Mini Cheesecakes

My sister had a big clogging performance yesterday and my extended family always attends. We had a big dinner before the show itself and I was in charge of dessert! I wanted something that would be easy to transport, easy to make, and still was impressive and delicious. I turned to my tried and true sources: Real Mom Kitchen and My Kitchen Cafe and found this great recipe.

The cheesecakes turned out great! I made the normal ones with a raspberry topping and the chocolate version as well. I am glad that I did because some people preferred one while others preferred the other. The raspberry ones were my husband's favorite, but I liked the chocolate ones best. If you are anti-richness, go with the normal cheesecakes. The chocolate ones weren't SUPER rich - I used semi-sweet chocolate chips - but they were still a little much for my hubby!

This recipe and picture is courtesy of Real Mom Kitchen and can be found here.

Mini Cheesecakes
From Real Mom Kitchen

2 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese (I have used the lowfat version also and it works fine)
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
vanilla wafers or oreo cookies
18 cupcake liners
pie filling (I like cherry or blueberry) or fresh fruit

1. Cream cream cheese and sugar together. Add eggs and lemon juice. Beat until smooth.
2. Line cupcake pan with liners. Place vanilla wafer flat side down in each liner. If using oreos, use the chocolate wafers after scraping frosting off.
3. Fill 3/4 full with cream cheese mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
4. Allow cheesecakes to cool and store in the fridge. Paper liners can be left on or removed.

To serve: top with pie filling. The cheesecakes can also be frozen. Frreze before topping. Then thaw and top with pie filling.

Chocolate swirl variation: Make using oreo cookies as base. Fill as above in recipe. Cook cheesecakes for 6 minutes. Drop 4 to 5 chocolate chips in batter. Let sit for a minute for chocolate to melt. Swirl chocolate in the batter with a toothpick. Continue baking until done.

Turtle variation: Make using oreo cookies as base. Fill and cook as above in recipe. (can also use the chocolate swirl variation for this too). Remove paper liners. To serve: drizzle with caramel and sprinkle with chopped pecans or 1 pecan half.

Classic Repeat : Chicken with Lemon Sauce

Remember this one? I sure do and I still LOVE it! Not very hard to make and SUPER tasty. What could be better than that?


CHICKEN WITH LEMON SAUCE
from Delectable Dining

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup all purpose flour, divided
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons pepper, divided
2 eggs
5 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups apple juice
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Flatten chicken to 1/4-inch thickness. In a shallow bowl, combine 3/4 cup flour, Parmesan cheese, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. In another bowl, beat the eggs. Dip chicken into eggs and coat with flour mixture. In a large skillet, cook chicken in 2 tablespoons butter and oil over medium heat for 3-5 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm. In a small bowl, combine the remaining flour, salt and pepper; stir in broth until smooth. Add apple juice to the skillet, stirring to loosen any browned bits. Stir broth mixture and add to the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly. Stir in lemon juice; cook for 1 minute. Add parsley and remaining butter; cook and stir until butter is melted. Serve over chicken with noodles.

Missing in Action

I'm SORRY!!! I have been missing... truthfully the times that I have cooked in the last week we have had repeats. I have been perfecting my General Tso's Chicken and Brazilian Lemonade recipes. If you use FRESH ginger in the General Tso's chicken it makes SOOO much difference! I will have another classic repeat up tomorrow but I don't think I have posted about it for a while so it will be a good reminder! In the meantime, eat well, live well, love well!

Shayla

Sloppy Joes

Need a quick, easy, and tasty meal? This is it! Make a homemade sloppy joe without the hassel! I don't remember where I originally got this recipe but the picture is courtesy of Vacation.com.

SLOPPY JOES
adapted from Dave Lieberman

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/3 cup smoky BBQ sauce (or whatever BBQ sauce is in your fridge)
¼ cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until it is finely crumbled, the liquid boils off and the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, and keep stirring until the meat is coated. Add the BBQ sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, soy sauce, and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sauce is slightly thickened, 4 to 5 minutes. You can make the sloppy joe up to 2 days in advance and reheat it over low heat or in the microwave.

Brazilian Lemonade!

If you have ever been to Rodizio Grill and had this lemonade you will know how ADDICTING it is! The food is phenomenal there and if it weren't so expensive we would go all the time. But instead of paying $4 a glass - with this recipe you pay about $4 a pitcher! Easy to make and SOOO tasty you will want to finish the whole pitcher of lemonade yourself! The picture is courtesy of Steph's Kitchen and the recipe is courtesy of Our Best Bites.

BRAZILIAN LEMONADE

From Our Best Bites

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they're the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk

Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you're using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water.

Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; if you used giant, thick-skinned limes and don't test it and it can come out a little bitter. If it's bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.

Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don't make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.

Classic Repeat : Taco Rice Bowl

We LOVE this one! So good and you don't even HAVE to have Doritoes to make it. Crush up some tortilla chips and mix in the salsa! YUM!

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/02/super-simple-taco-rice-bowl.html

Classic Repeat: Crockpot Creamy Southwestern Chicken Nachos

If you missed this recipe before ADD IT TO YOUR ARSENAL!!!! It is so easy to make and SOOO tasty! Add some olives, onions, and guacamole on top and I can eat WAY more than I should!

http://shaylaskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/05/crockpot-creamy-southwestern-chicken.html

Classic Repeat : General Tso's Chicken

I have been missing in action! I have still been cooking but without the internet it is really hard to blog! We had this again a few nights ago and it was SOOO good. I think it was better than I have ever made it before because I followed the "heat" directions to a T! Only use 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper and a FEW red pepper flakes and it is perfect!

GENERAL TSO’S CHICKEN

1 Lb. chicken breasts (cut into 1" pieces)
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. "lite" soy sauce
1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 c. white distilled vinegar
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp. cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp. water
4 green onions, sliced

Dredge chicken in flour and fry in oil over medium heat (in a wok or a skillet) until golden brown and crispy. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne over the chicken and keep warm on low heat. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger) and heat gently. When sauce is smooth and sugar has dissolved, SLOWLY add cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until sauce has thickened to desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onion and hot red pepper flakes (optional). Remove from heat and serve

*I cut some of the chicken into small strips too for variety. I used regular soy sauce at just under ¼ cup, sprinkled minced garlic in, and used ½ tsp. ground ginger.