salsa, spinach dip, cheese puffs, tortilla chips, cream of broccoli soup, sweet potato salad, Waldorf salad, greens, refrigerator pickles, coleslaw, mac and cheese, gravy, tatziki sauce, gyros, grilled sandwiches, chicken, beef, stuffing, sweet and sour chicken, egg rolls, quiches, meat loaf, greek chicken, pizzas, casseroles, breads, whole wheat pizza dough, doughnuts, crepes, cakes, pies,mint carob cake, carrot cake, cheesecake, mighty fine cake, carob no bake cookies, chewy noels, oatmeal raisin cookies, butter almond toffee, caramel popcorn, ice cream, mousse, cream puffs, brownies, granola, sweetened condensed milk, cookies and candy, marshmallows, even baby wipes, lip balm, lotion, cleaners, laundry soap, pet treats and a lot more!!!
All of it is healthier options that taste great! If you have arthritis problems, we even have tomato alternatives!  It is 88 pages of good, wholesome recipes.  Do you love marshmallows but don't want the sugar and HFCS?  We have a recipe for you!  We even have pictures of all our ladies in our kitchens included.
If you would like a cookbook send a check or money order for $10.00 plus $4.00 s/h per book to:

I taught the last class in the baking series for three of the young ladies at my church.  We learned how to make cheesecake and apple pie.  I will share my cheesecake recipe with you.  It is very simple to make.
Please excuse the picture quality, I had to use my cell phone to take pictures and then I get so busy teaching that I forget to take the pictures!
I did a bit more hands off this week because I wanted to make sure the girls could read the recipes.

Crust
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (or any cookies will do)
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 T Palm Sugar (or any sugar, but I would not recommend honey or agave nectar)

Heat Oven to 325°.  Reduce temperature to 300° if using a dark or glass pan.
Butter 9x13 pan or 10" spring form pan or 2-8" spring form pans.  If you use a 9X13 - line it with aluminum foil so you can pull the cheesecake out.  Mix crumbs, butter and 2 T palm sugar (melt sugar and butter together before adding to crumbs).  Press into bottom of pan. 

Filling

4 packages cream cheese (I found it's cheapest to buy from Costco when buying this many) softened
2 tsp vanilla, divided
1 c and 2 T palm sugar
1 16 oz. container sour cream, divided
4 eggs

Beat cream cheese, 1 cup palm sugar and 1 tsp vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended.  Add 1 cup sour cream and mix well.  Add eggs 1 at a time beaten on low speed after each just until blended.  Do not over mix the eggs.  Pour over the crust.
(I told the girls not to over mix and to beat on low - as soon as I walked off one of the girls got impatient and over beat the mixture, hence the cracks in the cheesecake!  LOL)
Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost done. 

Topping

Mix 1 cup sour cream, 2 T sugar and 1 tsp vanilla.  Carefully spread over the cheesecake.  Start on the outside and slowly come inside.  Bake 10 more minutes.  Cool completely then refrigerate at least 4 hours, covered to keep moist. 

I have put blueberries and strawberries on top for a baby shower before.
Cheesecake Tips To Avoid Cracking

*Avoid over beating after adding the eggs-beat on low just until blended.  Gently fold in by by hand any additional ingredients.
*Don't over bake.  When done the edges should be puffed; the center set but still soft.  The center will firm upon cooling.
*Finally, cool your cheesecake on a rack at room temperature for 1 hour before refrigerating. 

I had so much fun hosting my friends for Thanksgiving this year.  I  forgot to take a picture of everyone sitting at the table though.  I wanted an elegant table, but my husband said we did not have any money to spend on stuff like that this year.
I was able to "dress" my table with only spending .70 cents for the cinnamon sticks!  The sunflowers were left over from old-fashioned Sunday at church last year, the bird nests left over from a baby shower http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/03/his-eye-is-on-sparrow-baby-shower.html , the pine cones were bought last year, tablecloth and napkins bought on clearance from Target one year.  The silver was Chris's grandmother's , I was so happy when the family offered it to us after she passed away.  I have loved using them for special dinners.  This was my first time to use my china.  My uncle gave me his set since my aunt had passed away a few years ago.  It was a wedding present to them.  They got married the year my mom was pregnant with me.    I love family "heirlooms", they are so special.
God provides the little things.  I bought my goblets at Dollar Tree in PA many years ago.  One got broke a couple of years ago and I have not been able to find any replacements, they are quite unusual.  This left me with only five and on a whim I looked at the Dollar Tree again to see if they might have any (doubtful).  I walked in and they had a whole display right in front of the door!  What a blessing!  I bought three to give myself a set of eight!
Chrystal's kids had to sit on a quilt on the floor for their lunch and Susan's teenager sat at the desk which is in the LR.  I think the poor kid was very bored!  LOL
For some reason my turkey was still frozen in the morning!  Maybe my fridge was too cold, I don't know but next year it will be in a water bath the night before!  We finally took it out and cut off pieces and stuck those back in the oven and finished cooking the turkey while we ate.  It was a tight squeeze having 6 adults in my dining room, but it was still a lot of fun!

How was your Thanksgiving?
Missy

Vision forum is having a giveaway over at A Wise Woman Builds Her house. 

Have you ever been to the Vision Forum website?  They have great christian books and resources, be sure to check them out here:
http://www.visionforum.com/start.aspx
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
Missy

Last night I had some chicken to cook, but we had eaten chicken the night before also.  I'm tired of eating the same things all the time (my husband is a very picky eater).  I had some tortillas in the fridge so I decided to make chicken soft tacos.  Looked up a few recipes online and did not want to spend much time cooking supper.  I used to work full time, so I have learned how to cook quick meals.  I took a frying pan and cut up some onions and threw them in the hot skillet which I had put a little bit of olive oil in to prevent sticking.  Meanwhile, I took my scissors and cut the chicken breast in small, bite-size pieces.  Tossed some flour and salt on it and then threw it in another skillet to cook, next time I will only use one skillet and throw it in with the onions since I added them to the onions anyways!  I hate doing dishes and am always trying to find ways to use less pots and pans.  I put some garlic through my garlic press and threw that in.  I didn't add the garlic first because it has a tendency to burn.  I sprinkled salt and taco seasoning over it all and continued to cook it until cooked thoroughly.  My husband came home and was like "what about the cheese?"  Totally forgot the cheese!  He shredded some cheddar and mozzarella (his idea) and we threw it all together in the tortillas.  It was really good and even my husband liked it!  It took less then 30 minutes from start to finish!  If you have any veggies, you can always add lettuce, tomatoes, black olives, salsa or sour cream.  We liked them plain and I put salsa on everything.  I had tried a new brand of salsa and it had molded!  Gross!
Hope you enjoy it, I know there are no measurements but I just did it all to taste.
Missy

We had our third baking class that I taught to the 3 young ladies from my church.  We made carrot cake and regular buttercream using thot not powdered sugar.  Boy was that buttercream sweet but good!  I let the young ladies choose what design they wanted to do on their cakes.  First I taught them how to frost the cake, then do a shell border.
They picked up on the borders very quickly.  (please excuse the picture quality, I forgot my camera and had to use my phone.)
They got to pick their own designs, I gave them some suggestions.  I showed them how to make their designs and they practiced on plates first.  Miracle made a butterfly, Aaliyah learned how to write her name, and Ashleigh made a design from a Wilton instructions book using the shell border.  We didn't feel like messing with color so made the cakes mono-chromatic.  (At least I think that word means one color!  LOL)
I haven't been teaching them in-depth decorating because these were baking classes, but they have been doing a great job!  I explained to them not to worry about it being perfect - just have fun!  That's a lesson I need to learn!
Each class I have printed off the recipes we used in class and some things I wanted them to study.
The first week was sugar cookies and royal icing and they had to learn about eggs and their structure and use in baking.  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/10/sugar-cookies-class.html The second week was Cupcakes and IMBC and they had to learn the differences between carob and chocolate and how to substitute it and about different flours. http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/10/carob-cupcakes-recipe-and-class.html  This week they have to study about different kinds of natural sugars and using them in baking.  I'm thinking about doing a blog post about the different kinds of sugar to share with ya'll.
We used the carrot cake recipe from Bob's Red Mill and added a can of pineapple and walnuts.
Next class we will learn how to bake an apple pie and cheesecake - just in time for Thanksgiving!  I must admit this will be my first apple pie too!  LOL  Ahleigh's and Aaliyah's dad has been looking forward to the cheesecake, he loves my cheesecake.  LOL
Thanks for listening!
Missy

I would like to apologize.  I hate those dumb word verifications.  They are a pain in the neck!  For over a year I have gone without it on my blog for comments.  Unfortunately, I had to enable word verification to prevent spam in my comments.  Some of the spam has been for bad sites. 
Would whoever sends the spam, stop please?  I am not going to click on your link, I'm not that stupid.
I'll leave you with some pictures of my cat, I hate having a post with out pictures!  LOL
They love this quilt I got a the pound store in Lubbock.  Can you imagine all of the love and care that was put into this quilt just to have someone toss it away?
Please excuse the fact that I did not make my bed!
I'll be posting some things later this week.  Have a great day ya'll!
Missy

I love pumpkin spice cupcakes!  I first made this recipe last year, here is the link:  http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2010/12/pumpkin-spice-cake.html

I made them for church and made them "healthier".  I was surprised how delicious they turned out with wheat flour!
Here is the revised recipe:
Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes

1 Can (15 oz.) pumpkin (about 2 cups)
2 Cups sugar (I used palm sugar)
1 Cup vegetable oil (I used grapeseed oil)
4 eggs, slightly beaten
2 Cups flour (I used 1 cup hard white wheat flour and 1 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour)
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In large mixing bowl, beat pumpkin, sugar, and oil. Add eggs and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture, and beat until well blended. Pour into a greased 15" x 10" baking pan, or cupcake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes 15-20 minutes for cupcakes, or until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool

I frosted them with Italian Meringue Buttercream and then sprinkled the tops with cinnamon.
http://missyscakesandaprons.blogspot.com/2011/08/italian-meringue-buttercream.html

I'll be making a turkey cake next week using this recipe.  Can't wait!
Missy