Maple Pecan Pie

this is from Bon Appetite Magazine. I haven't even tasted it yet (i have to wait till tomorrow's thxgiving dinner) but it sure looks purty! And how can it be bad? (famous last words? bet you $10 not this time!) ps- i bought the crust.

INGREDIENTS

CRUST:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
FILLING:
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans

PREPARATION

FOR CRUST:
Using electric mixer, beat butter in medium bowl until smooth. Add sugar, egg yolk, and salt; beat until blended. Add flour and beat just until dough begins to clump together. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface to 10 1/2-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Press dough onto bottom and up sides of pan. Pierce dough all over with fork. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.
Place crust in freezer 30 minutes before filling and baking.

FOR FILLING:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Whisk eggs and brown sugar in medium bowl until well blended. Whisk in maple syrup, corn syrup, melted butter, and salt. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into unbaked crust. Place tart on rimmed baking sheet.
Bake tart until filling is slightly puffed and set, about 40 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Tent loosely with foil and let stand at room temperature.

Avocado Tuna Melt

seriously last minute kitchen. and tasty. and real easy.

you need:
-1 avocado
-2 cans of tuna (or 1, but i used 2 in case i had to share with my kitty cat)
-whatever cheese you like (i used canadian cheddar. real sharp and good)
-2 slices of bread

since i don't have a toaster oven anymore i put the oven on broil so i wouldn't start a fire. (this is me we're talking about).

then i cut the avocado in half and scooped it onto the tuna which was mixed with mayo and put on the bread. on went the avocado and then some sliced cheese.

put it on a cookie sheet or foil and heat till it's ready. i enjoyed it topped with salt and pepper.

that's it!

Pork Tenderloin with Beets and Pears

What you'll need:
-however many boneless pork loin cutlets you want
-2 beets
-1 pear
-butter
-cinnamon
-brown sugar
-"Stonewall Kitchen" Vidalia Onion & Fig Sauce
-vinegar

Start with the beets. I boiled them which takes about 30 minutes. You can also bake them which takes longer. Pour some vinegar in the boiling water so preserve the color of the beets. You'll know they're done when you can stick a knife in them and they're tender. When they're finished boiling, peel or cut off the skin, remove the root and stem. **Leave about an inch of stem and the whole root when cooking!!

Marinade the pork in the fig sauce or just pour it in the pan when cooking the meat. I did both. That takes about 15-20 minutes (the cooking).

While you're doing that, skin and cut up the pear into small pieces, equivalent to the piece size of the beets. Start with the butter, sugar and cinnamon in the pan to create a nice glaze and throw the pears in. Cook until soft.

That's about it! Mix the beets and pears together like a salad and serve with the pork. Then, eat it.

Hamburger Scramble..ger

Here's a mceasy one for those who just got home at 11pm and all you ever wanted was to eat 2 hours ago.

What you Need:
*ground beef (i prefer sirloin)
*cheese of your choice (i choose american)
*elbow macaroni
*ketchup
*an onion


Basically, just dice up that onion and throw it in with your seasoned meat as the pasta is just about done. I threw in a little butter with the pasta so it wouldn't dry up. Then use more cheese than you think and as it melts (because you're stirring it) add the meat.

There ya go! Because I'm from the Midwest, nothing tastes better with cheese than ketchup. (I was also inspired to add it to add more flavor).