No Time For Dilly Dallying

Next week I am going on a road trip with my mom.  We will be driving to Texas to see my sister & her family.  Hopefully by then, she will have had the baby.  All of us are looking forward to meeting the the new baby!

Road trips were always interesting with my dad. He always had a time we were to leave by, but it was rare that left at that time.  He would be upset for a few hours.  But after a while he would get over it.  He was the kind of person who focused the destination, and he was on a mission to get there.  Time should not be wasted.  I remember when we would stop to get gas, he would pump the gas, we would go to the bathroom and get some food.  We would meet back at the car and go.  No time for dilly dallying.

My mom, on the other hand, is all about the journey, and then when we get to the destination, she enjoys that.  She would pack snacks for us.  She had things for us kids to do.  We played games to distract us from the trip being so long.  She tried to make the trip fun.

But because my dad's personality was so strong, we kids learned that trip wasn't supposed to be the fun part.  Until I was an adult, I didn't get that you can actually enjoy the trip.  The driving was about making good time and getting there.  I still want to make good time and just get there.  But I am trying to learn to enjoy the journey too.  I would love to take a trip that is just about the journey.  It doesn't really have a destination.  It would have to have a plan though.  I can't get too crazy now.

A great way to make a trip fun is to take games and snacks.  A game we always played was the license plate game.  Before you start the day, everyone guesses how many different state license plates you think will be seen.  Then you begin to call out the states as you see them.  Someone is in charge of writing them down.  At the end of the day, whoever is the closest wins.  We never played for prizes just the satisfaction of being the winner.   A great snack to take along on road trips are Southern Pecan Bars.

Southern Pecan Bars
Crust:
1 cup flour
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Filling:
2 eggs
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanila
1 - 2 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 350.   Grease a 9" square pan.  In small bowl stir together flour, powdered sugar.  Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in pecans.  Press evenly in bottom of pan.  Bake 15 minutes or until light golden brown.  Cool completely on wire rack.

In medium bowl, whisk eggs until combined.  Whisk in the rest of the ingredients for the filling except for the pecans.  Pour over cooled crust.  Sprinkle with pecans.  Bake 25 - 30 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

In a small bowl, stir together powdered sugar, vanilla & milk.  Drizzle over bars.

Tip:  For easier removal and cutting, line pan with foil & grease foil.