Holiday Cranberry Cake

Let's face it, we are all in a crazy busy hurry this time of year. It seems as though the to-do list is never ending and all we want to really do is have a little time to take a breather and enjoy the magic and warmth of the holiday season.  With this holiday cake you will not only get a little extra "me" time since it takes so little time...but also it will lighten your load at the grocery store with only 6 ingredients!!! Ok lets get started.

Something about cranberries just makes me happy. They are just so darn cute...and yummy with LOTS of sugar!

Recipe from :Barefoot in the Kitchen

3 eggs
2 cups of sugar
3/4 cup of room temp butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
12 oz. bag of fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350*

Beat with a mixer the eggs and sugar  for 7 mins. I know that is a crazy long time but if you have a stand mixer just turn it on and set the timer and you have 7 mins to cross something off of the holiday to-do list=) Add the butter and vanilla and mix 2 more mins....yes all the mixing is a must!!!! Stir in the flour with a spoon and then fold in the berries.
Spread in a buttered 9x13 pan, bake for 40-45 mins. Until it is golden brown and passes the toothpick test. Let cool completely and enjoy....HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Espresso Salted Cheesecake Bars

I am completely cheesecake obsessed!!! When decadent cheesecake is in easy to grab and eat bar form....it makes it that much more fun...and easy to grab, for say....a snack on the run....or dare I say breakfast:) I also happen to love caramel in all of it's scrumptious gooey sticky forms. Whip them up together and you have a 'heaven on earth' dessert just waiting to be devoured. Are you drooling yet? 

Recipe by: Caramel Potatoes

For the Crust:
17 whole crushed graham crackers
2 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
10 Tbs. butter, melted

For the Cheesecake:
24 oz. cream cheese, soft
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup purchased dulce de leche
2 tsp. vanilla

For the Caramel Glaze:
2/3 cup purchased dulce de leche ( the rest of the can)
3 Tbs. (or more) heavy whipping cream
Espresso Salt or good quality corse Salt

Preheat oven 350*

Combine crushed crackers, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter and press into a buttered 13x9 baking pan. Bake for about 10 mins, until firm and golden, allow to cool.

In a mixing bowl beat, cream cheese, sugar, eggs,  dulce de leche, and vanilla until smooth. Pour evenly into your cooled crust. Bake for 35 mins. Allow to cool.

Heat remaining dulce de leche with cream gently in the microwave. Add a little more cream if needed to make the glaze pourable. Pour over cooled cheesecake in an even layer.

Chill the cheesecake bars in the fridge for at least 3 hours or up to 2 days. Dig in and enjoy!

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

So we had a "berry good" trip to Sam's club last week! The berries looked amazing and they had an even better price. So I went a little overboard on raspberries and blueberries. We ate a lot of the berries pretty fast, but I knew I had a blueberry cheesecake in my near future=) So this the the little beauty! I was on the search for some lemon cookies for a crust and this is what worked out great for us.

I also did blueberries double time by mixing them into the cheesecake and also topping the cake with them.

This is how I pulled it all together.

For the filling
* 4 pkg of softened cream cheese
* 4 eggs
* 1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar ( or you can use sugar)
* 2 Tbs. flour
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 heaping cup of fresh blueberries
* juice and zest of 1 lemon

For the crust
* 1 pkg lemon cookies
* 2 Tbs. melted butter

For the top
* 3/4 cup of your favorite store bought preserves or you could make your own
* 1 or more TBS. of lemon juice
* a splash of water if the preserves are to thick

To make the crust
Toss the cookies in a food processor and blend until they turn into crumbs then pour in the butter and pulse. Press the mixture into a 10 inch spring form pan and bake at 350* for about 5-8 mins, and allow to cool.

To make the filling
Beat cream cheese with a mixer on med-high until nice and smooth. Add each egg one at a time, beating well between each. Add the evaporated cane sugar mix well and with the mixer still going add in the flour, vanilla, juice and zest until everything is smooth. Then stir in the blueberries with a large spoon.

Pour the filling into the crust and bake at 300* for about an hour or until set. Allow to cool most of the way on the counter and chill overnight in the fridge. Top with the blueberry topping if you would like.

Jalapeno Pesto!!

When I first saw Mario Batali making this on the chew, I knew I had to try! I have to admit as much as I like spicy food I got a little scared as I started this recipe and realized I was going to be using THIS

MANY peppers! So I have to tell you strait from the start that this may scare you a little too, but you do take out all the seeds so that takes out a huge amount of heat. Since the heat of hot peppers lives in the seeds! So I assure you right now that if you like food with some zip but not "burn your skin off" kind of thing this recipe is for you. It is not overly spicy at all but rather very flavorful with a kick. This pesto is a fantastic mix up from your every day basil pesto. I have to admit even though I grow my own basil so I can make pesto whenever I want, my basil will be getting neglected from now on. This is now a huge family favorite in our house. Give it a try tonight, I promise it wont be burn your face off hot! Look how beautiful the ingredients are!

We threw in a few lonely scallops and shrimp, but it is fantastic as is with no meat added!

Adapted from Mario Batali

* 6 fresh jalapeno peppers( cored and seeded)
* 5 fresh serrano chilies (cored and seeded)
* 6 garlic cloves
* 1/2 medium red onion, chopped
* 1/2 cup shelled pistachio nuts
* 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
* Salt and Pepper to taste
* 1 box of Linguini noodles

Boil your pasta to box directions reserve 1/2 cup of pasta water for sauce and drain the rest.
Place the jalapenos, serranos, garlic, onions, pistachios, and olive oil in a food processor and mix until smooth. Season to taste
Place the pasta in a large pot and toss over med heat with the reserved 1/2 pasta water for about a min. Then toss in the pasta to coat. ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!

Pumpkin Rice Pudding

Ok, I know what you are thinking...."what on earth is this girl doing having pumpkin in July"? I enjoy pumpkin year round, but esp since we have had some chilly rainy July weather up north. So that leads me to this yumminess. Remember, pumpkin can be enjoyed year round...go ahead live on the edge.


Recipe adapted from About.com


For the Rice
* 2 cup water
* 1 cup arborio rice
* 3 cups milk
* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/4 real maple syrup
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon plus more to garnish
* 1/4 teaspoon ginger
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 1/4 teaspoon salt


Whipped topping
* 1/2 heavy whipping cream
* 1 Tablespoon powdered sugar
* Splash of Vanilla


Preheat oven 375*


Bring the water to a boil in an oven safe 4qt. or larger pot. Stir in the rice and cover. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook for about 15 mins. 
In a large bowl whisk together milk, pumpkin,honey, syrup,
vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt. While the rice is still hot add the pumpkin mixture to the rice and mix to combine. Cover and transfer to the oven. Bake for 50 mins, then remove from the oven and stir.
Transfer to a large bowl and chill in the fridge for at least 6-8 hours or overnight. The pudding with stay fresh in the fridge for 4 days if covered in an airtight container. 


To make whipped topping
Beat cream, sugar, vanilla on high with a hand mixer, until desired consistency. 

Green Bean and Red Potato Salad

MMMMMM DROOL. I love this stuff, had it many times growing up and I still love to make it especially when the green beans are nice and tender in the summer months. If you cant get your hands on some nice farm fresh beans, you can sub with some good quality frozen beans.

3 lbs. of red potatoes cubed and boiled
1 1/2 lbs. of fresh green beans or frozen, cooked
chopped fresh parsley
salt
pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
EVOO
apple cider vinegar
spike

Add everything to a large bowl, season to taste, dont be shy with it. mix and let cool and chill out in the fridge 1-3 days. It gets so much better the longer it sits. You probably will want to add more oil and vinegar each day or so, to taste. I like it best at room temp.

SHAPE cookies

I don't know about you, but when I see a cookie recipe in a magazine like SHAPE, I just have to try it out! These babies only have 108 calories and 5 grams of fat for 2 cookies!!!! NOT BAD in my book. I was happy to see they had some thickness to them, not flat cookies. Hey, if they are good enough for cookie monster, they cant be bad healthy cookies. He cant even tell the difference with less fat.

From SHAPE

3/4 cup rolled oats
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup extra-light olive oil
3 TBS. room temp unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350*. Spread oats on a baking sheet and toast for 10 mins. Remove and turn off oven.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In a large bowl, beat together oil,butter, and sugars with an electric mixer. Add egg, egg white, and vanilla, beating until well combined. Fold in oats, flour mixture, and chocolate chips. Cover and refrigerate dough for 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350*. Place rounded teaspoonfuls of dough 2 inches apart onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake for 11 mins, and then transfer to a cooling rack.