Mixed Berry Cheesecake

(excuse the photo - all I had when it was served was a cell phone)

Mixed Berry Cheesecake

Courtesy of Ina Garten

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 tablespoon sugar

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature (5 8oz packages)

1 1/2 cups sugar

5 whole extra large eggs, at room temperature

2 extra large egg yolks, at room temperature

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, about 2 lemons (I only used 1 lemon)

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (I used my vanilla bean paste)

For the topping:

1 cup red jelly (not jam) such as currant, raspberry, or strawberry

1/2 pint sliced strawberries

1/2 pint raspberries

1/2 pint blueberries

** I opted just to use sliced strawberries mixed with a little sugar and lemon juice for our topping

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.

To make the filling, cream the sugar and cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of  the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. (I left the cake in the oven the whole time - I just opened the door for the 30 minutes, and then closed it again for the 2-3 hours.) Wrap and refridgerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

To make the topping, melt the jelly in a small pan over low heat. In a bowl, toss berries and the warm jelly gently until well mixed. Arrange the berries on top of the cake. Refridgerate until ready to serve.

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Kimmy Bean Cupcakes

 

Kimmy Bean Cupcakes 

(aka Vanilla Bean Cupcakes) 

Courtesy of Tasty Kitchen.com

Cupcakes: (yield 12 cupcakes)

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

2 whole eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon scraped vanilla beans (I used 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste)

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, sugar, and eggs together until fluffy. Add vanilla and scraped vanilla beans. Make sure vanilla is mixed into the batter well. Combine dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) in a bowl. Add half of the dry ingredient mixture to the wet batter, mixing until just combined. Add the milk. Once mixed, add remaining dry ingredients. Pour into cupcake tins and bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool. Then frost.

Frosting: (yield 24 cupcakes)

1 cup

2 pounds powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon scraped vanilla beans (I used 4 teaspoons of the vanilla bean paste)

Mix butter and powdered sugar together, adding sugar gradually to the mix. Add milk gradually, then the vanilla extract and vanilla beans. Continue to add milk and sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. I used AmeriColor Gel Food Coloring to make my Super Bowl themed cupcakes.

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Chicken & Spinach Casserole

Chicken & Spinach Casserole

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1 whole rotisserie chicken, shredded (I used 2 chicken breasts that I pre-roasted instead)

2 packages frozen spinach, thawed

1 cup sour cream

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded or grated

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

1 whole onion, diced

1 head garlic, minced (I used about 5-6 cloves)

1 box pasta shells, cooked (I used spirals instead because I had them)

Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Saute onion and garlic until translucent. Add spinach and cook until all liquid has evaporated. Mix chicken, pasta, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise, mozzarella, and season to taste with salt & pepper. Pour into ovenproof casserole dish. Mix Parmesan and breadcrumbs and sprinkle on top of casserole. Bake 25-30 minutes.

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Awesome Party Punch

Awesome Party Punch

Courtesy of Tara and Staci

The color alone on this punch is amazing!!

1 large bottle of Minute Maid Pomegranate Blueberry juice

2 large bottles of Simply Lemonade

2 bottles of club soda

lots of ice

Mix the ingredients in the order that they are listed with the exception of the ice - fill the punch bowl or serving jug with the ice and pour the ingredients over the top starting with the pomegranate blueberry juice.

It is super yummy!

I just made some to take to a Women's Ministry meeting for our church, and it's a half batch which made about a gallon.... I didn't put it over ice because of the traveling - and I'd say that if you do it this way - you might want to put a tiny bit of water in the glasses with the ice and pour the punch over the top. The ice as it melts dilutes the punch just a bit and makes it really refreshing!

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Cathi's Turkey Burgers

Cathi's Turkey Burgers

Courtesy of my sister Cathi

1tbls dijon mustard

8-10 oz of spinach (thaw and squeeze dry)

salt

pepper

garlic

minced onion

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg (added by John to a double batch)

1/4 cup bread crumbs (added by John)

Mix all ingredients together. Grill them until they are done, or you could pan fry them. Serve with your favorite hamburger toppings... we also put them on whole wheat hamburger buns.

** This recipe could be used with ground beef, ground pork, ground white meat turkey, or even ground chicken... I don't know if you can get ground seafood - but try it with your favorite ground meat!

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Thanksgiving Punch

Thanksgiving Punch
Courtesy of: MyRecipes.com

Stir 1/2 cup peeled, chopped fresh ginger, 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups water in a saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Let cool and strain. Mix syrup with 4 cups pomegranate juice (I used cranberry pomegranate juice), 4 cups pineapple juice and 6 cups ginger ale. Serve over ice.

Serves 8.Pin It Now!

Honey Lemon Chicken

Honey Lemon Chicken
Courtesy of My Recipes.com

4 (4 ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons honey
1 lemon, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place chicken breast half between two sheets of wax paper. Pound the meat until evenly flattened. Repeat on all remaining chicken breasts.

Melt butter with honey in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir until melted and blended. (I did mine in the microwave.)

Arrange chicken in a baking dish large enough to hold all chicken in a single layer. Season with salt and pepper to taste on both sides. Pour warmed honey mixture over chicken and place lemon slices on top.

Cover baking dish loosely with foil and bake until chicken is opaque and firm to the touch, about 20 minutes.

Spoon juices from bottom of baking dish over chicken and lemon several times. Sprinkle chicken with rosemary.Pin It Now!