Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

Cheesecake is always yummy and this recipe is WONDERFUL.

BLUEBERRY SWIRL CHEESECAKE

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp corn starch
1 Tbsp cold water

CRUST:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 16 squares)
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp butter, melted

FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until he berries are softened. Combine cornstarch and water until smooth; stir into the blueberry mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; cool to room temperature. Transfer to a blender; cover and process until smooth. Set aside.

For crust, in a small bowl, combine the crumbs and sugar; stir in the butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 9 in. springform pan. Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in sour cream, and vanilla. Pour into crust. Drizzle with blueberry mixture; cut through batter with a knife to swirl. Place pan on a baking sheet

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.

Remove sides of pan. Refrigerate leftovers.

This makes about 12 servings

Raspberry Cream Dessert

When I saw this I had to try it because it has cream cheese. Anything with Cream Cheese in it is a big hit with our family. It also looked easy and fun for a Family Home Evening Treat.

RASPBERRY CREAM DESSERT

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
1 package (10 ounces)frozen sweetened raspberries, thawed
1 Tbsp. cornstarch

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Gradually fold in whipped cream. Pipe mixture into two dessert dishes or spoon into two 4 in. spring form pans coated with cooking spray. Refrigerate for 4 hours or until set. I am going to use my trifle dish.

Drain raspberries, reserving juice, set berries aside. Add enough water to the juice to measure 3/4 cup. In a small saucepan, combine cornstarch and juice mixture until smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Cool slightly.

Stir in reserved raspberries. Cover and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with cream dessert.

This makes 2 Large serving.

Spicy Rice, Bean & Cheese Skillet

Our newspaper had a section "taste of home" that had some great recipes I thought I would add to the blog. Let me know what you think of this one.

SPICY RICE, BEAN & CHEESE SKILLET

1 1/2 cups green bell peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained, rinsed
1 1/4 cups water
2 cups Minute Brown Rice, uncooked
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup low-fat Colby and Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

Cook and stir green peppers and garlic in hot oil in large skillet on medium high heat 1 minute. Add tomatoes, beans, and water; mix well. Bring to boil.
Stir in rice. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Stir in cilantro; top with cheese. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.
If you would like this as a main dish you can add cooked diced chicken.

Famous Pork Chops

FAMOUS PORK CHOPS

Ingredients
1 cup crushed butter crackers
garlic salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
3 eggs, beaten
4 pork chops
1/2 cup butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a shallow bowl combine crushed crackers, garlic salt and pepper; mix well. In a separate bowl beat eggs.
Dip your pork chops in the egg batter and then in the cracker mixture. Place the pork chops in a casserole dish. Place chunks of the butter around the pork chops. Cover and bake for 45 minutes.

Thai Peanut Chicken

I LOVE Peanuts, actually, any kind of nut will do. So when I found this recipe I had to try it.
http://www.sugardoodle.net/melsrecipes/archives/265

Rolo Cookies

There was a sweet seminary student in Vernal who made these cookies for the teachers and my hunny loved them so much she shared the recipe with us. They are really yummy!

ROLO COOKIES

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
9 oz. bag of Rolo candy ( 48 rolos)

Combine flour, cocoa, and soda in a small bowl. In large bowl, beat sugars, and margarine until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs to sugar/butter mixture, beat well. Add flour mixture, blend well. Stir in 1/2 cup of chopped pecans (optional).
Shape 1 Tbsp of dough around one Rolo candy, covering completely. Put 1 Tbsp of sugar in small bowl and roll cookie ball around until covered with sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes. (they are better undercooked than overcooked)
After a day or so, if there are any left over, we love to put them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up again. Good, Good!

Key Lime Meltaways

A few years ago a good friend introduced me to Key Lime Pie and ever since that I have loved just about everything with Key Lime in it. I just saw this recipe in the Midland Daily News and thought I would try it and share it with you.

KEY LIME MELTAWAYS

1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbsp. key lime juice
Zest of 1 lime (or 3 key limes)
1 1/2 cups all- purpose flour
1/2 c. corn starch
1/4 tsp. salt

In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar and butter until creamy. Mix in the lime juice and zest.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
When ready to bake, heat the oven to 350 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Drop teaspoon size balls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Use your thumb to indent the tops of the cookies and create a "nest" for the frosting to sit in. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until set. These cookies should not brown or spread, and will be quite fragile.
Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet before frosting.

FROSTING

1/2 c (4 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. key lime juice

To make the frosting, in a medium bowl use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese with butter, scraping the bowl several times to ensure there are no lumps. Mix in the powdered sugar and key lime juice. Frost each cookie with a dollop of the frosting.
Cookies can be stored for 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.