Sticky Pecan Pie Bars (Food.com)

Crust

• 1 (18 1/4 ounce) package yellow cake mix
• 8 tablespoons butter, melted (1 stick)
• 1 large egg

Filling

• 3/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract or 1 tablespoon bourbon
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or 1 1/2 cups pecan halves Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 55 mins

1. 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set aside an ungreased 13- x 9-inch baking pan.
2. 2 Place the cake mix, melted butter and egg in a large mxing bowl. blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 minutes. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl several times. The batter should come together in a thick dough. Using your fingertips, press the crust mixture evenly over the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of the pan, smoothing it out. Place the pan in the oven.
3. 3 Bake the crust until it just begins to brown, 20 minutes. Remove pan from oven and set aside. Leave oven on.
4. 4 Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Place the corn syrup, brown sugr, eggs, and vanilla in the same mixing bowl used to prepare the crust, and with the same beaters (no need to wash) blend with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined, 1 minute. Stop the machine, scrape the sides of the bowl down with a rubber spatula, and fold in the pecans until well distributed.
5. 5 Pour the filling over the baked crust and spread with the spatula so that the filling covers the entire surface. Return pan to oven.
6. 6 Bake the bars until the crust is golden brown and the filling just starts to set, 22-25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool, 30 minutes.
7. 7 Cut into 24 bars. Remove the bars from the pan with a metal spatula and serve.
8. 8 Bars may be frozen for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Sticky Pecan Pie Bars

Serving Size: 1 (1251 g)
Servings Per Recipe: 1

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Calories 221.7

 

Calories from Fat 106

48%

Total Fat 11.8 g

18%

Saturated Fat 3.4 g

17%

Monounsaturated Fat 5.0 g

25%

Polyunsaturated Fat 2.6 g

13%

Trans Fat 0.0 g

0%

Cholesterol 37.0 mg

12%

Sodium 194.4 mg

8%

Potassium 67.8 mg

1%

Magnesium 12.7 mg

0%

Total Carbohydrate 28.0 g

9%

Dietary Fiber 0.8 g

3%

Sugars 14.6 g

58%

Protein 2.4 g

4%

Creative Gifting

Gifting During the Halloween Holiday 

or Fall Gifting.

It's so easy to add a little something special when wrapping a gift.

The Packages in the pictures... #1 The package with the ribbon:

This is a gift to my sister, we are very into ghostly stuff so I found her this cute ghost t-shirt, I folded it to fit a plastic plate I bought at the Dollar store shaped like a bat and slid it into a large clear plastic baggie gathering the ends and corners and taping them under the plate so the plastic fits snugly. 

I then took a long piece of dollar store fall ribbon and tied a beautiful bow on top and embellished the package with a few glittery stick on fall leaves of different shapes and sizes.

 ( not too many as you want it to look classy not hodge podge)

Package #2 is another Halloween plate in the shape of a ghost filled with baked goods, in this case "sticky pecan pie bars" and fitted into the large clear baggie and embellished with a couple leaves and a glittery bat ornament that she can use when decorating. In fact she can use the plates during the holiday too so there are actually several little gifts in 2. I love having family and friends with October Birthdays because there are so many ideas to make a simple gift ghoulishly fun and frightfully fabulous!

Happy Haunting!

See Recipes for Sticky Pecan Pie Bars

Halloween Lights

Light Up the Night

Lights are going on sale everywhere, I just bought

purple lights at Walgreen's on sale for 

70 light count boxes $3.99 per box and 3M Command

decorating clips at the Dollar Store 20 clips for $1

PERFECT for hanging lights around inside windows.

       I no longer have small children in my home but I love Halloween all the same. I don't know if I will ever grow up but I sure hope not. We spend too much time having to be grownups, taking care of others, paying bills, cooking, cleaning, having to set good examples and be the "grown up"  but the holiday season is a great excuse to hang up the mom or dad coat and let your inner child spring to life. 

I am a FIRM believer that NOTHING is more important than building wonderful lasting memories with your children and loved ones.....in the end its all we really have of great value and its all we really WANT. 

I always start the holiday decorating around the last week in September.

It usually starts with my fall pot holders and salt & pepper shakers, (I have beautiful fall leaf shaped pot holders my sister made) I have my vase full of silk fall leaves by my kitchen sink as well as my pumpkin cookie jars on the counter. 

I like to put up my purple mini lights around the inside of the windows and add my paper cutouts (ghosts, pumpkins or black cats).  Each day of the last week of September I add something to the decorations so that by October 1st I am fully decorated and ready to just enjoy the month and reflect back on Halloweens past. I always buy 2 or 3 large pumpkins from the market to set around the house (I put a paper plate or something plastic under them because you never know if the bottom will start to decompose) I don't carve them because I keep them for the "Thanksgiving" decor.  My son is 16 and knows I tend to go overboard with the Halloween silliness so he puts up with the graveyard shower curtain and mummy hot dogs and witch finger cookies all of which I will be posting about as Halloween nears.

Just some scary food for thought!

Enjoy the rapidly approaching Holiday Season!

Let There Be Light!!!!! CANDLE LIGHT!

The Beauty of a Candle

With Fall days away and the holidays just around the corner, I cant imagine not enjoying the soft glow of my candles in the evening. I have always had a love of candles! I grew up in Washington State where it rains a majority of the time and there was nothing better than lighting a fire in the big brick fireplace and settling into a big overstuffed chair and listening to the popping and crackling of the fresh cut pine logs on the fire. 
    Living in Yuma Arizona is a BIG change from those days of old and building a roaring fire is almost unheard of. Winter might call for a log in the fireplace (provided you can find a home that HAS one) but even then, our winter days get anywhere from 60-75 degrees, it's not often we get into the 50's during the day and usually in the 40's or 50's at night.  Fireplaces here are not practical so I developed a real love of candles from the get go. 
    I had candles all over my home and my office at work. Scented, unscented....all different sizes and colors. One day in December years ago my oldest sister was diagnosed with C.O.P.D. (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) & emphysema after years of smoking. While adjusting to all the new medications and rituals she had to learn, she came to stay with me and that was the end of my candles.  I now had oxygen tanks & concentrators in my house  and candles we forbidden, NOT to mention the smell or smoke they gave off closed her lungs up instantly. To make a long story short, I discovered Flame-less candles and never looked back.
The pictures I posted don't do them justice! the look so real, they flicker and can be bought with a timer setting. I have 2 sets that have 6 hour timers and 1 set on 4 hour timers. 
I found my candles on Amazon.com for around $12.50 a set. There are 3 candles in a set, they are real wax, different heights, and safe around kids, pets & oxygen! 
The holidays are almost here....I cant imagine not having mine.
Theres just something special, beautiful and romantic about candles.
Food for thought.
    

Screamin Deal on Command Decorating Clips!

If you are anything like me,  when the holidays roll around you have decorations for every occasion.
I like hanging lights in the windows and around bathroom mirrors, door frames etc, I just don't want to put nails in the walls or staples or sticky gunky adhesives. Command strips products work very well but are a bit on the pricey side, however.....I found the mini command strip clips JUST FOR the purpose of hanging lights indoors at the Big 99 cent store the other day just 99 cents y'all and there are 20 clips per package. Halloween is next month, so you might wanna get a jump on this HUGE bargain before they're all gone.  Happy Bargain Hunting!!!

HOLIDAYS ARE FAST APPROACHING

If you hate housework as much as I do, consider this:


I have discovered the easiest way to clean house....I don't hate it NEARLY as much now! lol It might sound kinda goofy but it really works well. I do 1 chore in the room I am in before I leave that room. Example...if I go to the restroom....I use the one in my bedroom so....I have to cross through my living room, kitchen, laundry room and bedroom to get to my bathroom....on the way out I do ONE chore no matter how BIG or SMALL as I'm leaving each room....(as I'm leaving the bathroom I might, wipe counters or dust shelves or hang up towels, entering the bedroom I might straighten the bedding, pick up clothes, dust, put things where they belong...entering the laundry room I might wipe down the washer and dryer or start or finish a load of laundry etc...the kitchen...maybe finish up dishes, sweep Well YOU get the idea...it goes so much faster and I don't feel like I'm working CONSTANTLY..I do this EACH time I leave a room...not just once a day lol...I get distracted and bored easily so this is PERFECT for me. REMEMBER just ONE thing...this technique WORKS!
Now if I could train my son to do the same I'd be REALLY happy!