New York Style Cheesecake

Only rerun dinners and lots of desserts over here these days :) You can tell it is Christmas time.

This recipe is from my sweet friend Lori:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 TBSP butter, melted
2 TBSP sugar

Stir together these 3 ingreds. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 1/2 inch up sides of a lightly greased 7 inch spring form pan. Grease with Crisco for best results. Bake at 350 for 8 min. Cool on a wire rack.

2 1/2 pkgs of cream cheese softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 TBSP all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or almond extract
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream

Beat cream cheese with hand mixer on med speed until smooth. Add 1/2 cup sugar, flour, and vanilla-beat until blended. Add egg, beating just until blended. Add sour cream, and beat until blended.

Pour mixture into prepared crust.

Bake at 350 for 50 min or until center is almost set. (Center of cheesecake should still be slightly jiggly. It will become firm while chilling)
Remove cheesecake from oven, cool on wire rack.
Cover and chill 8 hrs.
Gently run a knife around edge of cheesecake to release sides of pan.

Yummo.

Chocolate topping:
1 cup semisweet choc. morsels
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 TBSP butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Combine chocolate and cream in a saucepan.cook over med heat until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Stirring often. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Enjoy!!!

Spaghetti Pie

Crust:
12 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained
4 TBS butter
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese
4 eggs well beaten

Mix all of the above and press in a 9x13 pan, sprayed with non stick oil.

2 cups cottage cheese- spread over the "crust"

Sauce:
2 lbs ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup green pepper chopped
2 tsp oregano
1 can (15 oz) diced tomatoes
2 (6 oz each) cans tomato paste
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

Mix all ingredients and spoon over the cheese and spaghetti crust.
Cove with foil and bake at 350º for 1 hour. Remove foil and sprinkle with

1 cup mozzarella cheese

Bake 5 minutes more.
(Thanks to my sweet mom-in-law for the recipe!)

Oreo Truffles

Made these for dessert tonight!

Oreo Truffles

Blend a box of Oreos (I used my mini-chopper)
Mix crushed Oreos with 8 oz of softened cream cheese.
Roll into small balls--
Place in the refrigerator for a few hours. (Not 100% necessary--but helps them stay together a ton!)
Melt a package of Almond Bark (I used my fondue pot)
Dip and cover Oreo balls in melted almond bark.

Love these!!!

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti

Boil and cube 6 chicken breasts.
Cook 16 oz of thin spaghetti-using 1 Tbsp olive oil
Chop 1 onion and saute in olive oil
Add 1 large box of Light Velvetta Cheese, 2 cans Rotel Tomatoes, and 1 can of Tomato Bisque Soup to the onion.
Stir frequently - let cheese completely melt.
Add chicken - stir.
Add pasta-stir (it is thick--so fold over and over)

Place in a 13 by 9 (I think you need a bit bigger)
Bake 350 degrees for 30 min.

Yummo.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I love,love Chocolate Chip Cookies. But I have to admit--I have never been very good at making them. They always turn out too thin or something.

But our sweet babysitter and friend Anna makes them perfectly! The only change from Tollhouse is that she uses some wheat flour instead of all white flour--and now I can do it!

They turn out PERFECT everytime!!!

Anna's Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 C. White Sugar

3/4 C. Brown Sugar
1 Stick butter (Melted)
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
21/4 C. Flour (I always use 1/2 C. whole wheat four and 1 3/4 C. white four)
1 bag chocolate chips


Mix all the wet ingredients together first, then mix in the dry ingredients. Enjoy!
( Mix in the chocolate chips before all of the four is mixed in)

Homemade Salsa

From the kitchen of Jennifer: (Click on link to check out her awesome blog--and for more recipes, decorating tips, and much encouragement from an awesome lady of God!
Salsa Time

Ingredients:
* 1 small onion


* 1 or 2 cloves garlic


* 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (OR MORE - I use MORE)


* 1 jalapeno chili pepper, chopped roughly (or a seeded Serrano pepper)


* zest of 1 lime(optional)


* juice of 1 lime (or just a squeeze :)

* 1 28 oz. can whole tomatoes

* 1 dash hot sauce or 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (optional - I don't use this)

* 1 tsp. kosher salt or sea salt

* 1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper

Directions:

Peel and slice onion in quarters. Place in the work bowl of a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Add the garlic cloves. Pulse four to five times, until onion is diced. Be careful not to over-process, or the salsa will end up mushy. Add the cilantro, chili pepper (with or without seeds), lime zest, lime juice, tomatoes and hot sauce. Pulse until the salsa reaches the consistency of a thick puree. Be sure to leave in some chunks, too. It makes it look more homemade. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

French Silk Pie

My hubby's favorite--made it today for his birthday :)

French Silk Pie

1 Stick Butter, melted
1 cup finely grated pecans
1 cup crushed vanilla wafers
Combine ings. and press into a 9 inch pie pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 25 min. Cool completely before adding filling.

Filling:
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
2 sticks butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
4 eggs

Melt chocolate (in microwave). Cream butter and sugar. Add vanilla to chocolate. Then add to creamed butter and sugar mixture. Add 2 eggs and beat a full 5 minutes. Add 2 more eggs adn beat 5 more full minutes. Pour filling into crust.

Topping:
1 cup whipping cream
5 TBSP sugar

Whip cream and add sugar gradually. Continue until fluffy. Put on top of pie.

Chill pie 2-4 hours before serving (overnight is even better!)

Stuffed Chicken

A new friend of mine - Courtney - posted this recently on Facebook--sounds easy!

6 Boneless Chicken Breasts--Flattened
Place 5 pepperoni slices on each, then 1 mozzarella string cheese stick
Roll up, Secure with toothpick
Cover with Ragu sauce
Top with cheese.
Bake 350 for 1 hour.

Alt....stuff with Cheddar stick and Broccoli--Cover with Alfredo Sauce.

Yummo and Easy!

Upside Down Deep Dish Pizza

Complete yumminess--all 5 family members loved it. My daughter was so funny--age 6--says..."Mommy, this is my new favorite food ever!"

1 lb ground beef or sausage (I used 1/2 and 1/2--lean beef and Italian sausage)
1 Jar Raju Old World Style Sweet Tomato Basil Smooth Pasta Sauce (or your fav kind)
10 oz frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and squeezed dry - (okay, I only used 1 cup...defrosted it in microwave..and chopped REALLY fine!)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used fat free due to dieting but the real stuff will taste better of course)
1 can (11 oz) refrigerated pizza dough

1. Brown beef/sausage, drain. Season well-salt, pepper, Italian seasoning
2. Stir in Ragu and bring to a boil.
3. Pour into a 2 Quart baking dish (I used round)
4. Top with broccoli, Then Cheese.
5. Press dough over dish, sealing edges

Bake at 375 for 20 min or until crust is golden. My oven bakes faster than most...so I watched it in those last minutes.

Let stand 10 min (important step!)

Banana Boats

Banana Boats

Ingredients:
4 medium unpeeled ripe bananas
4 teaspoons miniature chocolate chips
4 tablespoons miniature marshmallows
Directions:
Cut banana peel lengthwise about 1/2 in. deep, leaving 1/2 in. at both ends. Open peel wider to form a pocket. Fill each with 1 teaspoon chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon marshmallows. Crimp and shape four pieces of heavy-duty foil (about 12 in. square) around bananas, forming boats.
Grill, covered, over medium heat for 5-10 minutes or until marshmallows melt and are golden brown. Yield: 4 servings.

Yummo for Dessert.
Calories:136