Easy Cherry Cheesecake Bombs

I saw this posted on a forum I go to, no recipe just a picture that sparked a major drool fest, thanks Ginny! I decided to use a vanilla bean cheesecake base. The thing is with DH so busy studying so much I wasn't about to get my cheesecake. You see, I don't make cheesecake, maybe once in a blue moon, if even. It's not that I can't, it's just that DH can, and he does, very well. SO, I choose to say "I can't". I seriously debated whether or not I should make this filling. Why ruin an 8 year streak right? But I wanted these Cheesecake Bombs, so there you go. The cheesecake filling recipe I used is below. I had some trouble with the chocolate, due to my laziness I didn't want to temper any chocolate. In the end i should have just got out good chocolate and tempered it because I ruined the first batch of store bought chocolate I melted in the microwave because I added cream and it seized on me. The second batch was so dry and tough I stirred in some ghee to smooth it out, that made it perfect, but still. (And any excuse to use ghee right?) I wanted to avoid shortening, because I didn't want to have to go to the store and we don't use shortening.

What you need
Maraschino cherries with stems
Vanilla bean cheesecake filling completely cooled- recipe follows
Graham cracker crumbs
Chocolate to coat
2-3 teaspoons Ghee if you're not using a chocolate that will be tempered

Drain the cherries on a paper towel and dry them as much as you can.

Take a scoop of cheesecake filling and mold it around the cherry.




 
I used gloves, I can't tell you how much I love my disposable gloves- they make everything so easy, peeling chilies, rolling meatballs and matzo balls. Anyway.
Now you can coat them in the graham cracker crumbs ( I decided to only do a few because I didn't want my chocolate being contaminated by crumbs) Freeze these until firm.

Melt the chocolate and stir in the ghee so it's smooth and dip the cheesecake bombs in it. Place on a rack or wax paper to set. I placed some of them on top of graham cracker crumbs to set.

Vanilla bean cheesecake filling

(this made enough for the cherry cheesecake bombs and Buttermilk Cherry Cheesecake ice cream. OK we ate some also.)

3 packages of cream cheese (softened and NOT fat free)

1/2 cup sugar (I used Vanilla Bean Specialty Sugar)

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon flour

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs

Beat the cream cheese until smooth in a stand mixer. Or use a hand mixer. 

Add sugar, vanilla, flour and extract. Beat well.

Beat in sour cream. (that's not dirty sour cream I had some vanilla extract get into the measuring cup)

Beat the eggs in one at a time.
Pour into a pie plate and bake at 325 for about 40 minutes. I baked it a little over to make sure it was firm enough for the ice cream and bombs.

See how ugly it is? That's because it doesn't matter if it's pretty, no need for a water bath, slowly cooling it or anything to keep the top from cracking for this project.



Posted originally at GPAC.

Sweet Potato Casserole

OK I know Thanksgiving is over but I had like five sweet potatoes on my counter waiting to grow and take root. I had this on Thanksgiving and I loved it. I did leave my potatoes cubed instead of mashed and cut the sugar way down. But it's so yummy.
I didn't really measure, but here are approximate measurements.
5 sweet potatoes peeled, cubed, boiled until tender and drained
1/3 cup evaporated cane juice - if even that much...
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
ground cinnamon
ground ginger
fresh grated nutmeg
1 cup evaporated milk

Topping stir together-
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons flour

Beat all ingredients fur potatoes in a bowl, except the potatoes. Stir in the potatoes, trying to keep them as whole as possible. Pour into a buttered baking dish. Top with mixed topping ingredients. Bake for 30-35 minutes, cover with foil if your nuts are getting too dark.
Submitted by Love Abounds, originally posted at GPAC.

Phyllo Cigars

See that ooey gooey goodness up there? That my friends is a delicious, crispy, ooey gooey, BAKED mozzarella stick. Yes, I said crispy, delicious, mozzarella, and baked all in the same sentence. The secret? Phyllo dough! So easy and simple! No need to fry these babies. I first saw these done like this here. Today I wrapped mozzarella cheese sticks and nutella in the phyllo- separately of course! The possibilities are endless though- mini marshmallows and chocolate, minced lamb with potatoes and onions, chicken, pepperoni and cheese, vegetables, crisp pancetta and cheese, asparagus and prosciutto, cinnamon walnut baklava filling, chicken curry, honey and ricotta with orange zest, pate, mini beef wellingtons for appetizers... really whatever you like. For these, cooked fillings that are a little dry are best. This is a method really. Have fun with it! (First posted at GPAC)

A couple of things you want to remember

- keep the phyllo dough covered, I take out a few sheets at a time then roll it back up in the plastic and cover that with a damp towel

- phyllo dough rips easily

- even though it rips easy, it's forgiving, an extra layer to cover up a mistake and prevent oozing of filling is not going to hurt anything

- olive oil or butter in a spray bottle or bowl and pastry brush is your friend

-cooked fillings work best for this method since you're just crisping the phyllo and heating the filling

- phyllo browns quickly at 475 degrees, watch it!

For the Mozzarella sticks

What you need-
Phyllo dough sheets- thawed
String cheese
Olive oil- garlic infused would be awesome

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees.
Unwrap string cheese and cut each one in half. (Or as DH says "into transverse sections".) For each of the pieces of cheese I used one sheet of phyllo, cut in half, again "transverse sections" LOL. Spray the phyllo with olive oil- I have a pump spray, I am sure you can use PAM, it just has to be a THIN coating. Take one of the pieces of phyllo and place the cheese about 1/3 up from a corner. Bring the corner up over the cheese and roll once or twice. Fold in the two corners on the sides, spray with more olive oil. Finish rolling the cheese all the way to the end of the dough. (Step by step pictures, I sure do miss you- I'm not a writer). Now take the rolled cheese and place it on the other half of the phyllo and wrap it again the same way. This is called insurance, so you don't have cheese oozing out all over the baking sheet. Place the roll seem side down on a oiled baking sheet. Once you have them all rolled spray the tops with oil again and bake for 8 minutes. Turn them at four minutes to brown the undersides. That's it, it really is that easy.

You want Nutella ones? Same method... seriously- easy peasy.

Southwest Eggrolls

Southwest Eggrolls
I served these with homemade guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

Southwest Egg Rolls

1 Can Black Beans

1 Can Corn

1 Pkg. Frozen Spinach about 10 ounces (thawed and squeezed out in a clean kitchen cloth.)

1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast- I used 2

½ Bag Cheddar Cheese about two cups

1 tsp. each of Chili Powder, Cumin and Onion Powder- I used my homemade taco seasoning and added coarse sea salt.

1 Pkg. Tortillas

1. Dice chicken into bite size pieces. Cook in pan until no longer pink in center. Add chili powder, cumin, and onion powder. (I put the chicken breast and taco seasonings in a crock pot and put it on high for a couple of hours then shredded it up.)

2. In a large mixing bowl combine all ingredients except tortillas. I drained the corn also.










Black beans... well drained. I rinsed mine too.









Add cheese...












Mix it all up.












3. Microwave tortillas in a damp kitchen towel to make pliable. Spoon filling into middle of each tortilla. Fold in 2 sides and roll from one end to the other, like you would an egg roll or burrito.





4. Line them seam side down on a baking sheet and spray with olive oil or cooking spray.












5. Bake in 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until crisp and slightly brown. I turned them over the last 5 minutes and sprayed the other side to brown it also.

Recipe first posted HERE.

Pumpkin Chai Spiced Ice Cream

Pumpkin chai spiced ice cream. Made with steamed  pureed pie pumpkin, canned will work just as well. I used my regular custard base and experimented with the rest. Here is the recipe I came up with.

Regular custard base

3 cups GOOD heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar or honey (I never use this much and I use evaporated cane juice)
4 egg yolks -beaten

Heat the cream, milk and sugar in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, stir until sugar is dissolved and occasionally after that. Once the mixture is steaming temper the beaten egg yolks and add to the rest of the custard, whisking. Cook over medium heat and stir constantly until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Do not let this boil or it WILL curdle! Pour into a container and let cool completely.

For the pumpkin ice cream I added two whole cinnamon sticks to the custard base in the beginning. I removed the sticks before putting the base into my ice cream maker.

Chai Syrup
( this is approximate I didn't measure)
1 cup water
5 crushed cardamom pods
1 TBS whole black peppercorns
~ 1 inch of crushed fresh ginger
a few cloves
half a star anise
Pumpkin Spiced Chai or other Chai or black tea. (2 bags or teaspoons loose)

I brought this up to a boil and then let it simmer and reduce to about half. I then let this cool.

After everything was done cooling I strained both the syrup and the custard base. I added I guess it was about 2/3 cup of the purred pumpkin, fresh grated nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Then I put it into my canister and turned on the machine.

Recipe first posted on Give Peas A Chance.

Garden Vegetable Soup

Garden Vegetable Soup

I find that if I prep whatever I can in the morning or during the day, making dinner is a cinch. I like to prep while Piglet is napping in the morning, that way on some days Diva can help me and other days she is in school.
I make this soup with tomatoes but Piglet doesn't seem to tolerate tomatoes too well during nursing, so I take a portion out for her then add canned diced tomatoes, if I could simmer it longer I would use fresh seeded tomatoes

This is more of a method than a recipe...

Chicken breasts- broiled with salt and pepper cut into bit sized pieces (optional)
Minced garlic clove
Chopped red bell pepper
Chopped carrots
Chopped celery
Chopped onion
Chopped zucchini
Fresh green beans cut into ¾ in size
Frozen corn
Low sodium chicken broth (2 1/2 boxes)
Can of diced tomatoes
Bay leaf
Italian seasoning
Sea salt
Black pepper
Lime juice

Garnish-
Chopped parsley
Chopped celery leaves
Lime wedges

Heat olive oil in a heavy bottomed stockpot over medium low heat. Once heated sweat garlic and onion with a little salt. Add carrots, green beans, bell pepper, celery, bay leaf and Italian seasoning, cook for about 5 minuets, stir. Add zucchini, roasted chicken and any juices, broth, salt and pepper. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Once simmering lower heat and cook until vegetables are fork tender. Add corn kernels a little before cooking time is up. Remove from heat and add about 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice. Discard Bay leaves. Serve with garnishes.

 Fresh veggies all ready to go...

Broiled chicken. You can use any leftover chicken, rotisserie also.

Sweating the onions...

Vegetables that take longer to cook are put in first

Adding broth and zucchini...




This was first posted at GPAC.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Adapted from Joy The Baker
1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar (Divided)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 8oz package cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 15oz can pumpkin or about two cups of homemade pumpkin puree

1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional-
chocolate chips, butter scotch chips or cinnamon chips


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, brown sugar and 1/4 cup of sugar and cut in butter. I put it all in my food processor and Piglet helped me with the pulsing of the machine. You want it to look like coarse crumbs.







Add the oats. If using nuts, add them now. Stir to combine.
Reserve 1 cup of this mixture.








Press the mixture into a 9x13 pan that is lined with parchment. Make sure the parchment comes up the sides a bit so you can lift the bars out later.







Beat the cream cheese until fluffy, add eggs. Beat well. Beat in remaining sugar, spices and vanilla.
Stir in chocolate, butter scotch or cinnamon chips if using.





Pour mixture over the top of the crust, sprinkle with reserved topping. Bake for 25-30 minutes until set, test it with a knife. Poke a knife in the middle and if it comes out clean it's done. It will set up as it cools.
Let it cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes. Then lift it out of the pan to finish cooling on a rack before cutting. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.


Originally posted on Give Peas A Chance.

Crab Manacotti

I think a recipe would be nice for this, but I don't really have one. No measurements for sure. But I got the idea from I think it was Everyday Italian on food network. It's straight forward, easy and DELISH. It also takes no time at all to prepare...

Let's see if I remember what's in it :-)

crab meat- lump crab would be nice I had imitation on hand
1 to 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
grated Parmesan
1/3 - 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1 egg
salt
pepper
garlic powder
*if you have flat leaf parsley chop it up and add it to the filling
manacotti

sauce-
small onion sliced
1 clove minced garlic
4 T butter
4T flour
chicken broth
whole milk
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
salt
pepper

Cook the manacotti until it is almost done, about 7 minutes. After I shocked it in cold water to stop the cooking, OK and because I didn't want to handle hot pasta when I was filling them.

For the filling, mix everything but the crab meat in a bowl. then gently fold in the crab meat. Set it aside.

Now the sauce, it's a basic white sauce made with a roux. Melt the butter in a sauce pan, add the onions and cook until soft, add the garlic and let it cook until fragrant. A minute or two. Sprinkle the flour in there and cook it until a little brown and the raw dough smell is gone.

Add some chicken broth and milk and stir until there are no lumps. Cook until thickened. Add Parmesan cheese.

Fill the manacotti with the crab mixture.
Line them up in a pan, I didn't grease the pan or anything.

Cover with the sauce, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 until heated through about 30 minutes is how long I left it in there for.

Let it sit for 10 minutes before serving. I garnished with fresh basil, parsley would be great too. It does need color.

Originally posted at Give Peas A Chance