Berry Cheesecake

This is delicious!!!

Pie Crust:

1/3 cup Milk
2/3 cup Vegetable Oil
2 1/4 cup Flour
1 tsp Salt

1. Measure the milk and vegetable and combine.
2. In a large bowl add the flour and salt. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and mix with a spoon.
3. Use this pie dough for any sweet or savory pie! Simply press in the pie pan rather than having to roll.

Cheesecake:

8 oz Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Sugar
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 eggs
2 cups Strawberries, sliced
1 cup Blueberries
1 TBS Light colored Jam (any flavor such as orange, apricot, peach, etc) I used pineapple
Pie Dough Stars, pie dough star cut outs, baked 15 minutes

preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Press pie dough into a 9 inch pie pan. Reserve a small piece of pie dough, about 1/4 cup full and set aside for pie dough stars if using. Press dough up the side of the pie pan, and use your finger to press indentions to create a border. Place unbaked pie crust in the fridge.
2. Place the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy and fluffy. Add vanilla. With mixer (or hand mixer) on low speed, add eggs one at a time fully incorporating before adding the second egg.
3. Remove crust from the fridge and pour cheesecake batter into crust. Bake for 25- 30 minutes until firm and set in the center, and the crust is lightly tanned. Sprinkle cinnamon over the cake and crust immediately after removing from oven. Sprinkle over the stars (if using). Let cheesecake pie cool completely.
4. Rinse and pat dry the berries. Remove the stems from the strawberries and cut in quarters. Gently place the berries on top on the cheesecake.
5. Boil some water (in the microwave is easiest) and pour over the jam a tablespoon at a time until it has melted and is thick and syrupy. Use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the berries. This will create the shiny, glossy look.
6. Place the stars on the pie up to three hours in advance to avoid them getting soft or stained. The pie can be made 24 hours in advance.

Chicken and Black Bean Quesadillas

I put these together tonight with what we had in the kitchen...and they were REALLY good!!

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts
1 bell pepper
black beans (if you use canned drain them first)
4 wheat tortillas
1 tbs butter
seasoning (whatever you want) I used a little Cajun seasoning and a little fajita seasoning on the chicken and bell peppers
shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Cook chicken in a little butter and olive oil on med high heat...add sliced bell pepper a few minutes before the chicken is done. Season with whatever seasoning you would like. Once chicken and bell peppers are done...set to the side.
Butter the back of two tortillas and put them on a hot griddle (350). Spread cheese on tortilla, add black beans, bell peppers and chicken...sprinkle with a little more cheese then place the second tortilla on top. Flip when bottom tortilla is brown. Let cook until other side is browned and everything in the middle is melted and hot. YUM!!

Hashbrown Casserole

I love hash brown casseroles! This one is simple to make and yummy!

Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup of milk
1 bell pepper (any color) chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
handful of fresh spinach chopped
6 slices of bacon
1/3 cup sour cream
enough cheddar cheese to cover the top
salt and pepper for seasoning
2 cups of shredded potatoes (I use the bagged...)

Directions:
Cook bacon and set aside (this recipe could also be used with sausage) Saute the onion, mushrooms, bell pepper and spinach in 1 tbs of butter until soft. In an 8x8 casserole dish put the shredded potatoes. Salt and pepper. Place cooked bacon on top of the potatoes. Put veggie mixture on top of the bacon. Whisk together the eggs, milk and sour cream. Pour egg mixture on top of casserole. (At this point you can refrigerate the casserole until you are ready to cook if if you need to) Cover with shredded cheddar cheese. Bake on 400 for about 35 minutes:-)

ENJOY!!!

Simplified Cabbage Rolls

I LOVE cabbage rolls...but they take a long time to make and it's kind of a pain...If you have the time...that's great...but during the week I don't. I found a way to make them in half the time and they are still just as delicious! If you like cabbage rolls then try this out!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 bell pepper chopped
1 (small) onion chopped
1 lb ground turkey (or beef) I use turkey
1/2 cup uncooked rice (white or brown)
1 medium cabbage chopped
1 10.5 oz. can of tomato soup
1 can of tomato sauce
1 cup water
pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat over to 375
Heat oil in skillet, and saute onion and bell pepper until they begin to caramelize. Add the turkey and cook until turkey is done. Add in the rice and set to the side.
Spread chopped cabbage into a 9x13 dish...or use two 8x8 dishes and freeze one for later:-) Top with turkey mixture. Combine soup, sauce, water and pepper in a bowl and poor over cabbage and turkey. Cover with foil and bale for an hour.

Great served with cornbread:-) ENJOY!!

Fried Onion Chops

I am all about easy nut still good recipes. I know that a lot of the recipes that I post most of you are like...duh...I make that all of the time...but I look at it this way. They are NEW to me...and I hope that they bring "easy" ideas to someone else out there that wants to simplify dinner:-)

My friend Alyson told me about this recipe. I just HAD to try it. I have heard you can do it with chicken too and it's good. If you love those little fried onion crunchy things that you put in green bean casserole...then you will love this recipe:-)

Big HINT...the recipe is smack on the back of the onion package...but I will still post it for ya!

4 chops
1 package of fried onion
2 tbls flour
2 eggs (whisked)

I added a little seasoning to my chops before a battered them.

Simply add the package of onions and the flour to a big plastic bad...crush it up until it's just crumbs. Dip your chop in the egg mixture and then pat in the onion mixture...place on foil lined oven sheet...repeat for all chops.

Bake for about 20 minutes on 350 (depending on the size of your chops) until brown...YUM!

Grilled Pizza

Ok...I know this picture isn't the best...but it will have to do....you get the idea right? This is by far the easiest pizza EVER and it's delicious!!!!!

Heat the grill and preheat the oven to 350...Buy whatever kind of crust you want at the store. Bruch both sides of the crust with olive oil. Brown the crust on the grill for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until evenly browned:-) Bring crusts inside and put whatever sauce and toppings your heart desires....then bake for about 15 minutes until everything is hot an bubbly...oh yeah! I LOVE cheese:-) Then EAT! YUM!

Chicken Spaghetti

YUM!! Anything with this much cheese in it can't be bad right?? LOL. I got this recipe from The Pioneer Woman's website. It's a must try!!!

Here is the link to the recipe:-)
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/