Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce...School's In Session

I'm happy to report that we are back in full swing of school, sports and chaos!  School started last week and the schedules have been non-stop.  Junior year is upon us and the girls are very excited about it and making Varsity team!  I see Letterman jackets in our future very soon.

I have been so busy with them, my new business, redecorating rooms, getting ready for family guest stays and taking on a role with the Booster Club Board, that my experimental cooking and baking (and blogging) on weekends has taken a sideline.

This is what happens when I stop making weekend treats and I go to the grocery store on the way home from work, after a bad day with an empty stomach and feeling hot flashes!!

Luckily, I was able to try out this treat and conquer my very first, made from scratch, cheesecake earlier this summer.  This cheesecake was unbelievable (easy and a little time consuming, but so worth it) and I cannot wait to make it again for our upcoming guests.

Cheesecake With Fresh Strawberry Sauce
Courtesy of Trisha Yearwood

Crust:

Cooking spray
1 1/2 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted

Filling:

32 ounces (Four 8-ounce packages) cream cheese
2 cups sour cream
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Strawberry Sauce:

1 to 1 1/4 cups halved fresh strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 lime, zested

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with cooking spray; line the bottom with a round of parchment paper; and spray the paper with cooking spray. Place the pan on a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil and bring the foil up around the sides to enclose the seam between the bottom and the sides of the pan (this will prevent water from leaking in).

Stir together the graham cracker crumbs and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until the crumbs are coated. Press the mixture firmly into the bottom of the pan and up the sides. Set aside.

For the filling: In a stand mixer, beat the cream cheese together with the sour cream. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the sugar, cornstarch and vanilla, and beat until smooth.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Set the foil-wrapped pan inside a larger pan, and carefully pour 1/2 inch of warm water into the larger pan to create a water bath. Bake for 1 hour. Turn off the oven, open the oven door and let the cheesecake stand in the opened oven for 1 hour. Refrigerate the cheesecake for 2 hours or overnight before removing it from the pan.

For the sauce: Process the strawberries, sugar and lime zest in a food processor or blender until smooth. Chill for at least 1 hour before serving. (The sauce is best served cold from the refrigerator.)

One Year Ago:  Volleyball Cookies
Two Years Ago: Puttanesca Pasta

"Eat The Cookie...Buy The Shoes"

"Eat The Cookie...Buy The Shoes", a great summer read by Joyce Meyer that I have been enjoying.  It's a book for women about "giving yourself permission to lighten up".  It's a very spiritual and inspiring book that reminds us gals, "Fun and enjoyment are needs in our lives, and we can't be healthy without them".

I took Joyce's advice...I stumbled on these darling shoes (on sale of course).  They were the last pair in my size, so of course it was meant to be that they were waiting there for me...and I made a batch of these "oh my goodness - very naughty cookie bars".  I don't know what else to call them except naughty!  Pure bliss in one bite!

They were also the perfect dessert for my family...my husband loves chocolate chip brownies, my oldest daughter prefers Oreos, my youngest daughter is partial to chocolate chip cookies...and let's face it, I'm addicted to all three of them and I'm not even going to try and deny it.

Naughty Cookie Bars

Inspired by Joyce Meyer

"Eat The Cookie...Buy The Shoes"

1 tub refrigerated pre-made cookie dough (or make your own)

1 package Double Stuff Oreo cookies

1 box, family size, brownie mix (plus ingredients needed to prepare)

1/2 bag mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line a 9 x 13 glass baking dish with parchment paper.

Spread layer of cookie dough evenly over the parchment paper.

Place rows of Oreo cookies on top of the cookie dough.

Prepare the brownie mix according to package directions.

Spread the prepared brownie mix over the Oreo cookies.

Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips over the brownie mix.

Bake at 350 degrees approximately 30- 45 minutes.

Depending on your oven, start checking it after 30 minutes

and brownies are baked through.

One Year Ago: Spinach, Chicken, Bacon Pizza

Two Years Ago: Snickerdoodles

Greek Chicken Salad and Greatest Whitewater Trip

I finally received my photo CD of our whitewater rafting trip in Blue River, Oregon with Ouzel Outfitters.  So excited to look at them again.  I don't know what is more fun, the actual rafting trip or reliving the moment through our photos, which brought smiles to all our faces again.

This salad is perfect for a light dinner after a long afternoon of sun, paddling, a lot of splash and river time.

Greek Chicken Salad

4 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast

12 cherry tomatoes, quartered

4 oz. crumbled feta cheese

1 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped

5 ounces (1/2 container), prepared Tzatziki sauce/dip

1 head bib lettuce, rough chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients except lettuce in a large bowl.  Toss well.  Serve chicken salad on bed of lettuce.

Serve with toasted pita corners and Castle Rock Pinot Noir.

American Chop Suey and Traditions

Any family can attest that 16 hours on a road trip can be trying and exhausting.  We broke up our drive in 2 days, both ways to help our trek to and from Oregon, via Wyoming, Utah and Idaho.  There was beautiful scenery, but for teenagers there are only so many trees, mountains and lakes sometimes.

Every traveling family car must be loaded with two things:  Snacks and Games!!  I taught my girls how to play Blackjack a few years ago...any good parent should!  It teaches them fast math and how to think quickly on their feet (or while sitting in the backseat, in this case).  

A hot "Backseat Blackjack" tournament going through Wyoming.
High Stakes:  Starburst

In preparation for our visit with my Grandma, I also taught the girls how to play Gin Rummy.  My grandma taught me the card game when I was little and I have great memories of that tradition with her.  I figured the girls better be prepared to play her...at 88 years old, she's really good!!

Playing Gin Rummy while making breakfast,
gives new meaning to "Hunger Games".

When I was growing up in the 70's, budgets were tight and meal planning needed to go far.  Another tradition I fondly remember, was my mom had a specialty dinner she called "Slumgullion", not sure on the spelling, but you get the picture.  It was simple...cooked elbow macaroni, tomato sauce and ground beef.  She cooked up a huge pot, it filled our stomachs and made great leftovers.  We always had it with a green salad and stack of white bread on a small plate.

As I was addicted to my Wahlburgers television series last year (and when I say addicted, I mean addicted), I ended up watching an episode that featured Alma's famous "American Chop Suey", a long standing family tradition.  This essentially was a tricked out version of my mom's Slumgullion...who knew a 70's dinner would be a famous restaurant favorite today!!

American Chop Suey
Courtesy of Alma Wahlberg

1 lb. bacon, diced
1 lb. ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 large bell pepper (optional), diced
3 cans (regular sized) whole tomatoes
1 lb. elbow macaroni noodles
salt 
pepper
1 Tbl. garlic powder

In a large pot cook the bacon until half-way cooked.  Add the ground beef, onion, bell pepper, garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.  Cook stirring occasionally until meat is thoroughly cooked. Next, add in the canned tomatoes and crush them with potato smasher in the pot.  Let simmer on low while macaroni cooks.

Boil macaroni according to package directions.  Once macaroni has cooked, drain it well, add it to the meat mixture and stir.

**Paired this with a blue cheese wedge salad and garlic cheese toast points.
(Also a tricked out version of my mom's dinner salad and bread).

Bistro Sandwich and Best Day Ever

One of our favorite parts of road trips are the parking picnics.  This past week during our road trip to, from and around Oregon, we had a great time packing up the car with all the necessities for car picnics and road trip snacks, loaded and ready to go.

During one of our days in Oregon, we had an afternoon rafting trip with Ouzel Outfitters planned on the McKenzie River, in Blue River. Before the rafting, we stopped at Paradise Campground where we were scheduled to launch and enjoyed a beautiful, sunny picnic by the river.  Best day ever!!

The perfect picnic!!

Couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting...the McKenzie River.

Someone REALLY liked their picnic!

Our new favorite salsa made in Bend, OR.
Must find this in Colorado.

Ready for a great day of rafting.

Before our Oregon adventure, I tried out a new weekend lunch sandwich at our house.  I think it's safe to say, this is our new ultimate sandwich for our "staycation" weekends.  It is so easy to make, luscious flavor and perfect any time of year to enjoy.

I made it with my mom's potato salad recipe and a nice cold glass of Arnold Palmer (ice tea/lemonade combo.)  I see this in tomorrow's future....errands, shopping, farmer's market, laundry, bistro sandwich, big nap!!

Our new weekend Bistro lunch.

Bistro Sandwich

1 loaf, rustic baguette
8 slices (1 package) prosciutto
4 slices Swiss cheese
butter
fig jam
olive oil
salt
pepper

Line a cookie sheet with foil or parchment paper.  Preheat oven to broil setting.

Cut baguette (crosswise) into 4 equal pieces.  Cut those pieces into halves (so you have a top and bottom piece.

Lay bread on cookie sheet.  On bottom portion bread, spread a layer of butter, then layer of fig jam. Place 2 slices of prosciutto on each bottom.  Add 1 slice of Swiss cheese on top of prosciutto. Drizzle a little olive oil on the cut top piece of bread and a little on the cheese.  Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on both breads.

Place cookie sheet under broil for about 1 to 1-1/2 minutes.  * Keep an eye on them, as they broil really fast.  Take out of oven and put top piece of bread on lower piece, while the cheese is still hot. Enjoy!!

GGMa...Our Angel and Her Cake

Our family favorite!

This past week we had the fortunate time of taking a family vacation to one of our favorite destinations...Sunriver, Oregon.  We packed up the car and traveled on our adventurous road trip for some quality, family downtime.  No school, no sports, no work and best of all...no stress!

Near the end of our vacation, we were so blessed to have my Grandmother and Aunt Gayle come for a visit and stay the night with us.  They are both the salt of the earth, amazing ladies and I am so happy that we were able to spend time with them.

We were very spoiled when they arrived with not only their famous deviled eggs, an amazing marinated tri tip steak for dinner, and for dessert, "GGMa" delivered her awesome Angel Food Cake to share with us, complete with fresh strawberries and Cool Whip (which she knows, is a requirement to enjoy homemade angel food cake).

Grandma gave me her Angel Food Cake recipe over 20 years ago and who knows how many generations it goes back in her family.  It is one of those tried and true recipes that continues to get passed down in families, just like her famous Snickerdoodle Recipe, that we continue to make and love.

Grandma truly has been and continues to be our Angel and we love her dearly.


GGMa's Angel Food Cake
Courtesy of Grandma (aka GGMa) and Aunt Juanita

1 cup, plus 1 Tbl. sifted flour
3/4 cup sugar
*** Sift together 5 times in a bowl and set aside.

14 egg whites
1/2 tsp. salt
***Beat on medium high, until quite foamy with electric mixer.

Add 1-1/2 tsp. cream of tartar 
***Beat until nice soft peaks.

Sprinkle in 1 cup sugar while beating until unable to feel sugar grains.

Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract
Add 1 tsp. almond extract

Beat on low while gradually adding the sifted flour and sugar mixture.

Bake in ungreased tube pan at 375 degrees (preheated oven) for 35 minutes.

Let cool at least one hour, when cake has separated from the sides, before removing from pan.

One Year Ago: Baja Turkey Tacos
Two Years Ago: Sunrise Bars

Beautiful McKenzie River in Blue River, Oregon

Lemon-Blackberry Olive Oil Cake

As I was looking to see which post to do today, I went back to find the "One Year Ago" recipe and saw that today is the 2nd Anniversary of my blog, which means I now also get to do "Two Years Ago" and the end of the recipes/posts.  Oh my gosh, where has this year gone?  Can anyone please tell me?  I am amazed how fast time keeps ticking by me.

I perused through my photo cache of recipes from the past few months and realized I had not posted this one yet.  It's easy, refreshing and a perfect summer dessert.  In our case, also a great coffee cake for mornings.  

I changed up the Orange Olive Oil Cake that I made a few months ago to see what switching out a couple ingredients would do.  The end result was awesome.  I cannot wait to make this for my grandma when we visit her during our vacation.

Lemon-Blackberry Olive Oil Cake

Non-stick baking spray
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice and zest of 1 lemon (about 3 Tbls. juice, 1 Tbl. zest)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups fresh blackberries

Preheat over to 350 degrees.  Spray 9-inch round cake pan with non-stick baking spray.

Mix together the sugar and eggs in a medium bowl with a hand mixer on medium speed until blended and light.  Drizzle in the olive oil and vanilla and mix until light and smooth.  Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl.  Add the flour mixture half at a time to the wet ingredients and mix on low just to incorporate.  Carefully fold in the blackberries to the batter, until evenly distributed.

Pour into the prepared cake pan and bake, 25 to 30 minutes.  Let the cake cool 15 minutes.  Serve with fresh whipping cream and blackberries.

One Year Ago:  Fry Sauce
Two Years Ago: Pickling Cucumbers

Spaghetti Squash Fritters and White Sangria Sparkler

Summer is well upon us and we have had the fortunate time to be visiting our Saturday Farmer's Market and all their fresh abundance of fruit, veggies and flowers that Colorado supplies.

This past weekend we picked up some beautiful peaches and made a chilled, refreshing Sangria.

White Sangria Sparkler

Courtesy of Damn Delicious

1 (750ml) bottle white wine

2 peaches, sliced

2 kiwis, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup raspberries

3 Tbl sugar

1 (750ml) bottle sparkling white wine (like Prosecco)

In a large pitcher, whisk together white wine, peaches, kiwis, raspberries and sugar.

Let chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Serve over ice with sparkling white wine,

Angus just has to be in every photo,
especially during our patio Happy Hour time,
or should I rephrase..."Puppy Hour".

Our newest bloom in the front yard.

We also picked up some spaghetti squash to have with marinara sauce for dinner.  I ended up having one half of the squash left over and found this amazing side dish recipe for later during the week. Super easy and really delicious!

Served along side our chicken and pepper kabobs.

Bacon, Spaghetti Squash and Parmesan Fritters

Courtesy of juliasalbum.com

2 eggs

1/3 cup flour

3 cups spaghetti squash, cooked, shredded and wringed out

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 tsp salt

3 green onions, chopped

5 bacon strips, cooked, drained and chopped

2 Tbl. olive oil

In a large bowl, using electric mixer, beat 2 eggs on high speed for 1-2 minutes.  Add flour and continue beating for about 30 seconds to combine.  To the same bowl, add spaghetti squash, Parmesan cheese, green onions and salt.  Mix very well until all the mixture has uniform consistency. Add bacon and mix. 

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat until very hot.  Only then add olive oil.  It should sizzle and smoke right away.  Using a tablespoon, spoon the tablespoon full of the batter for each fritter and crop on the skillet.  Using a spatula, correct the shape of each fitter, making it flatter and rounder.  Cook until the bottom side of each fritter is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium.  Using spatula, flip fritters to the opposite side, and cook 1-2 more minutes.

When flipping fritters, you can use a spoon on the opposite side of spatula to help push each fritter onto the spatula and then flipping.

Turn off the heat and let the fritters sit in the skillet (uncovered) for 2-3 more minutes. (Check the bottom, if they're too dark, remove fritters from the skillet immediately.)  Do 4 fritters at a time, so they crisp up, and not steam.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

One Year Ago: Turkey Chili

Artichoke (Addiction) Gratin

So my oldest daughter and I have been having artichoke cravings this summer...we cannot get enough of them in any shape or form.  She learned a new hot artichoke dip on Pinterest and has been making us batches of it every week.  We'll have a little nosh on it with some crackers during our family debriefing or she'll warm it up for one of her late Netflix movie night snacks.  (If) there are any leftovers, I have been re-purposing it, warmed up over mini penne pasta or I even tried it out using as the stuffing for my broiled stuffed mushrooms...served them up with a cobb dinner salad - delish!!!

Artichoke Dip Stuffed Mushrooms - oh my!!

I have also been making this gratin for a quick dinner side dish.  It has terrific flavors and goes wonderfully with steak or chicken.

Artichoke Gratin
Serves 4

4 cups canned artichoke quarters with herbs, drained
2 Tbl. shredded Parmesan cheese
2 Tbl. shredded Romano cheese
2 tsp. roughly chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tbl. extra virgin olive oil

Set an oven rack on the lowest position and preheat the broiler.

In a shallow oven-proof baking dish, arrange the artichokes in a single layer.

Combine the cheeses, thyme, and red pepper flakes and scatter over the artichokes.

Drizzle the oil over the cheeses.

Broil until the cheese is melted and the edges of the artichokes are lightly browned, 15 to 18 minutes.
(Keep an eye on it, as it can brown fast under the broiler, even on the lowest rack),

Served over grilled chicken and rice pilaf.

One Year Ago:  Grilled Vegetable Salad

Cracked Out Chicken Bubble Up

Our 95 degree days of sunshine have made way for more clouds, rain and thunderstorms this week. 

Another dreary event has been one of our little guys, Theo recently had surgery to remove a skin tag on his eye, teeth cleaned and a lump removed from his thigh...poor guy.  Between that and the noise of fireworks, he's had a tough couple weeks around our house.

It's time for warm comfort food again and this one definitely does the trick!  Super easy, delicious and makes great leftovers.

Cracked Out Chicken Bubble Up
Courtesy of Plain Chicken

2 cups chopped or shredded chicken
1 (10.75oz) can Cream of Chicken Soup
8 ounces sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-1/2 Tbsp Ranch dry dressing mix
1/4 cup cooked, chopped bacon
1 (12oz) can refrigerated Grands Jr biscuits

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.  Set aside.

Combine chicken, soup, sour cream, cheese, Ranch mix and bacon.  Cut each biscuit into 4 pieces. Toss with chicken mixture.

Pour chicken mixture into prepared pan. (Make sure the biscuit corners are separated from each other and placed throughout the pan.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, until bubbly and biscuits are golden brown.

One Year Ago: Quick Marinated Cherry Tomato Salad