Cheesecake With Berry Topping

I love cheesecake. I mean I Really LOVE cheesecake! This is the dessert that I would look forward to as a child. It all starts with the buttery homemade graham cracker crust. Then the two different layers of cheesecakey goodness. Top it all off with your favorite fruit topping. Oh man. Heaven in a pan!

Crust
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs (one package does the trick)
1/2 cup melted butter

Stir these all together, then squish into the bottom of your pan.

Cheesecake
1 lb cream cheese at room temperature (2 of those 8oz packages)
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix these ingredients until smooth.  Pour over the graham cracker crust.  Bake at 375*f for 30 minutes or until top is starting to brown.  Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Cheesecake Topping
2 cups sour cream (16oz)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

After the cheesecake has had it's 15 minutes of cool down, pour this topping over the whole cheesecake.  Bake at 475*f for 10 minutes.

Cool the cheesecake completely before serving.  Top it with your favorite fruit, chocolate sauce, or just eat it plain!!

Fantastic!

Oven Baked Chimichangas

This is a nice easy recipe that freezes really well.  One batch was enough for dinner for us one night, and several to freeze for lunches later.

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef (browned)
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can green chili peppers
1 packet chili seasonings
cheddar cheese (shredded)
burrito size flour tortillas
sour cream to garnish

After the beef is browned, add in the tomatoes, chili peppers, and chili seasonings packet.

 

 

Next, you are going to roll up your chimichangas.  I have pictures to show how I roll mine.  This gives them a nice shape for baking so they don't ooze everywhere.  The secret is to not put in too much filling!  Just a bit in the middle, then top with shredded cheese.

Fold up the sides.

Now fold the half closest to you over the top of the filling.

Tuck in the corners so they don't escape and the filling doesn't ooze out.

Roll the rest of the way up.

Place on a lined baking sheet folded side down.  Bake at 350*F until nicely browned and crispy on the outside.

Serve with salsa, more shredded cheese, and sour cream on top!

Any that you don't eat at this meal can be frozen individually for lunches later.  Simply put the cooled individual chimichangas in sandwich baggies.  Then put the sandwich baggies into a freezer bag to store.  When you want one for lunch, grab and go!  When I heat them up, I take them out of the baggy and wrap in a paper towel, then microwave for 2 minutes.  The paper towel helps to soak up some of the moisture from it heating back up.  Then the tortilla doesn't get all soggy.

 

Sourdough Pancakes

Oh man, sourdough pancakes.  So wonderful!!  The sourdough starter gives them a nice rise.  Thick pancakes without being doughy in the middle.  MMMM!

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sourdough starter
3 tablespoons melted butter

Mix the dry and wet ingredients seperately, then combine.

Cook like any other pancakes over a low heat.  This recipe made 9 pancakes using 1/3 cup mix for each one.

Sourdough Bread

Here is the basic sourdough bread recipe I use.  It's so tasty!!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm water
1 cup starter
1 tablespoon yeast
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups flour

You can leave the yeast out, but you will have to give your bread lots of time to rise.  I am impatient, so I add a bit of yeast.  This gives me that great sourdough taste, but a quicker rise.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  If the dough is sticky, add a bit more flour.

Cover lightly and let rise until doubled.

Punch down.

Shape into loaves.  This is the point where I put it in my greased loaf pans.

Let rise again until the dough is just above the edge of the pan.

Bake at 350*F until nicely browned.

A way to tell if the bread is done.  The outside is nicely browned.  Turn it out of the pan and give the bottom of the loaf a good thump.  The bread should sound a little like a drum.  A nice hollow sound means the bread is done.

Breadmaking is an art.  Sometimes it takes practice.  If your first couple of loaves don't turn out right, try again!  You'll get the feel for it!

Care and feeding of your sourdough starter!

I've recently rediscovered the joys of having a sourdough starter on hand.  This little jar of goodness lives in the back of my fridge, I drag it out maybe once a month for a stir and a feeding.  When I am ready for killer pancakes, flat bread, biscuits, or traditional sourdough bread I pull it out and put it to work!

I did not make my own starter.  I recieved a start from a friend.  I know she has had the same starter for years now.  There are plenty of recipes online, and even websites to order a starter from.  I don't have that info for you.  However, once you get a starter, I can help!

Housing:
Sourdough starter prefers a glass or ceramic container to hang out in.  A lid is a good idea, but it needs to not be air tight.  I use a glass crock with a non-sealing lid for mine.

Temperature:
I, personally, store my starter in the refrigerator.  This gives me the peace of mind knowing it won't go bad if I forget about it for a couple of weeks.  This does slow the starter down, and it will take a little longer in the recipes to do what sourdough does.

You can keep it on your counter if you know you are going to be using it often.  If you choose to keep it on the counter, feed and stir it at least once a week.

Feeding and Treats:
Once a month (or every week if out on the counter) you will need to feed and stir your starter.  Simply stir the starter, then remove 1 cup of starter.  You can use the starter in a recipe, or you can pour it down the sink. 
Add back in 1 cup of luke warm water and 1 cup of flour.
Give it a good stir!  Then place back in the fridge.

Each time you use some of the starter, just feed it then.  This will keep you in starter for eternity!  If you are like me, and want to share your starter, simply feed without removing any first.  This will build up the starter and you can dip out a cup to give to a friend.

Help! My starter is seperated and colorful!
Yep, it does that.  Your starter will seperate.  You will have a thicker goo on the bottom of the jar and a liquidy layer on the top.  That liquidy layer may even change colors.  It could be green, black, or brownish.  Any color is fine EXCEPT  red or orange.  If it turns red or orange, toss it.

Oh No!  I forgot all about it, I haven't fed it in months!
Well, what color is it?  If it is red or orange, toss it.  Any other color, you can revive it!

Reviving Your Starter
Take the container out of the fridge.  Let it warm up on the counter for an hour or two.  Drain off the liquid on top.  Take a cup of the goo from the bottom and set aside.  Clean your container out for your fresh starter.  Put your old goo into the fresh clean container.  While you are cleaning the container, put some water on to boil.  You want a nice fresh water without any contaminates.  Once it boils a bit, let it cool back to luke warm.  Think baby bath water.  You want to kick start the starter back into action.  Too hot, and you will kill it.
Stir in 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of the luke warm water.  Leave it on the counter over night to get started.
After it's night out, you can put it back in the fridge and go back to the normal care and feeding of your starter!

Cranberry Juice

I love cranberries!! 

I eat them in my oatmeal almost daily.  I like them in crisps.  I use cranberry sauce as the jelly on a PB&J sandwich.  Love those little berries!  I also love cranberry juice, but it's so expensive, and I don't like how much sugar it has.  I want to taste the cranberry, not the apple and pear juice!

I read a recipe online that says you can make a simple juice by putting one cup fresh cranberries and 1/3 cup sugar into each quart jar.  Then fill with hot water.  Process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.

 

After processing I just loved the colors in the jars as they turned into juice!

Look at those lovely berries!

Here is a jar of the juice the next day.  From what I understand, the juice will get stronger as you let it sit.  I was impatient, though, so I opened up a jar.  If it gets better as it sits, I'm in for some FREAKING AWESOME juice!!!  This stuff was great!

Just a note for your information...a 3lb bag of fresh berries makes 12 quarts of juice!

I did think it was a bit too sweet for me.  It wasn't as sweet as store bought juice, but I still wanted the cranberries to shine.  In my next batch I only put 1/4 cup sugar in each jar.

I did a few more jars using cranberries and blackberries.  I'll tell you how it turns out in a few days!

 

Cheesecake filled, chocolate covered strawberries!

The title says it all.  How could you go wrong with cheesecake, chocolate, and strawberries?

Ingredients
  20 Strawberries
  1 box cream cheese
  1 cup powdered sugar
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 cup chocolate chips
  2 tablespoons butter
  2 cups whipped cream

Hull and core out the strawberries. Wash and set out to dry.
Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla in a mixer until smooth.
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper or aluminum foil.
Fill strawberries with cream cheese mixture. Place on tray.

Place tray of strawberries in freezer while you make the chocolate dip.
Using a double boiler, melt butter. Add in chocolate chips and whipped cream. Stir constantly until melted and smooth.

Dip each strawberry in the chocolate sauce and place back on the tray.
Place back in the freezer until chocolate is set. Approximately half an hour.

Spanish Rice

I put this together as a last minute potluck dish.  It turned out really great!  Then the leftovers came home and turned into a chicken soup. Gotta love multiple meals from one dish!

Spanish rice

1 cup brown rice
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups chicken broth (1can)
2 cups canned diced tomatoes (1 can) undrained
2 cups cooked black beans (1 can) drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon hot chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon cumin

Melt butter in saucepan.  Add in rice.  Brown rice for a bit in the butter.  Stir in all remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil, stirring often.  Reduce heat to simmer.  Cover and simmer for 45 minutes.

Approximately 6 cups prepared.