Merry Christmas

Wasn't that the definition of home?  Not where you are from, but where you are wanted.

I won't be all the way home in the upper peninsula for Christmas, but I will be in the Detroit area with my Mom's whole family.  I am excited to get out of the city and relax with family and friends.  Not to mention presents and good food, what more could you ask for?

I hope you all have a great holiday and enjoy every minute with your loved ones.  

Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake

Last day of holiday treats!  It always amazes me how fast the holidays fly by, seems once Halloween is here the year is over.  This is a pretty Christmas specific dessert, but what a yummy one.  I also really love how it looks holiday!

Line a 9 inch round cake or spring form pan with foil.

Combine Oreo cookie crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl.

Add melted butter and mix well.

Press crumbs firmly onto the bottom of the prepared pan, and partway up the sides.  Chill for at least 30 minutes.

In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. 

Gradually add sweetened condensed milk until smooth.

Stir in peppermint extract and red food coloring, and mix well.

Fold in the whipped cream.

Pour filling into pan.  Cover and freeze for around 6 hours until firm.

Garnish with topping.  I crushed up candy canes and used those, you could also use any leftover Oreo crumbs you might have.

This is more of an ice cream pie than cheesecake, but either way it's delicious.  I served it at a holiday party, and even people who weren't huge fans of peppermint enjoyed it.  It's not over powering, but still creamy and delicious.  Sure to be a hit with anyone you tries it!

Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake

Serves 12

Adapted from Smuckers

2 cups chocolate wafer cookie or Oreo crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 8oz package cream cheese, softened

1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk

2 teaspoons peppermint extract

2 cups heavy cream, whipped

red food coloring

candy canes *optional

Line a 9 inch round cake or spring form pan with foil.

Combine cookie crumbs and sugar in a medium bowl. 

Add butter and mix well.

Press 2 cups of crumbs firmly onto the bottom and partway up the sides of the pan.

Chill for at least 30 minutes.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy in a large bowl.

Gradually add sweetened condensed milk, and stir until smooth.

Stir in peppermint and food coloring and mix well.

Fold in whipped cream.

Pour filling into pan.

Cover and freeze for around 6 hours or until firm.

Garnish with whatever topping you desire, and enjoy!

Apple Pie Bars

Recipe number 2 for my holiday treats!  Let me preface this by saying that I like pie, but baking pie can be a little overwhelming sometimes.  Especially when you have a full time (or full time and a half) job, yet need to whip something up for a party the next day.  This tastes very similar to apple pie without too much effort and time.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a 15x17 inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Begin by making the crust, beat the butter and the sugar in a medium bowl until light and fluffy.  

At a low speed beat in flour and salt until the dough is soft.

Press the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan, in an even layer.  Bake in the center of the oven for about 20 minutes, until crust is golden and set.  Let cool.

In a large skillet, melt 6 tablespoons of butter with 1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Add in the apples and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, for around 10 minutes until apples are soft.

Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cook until the apples are soft and tender and liquid is evaporated, about 10 minutes longer.  Let cool.

In a large bowl, mix the oats with flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  

Using a pastry blender (or kick it old school and use your hands like me) cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.  Optional to stir in pecans if you choose.

Spread the apple filling over the crust.

Scatter the crumbs on top of the apples, pressing them lightly into an even layer.  Bake in the center of the oven for one hour until the top is golden.  Let cool completely on a rack before cutting into bars.

I served with a little dollop of whipped cream on top, and it tasted exactly like apple pie!  I really enjoyed the oat topping, gave the bars extra flavor.  Enjoy everyone.

Apple Pie Bars

Adapted from: My Baking Addiction

Serving size 4 dozen **I cut in half

Crust:

3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoons salt

Filling:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

12 granny smith apples (peeled, cored and thinly sliced)

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Topping:

3 cups quick-cooking oats

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups light brown sugar

1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes, chilled

3/4 cups chopped pecans *optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Line a 15x17 inch baking sheet with parchment paper.

For the crust: beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  

Beat in the flour and salt until dough forms.

Press the dough over the bottom of the prepared pan in an even layer.

Bake for around 20 minutes, and let cool.

For the filling: melt six tablespoons of butter and brown sugar in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the apples to the skillet and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the cinnamon and nutmeg, and cook until apples are tender, then let cool.

For the topping: mix the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

Cut in the butter until well combined.  

Stir in the pecans if you're using.

Spread the apple filling over the crust.

Scatter the crumbs on top, pressing them lightly into the apples layer.

Baking for one your, until the top is golden brown.  

Let cool completely, then cut into bars.

Pretzel Buckeyes

I thought in honor of the holiday coming up I would dedicate this week to holiday desserts.  I have three great recipes for you to try this week, all of which are great party favors or gifts.  Last year, I made buckeyes for my friends and family, and they were a hit.  This year, I wanted to do something similar but kick it up a notch. Enter...pretzel buckeyes.

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.  In a bowl beat putter butter and butter together until combined.  

Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add sugars.  Beat until combined.  You should be able to roll the mixture into balls without it sticking to your hands.  If needed, add more powdered sugar.

Roll the mixture into small bowls, about 1 teaspoon of mixture for each ball, and place on prepared baking sheet.

Sandwich the balls between two pretzels and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water, and stir until smooth.  Remove from heat.

Dip each pretzel bite halfway into the melted chocolate and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Chill and serve!  This bite size dessert has the best of everything: creamy peanut butter, chocolate, and pretzels for crunch.  I put four in a bag and gave as little holiday treats, people ate them up; literally!

Pretzel Buckeyes

1 cup creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons softened butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

pretzels

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

Line a baking sheet with wax paper and set aside.

In a bowl beat peanut butter and butter until combined.  

Scrape down the bowl and add sugars and beat until combined.

Roll the mixture in small bowls, about one teaspoons of mixture for each ball.

Place on prepared baking sheet.

Melt chocolate in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water.  

Stir occasionally until smooth and remove from heat.

Dip each pretzel bite halfway into the melted chocolate and place back on sheet.  

Chill.

DIY Flavored Vodka

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE to shop, especially for other people, but lately I've been trying to give more personal gifts.  One of my ideas for Christmas presents was flavored vodka.  I bought 4 of these glass  containers from Sur La Table.  They weren't too expensive, only $6 each, and they're really cool looking.  I also bought chalkboard spray, so I could spray paint the bottle and write the flavor on it.

I used grey goose vodka, but you can use whatever vodka you'd like.

I made a couple different kinds, here is the Jalapeno flavor.  I cut up two jalapenos and put them in the bottle and poured the vodka in as well.  Some other flavor ideas are vanilla, or any kind of fruit.

Place in the fridge and let the vodka marinate for about a week.  Take the fruit or vegetable out, and it's ready to try or gift.  I made a couple of these, and tried the jalapeno one for myself.  It's really tasty and a great personalized gift to give someone.

What's your favorite personalized gift to give?

Cheeseburger Pie

Recently my Mom bought me a "Best of Michigan Cookbook" and I've gotten some really great recipes out of the book so far.  This is one of them, it seemed odd when making it that it didn't have rice or potatoes in it, but it turned out really tasty despite that.  It's like a cheeseburger without carbs!

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Brown beef (I used turkey) in a medium pan.  Drain meat through a sieve and return to pan.

Add onion, bell peppers, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup water.  Cover and cook until vegetables are soft, around 8 minutes.

Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with non-stick spray.  Spread meat mixture over the bottom of the pan.

Dot with cottage cheese, I used non-fat. 

Top with cheddar cheese.

Whisk together egg, half and half, 1/2 cup water, and seasoning mix (recipe is below.)

Pour over the meat and cheese.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and set.  

The seasoning mix really gives this dish  ton of flavor.  It's pretty spicy, so make sure you cutback on the cayenne pepper if you're not a spice lover.  I substituted turkey for beef and skim milk for half and half and it didn't taste like it was a low fat version what so ever.  The turkey tasted like sausage, due to the seasoning.  This was a quick week night dinner, and very different from things I normally make.  Hope you enjoy it as much as me!

Cheeseburger Pie

Serves 6

1 pound lean ground beef (or turkey)

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1/4 medium green bell pepper, chopped

1/4 medium red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

3/4 cup water (or chicken broth)

1/2 cup cottage cheese

2 cups grated cheddar cheese

4 large eggs, slightly beaten

3 teaspoons "Spice It Up" seasoning *Recipe below

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. 

Brown beef in a medium nonstick pan.

Drain meat through a sieve and return to pan.

Add onion, bell pepper, salt, pepper and 1/4 cup water or broth.

Cover and cook until vegetables are soft, around 8 minutes.

Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non stick spray.

Spread meat mixture over bottom of pan, dot with cottage cheese, and top with cheddar.

Whisk together eggs, half and half (or skim), remaining 1/2 cup water, and seasoning mix. 

Pour over meat and cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden and set. 

Spice It Up Seasoning

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon black pepper

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoons cayenne pepper

1 tablespoons crushed parsley flakes

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon Splenda sweetener

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoons tarragon

1/2 teaspoon dried lemon peel

Lake Superior

Here to prove that Lake Superior, and the falls that surround it, are beautiful no matter what time of year.