White Chocolate Blackberry Cheesecake

Happy Thanksgiving! We are going to my in-law's house for Thanksgiving dinner so I have narrowly escaped making Thanksgiving for another year. In fact, all we are doing is bringing a cheese ball and some crackers so I don't have to cook today AT ALL. That is definitely something I am thankful for.

This is a cheesecake that I made a while ago when we found some blackberries on a great sale. It was absolutely divine - one of the best cheesecakes that I have ever had.

Crust:

1 1/2 cup graham crackers, crumbled

1/3 cup margarine, melted

1/4 cup sugar

Filling:

4 8 oz packages cream cheese

1/2 cup seedless blackberry preserves

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

5 eggs

4 oz white chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 475°. Place a large pan filled with about 1/2" water into the oven while it preheats. In a small bowl, combine blackberry preserves and water. Heat in a microwave for about a minute and stir until smooth. Set aside. Make crust by combining graham crackers, margarine, and sugar. Press crust into the bottom and about halfway up the sides of a 10" spring form pan that has been lined with parchment paper.

Use an electric mixer to whip the cream cheese. Then add sugar, sour cream, and vanilla and continue mixing. Beat in eggs one at a time. Don't over-mix.

Sprinkle white chocolate over the crust, then spoon half of the cheesecake filling over the chocolate. Drizzle half of the blackberry preserves over the cheesecake and swirl with a knife. Pour remaining cheesecake filling and drizzle remaining preserves over top. Swirl enough so that there is a pretty design. 

Place cheesecake in oven and bake for 12 minutes at 475° then turn oven down to 350° and bake for another 50-60 minutes. Then, turn oven off and let the cheesecake cool for at least an hour in the oven. This helps to prevent cracking. Chill cake for at least 4 hours before serving. Top with powdered sugar, blackberries, whipped cream, and/or white chocolate shavings.

Stuffed Red Peppers

This recipe is almost exactly the same as Paula Deen's recipe for Stuffed Red Peppers. Her recipe got 5 stars, according to the Food Network. When I sat down to eat this, I think I was expecting something a little bit more spectacular - especially because it got such great reviews. I would probably give it a 4 or 4.5. 

Preparation time: 30-45 minutes (active prep) 45-50 minutes (bake time)

Serves: 2-3 people

3 red bell peppers (depending on size)

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 lb ground pork

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp beef bouillon granules

salt and pepper to taste

3/4 cup cooked rice

1/3 cup salsa

1/4 cup nacho cheese

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup green onions, chopped

2 tsp soy sauce

3/4 cup hot water

Prepare the peppers by cutting them in half, cleaning them, and removing the seeds and ribs. Do not remove the green stems.

Preheat a skillet over medium high heat. Saute beef, pork, onion, garlic, and 1 tsp beef bouillon until meat is fully cooked and onion is soft. Stir in the rice, salsa, cheese, sour cream, green onions, and soy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Use this filling to stuff the peppers.

Mix 1 tsp beef bouillon with hot water and pour into a medium casserole dish. Place stuffed peppers into this dish and cover with foil. Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and spoon the juice over the peppers. Continue baking for another 15 minutes.

Zuppa Toscana

When I lived in Honduras, people ate soup frequently throughout the year - even though it was always very hot outside. Whenever anyone served us soup, they would usually make a joke about who was going to start sweating first. Here in the states, soup is more of a fall or winter dish. I guess sweating just isn't as well-accepted as part of everyday life.

Anyway, my brother and sister-in-law eat soup a lot. This is one of the recipes that they sent when I asked them for some of their best recipes. We also enjoyed it quite a bit.

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 4-6 hours

Serves: 6 people

5 cups chicken broth 

2 cups whipping cream (I prefer evaporated milk)

1/2 - 1 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

1 small onion, diced

1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled

4 to 5 cups chopped kale or spinach

3 to 4 potatoes, washed and cut into small chunks

1 lb mild Italian ground sausage

Cook bacon, cool and crumble into small pieces. Chop vegetables. Place everything in a slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Mozzarella Sticks

I love mozzarella sticks. I have been planning to make them for a few months now and I finally got around to doing it. This recipe is adapted from the Food Network and it turned out great. We made so many of them that we had to freeze most of them. Recently, my husband pulled some out of the freezer and fried them again (he has this weird love of freshly fried food) and he thought they were even better the second time.

2 lb mozzarella cheese, cut into sticks that are about 4" long and 1/2" wide

1 1/2 cups Italian style Panko bread crumbs

1 cup fresh Parmesan, grated

1 tsp salt

4 eggs

Canola oil for frying

Cut cheese into slices. In a medium bowl, combine bread crumbs, 1 cup Parmesan, and salt. In another bowl  beat eggs. Dip cheese in egg and then coat with the bread crumb mixture. Place cheese sticks on a baking sheet and cover. Place them in the freezer for at least 2 hours before frying.

When it is time to fry the mozzarella sticks, preheat the oil over medium heat. Fry the sticks in batches until they are golden brown. Serve warm with marinara or ranch dipping sauce.

Asian Meatballs

Well, it seems like that new blog I started has kind of taken over my life. I have spent a lot of time during the last two months working on cards for the Mutton Hollow Country Barn Boutique. I made over 200 cards. Unfortunately, only about 7 of them actually sold. Needless to say, I don't think I will be doing that craft show again. So now I am back to spending my time cooking and blogging about it. I have actually missed writing about my recipes. I actually made several really good ones while I was on hiatus. I will be posting those over the next several weeks, until I have to take another break to move into our new house.

Anyway, I found these meatballs on For the Love of Cooking. They tasted great. I also really liked the tangy dipping sauce that went with them.

Meatballs:

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

2 Tbsp green onions, finely chopped

1 Tbsp ginger, minced

1 tsp minced garlic

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

salt and pepper, to taste

Dipping Sauce:

4 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp lime juice (approximately 1 fresh lime, juiced)

2 Tbsp water

2 tsp sesame oil

1 Tbsp green onion, finely chopped

1/4 tsp honey

Preheat oven to 500° For meatballs, combine all ingredients. Gently mix until combined. Form meatballs using approximately 1/4 cup mixture per meatball. Place on a baking sheet and bake until they are cooked completely, about 15 minutes. 

While meatballs are cooking, combine ingredients for dipping sauce and whisk until they are combined. 

Serve meatballs and dipping sauce immediately. The meatballs and dipping sauce also taste great when served over rice.

Chicken Stuffed with Ricotta and Bacon

This was one of the best meals that my husband and I have had in a long time. For months now, I have been wanting to try some sort of stuffed chicken breasts. There are tons of different recipes out there, but I always imagined that the preparation would be so difficult and time consuming that I wouldn't be able to handle it, especially with a baby that wants to be held constantly. I finally decided to do it and it actually wasn't too bad! I felt like it went pretty well - definitely worth the extra time. The only thing I would change next time is that, rather than trying to pound out the huge chicken breasts that I had, I would first slice them in half (like a hamburger bun) so they were already pretty thin, then pound them out. Even after pounding for quite a while, I feel like I still didn't pound my chicken thin enough.

Prep time: about 1 hour

Serves: 4

2 large chicken breasts, sliced in half and pounded out

2 slices bacon, cooked and cut into small pieces

1 tsp olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

2 green onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/8 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

1/4 cup spinach, chopped

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 Tbsp olive oil

Prepare chicken breasts so that they are thin (about 1/4"). Then, in a medium skillet, cook the bacon. Drain bacon grease from skillet and add tsp olive oil. Saute onion, green onions, and garlic until onion becomes translucent. Remove from skillet and allow mixture to cool.

In a separate bowl, combine bacon, ricotta, Parmesan, spinach, oregano, basil, and parsley. Stir in onion mixture and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon prepared mixture onto the center of chicken breasts. Roll them up and secure them with toothpicks. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to the skillet that you used for the bacon and onions mixture. When it has preheated, place the chicken rolls, seam side down, in the pan and cook for 5-6 minutes. Continue to cook, carefully rolling the chicken breasts so all sides are golden brown and fully cooked, another 10 minutes approximately. 

When the chicken is fully cooked, allow it to rest for about 5 minutes, and then slice and serve.

My New Blog

I just started a new crafting blog called Little Card Corner. I mostly do card making, but I occasionally dabble in other craft projects as well. Within that blog, I am also doing two series: Card Making Basics (Tuesdays), and Crafting on a Budget (Thursdays). In these posts, I share helpful tips and information that I have picked up over time.

If you are already an avid crafter or are looking for a new hobby, stop by my blog! Here is an example of a Father's Day card that I made this year: