Blog Hiatus

Once again, I'm taking a break from blogging :(.  Hopefully when things get easier with the baby I'll be back to post more.  I'll leave with a cute Jonah picture though :)

Peanut Butter Cheesecake

Happy Memorial Day!

 

My mom wanted to make a special treat for our family while she was here, and this is what she decided on.  Aaron, Mom and Noah gave it a 9, and Owen, my Dad and I gave it an 8, because it was a little too peanut-buttery for us. 

 

Crust:

6 T butter, melted

1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs

1/4 c crushed oreo cookies crumbs

1/4 c sugar

3/4 c creamy peanut butter

 

Cheesecake:

3 8 oz packages cream cheese, at room temperature

1 c sugar

1 c sour cream

1 1/2 t vanilla

3 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 c hot fudge ice cream topping

Peanut butter cups for garnish

 

Preheat oven to 350.  Butter 9 in springform pan.  Mix all crumbs, sugar and 6 T butter.  Press into pan.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Cool completely.  In a small bowl, microwave peanut butter on high 30 seconds, and brush onto the crust.  Prepare the cheesecake by mixing the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in sour cream and vanilla.  Beat in eggs until just combined on low speed.  Remove 1 c batter; set aside.  Pour remaining batter into prepared crust.  In a small bowl microwave 1/4 c hot fudge topping for 30 seconds.  Fold it into the reserved batter.  Pour the filling over the batter in the pan, swirl with a knife.

Bake cheesecake in a water bath for 55 minutes.  Turn off oven and remove cheesecake from the water bath and let cool in the oven for 3 hours.  Pour the remaining hot fudge topping over the top of the cake and garnish with peanut butter cups.  Cover and refrigerate at least 6 hours.

 

This recipe comes from Good Housekeeping May 2013 edition, and they say that 1/16 of the cake has 475 calories.



Pretzel Dogs

We tried pretzel dogs while my mom was here, and I really liked these!  They are definitely best the first day, but they are still good the next day as well.  We served ours with just plain ketchup, and although Aaron and my dad didn't like them that much, the boys, my mom and I all really did!  You can find the recipe at browneyedbaker.com and here is a link.  Try these with your kids, they are great!!!  We gave them an 8 and a perfect 10 :)

Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole with chips and salsa and salad

 

1 lb ground beef                                  1 can green chilies

1 small onion, chopped                       1 package Taco Seasoning

1 c (8 oz) bottle Ortega Thick and Smooth Taco Sauce

¾ c water                                            1 package Taco shells or chips

2 c shredded cheese

Cook ground beef with onion and green chilies, then add water and taco seasoning and the taco sauce.  Layer with tortilla chips and cheese.  Cook for 20 minutes in 350 oven.

This was so good.  Really delicious!  My mom made it for us, and it was a hit with everyone.  Aaron said he really enjoyed it and had 2 servings, and the boys enjoyed it as well.  Thanks Mom!

Cheese Bacon Stuffed Potatoes

Cheese Bacon Stuffed Potatoes

 

4 large baking potatoes                       3 slices bacon, chopped

8 oz mushrooms, chopped                  4 green onions, sliced

6 oz, cheddar cheese, shredded (1 ½ c)

1 t black pepper/ ½ t salt                     1 T butter

1 container 8 oz low fat sour cream

These are just like twice baked potatoes, but my mom made them in the microwave to make it easier.  These were really tasty, we all really enjoyed them!

Strawberry Shake

Aaron is the king of shakes around here, and this one was delicious!!!  He takes strawberries, vanilla ice cream, milk, sugar, and a little vanilla and blends it all together to make a delicious shake.  Yummy! 

Chicken Enchilada Verde Casserole

Chicken Enchilada Verde Casserole and salad

 

¾ c chicken broth                                ½ c each salsa Verde and red salsa

½ t salt                                                2 /T oil

1 medium onion, chopped                  1 chili seeded and chopped

½ c sour cream                                    3 cups shredded cooked chicken

1 ½ c Monterey Jack Cheese              10 6” flour tortillas

 

Cook the chicken with the onion, chicken broth and salt and chili.  Dip the tortillas in oil, mix sauces and sour cream together, then roll the chicken, sauce and cheese in the tortillas and top with remaining sauce and cheese.  Cook for 30 minutes in the oven at 350.

This one was another recipe my mom made, and although my family wasn't a big fan of it, my dad and mom really like it, so it's just a matter of taste.  Sorry no pictures, we didn't get everything organized right after Jonah was born :)

Cheese Filled Jumbo Shells

1 pkg. 12 oz Jumbo Shells, uncooked             1 T chopped fresh parsley

4 cups (2 lbs) ricotta cheese                            ¾ t dried oregano leaves

2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese      ½ t salt

3/c grated Parmesan cheese                            ¼ t black pepper

2 eggs                                                              3 cups (about 26 oz jar) spaghetti sauce

Mix the cheeses together with the eggs, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper.  Stuff the shells, then cover with spaghetti sauce.  Cook in the oven for at least 40 minutes at 350, until the shells are cooked through. 

I didn't try this, my mother made this while I was in the hospital, but I heard the kids really liked it.  I am also guessing on cooking time, etc, because I wasn't given the full recipe.  Hopefully it will turn out well :)

Lime Sorbet Revisited

So we tried a new recipe for lime sorbet, and although much better than last time, this still wasn't a huge hit like we wanted.  It's just sooo darn sour!  Aaron's mom made it for us, and it was so awesome that she did, but we will have to try another recipe next time.  Here is the picture, and the calories are very low, since you can only eat a little bit of it before it's too sour.  The calories are 107 calories for 1/8 of the total.  We'll try another recipe soon and see if we can find a winner!

Oatmeal Apple Pancakes

These were some good pancakes, but the boys didn't love having the apples in it.  I found this recipe in a book where the high point is the recipes.  The author is JoAnn Fluke, and she has lots and lots of recipes.  I have lots of them I want to try, but most of them are cookies.

 

Oatmeal Apple Pancakes

1 small apple

1 T lemon juice

1/2 c flour

2 T sugar

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1 t vanilla

3/4 c buttermilk or regular whole milk

2 t vegetable oil

1 egg

 

Peel and core the apple.  Cut it into very thin slices, place them in a bowl, and sprinkle them with lemon juice.  If using a sour apple, sprinkle with sugar.

Place flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a food processor.  Process together.  Add the vanilla extract, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and egg to the dry mixture in the food processor.  Scoop out 1/4 c for each pancake on griddle.  Place 5-6 apple slices on top of each pancake, then press in lightly.  Flip pancakes to continue cooking.

 

If you notice, I forgot to put the amount of oatmeal in when I wrote down the recipe, so I just put in 1/2 c oats, and the recipe worked well.  We made 9 pancakes for this and the calories per pancake were 113 per pancake.  Owen gave them an 8, Noah and I gave them a 9, and they really were good, and pretty healthy.  We enjoyed them.

Anne Burrell's Parmigiano Flan

This was another flop for us.  Anne Burrell's Parmigiano Flan from Cook Like A Rock Star was uninspiring, but at least it was easy :)  The recipe made 6 little flans, and they were each 395 calories.  These took much longer to cook than the recipe said, and I found them very unpleasant.  They were too, I don't know, eggy, or something, but the consistency was very off-putting.  Owen gave them a 7, he thought this was good, but Aaron and Noah gave it a 4 and I gave it a 3.  Here's the super simple recipe

2 c heavy cream
4 large eggs
1 c parmesan freshly grated
salt
cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325.
Spray 6 ramekins and set aside.  Combine cream, eggs, cheese, salt and cayenne and whisk well.  Divide the mixture between the ramekins. 
Place the ramekins in a dish, and fill up the baking dish with hot water until the water reaches halfway up the ramekins.  Cover with foil, and bake for 30-35 minutes (I cooked ours for at least 45, and they could've cooked quite a bit longer).  Remove from the oven and cool.  Serve with salad.

365 Days of Slow Cooking's Crock Pot Clam Chowder

This was good, easy, and a nice way to eat clam chowder.  We gave this an 8, and although I thought it was a little bacon-y, this was great.  I found the recipe in the cookbook 365 Days of Slow Cooking, and our family liked it.  I felt like the white sauce wasn't as successful as it could've been, the way the author made the recipe didn't make a great white sauce, but it was ok.  The calories for 1/10 of the soup were 242 calories, and this was very filling.  You can find the recipe on the 365 Days of Slow Cooking website, click here.

Pesto Cheese Pizza

This was a success!  We made this with just a simple pizza dough, the one with the Kitchenaid mixer book, and we topped it with pesto and then lots of cheese.  Everyone said it was their favorite homemade pizza ever!  Hooray!  You get no recipe or calories today, but try this easy meal if you can, everyone loved it.  Aaron and I gave it a 9, and the boys gave it a perfect 10.