Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is far and away THE BEST pumpkin cheesecake I've eaten.  It's a little more work, but totally worth it!

This recipe fills a 9-inch springform pan to the tippy-top! 
Use your favorite crumb crust. 
I like to use a mix of gingersnap cookies and Nilla Wafers in mine.  Graham crackers work fine too.  If you use graham crackers you might want to try adding in a little cinnamon to make your crust sing.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin, dried (see note)
1 1/2 pounds cream cheese , cut into 1-inch chunks and left to soften at room temperature, about 30 minutes
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
1/4 cup sour cream

Prepare your favorite crumb crust in a 9-inch springform pan, pre-bake and set aside to cool.

FOR THE FILLING: Whisk sugar, spices, and salt in small bowl; set aside.

To dry pumpkin: Line baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels. Spread pumpkin on paper towels in roughly even layer. Cover pumpkin with second triple layer of paper towels and press firmly until paper towels are saturated. Peel back top layer of towels and discard. Grasp bottom towels and fold pumpkin in half; peel back towels. Repeat and flip pumpkin onto baking sheet; discard towel.

In standing mixer fitted with flat beater, beat cream cheese at medium speed to break up and soften slightly, about 1 minute. Scrape beater and bottom and sides of bowl well with rubber spatula. Add about one third of sugar mixture and beat at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute; scrape bowl and add remaining sugar in two additions, scraping bowl after each addition.

Add pumpkin and vanilla and beat at medium speed until combined, about 45 seconds; scrape bowl. Add 2 eggs and beat at medium-low until incorporated, about 1 minute; scrape bowl. Add remaining 2 eggs and beat at medium-low until incorporated, about 45 seconds; scrape bowl. Add sour cream and beat at low speed until combined, about 45 seconds. Using rubber spatula, scrape bottom and sides of bowl and give final stir by hand.

Set springform pan with cooled crust on 18-inch-square doubled layer heavy-duty foil and wrap bottom and sides with foil; set wrapped springform pan in roasting pan. Pour filling into springform pan and smooth surface; set roasting pan in oven and pour enough boiling water to come about halfway up side of springform pan. Bake until center of cake is slightly wobbly when pan is shaken, and center of cake registers 150 degrees on instant-read thermometer, about 1 1/2 hours.

Carefully set roasting pan containing hot water & cheesecake on wire rack. Use a thin blade to loosen cake from sides of pan. Cool until water is just warm, about 30 to 45 minutes. Remove springform pan from water bath, discard foil, and set on wire rack; continue to cool until barely warm, about 3 hours. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

TO SERVE: Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving platter. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

almost Cracker Jack

We like to have something sweet to munch on while we watch conference. This year we decided on caramel corn.

I used Laurie's recipe from the Hendricks Family Cookbook.  We served half of it as caramel corn; soft, chewy, yummy!  The other half I put into a low oven which crisped it up.  The batch I didn't burn ended up tasting almost like Cracker Jack (I didn't have peanuts which would have been a nice touch).  This makes a really large, party-size batch so next time I might be tempted to cut the batch down by half.

Quick & Easy Caramel Corn
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c white sugar
1 c butter
1 c Karo syrup
1/2 c water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar
1/2 tsp baking soda
6 quarts popped popcorn

Cook first 7 ingredients until it reaches soft boil then add 1/2 tsp baking soda stir well.  Pour over popped corn and toss well to coat.

Serve immediately or spread on parchment paper lined cookie sheets and place in a 250 degree oven.  Bake for 45 minutes stirring every 10 to 15 minutes.  Cool, break apart and EnJoY.

Hints:  If you keep the popcorn warm the caramel topping will spread more consistently.  It takes a while to get the syrup to soft boil so plan ahead.  Use a larger pan than you think you might need as it almost doubles in size when it foams up right at the end.  Use a silicone spatula because the caramel mixture will not stick to it!  Clean up is super easy with Hot Soapy water.

Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake

We had dinner with a friend from school on Friday and James volunteered me to make a cheesecake (my favorite thing!). I knew that our friend's wife was pregnant so I wanted to make something chocolaty. I found this recipe on Allrecipes.com and it was a huge success -- perfectly rich and creamy. I followed the recipe almost exactly except that we had a lot more crust (we like crust).

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (I used chocolate graham crackers)
  
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

• 30 individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans (James chopped these up pretty small and they were perfect because they added flavor and texture but it wasn't chunks of nut)

• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I mixed a little ghirardelli's baking semi-sweet chocolate with chocolate chips which actually turned out great. It wasn't too dark or too sweet)
  
• 3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened (I left them out all day since I was at school and they blended BEAUTIFULLY)
  
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs (best at room temperature)
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Mix well and press into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Pour on melted caramel/pecan mixture and chill for 30 minutes.
2. To make the Caramel Filling: In a small saucepan, combine caramels and milk. Cook over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Stir in chopped pecans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
   
3. In the top of a double boiler, heat chocolate, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Fold 1/3 of the filling into the melted chocolate, then pour the chocolate mixture back into the filling and mix until no streaks remain. Pour into crust.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, or until center is almost set. Place a pan of water on rack underneath cheesecake as it bakes to help keep it from cracking. Cool in oven with door cracked open. Refrigerate at least 5 hours before serving.

Chicken Mole

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 lbs chicken parts (I like to use boneless and skinless thighs and then cut each one into three or four pieces)
1 small onion, peeled & chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled & finely chopped
3 cups salsa
1 cup chicken broth
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 to 3 Tbsp creamy peanut butter
2 Tbsp cocoa

Heat oil in large skillet over med-high heat. Add chicken; cook, turning occasionally, for 4 to 6 minutes or until browned on all sides. Remove from skillet. Add onion and garlic to the skillet; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 to 3 minutes or until onion is tender.

Stir in salsa, broth, chili powder, peanut butter and cocoa. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Place chicken in sauce; cook uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked through.

Serve over cooked rice.

The longer you can let it simmer, the more the flavors marry and the better the dish tastes.

Herb Crusted Pork Rub

Here is a quick and easy rub (from Paula Deen) that I used on a nice pork tenderloin. It would be great on any pork roast actually.

Since I've had a nice healthy pot of herbs growing on my back deck all summer I used fresh herbs, but this would work with dried herbs too. Just use less because the flavor is more concentrated.

2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme (or use 1 tsp dried)
2 teaspoons minced fresh basil (or use 1 tsp dried)
1 teaspoon dried rosemary (I haven't tried growing rosemary yet, maybe next summer)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (I'm sure you could use 1 tsp garlic powder, I just happen to like cooking with the real stuff)
Place the in a small bowl with 1 tsp salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Mix it all together and rub it all over the tenderloin, or whatever cut of meat you've decided to serve.

Cook the roast according to whatever method you feel like using. You can roast it, you can grill it, you can brown it first and then slow roast it....

The important thing is to make sure the pork is cooked through (but not overcooked). I like to bring my tenderloin (since it is a smaller cut of meat) to 155 degrees (Get a Meat Thermometer if you don't have one) and let it sit for five to ten minutes before carving. The roast continues to cook while it sits and doing it this way insures that you won't overcook the pork, which makes it tough not tender.

By the way, I didn't actually measure any of the above ingredients. I just eyeballed it.

Spiffy Food Storage Spuds

I'm trying to include food storage items in our meals occasionally.
A - I'm learning how to cook with them
B - I'm actually using them and thus rotating them
C - I don't have time or the inclination to go to the store (which brings us back full circle to A & B

Last night I pulled out the Potato Flakes. We know these are pretty yummy anyway, as far as reconstituted mashed potatoes go. Hey, they'll never take the place of REAL mashed potatoes but boil up some milk and some butter to reconstitute them and they aren't half bad (in a pinch).

I was serving up a nice pork tenderloin which doesn't make a lot of drippings, thus no gravy. But I wanted to kick the potatoes up just a notch so I rummaged in my fridge and found a container with Feta Cheese.

Perfect!

I mixed a handful of Feta Cheese into the hot mashed potatoes, let them sit together for a few minutes and served them up.

Creamy! Tangy! Yummy! Easy!

One of these days I need to try making Potato Flakes with the dried milk and dehydrated butter that I have stored. Has anyone out there done this yet? Any hints on working with dehydrated butter?

Chicken Enchiladas

Got home from church hungry! Opened the freezer and saw that we had chicken thighs and tortillas in there. I knew we had cheddar and pepper jack cheese and instantly decided to make chicken enchiladas.

These are so easy to make, I semi-defrosted the chicken and cubed it up pretty small and browned it. I then actually shredded about half of the meat in the Cuisinart after it was cooked . I just really like the texture of the shredded chicken when I'm eating an enchilada. I put it back in the pan, added some chopped onion and garlic and cooked that up together for a few minutes then added my go to taco seasoning from Costco and let it all simmer together while I got the pan, the sauce and the cheese ready.

I sprayed a 9x13 pan lightly with vegetable oil and grated up a little bit of pepper jack cheese and lots of cheddar. Of course, you can change the amounts based on your own taste.

I did not have a can of enchilada sauce in the basement so I Googled it and found an interesting idea on AllRecipes.com. One of their recipes suggested using a combination of salsa and cream cheese. Amazingly I had both of those items in my fridge so I dumped a little more than 1 cup into a saucepan and added about 4 oz of cream cheese, roughly cubed into six pieces. I set that on the stove over low heat and just let the cream cheese melt into the salsa. I whisked it all together and then spooned it on top of the tortillas before adding the cheeses and chicken. We discovered, since I'd made more than needed, that this is actually quite yummy as a dip for tortilla chips.

I rolled up the tortillas over the filling, placed them seam side down in the pan, spread a little more sauce over each enchilada, sprinkled them liberally with cheese and then as a nice finale, diced up a fresh tomato from the garden and added that to the top. They baked at 350 degrees for not quite 20 minutes and then we devoured them. Simple, inexpensive and Yummy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

I used fresh celery (chopped) and garlic (minced), sauteed in butter (okay, not healthy, but I didn't use much and I refuse to believe that FAKE butter is better for anyone).

Then I added equal amounts of chicken broth & water and dumped in a couple handfuls of dried carrots and some dried onions (YEAH, I used my food storage!). Then I added a shake of peppercorns (just don't bite into one - SPICY!) and a couple of shakes of Italian Seasoning. I brought this to a light boil and then let it simmer for half an hour.

Then I cut up two chicken breasts into bite-size pieces, turned up the heat to medium and added the chicken to the broth. After the chicken had cooked for 15 minutes I turned up the heat to medium high and once the soup was boiling again I dumped in a couple of handfuls of egg noodles, letting them cook until tender. Then I served it up in my pretty soup bowls and enjoyed!

Oh. My. Goodness! You should make this.

Italian Sausage Pasta Toss

Brown a package of Italian Sausage, cut into slices (we like to partially freeze it and cut the slices before cooking).

Add some chopped fresh vegies and sautee until they are tender. We used red, yellow & orange sweet peppers but it would have been yummy with asparagus or broccoli or tomatoes, etc.

Cook a package of bow-tie pasta and toss the meat and vegies with Italian Salad Dressing (to taste).

It was yummy and light. We will be making this again

Rebecca's Perfect Lemon Bars

EVERY time I eat these I am amazed all over again at their yumminess. They are light and lemony with just the right combination of tart and sweet.

We served these at Emily & James' wedding reception.

Crust:
2 c flour
1/2 c powdered sugar
2 sticks cold, unsalted butter, cut up
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13 pan with non-stick foil, letting foil extend about 2 inches above ends of pan. Put flour, powdered sugar, butter, vanilla and salt in food processor, pulse until small crumbs form. With lightly floured fingers, pat over bottom of prepared pan. Bake 18 minutes, until pale golden.

Filling:
2 c granulated sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 Tbsp, freshly grated lemon peel
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
Garnish: powdered sugar

Beat sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl with mixer to blend. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add lemon peel and juice, butter and salt; beat until well blended. Pour over hot crust. Bake 20-22 minutes until set. Cool completely (will take about 45 minutes). Refrigerate for 1 hour. Dust with powdered sugar. Lift foil by ends to a cutting board. Peel back foil and cut into squares. Serves 24.

This recipe comes from the Naperville Sixth Ward Relief Society Cookbook and was submitted by R. C.