I will never make another pumpkin pie.

You won't either if you try this recipe over the holidays.

Pumpkin Cheese Cake
Preheat oven to 350

Crust in a 9 inch spring form pan
1 3/4 cup of mixed graham cracker and ginger snap crumbs
3T. light brown sugar
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1 stick melted butter

Filling
3 eight ounce pk cream cheese at room temp.
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
3 eggs and 1 yolk
1 1/2 c. sugar1/4 c. sour cream
1 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 t. all purpose flour
2 t. vanilla-

Combine crust ingredients in a bowl and press into 9 in. spring form pan.
Beat cream cheese until smooth, add pumpkin, eggs , sour cream, sugar, and spice.
Blend, add flour and vanilla, and beat until well combined.
Pour into crust and spread evenly.
Bake one hour and 350 F.
Remove and let stand 15 minutes.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours

I had never made a cheese cake before because I didn't have a spring form pan. But I went out a few weeks ago with buying one on my mind. I found a set of 3 spring form pans at Big Lots for 7 bucks. The recipe is my variation of Paula Deen's recipe. She uses separate spices instead of pumpkin pie spice and plain graham crackers. I changed it to half graham and half ginger snaps for the crust.

Congrats to the Rebels

The Byrnes Rebels won their 6th 4A State Football Championship in seven years yesterday over at Clemson. Here they are just beginning the celebration before the presentation of the Championship trophy.

Sara was happy to be there, but her feet were cold. I wore my snow boots and my toes were toasty.

Mary and Dad snuggle to keep warm.

Rash at the Hub

Ron was at the HubBub Thursday night to do a reading of Serena. Of course he started with one of the best opening paragraphs of any novel ever (in medias res), where you know that blood is not far in coming.

Byrnes High faculty was well represented in the crowd that was treated to glimpses of training an eagle to hunt rattle snakes, and some other tidbits about how those golden eagles from Mongolia are bred and trained to hunt. He read the scene where Rachel plants her father’s headstone and remembers some loving moments with him which were few and far between.

Then there are the delightful continuing conversations of the loggers which remind me very much of some of the bird walks we take in my Tech Prep Chemistry class. Yesterday I got this from a girl out of the middle of nowhere, “Do you believe in the Big Bang Theory, Mrs. I? I don’t. I was taught creation.”

“Me neither. Jesus put me here. Hallelujah!” said the boy behind her, tongue-in-cheek and a dip in the other, which I’ve grown to ignore because apparently he needs one after lunch or he’ll be disruptive in class.

“I think it’s kinda both. Don’t you , Miz I? What if it was God that made the Big Bang to happen?” said another kid.

“I think you’re probably right. You know how I always say that chemistry is God's science. Now, look at calcium on the periodic table. I’ll use the laser pointer and let’s say the electron configuration together. Ready? 1s2..2s2…what comes next?”