Dad's Blueberry Refrigerator Cheesecake

Who doesn't LOVE Cheesecake? Our Dad used to make the best no-bake cheesecake on the planet! I have never seen the recipe written down, but do remember peeking over the counter every time he made it. (I loved to lick the sweetened condensed milk can!)

I recently attempted to reproduce Dad's recipe from what I could remember as a little girl and it brought tears to my eyes! It had the same wonderful lemony-cheesecake flavor and brought back so many great memories. This is the stuff!

Dad's Blueberry Refrigerator Cheesecake
Crust:
1 1/2 packages honey graham crackers (35 squares)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Filling:
2 blocks cream cheese*
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 sm. envelope lemon instant pudding
1 1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
1 can blueberry pie topping**

1. Crush graham crackers to a crumb consistency.
2. Add melted butter and cinnamon to the graham cracker crumbs and mix well.
3. Press into the bottom of a rectangular baking dish or two pie pans.
4. Bake crust at 350º for 6 minutes; allow to cool completely.
5. Beat cream cheese and vanilla on high until whipped; appx. 5 minutes.
6. Add sweetened condensed milk, pudding and milk and continue beating until well mixed.
7. Pour filling onto the graham cracker crust and smooth until even.
8. Refrigerate for 15 mins.
9. Pour blueberry topping onto cheesecake and carefully spread evenly.
10. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

* You can substitute for Neufchatel cheese for low-cal.
**Also great with cherry topping.

Miss B's 1/2 hour Skillet Chili

I recently mistook an aluminum foil-wrapped package of steaks for ground turkey so my whole dinner idea was scrapped! After a quick look through the refrigerator and pantry, it hit me ... turkey black bean chili! And it came together in less than one hour with 1/2 hour total cooking time! Here's how I did it:

Miss B's 1/2 hour Skillet Chili
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 c. chopped white onions
1 can chopped tomatoes, *chili flavored, with juice
1 can chopped tomatoes, *jalapeno flavored, with juice
1 can black beans, drained
1 sm. can fire roasted green chiles, chopped
1 Tbs. minced garlic
1 minced jalapeno pepper (optional)
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
few dashes cayenne pepper (optional)
1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1/2 bottle beer (Blue Moon, or any darker beer, or any meat stock)

* If you can't find the flavored chopped tomatoes, just use plain but increase the chili powder to 2 Tbs. and add 1 tsp. garlic salt. Should do the trick!

1. In a large cast iron skillet on med/high heat, add the ground turkey, chopped onions, chili powder, cumin, crushed red pepper and cayenne. Sautee, chopping the turkey down until it's browned (appx. 5 minutes).
2. Once browned, add all remaining ingredients into the skillet and mix well.
3. Reduce heat to med/low and simmer, stirring every few minutes, for 1/2 hour (or more, just keep an eye on liquid level). If you notice the liquid evaporating too quickly, add more beer! (or stock)
4. Serve! Suggestions: in a big bowl with a dollop of sour cream and shredded cheese. Also great over white rice. ENJOY!

This recipe is so versatile you could add any of your favorite ingredients. Try corn nibblets, chopped green or red peppers, chopped celery, chopped carrots, substitute ground turkey for ground beef or other chopped meat, substitute black beans for kidney beans, etc ... there are so many possibilities with this chili, just have fun with it!

Cupcake Ice Cream Cone Disaster

My friend Sheri was having a birthday and I wanted to make her something special. I heard that you could cook cupcakes in sugar cones and, when frosted, they look just like ice cream cones. How cute!

So, I prepared a package of Betty Crocker "Funfetti"cupcake batter and carefully filled each sugar cone. They were placed in the oven to bake as directed. About half-way through the cooking time, I peeked in the oven to see how they were doing and I was horrified! I had filled the cones nearly to the top and the batter began spilling over, like little, active volcanos! The hot batter literally melted the cones and made a huge mess. Not good! Here's the before photo - LOL! (I do admit, these were still really tasty despite their appearance.)

Luckilly I had another box of cake mix so I started over, but this time I only filled the cones 2/3 full. They cooked nicely this time, however, they seemed a little "flat." I got the idea to cook a separate batch of "tops" by filling a muffin tin 1/4 full. Using a dab of frosting, I adhered a "top" onto each cone and frosted each one. They turned out awesome; just like ice cream cones! Most importantly, Sheri loved them! Here's the after photo ... much better.

Let my mistakes here be your masterpieces. Hope you try making these sometime - just don't overfill!

Bacon ... on the grill?

My sister had a little get-together and we planned to make rib eye steaks with bacon-wrapped asparagus. Since my boyfriend is the "master griller" he decided it would be a good idea to pre-cook the bacon a bit before wrapping the asparagus -- on the grill! (Don't try this at home!) The project started out ok until bacon grease began dripping onto the coals. It quickly caught fire and engulfed the grill in flames about 4 feet high! (If you're ever trying to light a bonfire for fireplace, just use bacon!) Once we got the fire under control the bacon was charred and black; hillarious! After that experiment gone bad, we decided to broil the bacon-wrapped asparagus in the oven instead and it turned out fantastic! DO try this at home ... maybe with a drizzle of hollandaise sauce - YUM!

Really Old Bread

What To Do With Old Bread

When your stuck with lots of leftover bread that's accumulated over a few weeks (sliced, loaves, buns, waffles, cornbread) here's a great way to use them up. Make bread pudding! It's really versitile, you can go sweet with rasins, fruits, cinnamon and nuts, savory with meats, cheese, vegetables and garlic, or a combination such as bacon pineapple or turkey cranberry. Basic bread pudding is really just the vehicle for whatever flavors you want to give it. Get creative!

I had a half-eaten loaf of French bread and a few end pieces of whole grain sandwich bread stuffed in the back of the refregerator for a few weeks. I try not to be wasteful so I decided to make a sweet bread pudding to use it up. I used a recipe and made sure I had the basic ingredients (eggs, milk and sugar - check!). I also found some apricot preserves and pecans so that became my flavoring. I was on my way.

After it came together, the bread pudding baked for about 55 minutes. When it came out of the oven, it had a crunchy top and tasted amazing! Here's the recipe I used, but you can use pretty much whatever you have available for the style and flavorings. Enjoy this recipe. It would make a great breakfast or brunch dish, or have it for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. Yum!

Apricot Pecan Bread Pudding
Serves 8
INGREDIENTS
4 C. Bread, cubed or torn into 1" pieces (French or mixed breads)
4 Eggs
2 C. Milk
1/2 C. Sugar
3 Tbs. Apricot Preserves
1/2 C. plus 1/4 C. Pecans, chopped
1 Tsp. Nutmeg, ground
1 Tsp. Cinnamon, ground
1/2 Tsp. Clove, ground
Apricot Icing
1/2 C. Cream Cheese Frosting (or homemade frosting)
1 Tbs. Apricot Preserves
1/4 C. Heavy Cream (or milk)
METHOD
Bread Pudding:
Pre-heat oven to 350. Place bread cubes into a cassarole dish and set in oven. In a bowl, wisk together eggs, milk, sugar, apricot preserves, 1/2 C. pecans, nutmeg, cinnamon and clove until well combined. Remove cassarole dish from oven and pour liquid mixture over the bread cubes, saturating each one well. Place into oven and bake, uncovered for 55 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let rest for 10 mins.
Icing:
Mix together all ingredients until well combined. Drizzle over top of bread pudding, and sprinkle with additional chopped pecans. Serve warm.
NOTES
Substitutions
Apricot Preserves: Orange Marmalade, Raspberry Preserves
Pecans: Walnuts, Almonds, Cashews

Cup of Limes?

I went to a sports bar one evening and decided to order a nice, cold Bud Light. I know it's more common with Corona or other Mexican beers, but I like the refreshing flavor of light beer with a wedge of lime.

When the bartender came around, I asked if I could get a couple limes - and even made a little squeezing gesture with my fingers. A moment later, I had a rock glass filled to the rim with lime slices. Did she hear me correctly? I only needed a couple limes at most!

After it sunk in it became so funny! She gave me a "cup o' limes" literally - an entire cup! Even today it's worth a good laugh when I ask for lime with beer.

Mojito Cocktails

It just hit the mid-90s in Scottsdale, Arizona so the Mojito is a super light and refreshing mint and lime cocktail for those hot summer days.

What you'll need:

-Limes (roll to release the juices, slice into wedges)
-Fresh Mint Leaves
-Simple Syrup = 1 part sugar, 1 part water (fully dissolved)
-White/Silver Carribean Rum (of your choice)
-Club Soda

In a tall, Collins glass, add the juice from one lime, about 5 mint leaves and 1/2 tsp. sugar. With a muddler, mix until the mint leaves are bruised.

Fill the glass 3/4 full with ice. Add 1.5 oz. white rum, 2 oz. simple syrup and top off with club soda.

Garnish with a wedge of lime and a slice of fresh sugar cane.

HINT!! Prepare a batch of simple syrup in a large water bottle, then mix in the muddled (crushed) mint leaves. Just shake and it's ready to mix for a really fast and flavorful Mojito.

NOTE: If you pre-mix the simple sugar and mint (as mentioned above), simply fill the glass with ice, add rum, add 3 oz. minted simple syrup and top off with soda. Great for quick mixing at parties.

OH, ALSO: Yeah, Baby! The word mojito is derived from the diminutive of the word mojo.^[2]

Halloween Treats Trick Me

My sister hosted a Bunko-ween party and we prepared a delicious array of Halloween appetizers and treats. I decided to make mini pretzels with M & M's in festive orange and black. Cute, tasty and really easy. I carefully laid out each mini pretzel on a baking sheet and placed an M & M in the center, then put them in the oven. After about three minutes at 350 degrees, I checked the treats only to find the M & M's weren't melting! They literally fell right off the pretzels. Then, after 10 minutes I noticed the chocolate burning in the hard candy shells! It was then I realized there MUST be some kind of "glue" or something I was missing. Yes, there was! You're supposed to gently melt a Hershey's Kiss on the mini pretzels, then quickly press the M & M's in the soft chocolate "glue." Duh!! It was truly a Blonde Moment - but a huge hit at the party!

As you can see from the photo, these are great treats for any holiday, or just for fun! Use the various Hershey's Kiss varieties and multi-colored M&M's for any occasion! FYI: it's best to work in smaller batches of 20 or so because the kisses harden quickly.