Old Fashioned Chocolate Pie

I'll admit it. I love pie. Chocolate pie. Homeade Chocolate pie like my Grandma used to make.
My dad does too. He loves chocolate pie. So he invited us to a fish fry tonight ( he took my daughter fishing this morning) and I told him I would bring the dessert. Chocolate pie.... Here is the recipe I use.

Crust:
I used a store bought crust. Don't hate. I don't always, but I did for this one.
You want to poke holes in it with a fork and then cook it for about 18 minutes at 350 degrees or until it is lightly brown.

Filling:
4 TBS cocoa powder
3/4 cups sugar
5 TBS of all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups of milk
2 egg yolks ( I always beat these before I put them in)
1 TBS butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

To start I put everything except the butter and vanilla in a sauce pot on the stove.

I cook on med-high and you have to STIR, STIR , STIR. You don't want a burnt filling. As it starts to get thick and bubble you can tell the thickness it's going to be in the pie. I like mine like a thick pudding.
Once it gets to the thickness you want it, take it off the stove and put in the vanilla and butter and then stir that in.

Then spoon into the pre cooked crust and smooth out real smooth like :)

Meringe
2 egg whites
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
4 TBS sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Add everything together and use an electric blender to BLEND,BLEND, BLEND. It will eventually start to farm hard peaks. Then spoon that onto the pie filling and smooth out.  A little trick with meringe is that the egg whites you use need to be room temperature. It seems to take a lot longer to whip it up if they are cold.

Then put back into the oven for about 10 minutes, just long enough to brown the peaks of the meringe.
Then enjoy :)

It was delicious by the way...

What are some favorite family desserts you like to share with your family?

Linked to the Morris Tribe's Homestead Blog Carnival. Tasty Tuesdays

Ordering healthy organic Staples?

Get $10 to try Vitacost! They will give you $10 to try their site.

I love living in the country. I honestly do. The rural lifestyle is certainly for me. Lately though there have been some things I have been wanting to try though that my local supermarket just doesn't carry. I have ordered from Vitacost several times now and feel good about putting my approval on the website. It carries some great products that I haven't been able to find at my small time rural grocer.
Some of the recents items I have purchased from Vitacost include:
- Organic Almonds and Sea salt chocolate bar :)
- Mother's Milk Tea ( great for lactating moms and this is the cheapest place I've found it)
- Bob's Red Mill items
- Eden Organics Foods
They also have many other brands like Amy's, Tazo, Arrowhead mills etc. They have a lot of gluten free stuff also.

They are always have a sale on something too so it's great. They offer 2 free samples per order so this last time I got a flavor of tea I hadn't tried and an olive oil soap that I'm excited to try. They run free shipping sales, discounts etc almost all the time.

I'm pretty frugal and I like to get a good deal on stuff, and with gas being so high it's cheaper for me to buy it online and get it shipped than for me to make a trip to the nearest "large" city from us to the closest health food store.

Starting to plant

The first few things have went into the garden this year. We have planted out cabbage, broccoli, green onions and carrots. I also have some cilantro out already. I really love this picture of my oldest daughter. Her and her sister are a really big help. I love the feel of freshly tilled dirt under my feet. Just a hint of sunshine in the soil to warm it a bit.... ah yes. We all really love cabbage in our household so we are crossing our fingers that they turn out well.

On a similiar note, I really feel it is important to get your kids involved in gardening as soon as possible. I think it is important for them to realize where food actually comes from and to appreciate the fruits of their labor. I want them to grow up knowing that there is nothing "abnormal" or "uncool" about growing your own food. Same with chickens, my kids have grown up always having chickens. To my knowledge they have never eaten a store bought egg. Only those from our own flock. Even when we go camping or on vacation we bring our own eggs.

This post is linked up to Homesteading Barn Hop: