PW Caramel Pumpkin Gingersnap Cheesecake

This was SO yum...I made it for Thanksgiving...here's the link to the recipe from Pioneer Woman. The only thing I would change (and she suggested it on her blog) is skipping the caramel on the bottom of the crust before adding the cream cheese mixture. It made the gingersnap crust a little hard. But it was still edible, just a little chewy and WAY good! Mine cracked on the top but tasted so good! I would make this again...but only once a year....it's pretty rich and I'm sure I gained a few pounds just from this cheesecake! :)

Banana Cream Pie

This is my Grandma Smith's recipe that she made almost every Christmas and Thanksgiving. This is also my very first pie I have made...Grandma would be proud! :)

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
3 egg yolks
2 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar and cornstarch together in sauce pan.  Separate eggs. Place yolks into bowl and discard whites;  beat yolks with whisk.  Add milk and vanilla to egg yolks and mix thoroughly. Pour egg mixture through strainer into sauce pan to remove any remnants of egg white or chalaza .  Whisk together and bring to boil. Start on high heat until starts to bubble then reduce heat to medium and stir/whisk until pudding is thickened. Remove from heat and cover. When cooled (not to room temperature but not HOT) pour into a baked crust and cover pudding completely with waxed or parchment paper. (Smooth over pudding until it almost looks sealed as to not have a "skin" from the milk on top of pie.) Refrigerate until cold. Top with sliced bananas and whipped cream.

Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips

I saw this on Good Things Utah and made it for a Girls Night one night.  Super yummy and fresh. I used fresh blackberries instead of frozen raspberries. Also, I didn't add the white or brown sugar or the fruit preserves. It was good just natural!  It is from www.worldwidewardcookbook.blogspot.com.

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 apples, peeled, cored and diced

1 lb. fresh strawberries, diced

1 8oz pkg. raspberries, thawed (I used fresh blackberries)

2 tbsp. white sugar

1 tbsp. brown sugar

3 tbsp. fruit preserves, any flavor

In large bowl mix all ingredients. Cover and chill for 20 minutes.

Cinnamon Chips

10 10inch flour tortillas

vegetable oil for frying

2 c. cinnamon-sugar

Cut tortilla into strips or triangles. Heat oil in frying pan. Drop tortilla pieces into hot oil a few at a time. When golden brown, remove and immediately drop into cinnamon-sugar mixture. Coat chips with mixture and then place on paper towels. Allow chips to cool. Serve with Fruit Salsa.

Turtle Cheesecake

I got this off of Gourmet Mom On The Go. OH MY is all I have to say! It was my very first cheesecake ever so I was a little nervous but it turned out great! My only question is...does anyone know how in the world to cut a cheesecake with clean cuts and not make a mess out of the cake? Tips???

Crust:

1 3/4 c. chocolate graham crackers, crushed (1 1/2 packages) (I used Oreo baking crumbs)

1/3 c. butter, melted

Filling:

3 8oz. pkg. cream cheese

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 c. sugar

3 eggs

3 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. vanilla

3/4 c. chocolate chips

Topping:

1/4 c. mini-chocolate chips

1/2 c. caramel ice cream topping

1/2 c. hot fudge ice cream topping

1/4 c. chopped pecans

Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl with fork and press into bottom and 1 1/2 inches up side of a spring form pan. Beat cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until creamy. Add remaining filling ingredients except chocolate chips until well combined. Remove 1 c. of filling and set aside. Melt chocolate chips and mix completely into the 1 c. reserved filling. Pour 1/2 of the white filling into crust, then the chocolate filling, then the rest of the white. Using a knife, gently swirl colors. Bake at 300F for 1 hour and 15-30 minutes until light golden on top and edges are set and middle moves slightly. Cool completely and chill. (Tip... place pie pan filled with water on lower shelf of oven during baking time for moisture. Gourmet Mom On The Go also said once baking was done, she turned the heat off in oven but let the cake cool down in the oven before she moved it to cool in fridge.) Remove outer ring. Top outer edge and center with 1/4 c. mini-chocolate chips and 1/4 c. chopped pecans. Drizzle caramel and hot fudge ice cream topping all over top and down the side. Serve chilled.

Garlic Lime Chicken

My friend CS gave this recipe to me. We made it about a week ago and it was really good. The chicken was super moist. Great for more variety with grilling.

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 c. fresh lime juice

1/3 c. soy sauce

2 cloves garlic, pressed

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Combine soy sauce, lime juice and dry mustard in small bowl; mix well. Rinse chicken and pat dry. Place chicken in large plastic ziplock bag and pour marinade mixture into bag over chicken; making sure all pieces of chicken are covered. Marinade in refrigerator for one hour. Grill.

Chocolate Frosting

I modified a few chocolate frosting recipes to get this one and it turned out really good.

1 c. butter, softened

8 c. powdered sugar

1/4-1/2 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 c. cocoa powder

1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Cream butter and sugar, adding milk 1 tbsp. at a time until desired consistency. Mix in vanilla. Melt chocolate chips in microwave, 20 seconds at a time then stir, then 20 seconds again until chocolate is just melted. Do not let chocolate get too hot; only microwave until barely melted. Drizzle chocolate into icing mixture and continue to mix. Add 1/2 c. cocoa. Mix well.

S'mores Cupcakes

My 11 year old daughter had a little slumber party for her birthday (I don't know why they call it a slumber party...they didn't go to bed until 5am...) and she wanted these S'more Cupcakes that we found on Bakerella's website. They weren't hard but did take a lot of time. They tasted really good though...worth the extra time for sure! The only thing I did different was after I placed the marshmallow on the top (after the cupcakes were baked) I put them back into the oven on broil for about 2-3 minutes to toast the outsides of the marshmallow. I tried to find one of those little kitchen torches and didn't have any luck. Broil worked well and then I stuck a piece of Hershey's chocolate and a graham cracker in each cupcake before drizzling with ganache.

Cupcakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup cocoa
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup oil
6 jumbo marshmallows cut in half, plus more for decorating

Graham Cracker Crumb topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Ganache
4 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda together with a wire whisk.
Separate the mixture in half into two bowls.

Stir cocoa into one bowl and the graham cracker crumbs into the other.
Add 1/2 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup oil to the cocoa mixture and beat on medium until combined.
Repeat adding the same ingredients to the graham cracker crumb flour mixture.

Prepare the graham cracker crumb topping.
Add the brown sugar and crumbs in a small bowl and pour on the melted butter. Stir until combined.

Pour a little graham cracker cake batter into the bottom of your baking cups and then sprinkle the topping mixture lightly on the surface.
Place a marshmallow half on top and then cover the marshmallow with the chocolate cake batter until it is about 3/4 full.
Sprinkle with more topping mixture.

Bake cupcakes for about 15 minutes. Place a cookie sheet underneath when you bake just in case. I had a little bit ooze over into the oven. Oops.

This recipe will make at least 12 cupcakes. I had a some batter from each left over so you can probably get more like 14-16.

Let cool and top with ganache.

Heat the butter and cream on the stove. Heat until just before it boils. Remove and pour over chocolate. Stir until completely melted and smooth.
Pour over cupcakes and add more marshmallows if you desire.

Carrot Cake

I got this recipe from my mom...I modified it a bit (I always do haha) and it turned out really good for carrot cake. My daughter wanted this for her birthday and lucky for me I don't LOVE carrot cake.

1 c. sugar

1 c. brown sugar, packed (originally called for 2 c. sugar; no brown sugar)

4 eggs

3/4-1 c. oil (original recipe calls for 1 1/2 c.)

2 c. flour

1 3/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 c. grated carrots

1/2-1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Beat all ingredients together with mixer except carrots. When mixed well, stir in carrots by hand and pour into greased cake pan. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes-1 hour. Cool completely and frosten with cream cheese frosting.

Chocolate Mint Candies Cookies

I had to repost this cookie recipe since I made them again and got a better picture. I used mint Aero bars this time but still didn't get the green swirl that I would have liked to. I think Andes mints would work best but this will do for now!

These are my absolute new favorite cookie....

I think I may have found this one on AllRecipes. I totally blew my diet for the day on these cookies...they taste like Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies and are SOOO good. Please don't blame me for breaking your New Year's resolutions if you decide to make these... I didn't take the time to find Andes Mints...they're pretty hard to find here in Canada so I just used Mint Chocolate Chips...I didn't get the green look that I wanted but they still tasted amazing!

3/4 c. butter

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

2 tbsp. water

2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

2 1/2 c. flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 (4.5 oz.) packages chocolate covered thin mints (Andes mints or peppermint patties) or mint chocolate chips.

In saucepan over medium heat, cook the sugar, butter and water; stirring occasionally until melted. Remove from heat. Stir in the chocolate chips until melted and set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Pour chocolate mixture into a large bowl and beat in the eggs one at a time. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the chocolate mixture. Cover and refrigerate dough for at least one hour. Preheat oven to 350F and grease cookie sheets. Roll cookie dough into walnut size balls and place 2 inches apart. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Do not over bake. I baked mine for 9 minutes and they were perfect! When cookies come out of the oven, press one chocolate mint wafer into the cookie and let sit for one minute. When the mint is softened, swirl with the back of a spoon or toothpick to make a pattern with the green of the mint wafer. For smaller cookies break mints in half. Cool completely before serving to allow chocolate on top to harden.

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen cookies.

Chicken Fajitas

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut up in small strips

1 large green pepper(and/or red and yellow pepper), sliced into strips

1 large onion, cut into thin wedges

1 package fajita seasoning

1 package tortillas

Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Cheddar cheese, shredded

guacamole

tomatoes

sour cream

salsa or pico de gallo

tortilla chips

Brown chicken on high in large frying pan until cooked through and golden brown. Sprinkle fajita seasoning mix over chicken and add 1/4 c. water. Add green pepper and onion, stir to coat seasoning over all veggies and chicken. Cover and let simmer until vegetables are hot but still crisp, about 5-7 minutes. Serve immediately while still sizzling in warm tortillas, cheese, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream and salsa. Goes great with beans and rice.