Monday

Whew, what a weekend.


I baked two cakes, one cheesecake, made a pot of chili, a pot of green beans, a pot of meatballs, two lasagnas and a salad.


Thankfully the lasagnas at least had been put together ahead of time or I don't think it all would have gotten done.


We had one side of the family Halloween party and a birthday party on the other side, so between those two things and church, we didn't really stop all weekend. I'm almost glad it's Monday so I can rest tonight. ALMOST, not quite because that whole being back at work thing puts a damper on things. :)


I am looking forward to going home this evening and just making dinner and wearing my PJs around the house. There will be other things I have to do, but nowhere I have to be at a specific time with a bunch of people. So I think that qualifies as resting.


I hope everyone has a fantastic day and lots of safe and fun trick or treating tonight for those who will be going out. I'll be the one with no porch light on.


Not because I'm not welcoming the little costumed kiddos, but because it burned out and we haven't replaced it yet. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I really need to make a honey do list. Maybe I'll do that this afternoon, but then again there is no candy at my house soooo, maybe we shouldn't be in a rush to change the light bulb just yet. HA!


Have fun out there!

Recipe Review - Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake Cake

Oh. my. goodness. Peanut butter, chocolate, cheesecake, chocolate... I mean need I say more?

I saw this recipe from Shugary Sweets while cruising Pinterest and knew I had to find an opportunity to try it. It seemed a little over the top, but looked oh so good and doable. Then when I saw Dove chocolates on sale, it was like a sign. I needed to make this recipe.

Since it is football season, gameday seemed like the perfect time to make this yummy dessert to share.

I actually followed the recipe exactly (well except the frosting) and made sure I had all the ingredients for this one. Go me!

I even took pictures all along the way. Double go me!

The recipe looks like a lot and might seem a little overwhelming at first, but it was surprisingly simple and easy to follow. It even turned out really pretty instead of like one of those "nailed it" photos you see. You know the ones I'm talking about.

I read through all of the tips before starting the cake and I felt like they were helpful, although besides making sure your cheesecake has time to chill and set I think you probably could make this alright without reading them as thoroughly as I did.

I started with the peanut butter cheesecake section and Oh.My. The smell that filled my kitchen was almost enough to make me want to start eating things with raw eggs... almost mind you, I'm still firmly in the don't eat raw eggs camp thanks to my momma. (Hi mom!) So the cheesecake batter all made it to the pan without being tested. I mean just look at this yumminess.

Oh so tempting...

Then I remember these

I didn't have the same size cake pans and springform pan as she suggests using so I knew from the start I would have to do some trimming. That turned out to not be difficult at all and resulted in some yummy cheesecake snack pieces. Bonus!

In order to get the parchment paper to stay, which I always seem to have a hard time with, I tucked it around the bottom of the pan and then attached the sides as a way to hold it in. I trimmed off the excess paper underneath and was ready to go. This did take a few tries to get the pan put together right, but I think it made the process of filling it with batter much simpler for me.

I baked the cheesecake the day before I was going to serve this and then I went ahead and baked the cake too. I am a passionate non-coffee lover. I mean like I don't love it or even like it a little, so adding coffee to the batter took some gusto for me but with some encouragement from the coffee drinking hubby I did it. I must say, the original recipe notes were right, you really couldn't taste it in the end. (I neglected to take photos of the cake baking process, boo)

The next day I pulled out the cheesecake and cake layers and went to work assembling. One cake layer, topped with the cheesecake, topped with the other cake layer. I could have stopped there and been pretty happy! HA!

After assembling and centering them all up as best I could I grabbed a serrated knife and went to work trimming down the cheesecake to the same size as the cake layers. I might or might not have tried a few pieces of the cheesecake shavings as I went.. and there may or may not have been noises of yumminess coming from my kitchen table around this time.

After assembling and trimming I whipped up the frosting and grabbed a spatula and an offset spatula to slather on a nice layer all around the cake.

Here is where I varied from the recipe just slightly. I only made a half recipe of frosting.

I know any frosting lovers out there are gasping and your jaws have just dropped. See the thing is, I've never been a fan of massive amounts of frosting. Even this incredibly yummy frosting which I totally licked off the spatula when I was done.

I like it but I don't want it overwhelming everything else and in my experience almost all frosting recipes leave me with way too much for my liking. So there you have it. For us a half recipe was perfect. I generously frosted the cake and still had some left over for decorating. Even after decorating, I'd say a few tablespoons were still leftover.

Making the ganache was a new experience for me, but it was so simple and really cool to see it all melt together after whisking it. It poured so smoothly over the chilled cake too. I have a feeling I will be making this ganache again for other recipes.

 

After the ganache was set I did a little decorating. I don't have a decorating bag so for that part I just used a quart sized zipper storage bag with the corner cut off.

Overall I would give this recipe 5 stars. Surprisingly easy (Multiple steps but they're easy to follow) and very yummy. My only complaint was I wish the cake had not dried out quite so much after being in the fridge. My solution was to pop each piece in the microwave for about 7-10 seconds before eating. That made it a little better to me.

If you think you can't make desserts that look like this I encourage you to give this one a try. If I can do it, you can do it!

Ingredients

CHEESECAKE
2 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Pinch of salt (kosher or sea salt)
2 large eggs
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

CAKE
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1.5 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1.5 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, cooled (or use 1 cup milk instead of 1/2 cup each)
1/2 cup milk

FROSTING
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
2.5 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp milk

GANACHE
15 Dove Dark Chocolate PROMISES (about 4 oz)
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
Dove Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate PROMISES for garnish

Directions

CHEESECAKE:

Preheat oven to 325. Fill a shallow pan with about 1 inch of water and place on bottom rack of oven.

Line a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper (see above for how I did mine).

In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and granulated sugar for 2-3 minutes until creamy. Add peanut butter, salt, and eggs. Beat well

Beat in sour cream and heavy cream, scraping sides as needed. Allow to mix on high for two minutes until thick and creamy and try to refrain from eating it.

Pour into prepared springform pan and place in bottom 2/3 of oven (just above pan with water). Bake for 45 minutes then turn oven off and let cheesecake sit in oven for additional 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack. Once cool, refrigerate in pan until ready to assemble. Or you can remove from pan and freeze for later use (Thaw in fridge if frozen

CHOCOLATE CAKE:
Spray two 9 inch (or 8 inch if you're like me) pans with baking spray (or grease and flour). Set aside and preheat oven to 350.

In bowl combine flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

In measuring cup combine cooled coffee with milk (or use 1 cup of milk instead of using coffee at all). Set aside. 

In large bowl beat butter and sugar for 5 minutes with electric mixer. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Slowly alternate adding dry ingredients and coffee/milk mixture (about 3 additions of each).

Once all ingredients added, beat mixture for about 2-3 minutes until fluffy, scraping sides of bowl as needed.

Divide cake batter into two pans. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove and cool about 10 minutes in pan. Invert onto wire rack and cool completely. And again try not to eat them right then and there. mmm warm cake.

FROSTING:
Beat butter for about 3 minutes with electric mixer until pale in color, scraping sides of bowl as needed. 
Add in peanut butter, sugar and milk. Beat additional 3-5 minutes until frosting is fluffy and well blended.
Frost cake with generous layer, reserving a little for decorating. 
Refrigerate frosted cake while making ganache. 

GANACHE:
Unwrap 15 Dove Dark Chocolate PROMISES and place in microwave safe glass bowl. Add cream and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir then heat for additional 30 seconds. Use a whisk to quickly stir until smooth.
Set aside to cool for about 15 minutes.

ASSEMBLY:
On cake plate, place one layer of chocolate cake. Add cheesecake on top, then top with second layer of chocolate cake. (If you were like me and had different size pans, get out your serrated knife and commence to carving away the yummy pieces of extra cheesecake until the edges of all three layers are the same size. Be sure to have a container on hand to store them for snacks later!)
Spread frosting on sides and top of cake in thick layer and refrigerate while preparing ganache.
Pour cooled ganache over center of cake and smooth out to edges, allowing to drip down sides of cake.
Use reserved frosting to pipe swirl or other decorations on top and around bottom of cake. If you don't have decorating tools on hand just use a small plastic food storage bag with the corner cut off.
Use unwrapped Chocolate/Peanut Butter PROMISES to decorate if desired.
Refrigerate cake until ready to serve. Enjoy!

What's Up Wednesday - 10/26/16

Today it is time for What's Up Wednesday with Mix and Match Mama, The Larson Lingo and Sheaffer Told Me To. Thanks ladies for hosting a fun link up!


1. What we’re eating this week
Monday was a late dinner night so we ate Mexican chicken, beans and veggies. Other nights will be some kind of ground beef, more chicken and probably some fish or more chicken. It's a bit of a crazy week, so we're just doing the best we can to get something on the table, BUT I am putting my new meal planning idea into action starting next week so hopefully I'll be a bit more organized then!

2. What I’m reminiscing about
Nothing really at the moment. I'm just enjoying the fall.  

3. What I’m loving
Cooler weather! YAY! We're still having some days in the mid to upper 80s but we've also had a few where highs were only upper 60s and low 70s so it has actually felt like fall.

4. What we’ve been up to
We traveled to the beach for a wedding. It was a short weekend, but some much needed time away. I've been working on my window art project, trying out new recipes, getting ready for fall family gatherings. I  just finished helping with a charity golf tournament. We've had a lot going on this month! Then there is the usual work and life routine too.

5. What I’m dreading
As much as I love the weather getting cooler, I'm dreading when it goes past that cool point straight to cold and icy feeling. Brrrrr

6. What I’m working on
Window project, cooking, meal planning... pretty much same as my answer to the what we've been up to section.

7. What I’m excited about

My new cookbook meal planning idea! I'm super pumped about this. I've been trying to figure out a meal planning plan that would work for us, and I think this one might just do the trick. Plus it feeds my love of cookbooks. Bonus!

Fall! I love the fall weather, the soups, chili, sweaters, sweatshirts. Plus it's the start of the holiday season, which is always my favorite time of year. 


8. What I’m watching/reading

Football, lots and lots of football. Reading my Bible as always, but not much else at the moment.


9. What I’m listening to

Nothing in particular.

10. What I’m wearing

Layers. Lots and lots of layers. It gets chilly in the morning, but I'm usually sweating by the middle of the day, then it's chilly again or it's not and I just keep right on sweating. Gotta love the south.

11. What I’m doing this weekend
We have a big family costume party with lots of food and craziness. Then I'll be recovering from eating all that food and listening to all the craziness. HA! Then of course there is football :)


12. What I’m looking forward to next month

Wow it's hard to believe next month is November already! Where has this year gone? I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving and spending that special time with family. Eating all the delicious food you only get during the holiday season. I think Thanksgiving may very well be my favorite holiday of all. No pressure for gift giving, just quality time with family and friends and great food!

13. What else is new
Mmmm not much that I can think of at the moment. :)

Bonus question: What is your favorite Halloween memory/picture/tradition?
I didn't have to think about this long at all. Even though I'm really not a Halloween person. (It just never has been my thing, but I do love the fall.) For a number of years now we get together with my sister and her family at our parents house and have a pumpkin carving night. We've done it since my husband and I were dating and it is always lots of fun. We get together and eat and then make a big, fat mess carving up some pumpkins on their dining room table. Then we take pictures with our pumpkins and take them home to decorate our porches. Fun times. :)

Window Project Update

I told you a while back about this new project I was starting.


Well since then I've made a little progress just working on it in the evenings or on the weekends when I have a few minutes. I decided to do a fall theme. I sanded down the rough edges and some bad spots, then put a fresh coat of white paint on the window frame. I let that dry and then I painted on the outline of the design I decided on, a pumpkin with some leaves and the words "Give Thanks" written above it.

You can't tell a lot from the photos. The shadows and the fact that it is glass kind of messes with the eyes.

Funny story. I thought I'd be all exact and try to measure letter spacing exactly and all that jazz. Yeah, that was a bit of a mess. I actually ended up cleaning off what I did and then free handing it, just spot checking the sizes as I went and making minor adjustments as needed. Turned out way better that way. Reminded me that I really need to just learn to let go sometimes. lol

Then I started painting in the various objects. I need to get some orange paint so I can keep going. Hopefully I will have this all done this week and get it sealed.

I used acrylic paint because that is what I had on hand and I don't plan on this being an outdoor decoration really. Hopefully I can seal it and it will work just fine. If not, it's a learning experience and I can do it over I suppose! :)

 

Cookbook Meal Planning

Today I am so excited about my new meal planning idea!

I seem to constantly be trying to figure out what to make for dinner. (Like millions of other people right!?)  The first title I had for this post was "The Saga of Meal Planning". I'm always saying that I need to meal plan in advance, do more freezer cooking, etc. I just never quite seem to get it done. I mean I have shining moments here and there, but for the most part I just seem to fail miserably at it and I'm scrambling to figure out what to cook each night.

At the same time, I am a cookbook lover. I mean I have a lot of them, like a whole lot. A few I've bought myself over the years, some I inherited from family, but the majority of them have been gifts because my family knows how much I love cookbooks. I started getting them probably as a teenager, or in college, and I get super excited about each one I receive.

I love looking through them and seeing all the delicious possibilities I could make. And while I have gotten use out of them (a good bit out of some) I never use them quite as much as I'd like. There are still TONS of yummy recipes waiting for me to give them their turn in my kitchen.


Then Pinterest came along and I started gathering tons of recipes there too which left my cookbooks even more neglected. I love Pinterest for finding recipes and all sorts of other things, but I'm really not a fan of having my nose stuck to my phone searching through the internet which in our neck of the woods is spotty at best and often frustrating. Doing this as you need to be getting dinner going is even more frustrating.


So, while these cookbooks sit around waiting to get some love, we make the same old standbys for dinner over and over again. Sigh.


Well, I recently had an idea that would help me address not one but both of these dilemmas! I pulled out a few of my favorite cookbooks one afternoon when I had a few minutes to spare and started looking for inspiration for dinners. While I was thumbing through, seeing once again all the great possibilities there were for getting me out of my dinnertime rut, a light bulb went off!


So here it is. (Drumroll please!) My cookbook meal planning plan. (Did that sentence even make sense?)


I'm going to take a few minutes to sit down and go through a cookbook. I'll make a note of the recipe titles and page numbers that look particularly interesting (and doable easy for weeknight dinners). Then each week I'll go over that list and pick out a few for dinner the next week. I'll go to the page numbers and make a list of ingredients to purchase at the grocery store, make a plan for food prep, and viola menu plan for the week and I finally make use of my cookbooks!


As I make it through one cookbook I'll start with another. Or perhaps I'll end up adding the list for each cookbook as I have the time and just choose recipes across all of them whether I've finished the first list or not. I'm still working out the details, but hey I have a starting point!

Of course I'm sure we will still make some of the standbys and favorites, but this will at least give me something new and different on a couple of nights each week. I plan to mark new favorites we find along the way too. That way we can put them in the "rotation" or if we find out something is not really our thing, we can make note of that too. But at least we'll have tried it!


I have tried for a long time to come up with a way of menu planning that works for me, so I am hoping this one does the trick. Plus bonus it will help me finally make better use of all my cookbooks! Then I won't have to feel so guilty for seeing new cookbooks in the store and wanting them too. I can stop seeing them and having to tell myself "No, no, no, you have shelves full already that you don't use. You can't buy yourself another cookbook!"


I'll let you know how it goes and what new favorites we find. I'm so excited to have a plan that I feel like I can actually do. It really is the little things in life! :)

Recipe Review - Old Time Ice Cream

A while back I bought one of those inexpensive little ice cream freezers... and by a while back I mean over a year ago and by inexpensive I mean off brand and dirt cheap. This isn't one of the nice ones like my sister (who usually makes the ice cream for family gatherings) has, but I thought it was worth a try for a starter.


I kept meaning to try it but for the longest there wasn't room in the freezer to store the bowl. After recently inheriting a deep freeze I finally had room. So the other day we wanted some ice cream but were trying to stick to the budget so I didn't want to buy any and I thought it would be the perfect time to try it out. I already had all of the ingredients at home for this recipe I found online. It looked promising and creamy in this photo so we gave it a whirl.

I will say that I wasn't sure the little freezer was going to be able to make it at first but I also didn't refrigerate the mixture for anywhere near as long as the machine instructions suggested. It said four hours and I did maybe 30 minutes. Finally after about 35 minutes of churning it started looking like ice cream. Good thing too since the machine instructions also said not to run it for over 40 minutes. Next time I'll try it the way it suggests. This time I was too far into the process when I read that part, so we just went with it.

Overall this recipe tasted pretty good but like most other homemade ice creams I've tried it leaves something to be desired in the consistency department if you, like me, are a fan of creamy ice cream. It wasn't super icy but it also wasn't very creamy. Very soft serve like when we first made it, then it hardened after being stored in the freezer for a day or so. (I neglected to take any photos before it was all gone - I'll get the hang of that one of these days) It did soften back up nicely as we dipped it out and let it warm up a little bit, but still not what I would classify as creamy. I'll keep trying and let you know if I find one that meets my expectations in the creaminess factor.

At this point I don't think my love for Blue Bell is in any danger. Ahhh Blue Bell, such a wonderful indulgence.

Ingredients
2 cups heavy cream
2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Pinch of salt

Directions
Whisk all ingredients together until sugar dissolves. At this point I put it in the refrigerator for a while to get nice and cold. Then later we turned the ice cream freezer on and poured in the mixture (a very messy task it turns out, at least for us and this particular machine). Freeze according to your machines instructions. After ice cream is ready transfer to an airtight container and freeze until ready to serve.

You could add some extras in toward the last five minutes or so of the churning process too but we just went with vanilla this time.

Overall I give it 4 stars for ease and taste. I'm still looking for that last star on creaminess though. :)

Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

I don't make chicken pot pies very often. There just seems to be so much crust and sauce involved, and we usually try to keep our meals fairly healthy and balanced so I try not to go there too often. I like almost all things in moderation though, so don't get me wrong... I like a good chicken pot pie complete with flaky crust and creamy filling. There is no judgment of a good pot pie here!

So every once in a while when a nice hot chicken pot pie sounds like a great idea for dinner and I always seem to be scrambling around to find a recipe I want to use. This time I decided to make my own and write it down so next time I'll have it.

I don't really like using the canned cream soups. I prefer to make it from scratch. It's really simple with just some butter, flour, chicken broth and/or milk and salt, pepper, etc.

From there I just added in canned veggies for ease, chicken and a few other things. This recipe turned out very well except I think the onions were a little strong for my taste. Next time I might decrease the amount or just leave them out altogether.

I started with this super easy perfect pie crust from Pioneer Woman. I just love Pioneer Woman. I started reading her blog way back in the beginning when there were only two sections, Confessions and Pioneer Woman Cooks. Before she had even finished the Black Heels to Tractor Wheels series of posts. I can't believe how long ago that was now...but I digress!

I've been using this pie crust for years but since I don't use it very often, I always seem to forget just how simple it is to make.

I had boiled the chicken the night before while making dinner so I would have a head start. I just took about a pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut them up and brought them to a boil then let them cook over low heat until done. When I took them out the next night to make the chicken pot pie I pulled any larger pieces apart to make sure I had good bite sized pieces throughout.

I also made the pie crust the night before and stored it in the freezer, pulling it out a little while before dinner to thaw. I pulled it out maybe 30 minutes before since the instructions say thaw for 20 minutes, but I wish I'd done it a little sooner so it would have been easier to work with.

In a medium sized sauce pan I melted about 2 Tbsp of butter. Then stirred in about 3 Tbsp of AP flour and let it cook for several minutes to start making my roux.

Then I slowly added in about 1.5 cups of chicken broth, stirring until smooth. I let this cook until thick and bubbly. I think I also added about 1/2 a cup of milk, but I didn't write that down so I wouldn't swear to it. Oops.

I added about 1/4 of a medium sized onion, diced. Some garlic powder, because I still have no fresh garlic on hand, and stirred that around letting it cook for several minutes.

Then I added 2 cans of mixed vegetables and the previously cooked, cubed chicken, about 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. I let this all heat up and get bubbly while I worked on the pie crusts.

In a standard glass pie pan I took one of the crusts that I had thawed and rolled out and lined the bottom, tucking in any edges.

The I filled the crust with the chicken filling and topped with a second pie crust.

I used one recipe to make both crusts. PW notes that you can get three thinner crusts or two generous. I've always gone with two, but I think next time I might take a walk on the wild side and divide it into thirds. Making a batch of several pie crusts to go in the freezer is on my to do list. I hope you enjoy this simple dinner. At least now I'll know where to go for a recipe when I'm ready to bake one of these.

Ingredients
1 perfect pie crust divided into two halves (or thirds and save a third for later use)
About 2 cups or 1 lb cooked, cubed chicken
2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
~1.5 cups chicken broth
~1/2 cup milk
1/4 medium onion diced (or less if you want less onion flavor)
2 cans of mixed vegetables drained (you could also use the equivalent amount of frozen or fresh)
Garlic to taste
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions
Roll out pie crust into a top and bottom crust following instructions in recipe.
In a medium sized sauce pan melt butter.
Stir in flour and let it cook for several minutes until smooth and lightly browned, stirring constantly.
Slowly add chicken broth (and milk if using), stirring until thick, bubbly, and smooth.
Add onion, garlic and any other seasonings, stir and cook for several minutes.
Add vegetables and chicken along with salt and pepper.
Let mixture simmer while you line pie pan with crusts.
Line bottom of pie pan with one crust, tucking in edges as needed.
Pour chicken mixture into pie crust and top with second pie crust, again tucking in edges as needed.
Bake on about 375 until crust is golden brown. (I placed a baking sheet under mine to catch any drips but it actually didn't spill over this time!)
Serve and enjoy!