Mini Cheesecakes

Monday, October 12, 2009

As we all know, Thanksgiving is around the corner. This year, my mother and I have split the holidays - she gets Thanksgiving and I'm in charge of Christmas. This will be the first major holiday that I'm doing so I'm a little nervous. I thought the smart thing to do is to try things out before the holidays and I picked dessert first.  I've always wanted to try to make mini cheesecakes and thought that this was the perfect opportunity.

Mini Cheesecakes

2 packages Keebler Ready Crust Mini Graham Cracker Pie Crust
2 packages (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tbsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 c. sour cream

 Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese on medium speed, until fluffy.  Add sugar, cornstarch and vanilla; beat until combined.  Add eggs one at a time until mixed thoroughly. Stir in sour cream.

Place mini pie crusts on a cookie sheet.  Pour mixture into each crust.  Bake at 325 degrees for about 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on wire rack for 15 minutes and then place in fridge. Chill for at least 3 hours and serve.

Enjoy!

If you liked this, you may enjoy:

Pumpkin Cookies with Walnuts

Pumpkin Bread

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Baked Stuffed Shrimp with Crabmeat

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Today, my husband and I are celebrating our third wedding anniversary.  I always try to make something special for a day of celebration. He loves my baked stuffed shrimp so I surprised him with it last night. It's very simple to make and is quite tasty.

Baked Stuffed Shrimp with Crabmeat

1 lb. extra jumbo shrimp
7 tbsp. butter
1 shallot
8 oz. fresh lump crabmeat
1/4 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. parmesan/romano cheese
1 c. whole milk mozzarella cheese; divided
1/2 c. bread crumbs
1/4 c. white wine
1/4 c. heavy cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 beaten egg
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. black pepper
Paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Shell and devein shrimp.  Butterfly shrimp and set aside. Rinse crabmeat and pick thru to remove any remaining shells.

In a large frying pan, melt 4 tbsp.of butter over medium heat. Add shallot and cook until translucent. Turn heat down to low and add mayo, parm/romano cheese, 1/2 c. mozzarella cheese, bread crumbs, white wine, heavy cream, egg,  lemon juice, garlic powder and pepper. Stir over low heat until all is mixed.

Place shrimp in a butter greased lasagne pan.  Put about a tablespoon of crabmeat stuffing in each shrimp.  Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese and paprika on shrimp. Melt remaining 3 tbsp. butter and drizzle over each shrimp. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until stuffing is golden brown.

Serve with pasta.

Enjoy!

If you liked this, you may enjoy:

Shrimp with Tomatoes and Garlic

Shrimp Scampi

Pumpkin Cookies with Walnuts

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Fall is officially here. For me, it is the beginning of baking season.  I was feeling inventive this afternoon and came up with this little brainstorm. I thought it would be nice to surprise my hubby with some cookies when he came home from work. I was praying that these would not be a complete disaster but it was the opposite. These were the best cookies I've ever made.

Pumpkin Cookies with Walnuts

1/2 c. butter, softened
1 c. sugar
3/4 c. Libby's 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream sugar and butter with mixer. Add pumpkin, vanilla and egg. Mix, scraping side of bowl until well combine. In a medium bowl, add flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. Add flour mixture to wet mixture, mixing well, scraping sides of bowl.

Drop cookie dough by heaping tablespoons on cookie sheet. Add walnuts to top of cookies. Bake for about 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for about 10 minutes. Drizzle glaze on cookie with spoon and let sit on wire rack until glaze is dried.  Recipe for glaze to follow.

Recipe for Glaze

1 c. confectionary sugar
3 tbsp. milk

Whisk until completely mixed.

Enjoy!

If you liked this, you may enjoy:

Pumpkin Bread

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Quiche Lorraine

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

I think Bruce Feirstein got it wrong, real men DO eat quiche.  I'm pretty sure that if you tell a man that you're making something with bacon in it for dinner, they will eat whatever you make. This quiche is great to serve as brunch or if you want to do breakfast for dinner.

Quiche Lorraine

1 Pillsbury Pie Crust
10 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
3/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
4 eggs
2 cups heavy cream
pinch of salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease 9" pie plate with butter. Unroll pie crust in pie plate and decorate edge, if desired.

Fry bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towel. When cool, crumble bacon. Add bacon and cheese to pie crust.

In large bowl, whisk eggs.  Add heavy cream, salt and pepper and mix well. Pour into pie crust over bacon and cheese. Place pie plate on a foil covered cookie sheet to catch any overflow.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.  Turn oven down to 325 and bake for about 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!

If you liked this, you may enjoy:

Breakfast Strada

Breakfast Potatoes

Uncle Richie's Salsa

Friday, September 25, 2009

We were at my Aunt Terry's and Uncle Richie's a few weeks ago and we had the best salsa I've ever eaten. It had just the right amount spice and was just... perfect!  I was lucky enough to get the recipe and am proud to share it with you. Thanks Uncle Richie!

Uncle Richie's Salsa

1 16 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped onion
4 medium tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
3 small jalapeno peppers, chopped and seeded
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

Combine tomatoes, peppers and onion in food processor and process until desired consistency. Add salt and cayenne pepper. Process again to mix. Store in refrigerator. Makes about 4 cups.

When working with the jalapenos, you can keep as many seeds or as few seeds, depending on how hot you want it. Just remember, the more seeds you keep, the hotter the salsa.

Enjoy!

If you like this, you may like:

Beef Fajitas

Simple Garlic Dip

Beef Fajitas

Fajitas have always been a challenge to me.  I have tried making them few times and it's always a "It's ok honey. We can just get a pizza" type of night. I usually just marinate a London broil and shave it but it just doesn't taste right. I thought, what if I boil a piece of meat and tried it. It worked!  Here's the recipe.

Beef Fajitas

1 flank steak - about 1 1/2 lb. to 2 lbs.
2 packets Sazon Goya
1 32 oz. can of beef broth
1 beef bouillon cube
2 cups of water
6 cloves garlic, smashed
1 medium onion, halved
1 bay leaf

Add water and beef broth to a large pot. Cut onion and smash garlic. Add onion, garlic, bay leaf and beef bouillon to pot. Place beef on a cutting board and trim off any fat. Sprinkle Sazon Goya on both sides of meat. Take a piece of saran wrap and 'rub' spice into meat (this stuff could make your fingers orange - learned this the hard way). Place beef in pot and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours - until steak comes easily apart with a fork. Remove meat and place on cutting board. Let it cool to room temperature.

When meat has cooled, shred meat with two forks.

For Fajita

tortillas
1 small onion, cut into strips
1 small pepper, cut into strips
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Cut onion and peppers into strips.  Mince garlic. Add olive oil to medium frying pan and warm to medium heat. Add onions and peppers and cook for about 4 minutes. Add garlic and Italian seasoning and cook until they are soft and close to carmelizing.

To ensemble fajita, add meat, about 1 tablespoon of liquid that cooked the meat in, onion/pepper mixture, cheese, sour cream and Uncle Richie's Salsa to a tortilla.

Enjoy!

If you liked this, you may enjoy:

Buffalo Chicken Egg Rolls

Empanadas

Breakfast Strada

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

My parents recently celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary and I wanted to surprise them with something special. They had gone away for the weekend and what would be better than to come home with a home cooked meal. My parents love this Breakfast Strada and I figured they would be happy that they didn't have to make dinner when they got home.

Breakfast Strada

1 lb. sweet sausage, crumbled, cooked and drained
6 slices of white bread, cubed
4-5 eggs
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 c. milk
1/4 tsp. dry mustard

Brown, crumble and drain sausage. Remove crust from bread and cut into cubes. Mix eggs, milk and mustard. Layer bread, sausage and cheese in a 9x9 casserole or two quart round casserole dish. Pour milk/egg mixture into casserole, cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake covered in 325-350 degree oven for 50-60+. Uncover last 20 minutes. You can double this recipe - just put in two casserole dishes. Cook time is a half hour to an hour longer.

Enjoy!

If you like this, you may like:

Breakfast Parfait

Breakfast Potatoes

Pumpkin Bread

Monday, September 21, 2009

Fall is right around the corner and that usually means it's time for me to make one of my favorite breads.  This bread is great for breakfast or that little snack you have with your coffee.

Pumpkin Bread

2 eggs
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. water
1 c. pumpkin
1 c. chopped walnuts plus 2 tbsp. for topping
1 2/3 c. flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. salt.

Grease 2 loaf pans with butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix together. Pour into loaf pans. Top each loaf with about 1 tbsp. of remaining chopped walnuts. Bake for about 30 minutes. Test with toothpick to check bread has cooked completely.

Enjoy!

If you like this, you may like:

Garlic, Cheddar Biscuits

Sausage Bread

Shrimp with Tomatoes and Garlic

Friday, September 18, 2009

Everyone loves an easy dinner on a busy weeknight. And who doesn't love shrimp? It could be a nice romantic dinner for two or to share with a friend you care for.  I have to give my mother credit as she stumbled upon this recipe and made it her own. This recipe serves two but can be easily doubled.

Shrimp with Tomatoes and Garlic

1/2 lb of large shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tomatoes, diced
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. oregano
salt and pepper
2 cups cooked spaghetti

Peel and devein shrimp.  Cook in boiling water for about 3 minutes or until they 'pink up'.  Place on paper towel to dry and cool.

Pour 1/4 c. olive oil in a ziploc bag.  Chop tomatoes and garlic. Add tomatoes, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper to ziploc bag. When shrimp has cooled to touch, add to ziploc bag. Let bag sit in room temperature for about an hour.

Boil pasta according to directions on box. Mix cooked spaghetti and shrimp mixture in large bowl. Serve on two plates and add parmesan/romano cheese on top.

Enjoy!

If you like this, you may like:

Shrimp Scampi

Eggplant, Mozzarella and Tomato Salad

Roasted Potatoes

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Looking for a simple side dish to make on a work night? These potatoes are the answer. They are very easy to make and will be ready in about 30 minutes. This recipe serves two but can easily be doubled.


Roasted Potatoes
1 lb. small red potatoes
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tbsp. rosemary
Salt and Pepper
Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub potatoes and cut them in half (if the potatoes are big - cut them into quarters).  Place in large bowl.  Add olive oil and garlic to bowl. Crush rosemary in hand and add to bowl. Mix well, until all the potatoes are coated with oil. Let sit for about 5 minutes.

Line a baking sheet with foil.  Place potatoes on sheet, making sure that they are not touching. Sprinkle salt, pepper and paprika over potatoes. Place in oven and cook for about 30 minutes - or until potatoes are cooked and golden brown.

If you like this, you may enjoy:

Breakfast Potatoes

Beans in Stew

Garlic Cheddar Biscuits

Enjoy!