Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

I really love the Fall season.  The crisp air, the falling leaves, the scent of apple baked goods, soups simmering on the stove; I love it all.

I am happy to inaugurate my Fall baking season with this recipe.  Although it looks complicated, it's really easy and comes together quickly.  Not to mention, it makes quite a bit!  My Husband and I shared one piece and then I sent the rest of the 9x13 pan with him to work. I know that I'll be making these again this Fall for sure.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Recipe from: The Girl Who Ate Everything

Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 sticks butter, softened

Cheesecake Filling:
3 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped (I used 1 1/2 apples which yielded about 4 cups of chopped apples which I think was perfect.)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons sugar

Streusel Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1 stick butter, softened

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour and brown sugar.  Cut the butter in with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly.  Press evenly into a 9x13 pan.  The mixture is very moist so it worked best for me that I just used my clean hands to press it into the pan.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the crust is a golden brown.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese with 3/4 cup of sugar until smooth.  Then, add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Pour this over the warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together the apples, 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cream cheese mixture.

For the streusel topping, mix together the flour, brown sugar and quick cooking oats. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender until it resembles a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples.

Bake 40-45 minutes or until the filling is set.

Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy! Makes 16 servings.

If [and that's a big IF] there are leftovers, I'd store them in the refrigerator.

Raisin & Almond Granola

My Husband and I both really enjoy yogurt for breakfasts.  We usually just buy the individual servings of Yoplait but recently I just bought a large tub of Dannon yogurt and are going to make our own individual servings.  It's about the same cost, if not a little cheaper.

I decided that I wanted to make some granola to go with our yogurt.  I've made this recipe in the past so I looked it up again and now I'm finally blogging it!  I bought some grapes when I did some grocery shopping so I'll make my own yogurt, granola and grape parfait for breakfasts!  I made two batches of this recipe and it almost filled this cookie jar.

Raisin & Almond Granola
Recipe from: Ellie Krieger

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup chopped, unsalted almonds
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins


Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.  Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients.  Mix well so that the syrup has coated everything.  Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.  Be sure to stir occasionally.

The original recipe says that this should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  I plan on going through this pretty frequently so I'm not worried about it going bad.  I'm going to store it in the jar shown in the picture, on my counter.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken

Whenever we go out to eat or even if we buy frozen appetizers from the grocery store, we usually enjoy some jalapeno poppers. Usually, they're pretty good.  Although, sometimes you'll get those duds that are a little soggy or have no flavor.

I enjoy jalapeno flavor but I don't always enjoy very much spice. This dish was perfect for me because you definitely got the flavor of jalapenos but it wasn't overwhelming.  You can keep some of the seeds in the jalapenos if you'd like to kick up the flavor a little bit.

This chicken has been on my radar for awhile now and we finally had the jalapenos on hand thanks to my Mom and Dad's plentiful garden.  This meal came together rather quickly but felt like it was more labor intensive than it was The chicken breasts that we had were very thick so I probably should have doubled the filling.

I took some leftovers for lunch the following day and it was good but dry.  I am pretty sure that's because I warmed it in the microwave.  I think leftovers warmed in the oven would be very good.

Jalapeno Popper Chicken
Adapted From: Elly Says Opa! 
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
2 tsp taco seasoning
2 egg
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1/4-1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed, minced
3 chicken breasts

Preheat the oven to 375 and line a baking sheet with foil. Lightly spray the foil with cooking spray.

In a small skillet over medium heat, warm the breadcrumbs (I was hoping this would toast them a little, but I don't think it did.  Next time, I might use the panko breadcrumbs Elly's recipe suggests).

Add the taco seasoning to the breadcrumbs and place in a shallow dish.

In a separate shallow bowl or dish, lightly beat the eggs.  In another shallow bowl or dish combine the cream cheese, cheddar cheese and jalapenos.

Using a small knife, cut a pocket into the side of each chicken breast or horizontally slice the chicken through the center, until it is almost butterflied. Season the chicken lightly with salt and pepper and then divide the cream cheese mixture evenly between each chicken breast's pocket. I used a pampered chef scoop and that worked really well.  One thing I would recommend is to warm the cream cheese slightly so that it's more easily spread on the chicken breasts.

Dip the chicken pieces one at a time, first into the egg, then into the breadcrumb mixture, making sure to coat the chicken completely.  Place the chicken onto your prepared baking sheet and cook for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Cheesy Green Beans

This is a recipe from my Grandma.  I remember she would always make these when we were up visiting at her house and they were most definitely at each Holiday meal.  As Grandma has gotten older, she's not cooked as much and usually Holiday meals are now at my Mom's house.  We were visiting her recently when she made lunch for us and these beans were on the menu.  I love green beans to begin with, but these were nothing short of nostalgic.

Some people might shrug their shoulders or turn their nose since these are made using canned beans and processed cheese slices.  I, however, will continue to make them and share them with my kids.

They look like a pile of mush, and not very appetizing in this picture, but trust me.  They're good! 

Cheesy Green Beans

From: Grandma 

Can of french cut green beans (as many cans as you'd like to serve)

Pasteurized american cheese slices (such as Kraft) 

a couple tablespoons of butter

Prepare the beans on the stove-top as directed.  Drain the water.  Put your beans back in the pot you used to cook them.  Keep the stove on warm-low. Tear your cheese slices into small pieces and place in the beans.  Add one tablespoon of butter.  Mix the cheese & butter into the beans.  Stir the cheese around in the beans until it and the butter melt.  Add more butter if you think it's necessary until you reach a creamy consistency.  The beans should not be runny. 

When you've got the consistency that you want, transfer to a serving dish and serve! 

Chicken Mandarin Salad

I first had this salad when Matt and I were dating and I was at his house for dinner.  It's SO good.  His Mom makes it pretty often and I can see why! It's a lengthy recipe but SO worth it.  Please don't hesitate to make this salad, despite it's long list of ingredients, it's pretty easy to make!

We made this for dinner on one of the nights that we were having a 90* heat wave.  It was nice to have a cold, refreshing salad for dinner.

This recipe is featured in a family cookbook that Matt's family made to raise funds when his Grandpa was diagnosed with Leukemia. In the front of the cookbook, they have a page dedicating the book to his Grandpa, Dallan Walter.

The second paragraph says "In our homes today, as always, life is centered around the kitchen.  It is with this thought in mind that we have compiled these recipes.  Some of the recipes are treasured family keepsakes and some are new; however, they all reflect the love of good cooking."

The picture on the bottom is of a cabin, the woods and a fish jumping out of a lake.  All things that Dallan treasured. I love the stories that Matt would tell me of his Grandpa. They'd spend time up north, Grandpa would take them fishing, Grandpa would tell them stories, overall, Grandpa was their Guy.  Matt is the oldest Grandchild on that side and so he got to spend lots of great, quality time with his Grandpa.

Now, after getting a little sentimental, let's get on to the recipe!

Chicken Mandarin Salad
Recipe from: Family Cookbook

For the chicken and marinade:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
4 green onions, cut into rings
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast

For the salad dressing:
1/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoon cider vinegar
2 1/4 tsp onion juice
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
salt to taste
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 1/4 tsp toasted sesame seeds (I left these out because they were so expensive at the store!)

To marinate the chicken, combine the soy sauce, orange juice, half the green onion and garlic in a large plastic bag. Add chicken, seal & refrigerate at least 30 minutes or overnight.  Grill or broil chicken until cooked.  Chill thoroughly, then cut into strips.

To make the dressing, combine the sugar, vinegar, onion juice, soy sauce, mustard and salt in a medium bowl. Start mixing with an electric mixer on medium speed. Slowly add oil and mix until thick. Add sesame seeds and beat thoroughly. Cover and set in the refrigerator to chill while you finish preparing.

For the salad:
5 strips of bacon, cooked and chopped
5 tblsp diced roasted red peppers (can use canned)
1 (8oz) can sliced water chestnuts, drained (I omitted these because Matt doesn't like them)
1 (11oz) can mandarin orange sections, drained
1 cup frozen pea pods, thawed and patted dry
2 1/2 cups of romaine lettuce
2 1/2 cups of iceberg lettuce
1 cup flat thick cut chow mein noodles (we used wonton strips)
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds
5 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Combine the chicken, bacon, red pepper, water chestnuts, orange sections, pea pods, remaining green onion, and both varieties of lettuce in a large bowl.  Add 3/4 cup of the dressing and toss lightly. Add wonton strips or chow mein noodles and toss again. Before serving, garnish with almonds and sesame seeds.

Makes 4 servings 

Greek Chicken Burgers with Tzatziki

This was my first time participating in the Recipe Swap on the cooking message board that I'm a part of.  This specific one was a Blogger's Choice theme.  This meant that you could choose any recipe from your assigned blog.  I was given Sarah's blog.  I've browsed her blog before but never saw this recipe.  My Husband loves Gyros and Tzatziki sauce so I was pretty sure that he'd love this.

I was right!  He loved it as did I.  All I was wondering after I ate dinner was, "what else can I put Tzatziki sauce on?"

The pitas that we bought were a bit difficult to work with so excuse the poor "shove-all-the-ingredients-in-the-pita" picture.  I made a few modifications just due to the time of the evening that we started dinner.  You can view the original recipe on her blog, the recipe and instructions below are what I used. 

I think we'll definitely make these again.  It was a quick, weeknight meal and it was something that we've never made at home.  My Husband and I made this meal together.  It was a good time cooking a meal together.  We have a tiny kitchen, but we made it work!

Greek Chicken Burgers with Tzatziki
Recipe from: A Taste of Home Cooking

For the Burgers:
1 lb ground turkey
2 tablespoons onion, finely grated
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
salt & pepper, to taste

For the Tzatziki Sauce:
1 english cucumber
12 ounces plain Greek yofurt
2 cloves of garlic (I used jarred, minced garlic)
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
Splash of olive oil
Salt & pepper, to taste
Squirt of fresh lemon juice

For serving:
Pita bread
Tomato, sliced
Red Onion, sliced

Combine the turkey, onion, oregano, salt & pepper in a bowl until well mixed.  Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray and spread the mixture into the pan.  Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes.  The mixture isn't very thick so it doesn't take long.  Beware, when you take it out of the oven, it will have shrunk quite a bit.  There is also quite a bit of liquid in the pan, so be careful.

To make the tzatziki sauce, peel the cucumber.  Shred the cucumber and then squeeze the shreds in a paper towel to get rid of as much excess moisture as possible.  Mix together the yogurt, shredded cucumber, garlic, vinegar and lemon juice.  Salt to taste.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes for the flavors to meld.  You could refrigerate this overnight too.

Slice up your meat and serve in your pita bread with slices of tomato and red onion with a dollop of tzatziki.

Banana Crumb Muffins

Recently, I had about two dozen bananas in the freezer that I wanted to use up.  I made a couple loaves of my regular banana bread, but I wanted to make some muffins to have for Breakfasts during the week.  I found this recipe and it seemed perfect.

I really loved the crumble of this muffin.  It just added that something extra that I felt it needed. They were a very moist muffin and made for the perfect snack to eat on the way to work, or at night for a dessert!

I doubled the recipe because the original recipe says its yields only 10 muffins.

Banana Crumb Muffins
From: All Recipes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted

For the crumble:
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375* degrees.  Lightly grease muffin cups or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together the 1 1/2 cups of flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.  In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg  & melted butter.  Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened.  Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups.

In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and the cinnamon.  Cut in 1 tablespoon of cold butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal.  Sprinkle the topping over the muffins.

Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes.

Dr. Pepper Chicken Wings

My Husband and I both really enjoy chicken wings. I've never really made them at home before.  I came across Carrie's recipe and knew that we'd both enjoy it.  The most tedious part of this, for us, was the frying of the wings only because we used our small deep fryer so we could only fry a few at a time.

Dr. Pepper Chicken Wings

From: Carrie's Sweet Life



One large bag of chicken wings

3/4 cup flor

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspon garlic powder

1 can of Dr. Pepper

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/4 cup Ketchup

1/2 teaspoon chipotle Tabasco sauce

2 tablespoons butter

oil for frying

Combine the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Toss the chicken in the flour mixture, coating completely.

Put the coated chicken in the fridge for at least 1 hour. This will help the coating adhere to the chicken during frying.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, bring the can of Dr. Pepper to a boil, reduce heat and simmer briskly until reduced to about 1/8th the amount.

Add the brown sugar, ketchup, Tabasco and butter and simmer until a nice thick sauce. Set aside.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees. Remove the chicken from the fridge and fry in the oil until golden brown and the chicken is cooked through. When all chicken is cooked, toss in the sauce until completely coated.

Serve & enjoy!

Individual Chicken Pot Pies

I've made chicken pot pie before, but for Christmas this past year, my In-Laws gave me a set of these little ramekins.  I had some pie crust in the freezer so I decided this was the perfect opportunity to make some.  As you can see, it made a ton so we had leftovers for a few days afterwards. I would assume this recipe would make one whole pot pie if using a pie plate.

I've crossed out anything from her recipe that I did not use.


Chicken Pot Pie
From: Annie's Eats
Originally From: The Pastry Queen

Ingredients:

 For the filling:
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 large russett potato, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 purchased rotisserie chicken
2 Large chicken breasts, cut into cubes
 1-2 cups frozen peas and carrots

For the sauce:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2½ cups chicken broth
½ cup heavy cream (optional)
Dash of hot sauce
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the crust:
16 tbsp. cold unsalted butter
3 cups all-purpose flour
10 oz. cream cheese, chilled
1 tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
1 large egg

Directions:
To make the filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and potato to the pan, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Mix in the garlic, bell pepper and mushrooms, and cook for about 15 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender. While the vegetables are cooking, remove the skin from the chicken, pull the meat off the bones and shred or chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Once the vegetables are finished cooking, turn off the heat and mix in the chicken and the frozen peas and carrots. Stir in the red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make the sauce, melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Whisk in the chicken broth and cook over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of a cream soup. Mix in the cream (if using), the hot sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the cream sauce over the chicken and veggie mixture and stir to combine well. Spoon the mixture into 6-8 individual oven-safe dishes (such as ramekins).

Preheat the oven to 375° F.

Place the pot pie dishes on a baking sheet for easy transfer in and out of the oven. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Black Forest Cupcakes

This is a recipe from the ever popular, Annie's Eats. I made them once for a meeting at work and everyone loved them!  One of my coworkers raved and raved about these to her family.  Because of the rave reviews, her Daughter-In-Law wanted me to make cupcakes for her Son's Graduation party.  So, I prepared myself to make an array of cupcakes.  She requested two dozen of these cupcakes.  I was happy to oblige.

The major change that I made was that I used this Chocolate Cupcake recipe instead of the one that she uses.  The reasons why I love this specific recipe is because it always is so moist and chocolate-y.

Other than that, I followed her recipe exactly.

Black Forest Cupcakes
From: Annie's Eats
Originally from: Martha Stewart Cupcakes
Frosting adapted from: Wilton

For the cherry filling:
16oz frozen cherries, thawed
1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. lemon juice

For the frosting:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
6 tbsp. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the garnish:
Chocolate shavings

To make the filling, drain the thawed berries, reserving the juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough water so that the total liquid equals 1¼ cups. Add the liquid to a medium saucepan with the sugar and cornstarch. Heat over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally, until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Continue whisking so no lumps form. Once thickened, remove from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice. Fold in the drained cherries with a spatula. Stir in the kirsch, if using. Cover and chill until ready to use. (The filling will continue to thicken as it chills.)

To fill the cupcakes, use the cone method to remove a portion from the center of each cupcake. Fill each with a spoonful of the cherry filling.

To make the whipped cream frosting, add the heavy cream to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Start beating on medium-low speed, slowly increasing as the cream begins to thicken up to medium-high speed. While the cream is being whipped, gradually add in the confectioners’ sugar a spoonful at a time. Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. (Be careful not to overbeat!) Fold in the vanilla extract.

Frost the filled cupcakes with the whipped cream. Garnish as desired with cherries and chocolate shavings. Refrigerate until ready to serve.