Foodie Friday -- Three Layer Cheesecake

I don't know about y'all, but I'm pretty darn excited to have this blog written and ready the DAY BEFORE it's scheduled to go up!

Yay, ME!

So I finally revised and rewrote this recipe that I've been promising you since before Thanksgiving--late November, for those of you who aren't American. I've made it twice, and both times it turned out awesome! And when you cut into it, it's very pretty with three distinct layers.

So without further ado . . .

Three-layer Cheesecake

Crust:

1 pkg (9 oz.) chocolate wafer cookies

¼ cup sugar
½ cup butter, melted

Layer One:

1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar
1 egg
¼ tsp. vanilla
2 oz. semi-sweet chocolate morsels, melted
1/3 cup sour cream

Layer Two:

1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 Tbls. flour
1 egg
½ tsp. vanilla
¼ cup chopped pecans

Layer Three:

1 8-oz. pkg cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
½ cup sour cream
¼ tsp. vanilla
¼ tsp. almond extract

Glaze:

3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

2 Tbls. butter
1/3 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 Tbls. water
½ tsp. vanilla

Chopped pecans, optional

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place and ungreased 9-in springform pan on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 18-in square). Wrap foil around pan.

Crust:

Place cookies in food processer, process until fine crumbs. Add sugar and melted butter, process until combined. Press onto the bottom and 2-in. up the sides of prepared pan. Set aside.

Layer One:

In large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, blend well. Stir in chocolate and sour cream. Spoon over crust.

Layer Two:

In same bowl (wiped out), beat cream cheese, brown sugar and flour until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, blend well. Stir in pecans. Spoon carefully over chocolate layer.

Layer Three:

In same bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, beat well. Stir in sour cream and almond extract. Spoon carefully over pecan layer.

Bake at 325 degrees for 55-60 minutes or until center is almost set. Turn off oven and leave cheesecake inside for 30 minutes. Crack open oven door and leave cheesecake inside for another 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. Refrigerate at least 8 hours.

Glaze:

Melt chocolate and butter. Stir in the powdered sugar, water and vanilla until smooth. Remove cheesecake from pan and spread warm glaze over top.

Garnish with pecans, if desired.

Tips & Tricks:

·         I set this recipe up differently than the original one because the original one clumped all the ingredients into one list. I found it confusing to have to keep referring back and forth between the instructions and the list.

·         I also totally changed layer three from the original version. I made this recipe twice with the changes and it works quite well.

·         For some reason, it’s difficult to find chocolate wafer cookies in your basic Target or Walmart. I had to go to a local fancy-schmancy grocery store to find them. I was almost to the point of taking Oreos, eating the insides and weighing the cookie parts until I got 9 oz. …come to think of it, it might have been cheaper than buying the wafers at the richy-rich store.

·         When I press the cookie crust into the pan, I use a tall glass to evenly pack and smooth it. It helps that I have straight-sided glassware.

·         The double layer of foil takes the place of the traditional water bath. This helps prevent the cheesecake from overcooking around the edges while the middle remains uncooked.

·         I hate having to wash numerous bowls. The first time I made this recipe, I did use three separate bowls according to the original recipe—what a complete waste of time and utensils! And that doesn’t even count the time spent WASHING three bowls. Use the same darn bowl! Just use a rubber scraper to clean it out before going to the next layer. It’s not like you’re sitting around for hours in-between making the layers.

·         When placing each layer of the cheesecake in the pan, I dolloped small amounts of batter over the surface before I spread them together and leveled it out. Be careful around the crust edge since it is crumbly.

·         Do follow the cooling instructions. It will keep your cheesecake from cracking. But if it does crack, don’t worry about it since you have a nice chocolate ganache to cover it up!

·         I pulled the cheesecake out of the refrigerator when we started serving dinner. This allowed it to warm up for about an hour. If it is too ‘sticky’ on your knife, warm the knife under hot water before cutting . . . er, wipe off the water first, right?

New Year, New Attitude

Wow. One of my objectives for the new year is to be more timely with my blog posts.

Well . . . I'm not doing very well since I had every intention of writing and posting this blog on MONDAY.

Okay, no time to beat myself up. I have too much too do.

There are numerous goals that I've written down for this year, and I decided to clump them under topic.

Health--is on the top of the list. This one required my recommitment to Weight Watchers. This isn't to say that I haven't belonged to WW, because I have been an active member since 2011. Heck, I've even been attending the meetings while I've been gaining weight. There is one key item that I have in my corner this time around--my family. My hubby joined WW and is doing it online. His newness to the system has helped me be very aware of portions and points during this early phase of weight loss. This has also sparked my enthusiasm for getting healthy.

To this end, I managed to lose one pound this last week. That number doesn't really reflect the work I put in, but I know how ambiguous the weight game can be. For all I know its because I managed to eat something high in sodium the previous day, which caused me to retain water. So take it as a number, and don't freak out over the unexpected number.

I have started walking again, but the frigid cold weather and my gimpy knee have made this a non-regular event. I'll be working it in.

Family--as a member of the 'sandwich' generation, I need to nurture both my mother and my daughter, and making time for both of them...and my hubby. We can't forget the man in my life!

Writing--    For Christmas, I asked for Scrivener software, and hubs installed it on my computer. Now, it’s my job to learn it and use it. I have also started using a calendar on my computer again. This will be used to format my monthly goals, along with posting my daily words, or a note to explain why I didn't accomplish anything. Usually this is due to errands or my daughter being home from school. To that end, I want to:

o   It’s time for a major rewrite of GNOME. I know this seems like I’m going backward, but I think this story needs an overhaul before I publish it in print form—and that is my goal for this year. Sales on MG ebooks—at least mine--are non-existent. Oh, I’ve given away copies, but it is as I feared three years ago---there are so many books out there that it’s difficult for anyone to find you. This is especially true for me since I tend to hang around romance writers, and not children’s writers, therefore no cross-referencing. The frustrating part is that many ‘MG’ stories aren’t really MG, but the author has figured out some way to cross-reference their stuff through numerous genres.

o   I love blogging, and I want to still do that, but it does suck some creative energy from a writer. I took an off-and-on hiatus starting last June, but I do want to return to regularly blogging about stuff.

o   Finish book 4 in the Goblin’s Apprentice series. Yes, I’m still stalled on book 4. I’m about half way through, but still stalled. I’m hoping that revisiting the first book will help get me back into that world.

 

And maybe write a story that I started about seven years ago. All I have is two pages and some notes, but I'm excited about the idea.

 

Social Media--I need to make a point to limit my time on social media, namely Facebook. Television is also one of my problems. A timer will work--since it will work to complete my writing goals.

 

Read--I plan to read ...a lot. Last year, I managed to read over 60 books and this year I'd like to read between 40-50 books.

 

 

Candy--        I have made some pretty damn impressive candy. I’ve made 28 different fillings for my filled chocolates, three new ones this year – lavender honey, Earl Grey, and Creamy stout (yes, from beer). And one new caramel—maple bacon caramel—for a total of nine types of caramel. And all the other stuff (toffee, turtles, fudge, pongos, peanut brittle, reindeer poop, polar bear poop, and now, pecan pralines), but I wish I could figure out a way to make this a money-making proposition. I will be investigating through my local chamber of commerce to see if it is feasible to sell it.---And it isn't feasible since the law says you have to work out of commercial kitchen that isn't in your home. *sad face* Oh, well.

 

I also need to clean up my recipe folders, document all my candy stuff, update my blog and adding links to everything!

 

So this is a rough list of my goals. Let's hope my new attitude washes over everything I attempt this year!

 

Later, Peeps!

 

   

Foodie Friday -- Not Your Mother's Spinach Salad

My nephew was married on the Saturday before Christmas. As family, we were invited to the rehearsal dinner, so we drove two hours to OKC for the rehearsal dinner. And, boy, am I glad we did!

The food was wonderful, but the caterer's spinach salad was what really caught my attention. It wasn't your regular spinach, eggs and bacon salad.

No-Sirree-Bob! It was chocked full of all sorts of goodies. And let me tell you, I could have eaten this stuff with every meal!

In fact, I made this salad for Christmas--much of the prep work could be done the day before. This was the first time we hosted Christmas dinner, and this salad was definitely on the menu!

Chopped Spinach Salad

Chopped spinach
Pearl Couscous
Dried cranberries
pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
sunflower seeds
Bacon

I made this recipe for roughly seven adults, and two small batches were sent home with the families.

Chop two 8-oz packages of spinach into bite-sized pieces. Toss with the other ingredients, as desired, though I will tell you that the heavier ingredients do fall to the bottom. Toss periodically with tongs as the spinach breaks down.

Serve within two hours.

Tips & Tricks:

• Bacon: Chop 1 lb of bacon into small pieces. Cook until crisp, drain the bacon. I used 1/2 the bacon for the spinach salad, the other half for the green beans. I saved the bacon grease to season the green beans, but you can also use to make a vinaigrette. 
• Pearl Couscous: This is also called Israeli couscous. They cook into puffy round pieces of yumminess. I just followed the directions on the package, but only used 1/2 the amount it made. If you are saving this for the next day, add a touch of olive oil to the cooled couscous as the starchiness of the couscous makes it stick together in a clump.
• If you want more seeds, add more seeds. The seeds added a nice crunch, while the cranberries added a sweet/tart that was needed.
• I had a variety of dressings on the side, but thought the Green Goddess dressing was the best on it. If you want to make a bacon vinaigrette, then make it with red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and the remaining bacon grease.
• I've been making a version of this salad over the last few days--large containers of pepitas and sunflower seeds, yanno. I take about two cups of spinach leaves, chop them, and place into a small Ziploc storage bag, add the other doodads and one Tbls of dressing--shake well.

Enjoy this quick and easy recipe!

Later, Peeps!

Hopefully, I'll be on a regular blogging schedule in the future!

Weighty Wednesday -- Fighting Apathy

This last year, well, actually two years, I've been fighting the apathy bug in my weight loss, in my writing, and in life in general.

I haven't been excited keeping the weight I lost off, and that my friends, translates into regaining half of the weight I worked so hard to lose.

The apathy bug is insidious. It starts slowly, gnawing its way into your psyche and slowly eroding the good things you have going for you until it has you firmly locked in its deep, dark gaping maw.

Apathy worms its way into your mind, your body and eventually sucks the life out of your soul.  

I guess you could say that it's a mild form of depression, this loss of passion.

If I'm not excited about life, then why should anyone around me be excited?

And then, something happened to trigger the realization that being apathetic is kinda boring, self-defeating, and not fun.

It's funny because my trigger was my hubby deciding to join Weight Watchers online. With trying to help him figure out how to count things, portion control, meal planning, etc, I became excited about something again.

I want to lose weight. I want to be healthy. I want my blown knee to heal.

I want to live a full life again.

Weigh-in was yesterday, and though I was way over my goal weight, I was 0.2 pounds less than my previous goal weight on 11/18/14, almost six weeks ago.

Now, don't go thinking I stayed the same weight during this time, after all it was candy making season. Actually, up to three days before weigh-in, I was FIVE pounds over my previous weight.

In just those three days of hubby learning the WW program, I focused my mind back into weight-loss mode.

Yes, it's hard. Yes, I did chug some eggnog . . . but I measured it and counted it. And, trust me, writing down 10 WW PPV's for one cup of eggnog HURT. Ten PPV's is just under half of my daily allotment of 26 PPV's.

I know the road back won't be easy. I know I'll have tough days . . . but I'll also have days where I feel strong and in control. Soon the positive days will outweigh the negative ones.

With this thought in mind, I'll be beating that worm of apathy into the annals of my mind, locking it back into the deep, dark cabinet drawer where it belongs.

As this is the last day of the old year this epiphany is particularly timely-- New mentality, new year.

Later, Peeps!  

Driving Dumb-ass-ery

*slightly strong language alert*

As I was driving my kiddo to school today, I realized how many dumb-asses there were on the road.

I knew I was in trouble when at two different stoplights, people weren't paying attention to the light. Sitting and putzing around on your phone while waiting at a light is all fine and dandy providing you are actually paying attention to the aforementioned light.

The first problem was the woman who was chit-chatting in the left turn lane into school property. Three cars from the opposite direction turned before she got a clue. No horns were honked.

Finally, she turns--still yapping away on the phone--at about two miles per hour. When she pulls up to drop her kid off, she stops at the door instead of proceeding further down the drive--as indicated by the teachers waving her on. This allows only six cars to enter the property.

Too bad there were eight cars who followed her, which resulted in a blocked lane.

My lane of traffic, of course.

When I can finally move, I drive about a mile toward the expressway and am stopped at another light. The first three cars move, but dude in front of me is at a dead standstill. My hand hovers over the horn, but with my kiddo in the car I don't want to show her a bad example, so I explained that this is why we don't talk or text while driving a 2000-lb killing machine called a car. I don't honk, but dude finally gets a clue.

As we proceed up the on ramp, dude is all over the shoulder of the road because he's still texting.

Without another incident, I drop the kiddo off at school . . . now for the 20 minute drive home.

Getting onto the Broken Arrow expressway is a challenge depending on which onramp you use. 21st street is difficult, but not as blind as some other ones. I merge seamlessly because the car riding in the right lane adjusts his speed to back off so I can accelerate onto the expressway.

Ten minutes later, I make a move from the third lane (out of four) to the right hand lane to merge onto another expressway. I look. I signal. And I seamlessly cross over two lanes . . . or so I think.

Someone must have been constipated because the car I crossed in front of got his panties in a wad over this, even though I always allow more than enough room for him (I could see his entire car in my side AND rear view mirrors. So It's not like I cut him off.).  In a fit of dumb-ass-ery, this car gets in the right exit lane to pass me on the right and then cuts over in front of me.

Now, this did nothing for me. It didn't make me mad. It didn't upset me. It didn't incite anything other than, "Oops, someone doesn't know where they're going." comment from my mouth. It wasn't until dude didn't exit on the next off ramp to the expressway that I figured out he was driving mad.

Look, people, it's time to chill out.

• the roads are more crowded than normal. Plan to have extra time to get from place to place.
• People from the smaller towns are in town shopping and might not know the quirks of the various stoplights or roads.
• People from out-of-town are visiting relatives and might not know what's going on or the quickest way from point A to point D.
• Expect people to do dumb ass driving. Maybe they are having to follow a GPS that is telling them to turn right into an empty lot...or cow pasture (yes, that happened to us--the real road was another 1/4 mile further down the road.)
• People will be crossing over numerous lanes to get to the one entrance to the mall that is right in front of you . . . without realizing there are three more entrances down the road.
• People will be on your bumper, so stay off the bumper in front of you. --just yesterday there were two cars that bumped into each other right in front of me as I exited the expressway.

Keep your distance.

Keep your patience.

Keep your music turned up, because a little rock-n-roll cures all ills.

And keep safe!

Later, Peeps!

Foodie Friday -- Molasses Bourbon Pecan Pie

Here is a pecan pie with a little bit of a twist.

Molasses Bourbon Pecan Pie

Crust:

1 ½ cups flour

¾ tsp. salt

6 Tbls. shortening

5 to 6 Tbls ice water

Filling:

¾ cup brown sugar, packed

¾ cup corn syrup

½ cup molasses

3 Tbls. butter

½ tsp salt

3 eggs, beaten

2 Tbls. Bourbon whisky

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups pecan halves

In large bowl, combine flour and salt; cut in shortening until crumbly. Gradually add water, tossing with a fork until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until easy to handle.

Roll out pastry to fit a 9-in. pie plate. Transfer pastry to pie plate. Trim pastry to ½-inch beyond edge of plate; flute edges. Refrigerate.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine brown sugar, corn syrup, molasses, butter and salt; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, constantly stirring, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. (Mixture will thicken when cooled.)

When filling is cooled, stir in eggs, bourbon and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 55-60 minutes. Cover edges with foil during the last 30 minutes to prevent overbrowning.

Cool on wire rack.

Tips & tricks:

·         The crust that came with this recipe was easy and quite good.

·         The molasses (Brer Rabbit—full flavor) that I used was pretty strong, overpowering in this recipe. If I made this recipe again, I would use ¼ cup of molasses and ¼ cup more corn syrup.

·         This recipe calls for pecan halves. The problem with pecan halves is that they are difficult to cut when you are ready to serve the pie. I would suggest chopping the pecans, but retaining a few halves to use as decoration on top.

·         If you have any pie leftover after cutting, then refrigerate the remaining pie.

 

Foodie Friday-- Walnut Streusel Pumpkin Pie

 

 I've been really busy making the various fillings for my Christmas candy. Fillings are finally made. Christmas decorations are up. And now, I can finally catch up on my blog posts before I start the candy molding process on Monday.

Walnut Streusel Pumpkin Pie

Pastry for single-crust pie (9-in.)

Pumpkin filling: 

 

1 can (15 oz.) solid-pack pumpkin

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

½ cup sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 eggs

1 Tbls. flour

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

Cream cheese filling:

1-8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened

¼ cup sugar

½ tsp. vanilla extract

1 egg, slightly beaten 

Topping:

¼ cup old-fashioned oats

¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 Tbls. flour

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

2 Tbls. cold butter, cubed

¼ cup chopped walnuts 

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Line a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with pastry: trim and flute edge. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

In a large bowl, beat pumpkin, milk, sugars, eggs, flour, salt and spices until blended; transfer to crust.

In another bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Spoon evenly over pumpkin layer.

In a small bowl, combine the first five topping ingredients; cut in butter until crumbly. Stir in walnuts; sprinkle over filling.

Cover edge of crust with foil to prevent overbrowning.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees; bake 50-60 minutes longer, or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Remove foil. Cool on wire rack. Refrigerate covered, until cold.

Tips & tricks:

·         I got none. Sorry.

·        Okay, you can buy pie crust in the freezer section or you can make your own. I made a Pâte Brisée from a Martha Stewart recipe that I happened to have. Just google ‘pie crusts’ and you will get a plethora of selections.

·         If you do make your own crust don’t be afraid to add enough ice water. Yes, too much is a problem, but too little makes for a dry, crumbly crust.

·         The key is to have the fat in miniscule amounts that it causes a ‘mini-pocket’ to form from the melted fat when the crust is cooking. This helps the flakiness of the crust. Overwork the crust, or allow your hot hands to melt the fat pre-baking will result in a tough crust from the overworked flour.

·         I wasn’t much of a fan of this pumpkin pie, but then again, I’m not much of a fan of ANY pumpkin pies, which is why I usually try to make a pumpkin cheesecake!

 Enjoy!