Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

I saw these on a blog hop recently and I immediately bookmarked them.  Mini Oreo Cheesecakes! What's not to love?

The camera don't lie.  Only it apparently does in this case.  {shrugs shoulders}  So these are cute, right?  The only good review I received when I made these for Father's Day?  Was from the 7 yr old.  He loved them!  I refuse to disclose the exact number he and I have consumed.  So I have no choice but to hang my head as I place this recipe in the FAIL pile.  The 7 yr old gave one to the husband after lunch, which he ate (I assume), but said not one word.  Nor did he ever eat another.  And believe me, there were plenty in my fridge.  My grandma took a bite and said she never wanted to eat another one.  My grandpa refused to try one.  If anyone else ate one, they didn't say anything.  They must have been following their mother's advice of saying nothing at all if you have nothing nice to say  ;)

Alright, enough Debbie Downer from me.  Here's the recipe.  Do with it what you wish!

Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

Recipe Source:  Things That Make You Say: "Mmmmm"!

21 oreo cookies, 15 left whole and 6 coarsely chopped  (I was able to make 17 cupcakes)
1/2 cup of sugar
2 large eggs room temperature lightly beaten
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light)

1 pound cream cheese, softened  ( I used 2 packages of light philadelphia cheese)

1 tsp of pure vanilla extract.
pinch salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 275˚F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.  Place one whole cookie in each paper lining. 

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium high speed until smooth. Gradually add in the sugar, mix until very well combine. Beat in the vanilla. Drizzle in the eggs, a bit at the time, beating to combine and scrapping down the sides of the bowl as need it. Beat in sour cream and salt. Stir in the chopped cookies by hand.

Divide the batter between the cookie filled cups, filling each almost to the top. Bake for about 22 minutes or until filling is set. 

Transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate in tins for at least 4 hours.

Spicy Chicken and Rice

This one's a WINNER!  And do you know why?  Mostly because the 7 yr old ate it!  The 2 yr old called it "Yucky".  Well, really it sounded more like this "Yuuuuuuckyyyyy" when you factor in the whiny quality ;)

This recipe was labeled Low-Fat, although I'm sure my addition of the cheese and sour cream probably cancelled that out.  I had to change this up a little from the original recipe to make it into more of a casserole.  I didn't really mess with the ingredient list, but the original recipe called for placing *raw* meaty chicken pieces on top of the rice mixture and then baking in the oven.  Raw-meaty-chicken-pieces and I don't really get along.  I made a chicken and rice recipe like that once and I hated it.  So I decided this recipe could be salvaged by subbing in some rotisserie chicken.  Score!

I followed the rest of the directions as printed, but I started by placing the rotisseri chicken into the bottom of the casserole dish and then layering the rice mixture on top.  Also, it didn't require the full cooking time since my chicken was already cooked. 

This actually made too much food for us, so the next time I make it I'll freeze half.  Right before it's ready for the oven, just place half into a tin pan and cover with foil and then freeze.  To use the frozen casserole, thaw in the fridge overnight and then bake as directed.  

Spicy Chicken and Rice

Recipe Source: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book p. 398

2 to 2 1/2 lbs meaty chicken pieces (or a rotisseri chicken)

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbls cooking oil

1 (14 1/2 oz) can tomatoes, cut up

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup tomato juice (this wasn't easy to locate, but I finally found some on the juice aisle)

1 cup frozen whole kernel corn

2/3 cup long grain rice (I used instant brown rice)

1 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Directions

Skin chicken, rinse; pat dry.  Set aside.

In a large saucepan cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil till tender but not brown.  Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained black beans, tomato juice, corn, uncooked rice, chili powder, salt and ground red pepper.  Bring to boiling.  Transfer mixture to a 3 qt rectangular baking dish.  Arrange chicken pieces atop rice mixture.

Bake, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 50 minutes or till chicken is tender and no longer pink and rice is tender.  Makes 6 servings.

Semi Wordless Wednesday

So, uhhm, despite a 6 foot tall privacy fence, this is now my view from every window facing the backyard:

kitchen view

She had her dog on the pink floatie just prior to this.  Seriously. I couldn't make that up!

I feel like the papa-paparazzi

"We are the crowd

we're co-coming out

 got my flash on, it's true

 need that picture of you"

Holland, anyone?

via

via

Do you ever have "one of those days"?  Me too.  Then I was serendipitously contacted by an old friend, whom I hadn't talked to in years, and was reminded of this poem I have on my facebook profile.  Thanks for talking me down off my proverbial ledge today, even if you didn't know it!

WELCOME TO HOLLAND by Emily Perl Kingsley. I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability - to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...... When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip - to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland." "Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and disease. It's just a different place. So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around.... and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills....and Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy... and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away... because the loss of that dream is a very very significant loss. But... if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things ... about Holland.

Parmesan Baked Chicken

Is it a faux pas to try out new recipes on your guests?  Because I do it all the time.  That's what happens when you make friends with the girl who likes to food blog for fun.  You've been warned :)  So, I tried this chicken recipe out on some friends who were coming over.  I can't tell you the reason for their visit because it may sound a little odd.  Ok, ok. They were coming over to kill our moles.  So making them dinner was the least I could do.  And if you don't have moles in your yard and you're inclined to feel sorry for the moles? Well, don't.  They have destroyed everything.  Actually, "destroyed" isn't even a strong enough word.

But enough about moles. Chicken!  I think this turned out pretty well.  My only complaint is that I probably cooked it a little too long.  But I prefer to error on the side of overdone when it comes to my chicken.  Even my liquid chicken (that would be eggs, people).  But that's just me. 

The 7 yr old ate it and liked it.  And, AND the 2 yr old ate.this.chicken.  And I mean that he ate half of a (small) chicken breast!  To the exclusion of everything else on his plate, but that's still progress.

The only changes I made to the recipe were to use Italian seasoning in place of the basil and thyme, and I substituted Smart Balance for the butter.  I strictly use real butter for baking only.  But that's just me.

Parmesan Baked Chicken

Recipe Source: Southern Living All-Time Favorites p. 168

1/2 cup fine, dry breadcrumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt

4 skinned and boned chicken breasts

1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions

Combine first 5 ingredients in a Ziploc freezer bag; seal bag and shake well

Dip chicken in butter.  Add 1 piece of chicken at a time to the breadcrumb mixture; seal bag and shake until well coated.  Place chicken on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until done.

Actually Delicious Turkey Burgers

This recipe came from Allrecipes.com and I'm seriously in love with the name!  :)  Actually Delicious.  As if to insinuate that turkey burgers aren't usually delicious? 

So here's the deal. I've kinda sworn off beef (except when I haven't...but that's another story).  I'm a little surprised it took me so long to become a turkey convert.  It's the only way to go now.  Luckily, some friends have also made the conversion so they weren't alarmed when they showed up at my house and discovered I had made turkey burgers.

I've had the frozen turkey burgers before, but this was my first time to make fresh patties so I have to tell you a little bit about it.  It's a ridiculously disgusting process.  Sorry, it is!  The texture is nothing similar to ground beef.  For a few minutes there, I wasn't entirely sure the mess I was working with in my gigantic bowl was actually going to form patties that could be cooked on the grill.  I don't really know what happened, but it sort of worked itself out and once they were formed into patties they held together pretty nicely.

For me, it's all about what you top these burgers with.  Turkey burgers don't have the same flavor as beef, so I think they're a bit boring without the stuff that goes along with it.  And I think avacado is an absolute must on a turkey burger. But that's just me.  And the kids will eat these!  That's definitely worth something ;)

Actually Delicious Turkey Burgers
Recipe from Allrecipes

3 pounds ground turkey

1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs  (I only had plain bread crumbs on hand that day)

1/4 cup finely diced onion

2 egg whites, lightly beaten

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (I never have this stuff)

1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

In a large bowl, mix ground turkey, seasoned bread crumbs, onion, egg whites, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper. Form into 12 patties.

Cook the patties in a medium skillet over medium heat, turning once, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F  (We grilled ours.  And I found out my meat thermometer was broken.  But noone got sick, so I'll put that in the win column)

Semi Wordless Wednesday

 

I need a hot breakfast dish to bring to a church breakfast in a few weeks.  I'm thinking it should it be a tried and true recipe.  Maybe I won't use them as guinea pigs...but then again, maybe I will  :)  Here are a few recipes I've featured on my blog in the past:

Breakfast Casserole

Pizza Quiche

Breakfast Enchiladas

Brunch Casserole

Crash Hot Potatoes

It's no surprise that I love potatoes.  I mean, LOVE them.  Like, I think I might be able to survive solely on potatoes.  Except only the white ones.  All bets are off if you start talking sweet potatoes! Blech!

This is a super easy recipe from The Pioneer Woman.  I've made them twice and they are every bit as good as she says they are.  These potatoes even elicited an impromptu compliment from the 7 yr old!  I didn't expect him to even try it since the skin was still on, but then I heard "Mmm, these potatoes are good, Mom".  My head might have whipped around in disbelief.  :) 

Crash Hot Potatoes

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt To Taste  (I'm pretty sure my salt isn't Kosher)
Black Pepper To Taste
Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Directions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.

On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.

With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.

Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)

Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Quiche Lorraine

Otherwise known as "The Quiche That Wouldn't Cook"!  I think it's my oven that's the problem.  I actually put it back in the oven after taking these pictures, but I didn't bother to get new pictures :)

So, Quiche Lorraine.  Why Lorraine? Anyone know?  I mean, it's just bacon, eggs and cheese.  No points for originality there.  Not that there's anything wrong with the concept, it's just that I'm not sure it warrants having the dish named after the person who dreamed it up.  If that's even the origin...I dunno, I'm just spit ballin' here.

I made mine with turkey bacon (because I'm a convert, remember?).  Am I getting too predictable? :)  And I used a ready made refrigerated pie crust.  I thought the dish was good, but not Wow.  The kids wouldn't eat it.  You know, the whole eggs and melted cheese thing.  They both ate the heck out of the turkey bacon though!

Here's a little pearl of wisdom for you.  Don't ask the lady at the deli counter for a 6 oz block of cheese.  She won't know how much cheese that is.  And don't discuss fractions with her.  She won't appreciate your quick mathematics lesson.  Just ask for a slice of Swiss that's about 2 inches thick.  She will understand this measurement. Then you can go home and shred your cheese. The end.

Quiche Lorraine

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book p. 234

1 prepared pastry for single-crust pie

6 slices bacon (try turkey bacon)

1 medium onion, sliced

3 beaten eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 tsp salt

dash ground nutmeg

1 1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese (6 oz)

1 Tbls all-purpose flour

Directions

Fit the pastry shell into a pie plate.  Line the unpricked pastry shell with a double thickness of foil.  Bake at 450 degrees for 8 minutes.  Remove foil.  Bake for 4 to 5 minutes more or till pastry is set and dry.  Remove from oven.  Reduce oven temp to 325 degrees.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 2 Tbls drippings. (This isn't necessary with the turkey bacon.  I added a little olive oil for cooking my onions) Crumble bacon; set aside.  Cook sliced onion in reserved drippings until tender but not brown; drain.

In a medium mixing bowl stir together eggs, milk, salt, and nutmeg.  Stir in crumbled bacon and onion.  Toss together shredded cheese and flour.  Add to egg mixture; mix well.

Pour egg mixture into the hot, baked pastry shell.  Bake in the 325 degree oven for 35 to 40 minutes (or 50+ in my oven) or till a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.  If necessary, cover edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  Makes 6 servings.

Manicotti Casserole



Remember when I made this manicotti?  Well, what I didn't tell you was that I had left over filling after I had finished stuffing all my manicotti.  You know, the ones that weren't broken!  ;)  And I had used all of the jarred marinara sauce too. 

What you see here is my quick brainstorm of what to do with the bowl of manicotti filling sitting on my countertop.  I grabbed an 8x8 square tin pan and sprayed it with cooking spray.  Then I boiled about a cup of mini shell pasta, drained it, and placed in the bottom of the tin pan.  Next I layered what was left of the manicotti filling over the top of the shell pasta.  But, as I mentioned, I used up all of the jarred sauce.  So, I found a can of tomato puree in the pantry and mixed in some Italian seasoning.  I didn't measure; just added until I liked the way it smelled :)  Then I poured my Italiany-tomato sauce over the top, covered with tin foil and stuck it in the freezer.  I haven't talked about my freezer in a while, have I?  I still L.O.V.E my freezer! 

A few weeks later I pulled out this frozen casserole and let it thaw for several hours.  It baked, covered, in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes. And Viola!  It wasn't quite the same as the original manicotti, but I thought it was good none-the-less.  And the 7 yr old ate it this go around. Ha!  The 2 yr old? Not so much.

If you missed the original Manicotti post, you can find it HERE

Semi Wordless Wednesday

 

I'm not exactly sure how one becomes so emotionally invested in the lives of two people she never even met.  But that's exactly what I did.  And maybe the part I hate most right now is the expectation that, as of today I suppose, life is expected to just continue on as usual. 

A Wonderful Life

http://www.facebook.com/franklins.flying.circus

Flourless Chocolate Cookies

I demanded to have this recipe from a friend when she served them at a party at her house not too long ago.  She used to try telling me that she can't cook, but I stopped believing her!  You won't believe her either once you try these cookies!  Not the prettiest cookie, true.  But what they lack in beauty they more than make up for in chocolaty richness.  (Chocolaty? Is that even a word?)

I tried convincing my sister that these cookies were healthy because they contain no flour nor any egg yolks.  But she was quick to point out the 3 cups of sugar which they do contain.  Whatever.  :)

I suspect that I may not have beaten my batter quite long enough because it came out pretty runny, causing the cookies to spread a little thinner than I would have liked.  Maybe it's one of those things where you just need to eye ball it and stop beating when the consistancy looks like something you can scoop. 

Flourless Chocolate Cookies
Recipe from a friend, original source unknown

1/2 cup plus 3 Tbls cocoa powder

3 cups powdered sugar

pinch of salt

2 cups chocolate chips

4 large egg whites, at room temp

1 Tbls vanilla extract

Directions

Place a rack each in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or siliconebaking sheets.

Combine the cocoa powder, powdered sugar, salt and chocolate chips in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.  (I didn't add my chocolate chips until the end for fear that they would get beaten half to death)  Mix on low speed for one minute. With the mixer running, slowly add the egg whites and vanilla.  Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes, until the mixture has slightly thickened. Do no over mix or the egg whites will thicken too much.

With a 2 ounce cookie scoop or ice cream scoop or generous tablespoon, scoop the batter onto the parchment lined baking sheets, to make cookies that are 4 inches in diameter, spacing about 3 inches apart so they don't stick when they spread.  If you have extra batter, wait the first batch of cookies is  baked before scooping the next batch.

Put the cookies in the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 320 degrees.  Bake for 14 to 16 minutes or until small thin cracks appear on the surface of the cookies. Switch the pans halfway through baking.  Pull the parchment paper with the cookies onto a wire cooling rack, and let cool completely before removing the cookies from the paper.  Store in an airtight container for up to 2 days.