Are you ready for some chocolate?

Life has been rather busy around here the last two weeks. I saw that my last post was almost two weeks ago. We had our good friends over for food and games this afternoon. Nothing fancy-sloppy joes, cheesy fries, corn hotdish, deviled eggs, pickle roll-ups and chocolate cream pie. Now, I will probably have a ton of typos in this post as I haven't slept in over 24 hours. I'm nodding off while typing and don't wake up until it nods down to my chest.

I made this pie early this morning and then whipped the cream fresh while our guests were here. It was quite fudgy and good, and not too overly sweet. Even Dude liked it and he is not a chocolate fan.

Chocolate Cream Pie-from Diner Desserts, Tish Boyle

Graham cracker crust

Pudding layer

3 TBSP cornstarch

1 TBSP unsweetened non-alkalized cocoa powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup half and half -I used whipping cream

1-1/4 cup whole milk

1 cup sugar

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

2 TBSP unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

Whipped Cream Topping

2 cups heavy cream

2 TBSP sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Bake off your graham cracker crust. I would normally make my own, but the ready-made ones were on sale and I had a lot going on this weekend. I popped the pre-made shell in a 350 degree F. oven for about 7 minutes to made sure it was all toasty and good.

For pudding layer, in a medium bowl, sift together the corn starch, cocoa powder and salt.

Whisk in 2 TBSP half and half until it is a smooth paste. Whisk in remaining half and half; set aside.

In a medium saucepan, combine the milk, sugar and chocolate. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the chocolate is completely melted. Remove from heat. Whisk about 1/2 cup hot chocolate mixture into the half and half mixture. Whisk this mixture into the remaining chocolate mixture in the saucepan. Return pan to heat and cook over medium-high and cook, whisking constantly. When mixture begins to bubble, continue to cook, whisking constantly for 1 minute. Remove pan from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla.

Scrape pudding into cooled pie shell. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

For whipped cream, in an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment or beaters, beat the cream on medium-low for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and add sugar and vanilla. Beat until soft peaks form. Spread on pie before serving.

We have been busy working on my scrapbook room these last two weeks also. Drama Queen moved downstairs so I moved my scrap room up. We (not me) painted walls and got new baseboards. We went to Ikea and go a table for me, along with some chairs for computer desk/scrapping room. I spent about 8 hours hitting it yesterday and I'm still not done. I will post photos once everything is put away-looks like a bomb went off.

Well, my head keeps bobbing so I'm crawling into bed. I will probably wake up in the middle of the night-maybe I can find something else to bake?