Losers and Pies

I'm happy to report that I've recovered quite nicely from my "I don't want to get my kitchen messy" rut. I rallied last night and made the "Ecstatic Teriyaki Chicken" dinner that is such a hit. My children survived it again.

Many of you know we've had a very tiring couple weeks. Lots of stuff being dealt with and although it's all for our good, it is also quite tiring. Yesterday Brad came across an old email that I had sent him. One of his co-workers had requested my recipe for chocolate/pecan pie back around Thanksgiving time. Well, one could have easily thought Thanksgiving was approaching yesterday if you looked out to our windy and rainy weather. So, it was either the fatigue or the weather, but Brad thought that recipe looked so good. I can take a hint. When I got the email, I got to work making him a pie. It was so good. I just had to wonder, why do we only have those pies at Thanksgiving?? It was perfectly good on May 5th. We played a few rounds of Mexican Train (it was Cinco de Mayo, you know) and ate pie. Since our blustery weather continues, and since my Monday Menu post was so lame, I thought I'd add in a bonus recipe:

Chocolate Pecan Pie
1 9-inch deep dish pie shell (from the frozen section at the grocery store)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup Karo syrup (I use a combination of light and dark)
1/2 cup sugar
2 TBSP melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pecans (I chop about 1/2 of them)

Spread chocolate chips and pecans evenly in bottom of crust. Mix together eggs, Karo, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Pour evenly over chocolate and pecans. Place on foil-covered cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes, or until knife inserted halfway between the edge and the center comes out clean. The center will still jiggle, though a firm jiggle. The pie will continue to firm up as it cools. Cool on a wire rack.

Later in the evening I watched The Biggest Loser. Oh, my. Did anyone else see those 4 people do a marathon??! Even poor Ron limped his way through walking for 26.2 miles. Took him over 13 hours. Needed medical treatment a couple times. And had to finish the thing in the sand! I was so inspired. Not inspired to run a marathon, but to run my 3 miles today without complaining. And it was so good to see my "workout buddies" looking so good. Bill, Bernie, Michelle, Ali...did you see Ali holding Ron's hand as they walked together??! And his son waiting for him at the finish line?? And of course the swelling emotional music did me in.

I probably would have burst into applause if it hadn't been for the plate of pie I was holding as I watched.