mango/key lime pie!

I finally found my inspiration this weekend to make something new (that was worth posting about)! So, last fall when I was on vacation in Florida, we had like 3 key lime pies (there were 7 of us) and they were delicious. If you don't know this about me, key lime pie is my favorite dessert. Ever. So, when my brother was there again last month, he emailed me and said he had some mango key lime pie. Say what? Say: Yum!

Since then, we've talked about trying it sometime, but haven't gotten around to it until today. Oddly enough, this is my first time making key lime-anything... and being that it's my favorite, I'm a little surprised myself. Maybe I thought it was one of those things that I want to keep as a special eat out food. Who knows.

What I did is probably enough for two pies, but with reason. I got these cute little pre-made graham cracker crusts (6 in a pack, about 3 inches in diameter) and then used the rest with a homemade graham cracker crust to make some bars. It worked out swimmingly. I basically used this recipe from Food.com for guidance, but made it a bit different. Here's what I ended up with:

Mango/Key Lime Pie
1/2 c. mango puree
1/2 c. key lime juice
2 - 14 oz. cans sweetened condensed milk
6 egg yolks (no whites)


[[Yep, that's it. Just four ingredients]]

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. In a blender, puree mango (I used about one mango - leaving a little for me to snack on - it equaled 1/2 c.) Add lime juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks and blend to mix well. Pour into your pie crust.

Bake. I used 15 minutes for the small ones, and 20 minutes for the bars. If you do a regular pie, I would do 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let set for 15 minutes before putting into the refrigerator to cool. Then, put in the refrigerator and chill until just before you are ready to serve.

This was the type of key lime juice I used:

My notes:

• The original recipe said to put diced mangos into the mixture, too - but I didn't want the chunks in it. I bet it's good though!
• Those little pies are super handy and a good size to share - but you can't really stack them, so they may be hard to travel with for a party - the bars would be better for that, or a regular-sized pie.
• The bars I made were just graham cracker crust on the bottom and this mixture on top. Simple.
• You can put whipped cream on top... but I didn't. I like it straight-up. :)  
• I did, however, garnish them with lime wedges - I sliced a lime and cut the pieces into quarters. I dipped them white sugar (well) on both sides and put them in the freezer until I was ready to serve soon - and then stuck them on top of the little pies (see photo above). The sugared limes were tasty!
• I made my homemade crust using the recipe from Food.com that is in the original pie recipe. It made more than I needed, so I asked the peeps on the Allrecipes.com message board, and they said I could refrigerate the leftover and it keeps well... and to use it as crumble with pudding, yogurt, or ice cream. Great ideas! So I did - and I sprinkled a little bit on top of the bars I made.

It was really good. Keith said the one he had in Florida was a little more "lime-y" but that this was really good. I thought it was really yummy, and will definitely make it again.

I linked this to Sweets for a Saturday.

unhealthy fears

It's been a couple of weeks since I posted, it seems... and I think it's because some days I feel like I've done enough thinking between 8a-6p, and because I've been enjoying my Nook a little more lately and spending more time reading. And mostly, I haven't really had anything to say or cooked anything new to share. I've spent a little time with friends, and had a family weekend that was pretty cool last weekend (the guys hit up 2 twins games! I just went to one.) But as I sit here, decompressing from the week a bit, the inspiration hit me. We're watching some show called Dual Survivor where these two guys are put out in the elements and they use their survival skills to live.

Part of me says: There's obviously a camera crew there filming you, so I'm sure if it came down to it, someone would save you.

Another part of me wonders:  Does the camera guy slip them twinkies and sandwiches off-camera? All I see is them eating sting-ray and bugs... but what happens behind the scenes?

Anyway, that's all besides the point. Right now, they are tracking a snake in some rainforest or something because they saw the tracks. Why they are actively looking for it, I do not know. And no, they are not trying to watch for it to avoid it.

((ewwww he just grabbed the snake - some kind of python))

((omg. they are going to eat it.  hey, camera guy? got a twinkie? I'll live off of that.))

 I'm actually watching this as I write, and as you have probably gathered by now, I have an unhealthy fear of snakes. I've made progress, although this show is starting to make me feel ill, and I'm more listening than watching at this point. But believe it or not, it's progress.

I didn't used to be able to watch anything with snakes in it, and I didn't even like the stuffed fuzzy ones at the toy store. A friend of mine once told me that, based on something she learned in a psychology class she took in college, that I should do something to face my fears. Her bright idea was that I should be put in a room where there was snakes, and eventually I would realize that they aren't all bad.

I thanked her for her concern, but respectfully declined.

This same friend offered to pay me to go to the movie, Anaconda. I, again, respectfully declined. At this point, she pretty much just likes messing with me.

When I was in college, I went to a friend's house who had a snake. I didn't leave the kitchen for a long time (the snake was in the living room). Eventually, I ventured into the living room. I even went by the tank it lived in and looked at it. Progress. And then they took it out, and I returned to the kitchen.

So, now, I can watch them for brief periods of time on tv - but really prefer not to. And I still don't liked the stuffed ones, but it's a little better. It's probably a little irrational, but it's my unhealthy fear and it's probably never going to go away.

What are  your unhealthy fears? I know I'm not the only one irrational about something. :)

ND/SD vacation! - part three

This brings us to Part 3 (of 3) of my ND/SD vacation - whew! Almost there. If you are just joining in, you may want to check out Part 1 first, and then Part 2.

I left off last time in Sioux Falls, SD - pretty much on the SD/MN border and on our way home. Unlike in Rapid City, I didn't make any new buddies at the hotel and I didn't sleep as well because the air conditioner was blowing soooo much cold air. I finally got up, used my cell phone as a flashlight (it's not a very good flashlight) and turned it off completely. I thought for a moment about just turning it down so it wouldn't get stuffy, but it was the middle of the night and I didn't know how to work the thing and, again, I was using my phone for my flashlight. So, in the morning we got up and stopped for breakfast at a place called Camille's. I think it's a chain, but I'd never been to one - but if you see one while you're road tripping sometime, stop in. It's tasty! Kind of like Panera, but with wraps instead of sandwiches. Mmm... it was a good way to start the day.

I've had a couple of people ask since my last post if we saw the pretty falls in Sioux Falls. ... No. ... In fact, it didn't even occur to us that there are actually falls there that we should search out. Oops. In my defense, we had driven so much by this point that I wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, anymore.

Anyway, we got on the road and were quickly in Minnesota (woot! another milestone!). As we drove, we saw a sign for Pipestone National Monument and it seemed like a good time to stop and stretch our legs. And stretch, we did! To get to the falls (see, I did see some) we had to do a short hike - it was warm and summery and wonderful. Here's some photos from there. If you're ever in the Pipestone area, stop in and check it out!

After Pipestone, we got back in the car (this was the trend all weekend) and headed toward friend's trip highlight: Walnut Grove, MN - the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder on the banks of Plum Creek! It was pretty cool - the town had several building replicas, including the church, school, dugout, and a house. This is also the place Laura lived that the TV series is based off of, so they had a bunch of memorabilia from that, as well as a museum of general Ingalls info and a gift shop. AND, outside of town about a mile was the actual location of the dugout and the actual plum creek. The dugout isn't there anymore, but there is a landmark sign. There's also a lot of gnats there on a humid day, apparently. It was cool, though, and recommend it if you're a Laura Ingalls fan. Here's some pictures:

The Laura Ingalls sites.

A couple of years ago, we went to the Laura Ingalls site in Pepin, WI. I've also been to the one in Burr Oak, IA. For this trip, we initially planned to go to DeSmet, SD, too, but that go cut with the Mt. Rushmore business. That's going to have to be another trip, I guess. ... I wonder if I can fly to DeSmet? ... But I digress. Here's a map of where the Laura Ingalls Wilder sites are - there are still a few to go.

I feel like the rest of the trip was a little anticlimactic and a whole lot of blur. We were exhausted and went over 1500 miles in 3.5 days - and by the time we got home, I wanted nothing more in the whole wide world (no, universe) but to be home and to sleep.

I realized as I was writing this series of posts that my friend is pretty lucky that we live in the world of GPS and Google Maps directions on our phones. Let's put it this way:

Day 1: Minneapolis to Fargo to Gardner

Day 2: Gardner to Rapid City

Don't forget about the Lawrence Welk stop here,
as well as the 40+ mile detour.

Do you see how far that is? Serious.

Day 3: Rapid City to Mt. Rushmore
to Wall Drug to Mitchell to Sioux Falls

This one doesn't look SO bad. It was still long.

Day 4: Sioux Falls to Pipestone to Walnut Grove to Minneapolis.

And now that we've gone day by day, this was the entire trip:

The whole Sha-Bang:
Minneapolis
Fargo
Gardner
[insert Lawrence Welk Homestead]
[insert 40+ mile detour]
Rapid City
Mt. Rushmore
Wall Drug
Mitchell
Sioux Falls
Pipestone
Walnut Grove
Minneapolis (thank god.)

Holy crap, huh?  Had I seen that in this format along the way, I would have felt less whimsical about it.  ... So G - next time we're going to fly. And looking at the maps, you owe me two beaches. 

That being said, it was fun. And even though I was blurry and fuzzy-minded and perhaps (just perhaps) a little crabby by the time we got home, it was a lot of fun with a great friend. I wouldn't trade that for the world.

Have you ever done a huge road trip? Tell me about it. I can now sympathize with you. :)