Pumpkin Cheesecake

I make this Pumpkin Cheesecake for my husband's birthday which was October 9th. It was especially fabulous this year. I found the recipe 6 years ago on FoodNetwork.com. It is an Emeril Lagasse recipe so make sure to shout "bam" when adding the ingredients. :)

1 1/2 c vanilla wafers, crushed into crumbs
1 cup ground pecan pieces
1 stick melted butter
2 pounds cream cheese, softened and cubed
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup flour
pinch salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups pumpkin puree
Cool-Whip

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the crumbs, pecans, and butter together. Mix well and press into a 12-inch spring-form pan. Mix the cream cheese until smooth. (Don't rush this step, the smoother the cream cheese, the better the cheesecake. Take your time. ) Add the brown sugar and blend. Add the eggs 1 at a time to thoroughly incorporate into the cheese mixture. Add the heavy cream. Add the flour, salt, cinnamon and vanilla and blend until smooth. Add the mashed pumpkin and blend until smooth. Pour into the spring-form pan.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the cake is set. Remove from the oven and loosen the sides from the pan with a knife to prevent the cake from splitting down the center. Completely cool the cake before cutting. Serve with Cool-Whip and/or a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

(I seem to have accidently deleted the pics I took of this. Grrr.)

Kid Friendly {Mini Pizzas}

This is not necessarily a hot new recipe, but one I haven't done in awhile, so thought I might remind you of it too! What kid doesn't love pizza-okay, I actually do know a couple-but this is a sure fire bet for a quick and tasty lunch in most households!
What you need:
~refrigerated biscuits (the cheap ones that make you jump when they *pop*)
~pizza sauce
~cheese
~any other pizza toppings you like


What you do:

~Using one, two, or three biscuits (depends on how big you want your pizzas to be) flatten dough into a round(ish) thin crust and place on cookie sheet. (be sure to spray cookie sheet-they tend to stick!)
~Spoon sauce on the crust and top with cheese and other pizza toppings.
~Cook for 8-10 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown and cheese is melting.

I let my kids do there own little pizzas and this time we put their first initial on it using string cheese so when they came out of the oven, everyone knew whose was whose! They loved it!

Parmesan Zucchini

I don't know about you, but I'm KINDA getting tired of zucchini and yellow squash cooked the same old ways. I still have lots left, and don't want to throw them out, so I've been searching of other ways to cook them. I have some great cooking blogs I look at a lot, and this recipe is one I found on My Sister's Cafe. I tried it with zucchini, but I bet it is great with yellow squash too!

2-3 zucchini and/or summer squash
Butter
Garlic salt
Parmesan cheese (I used powdered)
Freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Cut zucchini/summer squash in thin slices and arrange half evenly in baking dish. Place thin slices of butter on top (to taste... I used ~1.5-2 tbsp total or an eaiser healthy idea is to spray a couple spirtz of "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter"). Sprinkle generously with garlic salt, Parmesan cheese, and pepper. Layer the rest of the zucchini and squash and repeat. Cover with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes (until center of zucchini/squash is becoming clear). Uncover and bake 5 more minutes. Enjoy!!

Chicken and Rice Stew

3 cups quartered button mushrooms (8 ounces)
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium leeks, sliced (I used green onions, about 5)
1/2 Cup uncooked brown rice
1/2 Cup uncooked wild rice, rinsed and drained
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 14 ounce cans reduced-sodium chicken broth (about 5 1/4 Cups)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

In a 3 1/2 to 6 quart slow cooker place mushrooms, carrots, leeks, and both rices. Add chicken. Top with spices and pour broth over all.
Cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for about 4 hours. /stir in condensed soup during last ten minutes.

WONDERFUL dish in colder weather. WARNING: toddlers may not like the thyme and rosemary. You may wish to cut back or add it in about an hour before serving.

German Pancakes

6 eggs

1 C milk

1 C flour

1/2 Cube butter or margarine (can reduce to 2T)

1 tsp salt

Preheat at 350. Melt butter in 9x13 dish in oven. Blend all other ingredients in blender. Pour into melted butter and bake for 25 min.

Turkey or Chicken Casserole

Turkey or Chicken Casserole

6oz Stove top stuffing
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 C sour cream
2 to 3 cups of chicken or turkey

Mix stuffing according to package directions and cook.
Mix soup and sour cream in bowl.
In a 9 by 9 dish put 1/2 of the stuffing
Then add all of the chicken
Put sauce mix on top of Chicken
Finish off by adding the last of the stuffing
Put in oven at 350 for 25-30 minutes
Eat and enjoy!

Stew

I posted this on my blog, but I wanted to share it here too. I hope you enjoy.

1 lb. ground beef
1.5 tsp salt divided
1/4 tsp pepper
4 med. potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 med carrots peeled and cut into slices
1 lg onion chopped (or pureed if you are me)
1 C. ketchup
1 C. water
1.5 tsp vinegar
.5 tsp basil

In a bowl. Combine beef, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper; mix well. Shape into 1-inch balls. In skillet over medium heat, brown meatballs on all sides; drain. Place potatoes, carrots, and onion in crock pot. Top with meatballs. Combine ketchup, water, vinegar,basil, and remaining salt and pepper. Pour over meatballs. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or until the vegetables are tender.

Stain on Carpet Trick

I had a koolaid stain on my carpet from a baby sitter..... yea, didnt clean it. Three days later I tried to get it out. Red koolaid on my carpet that has white threads in it..... not good. I did NOT think it would come out. But it did!

You will need:
My home made shout found here
Water
Hot iron
Cotton Towel

Spray shout on stain, add water, cover with towel, iron on "Cotton" setting. Move towel to dry section, and repeat.

I thought that it would set the stain worse, but really what did I have to loose? The stain was already there! LOL

Ranch Breaded Baked Chicken

I just made it. So the amounts are guesstimated.

4 boneless chicken Brsts

Garlic salt to your families taste

Salt and pepper to your families taste

Dry ranch mix about 1 Tbs

2 eggs

Crushed red pepper or cayenne *optional* for a little heat

5 slices white bread (crumbed in food processor)

Mix chicken and eggs with all seasonings. Coat with bread crumbs. Bake for 35-45 Min @ 400 turn over half way to toast the bottom side of chicken.

Summer Pasta

This is a great dinner for using up your summer bounty.
1 zucchini, cut into quarter moon slices
1 yellow squash, cut into quarter moon slices
carrots, sliced
cherry tomatoes (or any kind in the garden)
onion, diced
olive oil
white vinegar
penne or butterfly pasta (just not long pasta)
cooked and cubed chicken (optional)

Start your water for the pasta. Let it come to a boil, add pasta. Heat up about 2 TBS olive oil in a skillet. Add onion and carrots. Wait about 2 minutes, then add zucchini and squash. Let cook till slightly softened. Drain pasta when al dente, add 2 TBS olive oil and 2 TBS vinegar or to taste. Yes, you will like it. Mix in veggies, along with tomatoes that are in bite sized pieces and chicken. This is also good as a cold salad, just drain the pasta in cold water first and then add veggies.

Italian Zucchini

This is a great way to use up some of that zucchini in your garden without getting to the point of stuffing it into any car window that is semi-rolled down.

1 large zucchini, cut into half moons or smaller
diced onion (about 1/4 to 1/3 med onion)
olive oil
1/2 to 1 soft cube chicken bouillon
1 large yellow squash (optional)


Put about 2 TBS olive oil into the pan, let it warm. Next put in your zucchini and onion. When this starts to heat up, crumble about half the bouillon cube over top. In most stores, you can go to the ethnic section and find the Mexican soft bouillon. It will melt in with the oil and cover the veggies much better. If you would like more flavor, crumble more over until to taste. But PLEASE taste first.

Hamburger Cookies

This weekend I tended my grandsons and wanted to have a fun kitchen craft. I remembered a few years back making these cute little hamburger cookies and thought it would be perfect for the boys. They loved every minute of it and all 3, from ages 2-7, helped with the project.

Ingredients:

Vanilla wafers

Small chocolate mint cookies (I bought mine at Wal-mart, the Great Value brand)

1/4 cup flaked coconut

Green food coloring

Small tubes of red and yellow "writing" frosting

1 T. sesame seeds

Very small amount of white corn syrup

In a small bowl, combine 4 drops green food coloring with a few drops water. Add coconut and cover the container. Shake until coconut is tinted. Assemble vanilla wafers (buns), chocolate cookies (patty), red & yellow frosting (ketchup & mustard), small amount of green coconut (lettuce).

Then brush a little corn syrup on the top "bun" and sprinkle a few sesame seeds on top. Voila!

Zucchini Cake

Very moist, yummy cake. Makes a lot!

3 C unpeeled grated Zucchini
1 Tbsp vanilla
3 C sugar
1 1/2 C walnuts (optional)
1 C oil
4 eggs
3 C flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Combine flour, baking powder, soda, and salt in separat bowl. In mixer, combine zucchini, vanilla, sugar, nuts, oil and eggs. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into greased and floured bundt or angel cake pan, do not fill past 2/3rds. Bake at 350 1 hour. Let cool in pan before turning out.

I found that you need to place a cookie sheet on the rack below the pan because the batter may expand over the top of the pan. This makes a lot of batter, so use as big a pan as you can find. It gets better the more days it sits.

Fresh Basil Pesto

This year I planted a few Basil plants in my garden. They are producing like crazy, so rather than waste the fragrant and wonderful leaves, I found an easy recipie for pesto that can be frozen and kept for winter. If you have basil, this is a wonderful recipie to have.

2 c. fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 c. grated paramsean or romano cheese
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/3 c. pine nuts or walnuts (pine nuts can be expensive)
3 garlic cloves minces
salt and pepper to taste.

In a food processor (not a blender), pulse the basil, nuts, and garlic together. Add in a steady stream the olive oil while it is mixing. Add cheese and pulse a few more times. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To freeze:
Mix as directed, omitting the cheese. Freeze in silicone ice cube trays, put into ziploc bags when frozen, and store. To use, thaw, add the cheese and use over pasta, bread etc.

A Summer Shortcut

Our family loves baked potatoes, mostly because they are so easy. But in the summer, we never have them because we can't stand to have the oven on! We've found a new recipe/idea that has become a hit. Grilled Baked Potatoes. These are so quick and easy, I might bake my spuds this way in the winter too! All you have to do is scrub some bakers, poke them with a fork, and put them in the microwave for 6-10 minutes. Then you can either wrap them in foil or put them directly on the grill. Be sure to turn them every couple of minutes, and grill for about 10 minutes. Voila! Baked potatoes minus the baked house! And for toppings, try fresh green onions, sour cream, and bacon bits. Yummy!

Healthy Summer Treats

We've discovered a new favorite way to cool off! Homemade popsicles/smoothies. This is just one recipe, but man is it delicious. You can vary the fruits and flavors to make your own favorite.

We use:
frozen strawberries
harvest peach Yoplait yogurt
white grape juice
frozen blueberries(opt)

Throw the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. No measurements, just add a little here, a little there until you get the consistency/flavor you like. Take it easy on the liquid at first, and add it as you need it so they don't get too runny. These are really hard to mess up. Then pour some in a cup and grab a spoon for a smoothie, or use a spoon to fill ice cube trays for popsicles. You can buy mini popsicle sticks at WalMart for less than $2. Make sure you have the flexible, twisty type of ice cube tray so you can get them out. These are not only my kids' favorite treat, but mine as well! Plus, the strawberries have tons of Vitamin C, which is supposed to help you get firmer skin, and blueberries have Vitamin E, which aids in improving your complexion. Two birds with one stone! Enjoy!

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

My friend gave me this recipe and they are so easy, but so good.

Stuffed Pizza Rolls

1 roll refrigerated pizza dough
marinara/pizza sauce
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
1/2 t garlic powder
1 t dried Italian seasoning
mozzerella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400 degrees.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into little squares. I think I got about 20 squares from my dough. Cut any size you want.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square. (Note that you're not putting the marinara sauce on the dough- it's for dipping after)

When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings. Pinch to make sure each ball is sealed shut and then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish).

Brush the tops of the dough balls with olive oil or melted butter and then sprinkle with the garlic and Italian seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.

Cook them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

Serve warm with warmed marinara sauce on the side for dipping.

Best Birthday Cake Website

I found the coolest website for birthday cake ideas a couple years ago and now use it every time I have a birthday coming up!

Here's the link to it:

http://www.coolest-birthday-cakes.com/


You can find TONS of pictures of cakes people have submitted, and some of them have step by step instructions, but most are so easy to make, you just need to see the idea and go from there. On the left hand side bar, you'll also see links with ideas for Cool Party, Costume, Showers, etc. It is a great site and hopefully you can find something on it to help your next party be awesome!

How to Cut a Watermelon

As I said on my personal blog, I don't claim to be GREAT at much, but I have finally figured out how to successfully cut a watermelon into perfect bite-size pieces. Every time I take a watermelon to a Summer BBQ, I'm asked how to do this. Here's how:

Make sure you have a long, sharp knife. This is super important!


Quarter your watermelon.


You're going to make a series of cuts in 3 different directions.




The quarter should now look like a grid. Dump watermelon into a large bowl, everything from the middle should fall out easily.


Now cut along the rind of the watermelon. This usually takes 2 passes.



Ta-da...perfect bite-size pieces.

Tisa's Mac n' Cheese

My mother in law makes such a simple mac n' cheese recipe but my kids (and husband) love it, so I thought I'd share. (Don't make this recipe expecting it to be creamy because it's not...it's just noodles and cheese but very kid-friendly and simple.)

You'll need 1 lb elbow noodles (cook as directed on box), 2 cups grated cheddar cheese, 2-4 T macaroni, 6 T milk, salt and pepper.


Layer half of the noodles, half the butter, and half the cheese in a 9x13 casserole dish. Sprinkle 3 T milk over and sprinkle with salt and pepper.


Layer remaining ingredients and place in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.


Easy but delicious.

Crazy Cake

This is the moistest, yummiest cake I've ever had! It is good with any frosting, or just use the recipe found below.

Mix together the following:

3 c. flour
2 c. sugar
6 T. cocoa
2 t. soda
1 t. salt

Then add:

2 t. vanilla
2 T. white vinegar
2 c. water
3/4 c. oil

Mix together.
Pour into a 13 x 9 pan.
Bake at 375 for 30 min.

Frosting:
In a saucepan combine:
1 c. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. cocoa
dash salt
1 c. boiling water
Bring to boil.
Add:
3 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
Frosting will thicken as it stands. Pour over cake and EAT UP!!!

Sami's Super Easy Greek Salad

1 can drained and rinsed garbanzo beans
3 tomatoes (med. size) cut into med. pieces
1 small onion cut into rings and separate the rings
1 cucumber (I like to peel) cut into med. pieces
1/2 c cilantro chopped
1/2 c feta cheese
3 T red wine vinegar
1 t oregano
1/2 t garlic powder

I made this recipe up this weekend and I just HAVE to share it! You'll find this recipe colorful, healthy and tasty! It's super easy to throw together and stays nicely in the refrigerator if you have leftovers.

All you do is put these ingredients in a bowl and mix. You can put it in the fridge so the ingredients and meld together or serve immediately. I served it with grilled chicken breasts and warm pita bread. Hope you love it!

Jane's Banana Bread

If you've ever had a piece of my mom's banana bread, you know that it's fabulous. If you haven't, make this recipe and see for yourself:

Cream 1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs

Then add 4 cups flour, 2 tsp soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt, 6 tablespoons milk, 2 tsp vanilla and 4-6 mashed ripe bananas.

Pour in greased loaf pans and bake for 45-60 minutes at 350. (Sometimes the middle ends up not quite done, just cook for a few more minutes.) Makes 3 loaves.

Chicken Enchilladas

Chicken Enchilladas
5 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 cup chicken broth
1 medium onion
1 small can green chilies
2 TBSP butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
8 flour tortillas
2 cups grated cheese

Saute onions and green chilies with butter until onion is clear. Add mushroom soup and chicken broth; cook until smooth. Add sour cream. Stir until mixed. Set aside. Dip tortilla in soup mixture (on both sides) then distribute chicken pieces on center of tortillas; add 1/4 cup soup mixture on chicken. Add cheese. Roll tortillas and place in 9x13 pan. Put rest of soup mixture on top and cover with more cheese. Cover; bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, olives, etc. when ready to serve.

Grandma Baldwin's Chocolate Cake

Grandma Baldwin used to make this fabulous, dense, chocolate cake on Sundays when she knew the family was coming to visit. She'd only spread a very thin layer of frosting on top and I've been craving it. (Maybe it's because I miss her.) So my mom found the recipe and I made it this weekend. It was just as good as Grandma's but I used an entire can of frosting, which made it even better.

2 c sugar
1 c shortening
4 eggs
3 c flour
2 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 c milk + 1 T vinegar
1 c boiling water
6 T cocoa

Cream sugar, shortening, eggs. Add dry ingredients. Then blend in milk, vinegar, boiling water, and cocoa. This makes a very large cake. I baked mine in a 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 and it was super thick. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. So good.