Category: BLOG 366
BANANA PUDDING CHEESECAKE ~ BLOG 366.117
BANANA PUDDING CHEESECAKE
There is a series of books by Jana DeLeon called the Miss Fortune series. Personally, I’m on book #26, but in each book pf the series there is a comedic banana pudding race between the Catholics and the Baptists when church lets out each Sunday. I’d had banana pudding before reading the series, but hadn’t had the desire to perfect it before this recipe. Banana pudding makes my heart sing as it is a perfect dessert that speaks to just about everyone no matter the venue you’re serving it in.
Cheesecake is traditionally round like many cakes and pies, but I HATE the shape and use my square springform pan to make it easier to cut and serve.
FILLING
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla extract
- In a large bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy and completely smooth with NO clumps.
Add sugar and beat until combined.
Add heavy cream and vanilla and beat until medium-stiff peaks form. Set aside.
3.4 ounce package instant banana pudding mix
1 cup whole milk
- In a medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk.
- Let pudding stand for 3 minutes in the fridge until thickened.
- Fold into cheesecake mixture until combined.
1 prepared graham cracker crust
3 bananas, sliced, plus more slices for garnish
30 Nilla Wafers
- Pour half the filling into graham cracker crust.
- Add a single layer of thick sliced bananas.
- Top with about 20 Nilla Wafers in a single layer.
- Pour remaining cheesecake mixture over top and smooth top.
- Refrigerate until cheesecake is firm, at least 6 hours and up to overnight. (If the cheesecake stills feels too soft to slice, transfer to the freezer for up to 1 hour.)
Whipped topping, for garnish (homemade or store bought)
Crushed Nilla Wafers, for garnish
- Before serving, top with dollops of whipped topping around the border of the cheesecake.
- Top each dollop with a banana slice and Nilla wafer.
- Garnish the whole cheesecake with crushed Nilla Wafers.
CHOCOLATE ANCHO CHILE CUPCAKES with ANCHO CHILE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING ~ BLOG 366.116
A friend and I are making the Cinco de Mayo dinner for the Eagles auxiliary on May 3rd and I have been experimenting with recipes for the dessert. These are dark chocolate cupcakes with a serious bite and are topped with a chili cream cheese frosting that has another back up bite.
CHOCOLATE ANCHO CHILE CUPCAKES with ANCHO CHILE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING yield 18-24 cupcakes
CUPCAKES
1 box devil’s food chocolate cake mix
1 ½ – 2 teaspoons ground ancho chile pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon QUALITY cinnamon
1 ¼ cups water
⅓ cup vegetable oil
3 LARGE eggs
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.
- Whisk together the cake mix, ground ancho chile, cayenne pepper and cinnamon.
- Beat in water, oil and eggs with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes.
- Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 2/3 full.
- Bake 18-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
- Cool completely before frosting.
FROSTING
1 teaspoon ground ancho chile pepper
⅛ – ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon QUALITY ground cinnamon
1 small, dried red chili, chopped after seeds removed (optional – if you dare)
4 cups powdered sugar
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
½ teaspoon clear PURE vanilla extract, or to taste
24 small dried red chiles (optional)
- Sift together the ground ancho chile, cayenne pepper and cinnamon with the powdered sugar in a large bowl.
- Beat in softened cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
- Add vanilla extract.
- Spread frosting onto cooled cupcakes in attractive swirls.
- Poke a small dried chile, stem-side up, into frosting as a garnish if desired.
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ BLOG 366.115
SLOW COOKED BEEF IN GRAVY ~ BLOG 366.114
SLOW COOKED BEEF IN GRAVY
3 tablespoons of avocado oil
1 1/2 – 2 pounds of top round roast, sirloin steak, chuck roast, rump roast or pork butt
1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced
8 ounces mushrooms, cleaned & sliced (I LOVE Beech mushrooms – see note)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon each of thyme, tarragon and oregano
FRESH ground salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch whisked together with 2 tablespoons of beef broth
- Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
- Add beef, sautéing on both sides until it browns.
- Spray the slow cooker liner with non-stick spray.
- Add the onion, peppers, mushrooms, and garlic on the bottom then the beef slices on top.
- Whisk together the beef broth, Worcestershire and seasonings. Pour over top of meat and veggies.
- Cook on HIGH for 5 hours.
- 30 minutes before the end, fold in the cornstarch mixture, stirring together evenly.
- Thinly slice meat and serve over noodles, baked potatoes, rice, or hard-crusted sourdough bread topped with gravy.
NOTES:
- If using Beech mushrooms DO NOT add them until the last 1/2 hour. They also don’t need to be sliced. They have a wonderful nutty flavor.
- The last time I made this I forgot to take the roast out of the freezer. So I couldn’t sear it, but it worked out even better than normal!
HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY wtih MENU PLANS & RECIPE LINKS week 17 of 2024 ~ BLOG 366.113
The weather has been ALL over the place! We are getting an hour or so each day that’s nice, but still having multiple weather patterns each day. We are seeing a couple of spring poppy blooms finally though and the hummingbird vine is coming in quite well. Today is Levi’s and a favorite hoodie kind of day. Highs in the low 60’s (maybe) and lows in the high 30’s to low 40’s.
THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, PROJECTS & APPOINTMENTS
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WHAT’S ON THE DVR/TV
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I am back to finishing The Alice Network at night on my kindle, but have been so tired I only get about 10 minutes in before I fall asleep. During the day when I have time I’m reading I Still Dream About You by Fannie Flagg on my phone app.
BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
4/22 MONDAY
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4/23 TUESDAY
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4/24 WEDNESDAY
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4/25 THURSDAY
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4/26 FRIDAY
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4/27 SATURDAY
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4/28 SUNDAY
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DINNER
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FIGGY BALSAMIC PORK & RICE
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LOOSE MEAT CHEESESTEAK SAMMIES
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CHICKEN FAJITA BOWLS
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BAVETTE STEAK IN DEMI-GLACE
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BALSAMIC TOMATO & HERB CHICKEN
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SWEET CHILI PORK & CABBAGE STIR FRY
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BROWN SUGAR BOURBON PORK CHOPS |
DESSERT
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BUTTER BISCUIT BERRY CRUMBLE
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Years ago we rehabbed a Queen Anne Victorian that was 120 years old. It came with some really old German bearded iris bulbs. When we left there I dug up several and brought them with us. Obviously they were VERY hearty stock! They still look beautiful today.
Hubby has been working diligently on the power washing after the long wet winter. This year is the worst it’s ever been! Each section is taking a very long time, but it is starting to look better little by little. And aren’t these baby chicks adorable? I check them out every time I go to the feed store. 😀
SILENT SUNDAY ~ BLOG 366.112
SATURDAY COFFEE ~ BLOG 366.111
WEEKNIGHT CHICKEN ENCHILADAS ~ BLOG 366.110
Everybody loves a Costco chicken! I buy one regularly to use for lunches, salads and casseroles as well as make my own bone broth. The chopped chicken pieces are the answer to these quick and easy enchiladas. I also started using Golden Blend tortillas which are half corn and half flour which have much more flavor in my opinion.
WEEKNIGHT CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
8 Golden Blend tortillas
2 cups chopped chicken pieces
1 bunch green onions, chopped (save a few pieces for garnish)
1/4 cup chopped FRESH cilantro
1 can salsa verde enchilada sauce
4 ounce can chopped HATCH green chiles
1 + 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
sour cream
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl mix together the chicken pieces, majority of the onions, cilantro, green chiles, 1 cup of cheese and just enough of the enchilada sauce to blend everything.
- Spread each tortilla with sour cream.
- Divide chicken mixture evenly amongst the tortillas.
- Roll tightly and arrange in baking dish.
- Pour remaining enchilada sauce over top.
- Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
- Bake 30 minutes.
APPLE CHERRY SLAB PIE ~ BLOG 366.109
APPLE CHERRY SLAB PIE
2 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2/3 cup dried cherry pieces or crasins
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup AP flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 sheets puff pastry, thawed
1 tablespoon milk
- Preheat oven 375°.
- Lightly grease 15 x 10 baking sheet.
- In a large bowl toss apple slices with flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
- Unfold one sheet of the puff pastry, roll and stretch to fit pan.
- Spread filling over pastry to within and inch of the edge.
- Unfold the second sheet of puff pastry, rolling and stretching over the top.
- Moisten the edges of the bottom sheet with the milk and gently press edges together, sealing the pastry.
- Slit several air vents in the top crust.
- Brush the top with the remaining milk and sprinkle with sanding sugar.
- Bake 50-60 minutes until filling is bubbly and pastry is puffed, golden and is flaky.
GLAZE
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon PURE vanilla
4 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup ground walnuts, for sprinkling
- Whisk together the powdered sugar, vanilla and milk to desired consistency for drizzling.
- Drizzle over warm pie and then cool completely before slicing.
NOTE: substituting lemon juice for the milk in the glaze makes a nice tangy bite.
WORDLESS WEDNESDAY ~ BLOG 366.108
SLOW COOKED MEXICAN PORK CHOPS ~ BLOG 366.107
Have I mentioned how much I’m LOVING my new slow cooker? This was the 3rd recipe I made and so easy! The original recipe called for using a raw salsa and grapefruit juice, but I pivoted and switched to a jar sauce as well as added the Pampered Chef seasoning, sliced onion and additional amounts of juice from the lime and orange to make up for eliminating the grapefruit juice.
SLOW COOKED MEXICAN PORK CHOPS
1 tablespoon avocado oil
2 THICK (1 inch or so) boneless pork chops (bone in add more flavor)
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon Pampered Chef Chile Lime or TexMex seasoning
1 SMALL Vidalia onion, halved and sliced thin
Juice of FRESHLY squeezed lime
Juice of FRESHLY squeezed orange
2/3 cup CHUNKY salsa ( I like PACE restaurant style)
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Season pork chops with FRESH ground sea salt, black pepper and seasoning of choice.
- Sear chops on both sides quickly.
- Add chops to slow cooker.
- Sprinkle onions over chops.
- Stir together salsa and both juices.
- Pour over pork chops.
- Cover and cook on high 3-4 hours until meat is tender.