Cherry Swirl Cheesecake

Back at Thanksgiving, I made a Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake (you can find that recipe here). Recently, we had friends over and I decided that a cheesecake would make a great dessert. The Pumpkin Marble Cheesecake recipe that I had used produced a very nice cheesecake, so I wanted to use that recipe, but didn't feel like pumpkin said spring. I felt that I needed to use something for a swirl, but it had to be 'wet'. I decided that for this first attempt, I would try a ready made pie filling, so I picked up a can of cherry pie filling.

I simply swapped the same amount of cherry filling as there had been pumpkin and skipped the pumpkin pie spices. I relied on my mixer to beat apart the chunks of cherry, but allowed some chunks in the swirl. It was met with rave reviews. I was very pleased with the result. It gives me inspiration to try more...I'm not sure what I will try next, but some ideas that I have include caramel (ice cream topping), lemon (lemon pie filling) and chocolate (hot fudge or chocolate syrup).

Cherry Swirl Cheesecake

Servings 10

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter melted
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
3/4 cup sugar divided
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 cup cherry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray 9" spring-form pan with cooking spray. Combine the crushed graham crackers and melted butter. Press into the bottom and up sides of the pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Combine cream cheese, 1/2 cup of sugar, and vanilla. Cream until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reserve 1 cup of the batter, refrigerate covered. To the remaining batter, add the remaining sugar and the cherry pie filling. Mix until blended.

Remove the plain batter from the refrigerator and spoon about half onto the crust in dollops. Cover with the pumpkin batter and then dollop the remaining plain batter on top. Using a butter knife, gently swirl the batters together.

Bake for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool on wire rack in pan. Refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.



Disclaimer

Crustless Pizza (aka Pizza Chicken)

Pizza is a family favorite at my house. The combination of the tomato sauce and the cheese is so appealing to me - in fact, I have been craving a hot piece of pizza and mentioned it to a coworker in a meeting the other day because I could smell the Parmesan and Tomato on her sandwich.

My experience with homemade pizza is that a good amount of the calories are coming from the crust. My friend mentioned that since she is following a low carb diet, she has been eating crustless pizza, essentially all of the toppings in a casserole instead of on a crust.

So, I was intrigued when I saw a recipe the other day for crustless pizza. Instead of a dough or bread for the bottom of the pizza they used chicken breast as a crust.

Pizza Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
tomato sauce
shredded mozzarella
turkey pepperoni
other toppings
onion salt
basil

I started by cutting my partially frozen chicken breasts in half, so as to have two thin pieces of chicken.
Using a tenderizing mallet, I pounded the chicken to make it even (it was already thin, just wanted to even it out for cooking).

Place the filleted chicken in a baking pan.

Top with pizza sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni and any other pizza toppings that you prefer.

Season with onion salt and basil. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Disclaimer

Strawberry Cheesecake Chex Mix

At work, we celebrate birthdays by bringing in treats to share. Earlier this week, we were celebrating a young woman's birthday. I had some Chex, so I decided that I would make a Chex mix to share with the group. She is a girly girl, so when I came across the Pink Powder Puff Crunch, it sounded like the perfect Chex mix for her birthday. Only, I seemed to be short on the ingredients. So, I did what I do...I improvised. I had only a small pack of strawberry gelatin, but I also had a small pack of cheesecake pudding - I decided that strawberry and cheesecake are flavors that work together, so off I went to make some dessert Chex mix. I also didn't want it to be just Chex, so I added in some white chocolate chips and some red sugar crystals for a little extra pink sparkle.


Strawberry Cheesecake Chex Mix

9 c Rice Chex
1 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 c butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
1 box strawberry-flavored gelatin
1 box cheesecake flavored instant pudding mix
1 c white chocolate chips
2 tbsp red sugar crystals

Measure cereal into large bowl.

In small microwavable bowl, microwave chocolate chips and butter uncovered on High 1 minute. Stir; microwave 15 to 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour over cereal, stirring until evenly coated.

In 2-gallon large food-storage plastic bag, mix powdered sugar, gelatin, pudding and red sugar crystals. Add cereal mixture. Seal bag and shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper; cool about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Disclaimer

Italian Wedding Cake

Several years ago, when I first started at my current company, someone made this cake for a carry in event and it was wonderful. I, of course, asked for the recipe and make it from time to time. The ricotta cheese mixture, as it bakes into the cake, gives it a bit of a cheesecake flavor/texture. I love the whipped topping too.



Italian Wedding Cake

1 Marble Cake (or Yellow Cake and 1/4 cup cocoa) Mix, prepared according to package directions.

I wasn't able to get a marble cake mix in my preferred brand locally, so I used a yellow cake mix and after mixing it pulled out 1 cup of the batter. I placed the remainder of the batter into the prepared pan. Then, to the 1 cup of batter I had reserved, I added 1/4 cup of cocoa. Then, like with a marble cake mix, I added the chocolate batter in spoonfuls and then ran a knife through it to make the batter marbled.



In a bowl, combine the following:
2# Ricotta Cheese
4 eggs
1 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Blend until well combined. Spoon on top of the cake batter in the pan.


Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Topping:
1 tub Whipped Topping
1 small box Chocolate Pudding
1 c milk

Combine and spread on cooled cake.



Enjoy!


Disclaimer

Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake

Today was the 50th Birthday of one of my coworkers. When I looked into my pantry to decide what to make this morning, I realized that I had some bananas that I thought would be good to use, as they were starting to reach overripe. I had some butterscotch chips, so I thought that maybe I would make some sort of banana butterscotch bars, but I wasn't well prepared, as I was out of flour. That meant banana bread was out of the question too. I didn't have a 'plain' cake mix that I could mix in the bananas, but I did have a chocolate cake mix that came with a fudge filling. I also had no frosting and wasn't really in the mood to whip any up. So, I decided that I would do a banana upside down cake with what I did have on hand. The mix was for a full cake, so unlike my pineapple upside down cake, I made it in a 9x13 pan.



Chocolate Banana Upside Down Cake

Banana Topping
6 T Butter
1/2 c brown sugar, packed
3 bananas, sliced

Melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in brown sugar until dissolved, allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Pour the sauce into buttered pan. Distribute banana slices over the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

Chocolate Cake

Prepare cake mix according to package directions or whip up your favorite homemade chocolate cake. Gently pour over the bananas.

Bake according to package directions. Allow to cool on wire rack for 15 - 20 minutes. Invert onto plate. Slice and serve.

I had a piece this morning when it was still warm, it was so delicious and the banana topping made it so moist. I do recommend a more ripe banana, they tend to be a little sweeter and in my opinion a little less 'starchy'.


Disclaimer

Honey Spice Cereal Mix

When it comes to cereal snack mix, caramel corn and snack bars, I have a tendency to view cereals as interchangeable. So, when I found myself with a box of Corn Pops that someone brought upstairs but no one was choosing for breakfast, it didn't phase me a bit on where to look for a recipe - I simply headed over to the collection of recipes on Chex.com. Now understandably, some recipes will work better with some cereals than others, so I read through several before coming across one that I thought would be just about right. I found this recipe for Hot Buttered Yum Chex Mix and then did a bit of my own thing.

Honey Spice Cereal Mix
6 c cereal (I used Corn Pops)
1/4 c butter or margarine
1/4 c packed brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 c miniature marshmallows
1 c white chocolate chips

Place cereal in large microwavable bowl.

In 2-cup microwavable measuring cup, microwave butter, brown sugar and honey uncovered on High 2 minutes, stirring after 1 minute, until mixture is bubbly. Stir in spices. Pour over cereal mixture, stirring until coated.

Microwave uncovered on High 3 minutes, stirring and scraping bowl after every minute.

Cool about 20 minutes. Stir in marshmallows and chips. Store in airtight container.

It was such a hit that we quickly ran out and I am making a second batch...this time with butterscotch chips - it's what I have on hand!

Disclaimer

Pretzel Chicken with Mustard Cheese Sauce

I am always on the look out for things that are a little different to include in my weekly meal planning. It is so easy to get stuck in a rut, making the same dishes over and over.

At our house, we eat a lot of chicken for dinner, so having variations on preparation is key. The other week on Pinterest, I came across a recipe for Pretzel Chicken on Simply Made with Love. It sounded tasty to me, so I decided to give it a go (with a few tweaks of course!).

The recipe called for frying the chicken, but I prefer to give it a quick pan fry to get the crust and then to finish baking it in the oven. It takes less oil to make it this way, and I have to think that is healthier (but I could be wrong). I made the full recipe for the sauce, but had enough over to use it as the cheese portion of the filling for the chicken enchiladas I made the next night. The sauce below is a half portion, which is what I will make next time.

The meal was a hit with the kids and my husband.

Pretzel Chicken
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups salted pretzels (I used mini-twists)
salt and pepper
2 eggs
1/3 c milk
2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat oven to 350.

Put the pretzels in a sandwich bag and using a mallet, crush them until you have crumbs. Place the pretzels in a shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.

Cut each chicken breast in half and pound with a meat mallet to make the pieces an even thickness.

In a shallow dish, beat the eggs and add the milk.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, heat the oil.

Dip each chicken piece into into the eggs and then into the pretzels. Add to the hot oil in the pan. Cook until the pretzels begin to brown and then flip over.

Remove from pan and place in an oven safe dish and bake for 20 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.

Mustard Cheese Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 tablespoon spicy mustard
1 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

In a saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and the mustard, and cook until slightly thickened. Stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Serve the chicken with the Mustard Cheese Sauce.

Disclaimer