Chocolate Sour Cream Cheesecake

WARNING WARNING WARNING: EXTREMELY RICH AND DECADENT DESSERT!!!

I hope no one out there is trying to diet! I'm in a baking frenzy lately. Wednesday night, my MOPS table got together for a Mom's Night In. We left our young ones with the Dad's and got together at the one woman's house where she had only 1 young one...sleeping.

I told them I'd bring something Chocolate, and then spent the next week wondering WHAT would I do.

A chocolate cake?

A chocolate ice cream? (I debated on this one).

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate. In my brain all day (actually, it was resonating as "chocol- EIGHT" because my son just started Math-U-See this week and we're learning the blocks! LOL :D).

Well, a long long time ago, in another life (i.e. before I met my husband and I was working for ADP), the secretary gave me a recipe for a sour cream cheesecake. For the last 15 years this has been the only true cheesecake I've made. I rarely waver from the recipe.

Of course, it wasn't chocolate.

Here is my rendition of her Sour Cream Cheesecake with Chocolate (chocol-EIGHT).


Chocolate Sour Cream Cheesecake

2 8 oz blocks of cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 Tbs butter
1 tsp vanilla

Crust:
1 package Mi-Del Chocolate Creme Sandwiches
2 Tbs butter


Preheat oven to 350.

Pulse Mi-Del Chocolate Creme Sandwich Cookies to crumbs in a food processor. Add softened butter and pulse until the crumbs will stick together when pressed.

Press into a 9" springform pan.

Bake for about 10 minutes until glossy. Cool COMPLETELY. (if you do not, condensation will form between the cheesecake layer and the crust and it will not adhere right).

Reduce oven temperature to 325. Add a pan full of hot water into the bottom rack of the oven. Set second rack in the middle setting.

Melt chocolate chips and butter in microwave in 30 second bursts, stirring in between (my microwave took 1 1/2 minutes). Allow to cool (but not resolidify).

Mix sour cream, eggs, vanilla and sugar in a blender for about 8-10 seconds until fluffy. Slowly add 1 softened cream cheese block thru the opening in the top, while blender is blending. Slowly spoon melted chocolate in the blender while blending. Then slowly add last block of softened cream cheese. Blend until very smooth.

Pour into cooled crust.

Place in the oven and bake 35 minutes until the cheesecake is set. Turn off the oven and leave cheesecake in there for 15 minutes while oven is cooling.

Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before placing in the fridge for AT LEAST 4 hours - preferrably overnight.

Break from springform and cut into wedges.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

A good friend of mine shared this recipe with me. Of course, it was not gluten free when I received it - but now, thru cunning adaptation, here it is! LOL :D


Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter
1/2 Cup Shortening
3/4 Cup White Rice Flour
1/4 Cup Tapioca Flour
1/4 Cup Corn Starch
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp Xanthum gum
1/2 cup jelly - favorite flavor

Cream together sugars, peanut butter, shortening in a bowl. Mix flours, starches, baking powder, soda and xgum together well. Slowly add to the sugar/PB mixture.

Reserve 1 Cup of batter. Press remaining into a 13 X 9" pan. Spread jelly over top. Crumble reserved batter overtop.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Let cool COMPLETELY on a wire rack before cutting.

Enjoy with a glass of milk. :D

PB & J bars....coming....

tap, tap, tap, Dear one, where is our new recipe!

Testing, Testing, Testing....had a few flops lately, won't post them!

Working on PB&J bars! Friend gave me a recipe, hoping to give them a try over the weekend, I want her to test them out too so I know how close to the original they are.

Look for that, hoping Monday.

Please come back!

Product Review - Kinnickkinnick Hamburger Buns - DINO-myte!

Okay. My son's sixth birthday party was this weekend. We planned a BBQ fare menu to go with the Dinosaur Theme. Bronto-burgers, Dinodogs, Herbivore salad, all the BBQ trimmings.

I don't know about you, but my heart sinks when I think of going to a BBQ, or hosting one, and not being able to eat my burger or dog on a bun. The thought of having a burger between two rice pancakes, or a dog by itself, almost made me cry.

Well, Friday night I had to run out for some more ingredients to make the Gluten Free Birthday Cake. The store I went to is in the same shopping center with my favorite health food store. A nice, owner run, little health food store. The owner has given me many free gluten-free items, just for my opinion on them. I went in looking for bread or maybe english muffins or something to put my burger on. New in the case were the Kinnickinnick Tapioca/Rice Hamburger Buns. They were a little pricey (most likely b/c it's a little store, they can't order in as much bulk).

When I got home, I pulled one out to defrost so that it would be ready for my burger on Saturday. Truly, I did not hold up much hope. But, I was willing to try ANYTHING besides those pesky pancakes!

Saturday came, I toasted my bun because I thought it would taste better, gluten free things ALWAYS taste better toasted, right? Let me tell you, I was near tears after my first bite. The taste and texture were AMAZING. Hands down BEST gluten-free food I've tried since January. SO GOOD. Plan on buying a BUNCH of them to keep in my freezer for all sorts of things. I'm imagining a sloppy joe. MMM...or wait a pizza crust....or wait...hmmmm....I'm dreaming of all sorts of uses!

If you get the chance, CHECK THEM OUT! :D

Mexican-Mac

Sorry no picture - will fix that I promise!

Okay...so the basis for this recipe is not original. Woman's Day magazine in September of 1998 printed the original recipe and called it Turkey Lasagna. Over the years, I've adapted and changed the recipe to totally our liking. We are preparing to go on vacation to the beach next week. As always, when I know I'm going to have a kitchen, I try to do some "freeze ahead" meals so that I can relax as well. I've been busy this week freezing spaghetti casserole, tortilla soup with chicken, swedish meatballs, chili, and just today, I made this!

It makes A LOT, no lie! So you could half it if necessary. Also, if you desire to make it a traditional lasagna - the adaptation will follow


Mexican-Mac

16 oz Tinkyada Pasta Joy Elbow Macaroni
2 lbs ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken)
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 4 oz cans diced green chiles
1/2 cup salsa
4 cups frozen corn kernals
4 Tbs Chili Powder
1 Tbs Garlic Powder
1 Tbs Onion Powder
1 tsp dried Oregano
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack Cheese (I suggest buying the block and shredding yourself b/c of how they preserve shredded cheese - sometimes flour is used dfor separation).


Brown meat in pan and drain well (especially beef!). Add tomatoes, green chiles, salsa, corn and spices. Heat until just combined flavor-wise. Turn off heat and allow to cool. (this will keep the pasta from over absorbing the liquid and turning to mush).

While browning the meat cook pasta - cut time shy by about 5 or 7 minutes...they should be REALLY al dente.

Drain and rinse the pasta REALLY well.

Mix meat mixture and pasta together. Add 2 cups of the cheese and mix well.

Spread mixture into two 9X13 pans. Sprinkle top with remaining cheese

NOW....to bake immediately - set oven to 350 and bake for about 35 minutes until all warm and bubbly.

OR...fridge overnight (or for up to 3 days in fridge) and bake for about 45 minutes.

OR....fridge overnight, then freeze for up to 2 months (covering well with foil). Bake at 350 for about 1 1/2 hours (covered for the first hour).


Actual LASAGNA directions:

Use 2 boxes of Tinkyada Pasta Joy Lasagna noodles INSTEAD of elbow macaroni. Soak noodles for about 10 minutes in luke warm water - and rinse well...they'll still be hard....but gummy.

In 1 9 X 13 pan (or two 9X9 pans - which I like better b/c the noodles fit better). Place a little meat mixture sauce on the bottom and layer bottom with noodles. Top with meat mixture and cheese. Repeat layers twice...ending with cheese.

Baking instructions are the same temp, but extend each by about 15 minutes.

If you make the lasagna, you will have leftover meat mixture (unless you really load it up!), serve in taco shells or add a can of chicken broth to turn into a taco soup. :D

Swedish Meatballs - Bork Bork

Okay...am I the only one who remembers the Muppets? And the Swedish Chef? Bork Bork! :D A favorite from my youth, to be sure! :D

Wait...why am I thinking all this????

WELLL.....a couple years ago, we moved from AZ to PA - well, BACK to PA. Before the move, we streamlined and sold a lot of our things...including our furniture. As a matter of fact - my husband sold our bed right out from under me! We hadn't planned on selling the mattress too...but someone said they would give us our price on the furniture if we included the mattress - it was 10 years old...we let it go. And slept on the floor that night, yes. Well, I digress. Since we had sold all of our furniture, when we got to PA (and after our lovely stint in a townhouse rental with no real furniture except our bed we bought when we got here!) we bought a house. A blank slate. We needed almost everything. :D

Being back in PA meant we would do shopping at IKEA. We love IKEA. Our kids love IKEA - who wouldn't love a store that has childcare, huh? We loved looking, dreaming, scheming, coming up with ideas on what to do and how to do it. But I think the favorite for the kids would be after we would finish shopping, we'd pick them up from the child care room and then go upstairs to the cafeteria and have lunch. My eldest's favorite, by far, was the swedish meatballs in gravy with roasted red potatoes. Little tiny balls of meat, smothered in a creamy dreamy sour cream gravy. Makes my mouth water just thinking about them. IKEA even has a little food store in it where you can buy the premade meatballs, and the sauce mix and make them at home. And I did, often. Well, until January when I went gluten free. Of course, premade meatballs have bread crumbs in them, and a cream sauce mix would have wheat flour in them. Yes. They do. BOOO HOOOOOO!!!!

My husband made swedish meatballs a few times, and while the meatball was right, the gravy just wasn't the same. The following recipe is part his, part mine, but all delicious. It started again a few nights ago, we mentioned IKEA and my daughter said "I want swedish meatballs". So...with the love of my daughter in my heart, and 2 lbs. of ground turkey defrosted, I set to work to create a substitute for IKEA Swedish Meatballs.

Please note, I use powdered spices in this recipe - and while normally, I'm a purist using whole ingredients, I detest watching my children pick out onions and stuff from their food! Hence the powdered spices in meatballs! :D

Bork Bork.

Swedish Meatballs in Sour Cream Gravy

2 lbs ground meat (turkey, beef, chicken)
2 Tsp garlic powder
2 Tsp onion powder
1 Tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg (freshly, if you have the means)
dash of salt & pepper
1 egg
1/2 Cup gluten-free bread crumbs (I use the breadcrumbs I make from Gluten-Free Flax Bread)

1 boullion cube (I use Hormel Herb-Ox brand as it is on their gluten-free list)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup light cream or whole milk
1 cup sour cream


In a large bowl, mix meat, spices, gluten-free bread crumbs and egg together.

In a large skillet, preheat with 2 tbs olive oil. Using a small cookie scoop (or tbs measure) make 3/4" meatballs and place around the preheated pan. Cover and allow to cook for about 5 minutes - or until the bottoms are slightly crusted (the tops will be "steamed" from covering the pan). Carefully flip the meatballs around. Cover and cook another 5 to 10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.

Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl heat the boullion cube and water (I crushed up my cube slightly so that it would dissolve). Mix the water/boullion mixture with the cream and sour cream well. Set aside.

Uncover meatballs and add the sour cream mixture...making sure to scrape up bits from the pan as you stir it in. Allow it to come to temperature, and cook almost to boiling for about 3 minutes - stirring to coat all the meatballs as you do this.

Serve immediately. I served with oven roasted red potatoes - I cut into bite sized chunks, added about 3 Tbs olive oil, salt and pepper and mixed....baked for about 40 minutes in a 400 degree oven...stirring every 20 minutes or so. :D

ENJOY :D

Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

Okay, so when I was listing my favorite things, I should have included the recipe for the Gluten-free Yellow Cake from Allrecipes.com . I alter the recipe slightly. I half it - to make 12 cupcakes - and I add 2 to 3 Tablespoons of vanilla pudding powder to the dry ingredients. I feel this gives it more punch of vanilla taste, and it also gives it more of a texture of a "cake mix" cake.

I make these as cupcakes. This last time, my daughter wanted chocolate frosting. I'm not a pro at frosting yet, so I tried my hand at a ganache. In a recent article in Food & Wine magazine they had listed a whipped ganache frosting. I lost the magazine of course, so I decided to guess what it would be like.

This turned out so yummy and fudgey on top of the cupcakes, that I made them two days in a row! LOL.

Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

1 Cup Chocolate Chips
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs milk
2 Cups powdered sugar

Mix chips, butter, milk in a microwave safe bowl. Melt at 30 second increments, stirring each time.

Once chips are melted, pour into the mixer bowl with the whipping attachement. Add 1 cup powdered sugar while on lowest setting - 1/4 cup at a time. Once that is in well, add the 2nd cup (see note) same way. THEN...let hit whip on high speed for about 4 minutes.

Dip the cupcakes in, swirl around a little bit to get them coated ontop. I continued swirling as I lifted them off the ganache to give them that little swirl effect on top.

NOTE: I would start with the 1 cup powdered sugar, add the 2nd cup 1/4 cup at a time and stop when the consistency is where YOU like it. If you like it thinner, etc...use less...if you want it more like a true frosting, use more).