Cheesecake Bars with Chocolate Ganache

OH HECK YES I WENT THERE!!!

These were the most scrumptious desserts I may have ever made. And I know this for a fact because after whipping up this batch just 3 days later I was asked to make another batch. (Mind you this tray will yield 36 bars easily!!)

Of course it's from Pinterest so I'm not even going to bother with the hype of it all - it's AMAZING just trust me. Let's do this!

Ingredients:

Crust
1 1/2 cups crushed Honey Graham Crackers
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
6 Tablespoons melted butter

Cheesecake
3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened (I used 1 bar of Full Fat and 2 Fat Free bars and it was just as delicious!)
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons flour
3 eggs
8 oz. sour cream (I used Light Sour Cream)
1 Tablespoon vanilla

Chocolate Ganache
8 oz. heavy whipping cream
2 oz. butter
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar

Crust Directions:

Mix cookies and sugar together.

Add butter and stir until combined.

Press mixture into a 13 X 9 pan.

Cheesecake Batter Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cream the sugar, cream cheese, and flour with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy.

On medium low, add eggs one at a time, mixing well with each addition.

Add sour cream and vanilla and mix until just combined.

Pour on prepared crust and bake for about 45 minutes.

Remove and cool.

Prepare ganache.

Ganache Directions:

Heat cream and butter on stove until just before boiling.

Remove from stove and pour over chocolate. Stir until completely combined.

Add confectioners’ sugar and beat with a wire whisk until combined and smooth.

Pour over cooled cheesecake.

Cover and refrigerate overnight. I'm serious - OVERNIGHT!

Cut into bars and serve.

Pictures:

 Oh Yesssss!

 Graham cracker crust...

 Cheesecake filling pre-oven...

 Chocolate Ganache...don't panic if this happens! 

Just be patient and keep whisking it'll melt into a chocolatey heaven I promise!

 See! Chocolatey heaven!

Resist the urge to dig in...it'll be worth the wait! Once it's chilled it's on another level!

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Again, the name alone sold me on this recipe and once again we can all thank Pinterest, surprising I know! So at first I will say that I debated posting this recipe because it is made in a crock pot - to me that's cheating because I didn't technically cook anything so to speak, my lovely crock pot did all the work. However, it was so flavorful that to hell with the actual 'cooking' aspect of things - this is a dish to be made and enjoyed. My only deviation from the original recipe was cooked pasta. For me the soup was really thin, ok I know soup is meant to be thin and brothy by it's very nature but I guess I just prefer a hearty soup or stew then. The flavors were outrageously good but I felt a little let down at the end of my bowl. However, being that I am the epitome of a carboholic my quick fix was pasta! So the next day I boiled some shell pasta, but you can use whatever you have in the house, and tossed it into the soup and reheated - I am not sure if it was the extra day for the flavors to combine and meld together but the soup with the pasta in it the very next day was out of this world!

Ok are you intrigued enough yet...here's this gal's recipe...

Ingredients:

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots (optional – you all KNOW I didn’t use these)
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed (I used 1 cup light half and half and 1 cup of lowfat milk – it tasted amazing all the same)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

Directions:

Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.

Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.

About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Keep whisking…Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper.  Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don't be afraid to always season to taste at the end).

Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.

*Like I said I added pasta to mine so if you wanted a heartier soup just boil some pasta of your choice during that last 30 minutes when everything is simmering on low and toss into the crockpot right before serving!

Pictures:

Cheesy Garlic Bread

Alright, so my sister is the one who introduced me to Pinterest right? Little did she know it would be an epic obsession, heck little did I KNOW but nevertheless some of the most delicious looking food I've ever seen seems to pop up on this website! One of the very first ones she had pinned was for a Cheesy Garlic Bread recipe which she stated she made and raved about. Ok, twist my arm, I was technically sold just by the name of the recipe lol but whatevs.

Ok so the recipe says that you should start with a pizza dough that is store bought....well I don't know where you live but that is not an option where I live so I used a recipe I had for Focaccia Pizza and boy oh boy this was a stellar selection! (But if you're just not in the mood to make a pizza dough you can totally buy it at the store or wherever I won't tell.)

Also, I will give you the original recipe that I used as a basis right here. I think I mostly agree with what this gal did but mine is a tad different since I made my dough from scratch and had limited supplies at the commissary - yay Germany right? Ok, enough talk - lets bake this beast!

Ingredients:
Pre-made pizza dough - if you must (haha just kidding, sort of)
1 ball of fresh mozzarella (high moisture, preferably something in water or easy to pull apart)
Garlic Salt (or 1 tbsp minced garlic)
Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Rosemary or Italian Seasonings (if you like a lot of flavor go crazy here, I prefer simplicity here so I stuck to garlic salt and red pepper flakes only, but it's totally up to you)
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray

Directions:
Bake your pizza dough as instructed - not quite to a golden crust (it's going to spend about 15 minutes or so in the oven with the cheese and seasonings but that's basically just to melt everything together.)

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Once your dough is almost cooked place a light layer of cooking spray on top of the dough (or olive oil if you prefer). Generously cover the dough with torn pieces of the mozzarella (see picture below). If you love olive oil feel free to add a little on top of the cheese before seasoning again - I didn't use any but that's just me being calorie conscious lol. Once the cheese is spread all over the dough sprinkle whatever extra seasonings you love and pop that delicious looking treat right into the oven. Like I said the point here is just to melt that cheese to a golden layer of heaven so about 15-20 minutes should do the trick. Just keep your eye on it - you don't want it to burn! This bread is seriously delicious - I served mine up with a light salad but you could eat it solo or with whatever you're in the mood for!

And in retrospect I feel like adding some buffalo chick on top of this would have been EPIC...so don't be afraid to experiment! I know next time that's how this is going to go down haha...Enjoy!

Pictures:

 Oh ya...you know this is going to be good....

 I wish you could smell the aroma of this baked cheese and garlic!

Slice it up and serve it with a nice spinach and feta salad...well alright I just will!

Mint Buttercream Frosting with Chocolate Shavings

Ummmm YA do I even need to write anything about this recipe? I feel that the name says it all. For pete's sakes I am salivating just typing it out haha. This frosting is incredibly easy, super quick to whip up, and wait for it...orgasmically good if you are a fan of mint (oh yes I went there). And that's all I am going to say about it. Oh and that it is the perfect compliment to a simple vanilla bean cupcake or a batch of brownies!!!

Ingredients:
2 cups of confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup of salted butter - softened
1/2 tsp of mint extract
4 tbsp of milk
1/4 cube of semi-sweet baking chocolate

Directions:
With a whisk combine the sugar, butter, mint, and 2 tablespoons of the milk and mix together. One tablespoon at a time you can add more milk until you reach 4 tablespoons. For me, I found that 1-2 extra tablespoons was a good consistency for frosting cupcakes and brownies but you can totally tweak it to your preference for texture. That's it! Frost away...just try not to 'taste test' every time that spatula goes in the bowl!

I like a little extra chocolate so I just shaved a little sprinkle of chocolate on top of the cupcakes I made. It was a delightful little addition with minimal effort.

Pictures:

Green Bean Fries

Ok so green beans are one of my favorite veggies to eat - they're simple, quick, and really good for you. Unfortunately, I like to make them the same way every time I eat them - and while they're divine with a little butter and garlic salt I decided we needed to spice things up a bit. On one of my many hours stalking around on Pinterest I came across a photo of green bean fries and remembered that I had actually tried this at a stateside restaurant years ago! They're delicious and it's like eating a french fry but just with more nutrients and less guilt you know haha. So that was it, I was sold! I figured it would be like making breaded chicken - basic egg wash, breading, and a few spices here and there so I went for it. And the final result - AMAZING...in fact it was so amazing that while I intended to share the portion with Zach I have to confess not a single bean was left for him when he got home haha oops you snooze you lose - well ok in his case he was working not snoozing but you get my drift...alright, enough hype let's do this!

Ingredients:
1 lb of fresh green beans
2 eggs
1/4 cup of all purpose flour
1/2 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Garlic salt
Red pepper flakes (optional if you like a little heat like I do)

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees so it's ready to go when you are.

Ok first things first - trim the tips off of the green beans - I know it's tedious but it makes a difference. While you're trimming bring a pot of lightly salted water to a gentle boil. Once the water is boiling gently place the beans into the water and stir so that they are fully submerged (do this for about 3-4 minutes, depending if you like your beans with a crunch to them or not). Once they're cooked to your liking strain the beans from the pot and immediately place them in an ice bath (literally just a bowl with cold water and ice in it). This will stop them from cooking further and becoming mushy. Once they've cooled down, pat them dry with a few paper towels and get your dipping stations ready lol.

In one bowl place the flour, a sprinkle of garlic salt and crushed red pepper and mix with a fork. In another bowl place the 2 eggs, lightly beaten, with a sprinkle of garlic salt and crushed red pepper. And in the third bowl place the breadcrumbs, cheese, garlic salt and crushed red pepper and mix thoroughly.

From here take one bean at a time (don't go getting all crazy and dumping 5 beans at a time it will be a HOT mess). Dip the bean in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, then the breadcrumb and then place it on to a cooking sheet. This will get messy so you can use a different fork for each bowl if you'd like or just go for it - but know your hands will be dirty lol. Once all of the beans are coated and on the baking sheet place them in the oven for about 15-20 minutes. (My oven is AWFUL so it takes much longer than a real oven would, but you can always pull a bean out after 15 minutes to see how it's cooking.)

This recipe is really simple, incredibly flavorful, and healthy too! Enjoy!!!

Oh and remember to share - or not haha.

Pictures:

 Blanching the beans - they look so pretty!

 Oh ya...I ate this entire tray...Oops!

I baked a little chicken breast and whipped up this delicious dipping sauce courtesy of Pinterest - delightful!!

Oops I totally did it again...

Oh ya I went there - once upon a time I used to blog these yummy recipes then disaster struck and I fell off the planet. Then I made a New Year's Resolution (ok fine I made 2 of them) one was to get my act together and start to be a healthier me and the other was to log 3 recipes each week for the year! Well...perhaps I should have stuck to the first one since I'm doing FABULOUS there lol but the recipe blogging has become an epic fail! No excuses - and it's not like I haven't been cooking either - oh I have a good 20 recipes filed away with pictures that just never made it to this website - so suffice it to say "Oops I totally did it again..."

However, I am here now and that's what matters, right? So enough of the distractions - let's blog these delicious meals...are you ready???

Nutella Swirl Cupcakes

Nutella. One of the many loves in my life. Darn you and all of your calories! Alright so obviously I am a fan of Nutella but it sits in my pantry torturing me and taunting me..you know you'd like to eat me, just pretend I'm not a million calories, I won't tell anyone...haha so I figured that there had to be a way that I could use it without giving myself a diabetic coma. After thinking long and hard I figured why not just incorporate a little into some vanilla cupcakes and whip up a light Nutella Buttercream Frosting? So that's precisely what I did!

I will tell you that I cheated and used a boxed mix for the vanilla cupcakes - I know, FAIL. But they were so easy and scrumptious that I just couldn't resist. Plus the commissary had vanilla cake mix on sale for $0.29/box - so I might have accidentally purchased 5 boxes without really thinking that through oops. So this was a perfect use for a box!

Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 box of vanilla cake mix - any brand - prepared and placed into cupcake pans
Nutella (you probably only need 1/8th of a jar)
5 Toothpicks

Nutella Buttercream Frosting

1/4 stick of salted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners sugar (or more to taste)
1/2 to 1/3 cup whole milk or half-and-half (depending how thick you like your frosting)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large tbsp of Nutella (or more to taste), softened

Directions:
For the cupcakes: Simply prepare the vanilla cupcake mix according to the directions on the box and place into 24 cupcake liners/pans. Try to only fill the cupcake liners/pans 1/2 to 2/3 max! Then, I took 2 of Charli's baby spoons and placed a tiny dollop onto each battered liner. (If you don't have baby spoons just lying around as I suspect most of you wont lol just use a 1/2 of a teaspoon of Nutella for each.) If the Nutella is softened it will be easier to swirl so make sure it's room temperature - in fact if you lightly whip it with a knife before you start it will be much more pliable. Ok, so once you have a tiny dollop in each liner/pan take a toothpick and begin to swirl. This is the fun part and honestly you can't mess it up - there's no right way to do it! So have fun, swirl away lol. (*Also, I say have 5 toothpicks because after a while the Nutella begins to stick to itself and your toothpick will become a glob of Nutella that, well, just won't swirl more as clump lol so feel free to toss the toothpick after a few cupcakes are swirled.) Once the cupcakes are all swirled to your liking you can bake them according to the directions on your cupcake box. After they are done baking, place them on a cooling rack so that they can properly cool and breathe.

Once your cupcakes are cooled you can begin to prepare the frosting. It's really simple. Just combine the frosting ingredients listed above and whisk to your delight. If you find it too tough to whisk just add a little more milk slowly until it matched the consistency you like. You can pipe the frosting on or just spread it on with a knife, either one works. And it is outrageously yummy. I promise!!! Try not to eat 7 of them I dare you!

Pictures:

 Perfection on a plate! (With the Nutella Buttercream Frosting!)

 Pre-swirl...

 Ready to go into the oven - swirls and all...

 YUM! I made a few in the silicone cupcake molds my sissy gave me for Christmas - they were perfect!

 I may have baked too many...

Just as delightful without the Nutella Buttercream Frosting!