Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Cheese Stuffed Meatballs


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We had a terrific weekend last week.  Black Friday shopping, Ohio State beat Michigan, Bengals beat Carson Palmer and Cleveland Browns beat the Steelers.


Here is Billy and his friends at the OSU/Michigan game.  He said it was one of the best Ohio State games he has ever been to.  Billy and his friends were able to buy tickets to all the home games since they are attending Ohio State.  On Tuesday night last week he participated in another Ohio State tradition which was to jump in Mirror Lake before the Michigan game.  I have read in some news articles that there were between 10,000 and 12,000 students who jumped in the lake on campus.  I was worried about him doing this but he had a great time and only got a small cut on his head.  He says he will do it again next year.  I think they are all crazy.



Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
adapted from Paula Deen

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
4 T Parmesan cheese
1 to 1 1/2 C bread crumbs
3 large eggs
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 t basil
2 T parsley
1/2 t dried oregano
6 strips of string cheese cut into 30 pieces
Spaghetti Sauce
cooked Spaghetti

In a large mixing bowl combine ground beef, ground pork, Parmesan  eggs, salt, pepper, garlic, basil, parsley and dried oregano.  Add bread crumbs 1/2 C at a time until mixture is not to wet and can be formed into balls easily.  Form mixture into 30 balls, using your thumb to press a hole in the center.  Insert a piece of the cheese into the hole and close the hole by pushing the meatball mixture around it to secure the cheese inside each ball.  Place on a cookie sheet and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until meatballs are brown and cooked through.  Serve over spaghetti with sauce or alone dipped in pizza sauce



Saturday, November 24, 2012

New York Cherry Cheesecake


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I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving!  Our family went to my Mom and Dad's for Thanksgiving dinner.  I made this cheese cake to go along with the desserts that Mom and Marley made and the pie's that my Dad made.  I love Dad's Butterscotch pie!

I have made this cheesecake a few weeks ago to try out the recipe.  It was a hit with Bill.  He really liked this recipe.  Cally said it reminded her of the cheesecake her and I shared at the Cheesecake Factory.  When I made it the other night I was out of flour so I just left it out.  I do not think it tasted different but the texture sure was different without the flour.  It was light and fluffy with the omission of the flour.  With the flour added it was more dense and less fluffy.  I liked it better with the flour.

Well I am going to close this post as Bill has just come in from outside and we have decided to go into town to the Springfield City Christmas Tree lighting and fireworks show.  I will take some pictures and post them later.


Update:  We are home from the Holiday in the City.  Wow what a good time we had.  After finally finding a parking spot we walked down to the City Hall.  It started out with the lighting of the Christmas Tree and then  a parade with Santa Clause coming to town on a fire truck and ending with the biggest fireworks display that was awesome....We have decided we are going to make this a tradition and go every year.







New York Cherry Cheesecake
adapted from Kraft
crust:
1 1/4 C graham cracker crumbs
1/3 C butter, melted
1/4 C sugar

cheesecake:
5 pkg Cream Cheese
1 C sugar
3 T flour
1 T vanilla
1 C sour cream
4 eggs

Topping:
1 can cherry pie filling

crust:
Line a 9x13 inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.  Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter; press onto bottom of pan.  Bake for 10 minutes at 325 degrees

cake:
Meanwhile, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla with mixer until blended.  Add sour cream; mix well.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low after each just until blended.  Pour over crust.

 Bake at 325 degrees for 40 min, or until center is almost set.  Cool completely.  Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.  Top with pie filling.
Sunday, November 18, 2012

Homemade Twinkies


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I was sad to hear that Hostess has decided to close their doors.  We do not on a regular basis buy hostess snacks but every once in awhile they sure sound good.  My favorite hostess snack is the orange cupcakes.  I have seen these homemade Twinkies on other blogs before and always thought someday I might try those.  Well Saturday was the day.  They were delicious.  Bill took one bite and said "It tastes like a Twinkie"  The filling was a little heavier than a real twinkie but the flavor was almost the same.


As you can see in the pictures above, I made my own mold/pan for these twinkies.  It was real simple and I used a spice jar to form the molds.  After baking some of them were a little out of shape but they still tasted the same even if they were not a perfect shaped twinkie.


Homemade Twinkies
Todd Wilbur

cake
4 egg whites
1 16 oz box golden pound cake mix
2/3 C water

Filling
2 t very hot water
1/4 t salt
1 7oz jar marshmallow creme
1/2 C shortening
1/3 C powdered sugar
1/2 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325

Fold each piece of aluminum foil in half twice.  Wrap the folded foil around a spice bottle to create a mold.  Leave the top of the mold open for pouring in the batter. Make ten of these molds and arrange them on a cookie sheet or a shallow pan.  Grease the insides of each mold with a light coating of nonstick spray.

Disregard the directions on the box of cake mix.  Instead, beat the egg whites until stiff.  In a separate bowl combine cake mix with the water and beat until thoroughly blended (about 2 minutes).  fold egg whites into the cake batter and slowly combine until completely mixed.

Pour the batter into the molds, filling each one about 3/4 of an inch.  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 min or until cake is golden brown and toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

for the filling, combine the salt with the hot water in a small bowl and stir until salt is dissolved.  Let this mixture cool.

Combine the marshmallow creme, shortening, powdered sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl and mix well with an electric mixer on high speed until fluffy.

Add the salt solution to the filling mixture and combine

When the cakes are done and cooled, use a skewer or chopstick to make three holes in the bottom of each one.  Move the stick around inside of each cake to create space for the filling.

Using a cake decorator or pastry bag, inject each cake with filling through all three holes

makes 10
Friday, November 16, 2012

Gorilla Bread


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Gorilla Bread
slightly adapted from Paula Deen



  • 3 T granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
  • 1 16.3 oz Grands Homestyle biscuits
  • 1 chopped pecans


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a bundt pan  with nonstick cooking spray. Mix the granulated sugar and cinnamon. In a sauce pan melt the butter and brown sugar over low heat, stirring well; set aside. Cut the cream cheese into 16 equal cubes. Cut each biscuit in half.   Press the biscuits out with your fingers and sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon sugar. Place a cube of cream cheese in the center of each biscuit, wrapping and sealing the dough around the cream cheese. Roll each biscuit ball in cinnamon sugar. Sprinkle half of the nuts into the bottom of the bundt pan. Place half of the prepared biscuits in the pan. pour half of the melted butter mixture over the biscuits, and sprinkle with the remaining nuts. Layer the remaining biscuits on top, pour the remaining butter mixture over the biscuits,If desired sprinkle on some more nuts. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Place a plate on top and invert.


Friday, November 9, 2012

Iced Mocha Frappe


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Billy and Cally are both home this weekend.  We all went out to the Filling Station in Troy to eat dinner for Billy's birthday.  When we got home Cally and I made these Paula Deen Iced Mocha Frappes.  I have tried Cally's frappe before from McDonald's and really did not care for it but these are good.  I made the frozen cubes last night so they would be ready when Cally got home today.  All I had was hazelnut coffee so maybe that is giving it a different taste.  The hazelnut coffee with the hot chocolate is sooooo gooooood  !!


Iced Mocha Frappe
Paula Deen

4 C brewed coffee, hot
4 (1 oz) packages hot chocolate mix (3/4 C mix)
4 T sugar
1 C heavy whipping cream
2 t vanilla
whipped cream for serving

In a heat proof bowl or pitcher, add the coffee, hot chocolate mix and sugar.  Stir until well combined.  Pour the mixture into ice cube trays and freeze, covered, for at least 3 hours and up to 1 week.

Put frozen cubes in a blender.  Add the cream and vanilla and puree until smooth.  Divide the frappe into tall glasses and top with whipping cream.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Breakfast Burritos


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I have made these Breakfast Burritos the last 2 weekends.  Cally and I decided it would be nice to have these in the freezer to take out and pop in the microwave for a great warm breakfast!  It sure worked out nice that Cally had them in her freezer last week so she would have a warm breakfast before going out into the yucky weather we had last week.

I make them and assemble them on Sunday.  I put them in the freezer and take them out for breakfast each morning.  To warm them up I wrap two in a wet paper towel and microwave for 2 minutes.  If desired you can also open them up and put on a little taco sauce.  They are wonderful, just like they were made that morning.

I just use eggs, sausage and cheese.  But if you like it exciting you could add onions and peppers.  Actually you could come up with lots of great creations.  To me it is like an omelet inside a tortilla that can be picked up and ate with your hands and on the go if need be.  I think adding shredded hash browns sounds amazing too.  I also love Jimmy Dean Fully Cooked Sausage Crumbles.  It makes it so easy to just open the sausage up and pour it into the scrambled eggs



Breakfast Burritos

12 eggs
splash of milk (probably 1/4 C)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 C margarine
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese
9. 6 oz Jimmy Dean Hearty Sausage Crumbles
20  6" tortillas

Melt butter in skillet.  Mix together eggs and milk.  Pour the egg mixture into the skillet and scramble the eggs.  When eggs are about done pour in the sausage and stir together.  When the eggs are done to your liking, turn the heat off and sprinkle the cheese over the eggs and sausage mixture.  After cheese is melted, put a small amount of the egg sausage mixture on each burrito and roll them up.  Place in zip lock bags and place in freezer until ready to eat.  When taking out of the freezer, roll them in a wet paper towel and microwave them for about 2 minutes.  If desired you can unroll and put on some taco sauce..... enjoy!