National Cheesecake Day

FYI-For all you cheesecake lovers out there, the Cheesecake Factory is celebrating National Cheesecake Day by selling their slices of cheesecake for a half price. Yep, that's right. You can buy two slices for the price of one. National Cheesecake Day is today, July 30. Now run out and get yourself some cheesecake!

Raspberry Cream Pie

Okay, so it has been a long time since my mouth has watered over something, and I have craved something. But this pie did it. It was so delectable. I had just gone raspberry picking and had tons of fresh raspberries to use. Seriously, I didn't have any will power to resist this pie. I have eaten a piece everyday. (Maybe even more.) We were going to invite people to share it with, but guess what, we ended up eating it all ourselves. It was that good! Loved it!

I got this pie recipe from my friend Summer's blog. She got it from here.

Raspberry Cream Pie

Ingredients:
1 baked single pie crust
1 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
1 cups sugar, divided
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups fresh raspberries

1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Method:
Prepare and bake a single pie crust shell. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar and the salt; stir to mix well. Add 2-3 tablespoons milk to sugar/flour and stir to create a smooth paste; add remaining milk and stir to blend. Over medium heat, stirring constantly, cook pudding mixture until it begins to bubble; continue to cook 1 minute (mixture will be thick). Stirring egg yolks constantly, spoon a small amount pudding into beaten egg yolks. Pour egg yolks back into saucepan and stir well to mix. Return pan to heat and continue to cook until mixture thickens (very thick) do not allow to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Cool pudding.

Whip cream until stiff peaks form. Stir approximately 1/4 whip cream into cool pudding mixture; fold in remaining whipped cream; spoon pudding mixture into baked pie shell, cover and chill pie for at least 1/2 to 1 hour to partially set.

In a medium saucepan, crush berries with a potato masher; add 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch and water, mix well. Over medium heat, stirring, bring berries to a boil (berry glaze will be clear and thickened). Remove from heat and cool. Spoon berry glaze over pudding in pie shell. Refrigerate 2 hours to overnight to completely set. Garnish with an additional dollop of whipped cream, additional fresh berries and a mint leaf as desired. Makes 1 pie.

Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

This salad was seriously so fabulous! I love salad and homemade dressings. This will definitely not disappoint. The dressing is divine. I just made it last week, and I'm ready to make it again. The recipe comes from here.

Chicken Poppy Seed Salad

Spinach leaves
Romaine leaves
Grilled chicken, sliced (grill with lots of lemon pepper seasoning)
Red onion, sliced thinly
Crispy bacon, crumbled
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Toasted almonds (or you can sugar the almonds. Put sliced almonds in a pan with lots of granulated sugar (about equal amounts). Cook on medium heat until sugar melts, coating the almonds as they brown.)

The Dressing: (This makes a lot of dressing.)
1 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tb Maui or Vidalia onion, chopped (I just used some red onion from the salad. It worked great!)
2 cups canola oil
3 Tb poppy seeds

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender, then slowly add the oil, blending until thick. Stir in poppy seeds. Toss all ingredients together with generous amount

Chicken Puffs

These are absolutely fantastic! I love them! This comes straight from my momma's cookbook.

Chicken Puffs:

2 packages Pepperidge Farms Pastry Shells (You can find them in the frozen section.)

2 cups cooked, shredded chicken

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

a few chopped green onions

a few chopped fresh mushrooms

Sauce:

3-4 Tablespoons miracle whip

3-4 Tablespoons sour cream

few drops of lemon juice

a dap of mustard

Roll out each pastry shell into a thin circle. Place a little bit of chicken, a little cheese, a little green onion, and a few mushroom pieces on one half of each circle. Fold the pastry over so it forms a half-circle and seal edges with your fingers. Place on a baking sheet. Bake according to directions on pastry package. Serve immediately topped with sauce.

Cinnabun Cake

This is so delicious! I think this recipe came from Picky Palate. It is way easier than making cinnamon rolls and definitely satifies that cinnamon roll craving. We loved it!

Cinnabun Cake

3 cups flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ cups milk
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 T. butter, melted

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 T. flour
1 T. cinnamon
2/3 cups nuts, optional

2 cups powdered sugar
5 T. milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

In an electric or stand mixer mix the flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk, eggs and vanilla. Once combined well, slowly stir in melted butter. Pour batter into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, mix the 2 sticks of softened butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nuts until well combined. Drop evenly over cake batter by the tablespoonfuls and use a knife to marble/swirl through the cake.Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick comes out nearly clean from center.

Place powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm or at room temperature

Chocolate Chip Cake Bar

I got this recipe from Everyone's Gotta Eat. These are so easy to make and are scrumptious! They don't last long. I couldn't even get a picture without them literally being dug in to!

Chocolate Chip Cake Bar

1 package yellow or white cake mix (I prefer white)
2 eggs
1/4 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 Cup water
2 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided (or whatever kind of chips you want. I put in about 1 cup of semisweet chocolate chips and about ¾ cup of butterscotch chips. It turned out so delicious. I reserved ¼ cup semisweets and ¼ cup butterscotch to put on top.)
1/2 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional – I left them out)


-In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes.
-Stir in 1 3/4 cups of chocolate chips and nuts.
-Spread in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan.
-Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Put the additional chips on top of the cooked chocolate chip cake bar.

Coconut Syrup

This post is for my momma! She loves coconut things. This syrup is fabulous! I found it on The Sisters' Cafe.

7-8 T. butter
¾ c. buttermilk
1 c. sugar
½ tsp baking soda
1 tsp coconut extract

Place butter, buttermilk and sugar in a pot. Then turn stove on medium and stir until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil one minute. Remove from heat and add soda and flavoring. It will bubble up; just continue to stir and give it a few minutes for the 'fizz' to reduce before serving.

General Tso's Chicken

This was delicious! Here's the blog I got it from, Favorite Family Recipes.

1 Lb. chicken breasts (cut into 1" pieces)

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. "lite" soy sauce

1/4 c. unsweetened pineapple juice

1/4 c. white distilled vinegar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp. fresh ginger, finely grated

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 Tbsp. cornstarch, mixed with 3 Tbsp. water

4 green onions, sliced

hot pepper flakes (You've got to add some of these because it adds so much flavor. Don't go crazy though or you'll be burnin'.)

Dredge chicken in flour and fry in oil over medium heat (in a wok or a skillet) until golden brown and crispy. Drain excess oil. Sprinkle cayenne over the chicken and keep warm on low heat. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine sauce ingredients (sugar, soy sauce, pineapple juice, vinegar, garlic, and ginger) and heat gently. When sauce is smooth and sugar has dissolved, SLOWLY add cornstarch mixture and stir constantly until sauce has thickened to desired thickness. Pour sauce in the wok and stir to coat chicken. Stir in green onion and hot red pepper flakes (optional). Remove from heat and serve with fried rice.

Challah Bread

I love this recipe! I just got it from this The Sisters' Cafe. It was easy to make and really delicious! Plus, it looks good with the braided bread and all.

Challah Bread

Ingredients:
3 Tb with other yeasts
2 cups warm water
½ c. sugar
scant Tb salt
½ c. canola oil
7-8 c. flour
4 or 5 large eggs

Directions:

Add water to mixing bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water. Then sprinkle sugar, then salt. Let proof. Add oil and 3 cups of flour. Mix together. Add eggs. Mix well. Then add 4 cups of flour. Mix. Add more flour as needed – usually 1 ½ to 2 cups more. Hand knead if mixer didn’t knead enough. Let rise at least 1 hour. Separate into 3 large pieces or 36 small rolls. Divide each piece into three more pieces. Roll into snakes and braid together. Let rise for about 1-2 hours or until almost double in size. Then brush with egg wash (1 egg mixed with 1 Tb water) over bread. Sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds if you want.

Bake at 350° until done (16-18 minutes)

Number Of Servings:3 loaves