Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

This was my dessert in honor of St Patricks day, but I got REALLY lazy and I'm just barely getting around to posting it.

Mint Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust

30 fudge mint cookies, crushed (about 1 3/4 cups)

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling


3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons mint extract

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

green food coloring

In a small bowl, combine cookie crumbs and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan.


In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the extract and food coloring if desired. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour into crust. Place pan on a baking sheet

Bake at 325° for 50-60 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Refrigerate leftovers.

I had a feeling that this cheesecake was going to crack because I forgot about not beating the mixture a lot until I was done, AND, I had a pan of water underneath the cheesecake, but I had the temp too high still AND this was my first time cooking cheesecake in a conventional oven instead of a convection oven.

Excuses, excuses...as long as it tastes good, right?

White Chicken Chili

White Chicken Chili  (Slow Cooker)

6 skinless chicken thighs (1 1/2 lb) (I just used chicken breasts)
1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper sauce (I use tabasco)
2 cans (15 to 16 oz each) great northern beans, drained, rinsed
1 can (11 oz) white shoepeg corn, drained (or frozen)
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1. Combine everything but the lime juice and cilantro in the crockpot
2. Cook on high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8-10
3. Shred the chicken and add the lime juice and cilantro
4. Eat!

everything combined

shred the chicken after it's cooked

add the cilantro and lime juice

*recipe from Betty Crocker

Cornbread

So usually, Cary and I are *meh* about cornbread. We don't usually really care for it, so it was strange when Cary came home from a work dinner raving about the cornbread he had eaten. I guess he asked and they told him that it was made with a cake mix so I was intrigued and decided to try making cornbread with a cake mix and see what I thought.

I thought it was really good!

Cornbread

2/3 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

5 eggs

1-1/4 cup water

1 cup of buttermilk (a little less than a cup of milk + 1 tablespoon of lemon juice)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

1 yellow cake mix 

Melt butter beat in sugar, add then beat in the eggs. Add salt, soda, and cornmeal and then alternate adding water, flour, buttermilk and cakemix in.

Cook at 375 for 30-40 minutes (20 min for muffins)

I made 12 muffins and then filled a 8x11 pan. (it was a little too full), so it would probably fill a 13x9 + 8x8. I froze most of it for us to eat later.

After all the beating is done.

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

My brother always called (and still does) cauliflower, "ca'awful' flower", but I've always liked it....most of the time. This recipe is out of Family Circle magazine. I thought it was good and after eating it I thought it would be more amazing if you add ground red pepper and some parmesan cheese. ☺

Roasted Cauliflower Soup

1 large head Cauliflower, cut into florets

1 large Onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

15 oz Chicken Broth

1 cup Water

1 Bay leaf

1 tsp Thyme

1 cup Milk

Salt

Pepper

Red Pepper, ground (optional)

Parmesan Cheese (optional)

Toss cauliflower, onions, garlic, and olive oil together, spread on cooking sheet and roast at 400 for 30 minutes. Stirring halfway through.

In a saucepan, combine cauliflower mixture, broth, 1 cup water, bay leaf, and thyme and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Throw away bay leaf and puree soup with a processor (I used the immersion blender), return to pan, stir in milk, salt and pepper and cook until warm through.

Toss the garlic, onions, cauliflower and olive oil together

spread on cooking sheet and roast at 400 for 30 minutes

add the roasted cauliflower mixture to water, broth, bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Throw out bay leaf and puree soup.

add milk, salt and pepper and heat through.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1-1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth (or make your own)
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 corn tortillas (6 inches), cut into 1/2-inch strips (I don't like corn tortillas so I used my favorite) ☺

Broil chicken 3-4 in. from the heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. (Or cheat and use rotisserie chicken like I did)
In a Dutch oven coated with cooking spray (I used olive oil), cook onion and garlic until tender. Stir in the broth, tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, tomato paste, chilies and seasonings. Shred chicken with two forks; add to soup. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place tortilla strips on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes or until crisp. Serve with soup. Yield: 8 servings (3 quarts).

Nutrition Facts: 1-1/2 cups equals 227 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 39 mg cholesterol, 818 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 8 g fiber, 23 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2-1/2 very lean meat, 2 starch.

Cooking garlic and onion till tender

After everything has been added

Baking the tortillas

I garnished with sour cream and cilantro.

*Recipe from Taste of Home