What I love about fall in Texas!

Fall in Texas is a special time.  For our family it is full of football games (cheerleading), cattle shows, FFA, 4H, and of course our annual Yamboree and Texas A&M football games!  I love when the leaves start to turn and the air is cooler...humidity is a constant where we live..and any sign of cool air is like being able to breath again! 

In a week we will have our annual Yamboree Barndance party at our ranch.  Each year since my husband and I were in our 20's we have had our friends and families out to celebrate and eat before the town's barndance concert in our old school gymnasium.  It is like a slice of Americana to go to this barndance in the middle of our old town gymnasium.  And it's become a tradition for us to have a large crowd over the eat a little Texas style BBQ.  My husband enjoys smoking brisket and ribs, while I cook a huge vat of beans and roasted potatoes.  Friends and family help by bringing all the sides to go a long with the meal and it we are lucky we have a friend with a guitar to play a little music.

This year I am especially excited as my oldest daugther will be bringing in her sorority sisters from college at A&M.  We are a little sad however because my middle daughter won't be there as she has been selected to be a voting delegate at the National FFA Convention.  :o(  But our littliest daughter gets to show all her pigs at this our county festival..and her first time to ever show a market hog.  We hope all the hogs make 'sale'...because if they don't we have to pretend the pork chop on the table came from somewhere elese all winter.

Yamboree is a homecoming or sorts.  It's always a treat to get to see old high school buddies and walk the square eating a corny dog.  My tradition is to always eat one corn dog, one candied apple, and a slice of Yam pie before midnight on Saturday night!  Sometimes I treat myself on Sunday morning to my yam pie. 

So enjoy your fall...go to a county festival near you...eat the candied apple or corndog and think how it still taste as good as when you were little.  Hope you enjoy the Yam Pie recipe below as I love her recipe.....I am actually in this episode...so look for the dark haired woman at the Yam Decorating Contest....it was a really fun!

Rememer - life is meant to be enjoyed!  Happy Yamboree & Fall!

Sweet Potato (Yam) Pie

Recipe courtesy Mary Beth Johnson courtesy of The Food Network

Show: All-American FestivalsEpisode: East Texas Yamboree

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked pie crust, recipe follows*
• 1 1/2 cups cooked, peeled and mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 heaping teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk (canned, half and half, cream or whole milk)
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons margarine, melted

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Roll out 1 pie crust and place it in a pie plate. Mix all of the remaining ingredients together and pour into the unbaked pie crust. Bake for 45 minutes or until pie is firm. Allow to cool completely.
*Note: This filling is for 1 pie crust. The remaining 3 crusts can be used for other pies or frozen.

Pie Crust (recipe for 4 pie crusts):
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups shortening (butter flavored)
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Mix flour, shortening, salt and sugar together with a pastry blender until well blended. Slightly beat egg, water and vinegar together with a whisk and pour over the well blended flour mixture. Mix all ingredients together with a fork. Divide crust into 4 equal parts. Roll each with a rolling pin and place into 4 pie pans. Flute edges of crust.
Yield: 4 pie crusts

Get cooking!

Alise