Yummmm! Already thinking about the holidays!

Today I made a pot of Veggie Beef Soup for dinner. That got me thinking about the changing of the seasons....well, sort of...I live in Texas so there aren't exactly 4 different seasons, but in the next couple months we should go from hot to cool, sooooooo.....

Thinking about soup made me think about the coming cooler weather, and thinking about that led to thinking about Thanksgiving, and then Christmas.....and all the delicious yummy foods that go with those holidays (I am explaining the thought process here because from time to time my leap from one thing to another has been known to cause whiplash) and thinking of that (the food, not the whiplash) reminded me of Southern Living.

I love Southern Living. The food, the travel information, the food, the pictures, the food...oh, and did I mention the food? They have some of the best recipes to be found and most of the time said recipes are fantastic. I try hard not to dwell on the not so fantastic times. It can be rather traumatic. There have been times when my family was very thankful we have a Pizza Hut in town. Actually, come to think about it, there have been a few times I have been thankful there is a Pizza Hut in town, but I digress (I do that so easily, *sigh*.)

I decided, in honour of the coming holidays, I want to share some of my Southern Living favorites with you. Here is the first. Hope you enjoy. We did.

Southern Living’s Black Bottomed Pecan Cheesecake Pie

½ (15oz) package refrigerated pie crusts (I admit I made one...I'll share that recipe later.)
1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels
3 Tbsp whipping cream
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
4 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla, divided
¼ tsp salt
1 cup light corn syrup
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1 ½ cups pecan halves
Chocolate syrup (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Unroll piecrust; fit into a 9” pie plate according to manufacturer’s directions. Fold edged under and crimp.
3. Microwave chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a small glass bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 1 to 1 ½ minutes or until morsels begin to melt. Whisk until smooth, set aside.
4. Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, ½ cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, and salt at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour chocolate mixture into piecrust, spreading evenly. Pour cream cheese mixture over chocolate layer.
5. Whisk together corn syrup, melted butter, remaining 3 eggs, remaining ¼ cup sugar, and remaining 1 tsp vanilla. Stir in pecans; pour over cream cheese layer. The pie plate will be very full.
6. Bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until set, shielding pie after about 45 minutesto prevent excessive browning. Cool completely on wire rack. Drizzle each slice with chocolate syrup if desired.

Mmmmmm.....