Key Lime Pie

Another birthday! This time it was my boss' and she requested Key Lime Pie. And, since I had never made a key lime pie before she even gave me a link to a recipe! :)
Before we get into the actual pie, I have to share a discovery. Land-o-lakes now makes their butter in cute little 4 Tbs half sticks. That's right, no more cutting a trying to wrap up those sticks of butter!Now, onto the pie. The recipe I used is from the Joy of Baking website, and it was quite simple.

Crust:
1 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbs sugar
6 Tbs butter, meltedMix together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and better. Press onto the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie pan. Cover and refrigerate while making filling.

Filling:
3 egg yolks
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice2 tsp lime zest (I actually used quite a bit less than this and it was fine. I did the zest of one of the key limes for two pies.)First, get the limes juiced. Since it was late when I started this, I enlisted some help for the juicing of the limes, so I have to give credit to Thomas for doing this step. I did make clutch decision at the grocery store picking up the ingredients, and bought a juicer. It made the juicing process actually pretty quick, and I don't think Thomas would have done it by hand. (and I don't know if I'd want him to attempt that) :)
Preheat oven to 350. In bowl beat egg yolks until pale and fluffy. Gradually add the sweetened condensed milk and beat until its light and fluffy (7-9 minutes). Scrape down the dies and beat in lime juice and zest.Pour the filling into the crust, and bake for 10-15 minutes, (I ended up baking closer to 20), or until filling is set. Let it cool completely, cover, and refrigerate until serving time. Just before serving make the whip cream.Whip Cream
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2Tbs sugar
Put whipping cream in bowl, and beat until soft peaks form. Add sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Put it on top of the pie and serve. You can just spread it on, but I think that piping it is simple and gives it that extra touch! :)

Necklace

I have a bit of crafters add. I always want to do something new, usually make a thing or two and then ready for something else. So, I recently got a beading magazine, and was inspired to make a necklace.

It was making this initial little flower/snowflake and then repeating...a lot! :)Here is the set up...And the final project

Something to Celebrate!

This week was the opening of Eclipse. Needless to say, I was quite excited for this! We have a good group that are big Twilight fans, and we got together again to go to the midnight showing. I like to be properly attired for such occasions, so it was time to make a shirt! The work wife and I made new ones for this movie, most of the other gals wore theirs from the New Moon midnight showing. (And yes, we are totally those girls) :)
These were just a simple iron in paper with some bedazzles added on. And, if you don't get my shirt read the book...its totally worth it!In order to be able to stay up for the midnight showing, there had to be a pre-party. We all made something yummy to share. I was in a time crunch, for went with simple and made puppy chow aka Chex Muddy Buddies. Now, if you have never had this you are seriously deprived in life and need to make it now! So simple and so yummy!
You can fine the recipe on any Chex box, and can use any variety of Chex in it.

9 cups Chex
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter or margarine1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1. In large bowl measure cereal; set aside2. In 1-quart microwaveable bowl, microwave chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter uncovered on high 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food storage plastic bag. (I did not have a 2 gallon sixe bag, so I did it in a 1 gallon bag twice.)3. Add Powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

Eclipse

I haven't gotten a chance to say...I loved it!!
More to come, Friday evening, and still tired and recovering from the midnight showing Tuesday night. :)