Mini Cheese Cake Baskets

These are so easy and everyone in our family loves them at Easter, the kids especially.

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
12 NILLA Wafers
1-1/2 cups BAKER'S ANGEL FLAKE Coconut, tinted green
36 small jelly beans
12 pieces shoestring licorice (4 inch each)
PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; beat just until blended.
PLACE wafer on bottom of each of 12 paper-lined medium muffin cups. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over wafers.
BAKE 20 minutes or until centers are almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 2 hours. Top evenly with coconut and jelly beans just before serving. Bend each licorice piece, then insert both ends into each cheesecake to resemble the handle of a basket. Store leftover cheesecakes in refrigerator.

Chipotle Tamale Pie

When I saw this on our local news one morning I couldn't resist. I love chipotle and found this to be easy and tasty.

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound, lean ground beef or you can use turkey
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (8-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 chipotle chiles from the can, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, from can chipotle in adobo
1 cup grated Cheddar
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves 1 (8.5-ounce) package cornbread mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Grease an 8-inch baking dish with the butter and set it aside.
Heat the olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef or turkey, the onions, green peppers, and garlic and cook until the meat is no longer pink and is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Drain off any excess fat and sprinkle the meat mixture with the cumin.
Add the beans, tomatoes, chiles and adobo sauce to the skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until heated through and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from the heat and stir in the cheese and cilantro.
Spread the meat mixture in the prepared baking dish, pressing down on it with the back of a spoon to make an even, compact layer.
Combine the cornbread mix with milk and egg. Spread the cornbread batter over the turkey mixture and bake until the cornbread is golden-brown, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the tamale pie stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.

Bean Corn Salsa

2-3 Roma Tomatoes
2-3 Avacodos
2/3 c green onions
2/3 c cilantro
1 can shoepeg corn
1 can black eyed peas

Dressing
1/2 c olive oil
1/2 c red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin

Chop ingredients to desired size and combine in bowl, mix dressing and pour over top and mix. This is super yummy and I hope Lexie doesn't mind I borrowed it.

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Campbell's Cream of Chicken Soup
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice
1/2 tsp onion powder
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/2 up shredded cheddar cheese

1. Stir soup, water, rice, onion powder and black pepper in 12X8X2" shallow baking dish. Top with chicken. Season chicken as desired. Cover.

2. Bake at 375 for 45 min or until done. Top with cheese.

Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I found this recipe on the Picky Palate blog and decided to give them a try. I made them for my company and they really enjoyed them. She used unsalted butter but all I had was salted so I used that and didn't add any additional salt. She also used Hershey's Dark Cocoa Powder but I just used what I had and they worked out great! I would suggest adding a little more flour than it calls for.

½ Cup chocolate chips
1 stick unsalted butter
1 ½ Cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ¼ Cups flour
½ Cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 bag chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place ½ Cup chocolate chips and stick of butter in a heat proof bowl over a small pot of simmering water. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.

2. Place cooled melted chocolate, sugar, eggs and vanilla into the bowl of a stand or electric
mixer. Mix on medium speed until well combined. On low speed, slowly mix in flour mixture and chips until just combined.

3. With a medium cookie scoop, scoop onto a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes or until cookies begin to crack on top and edges look slightly crisped. Let cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to finish cooling.

Doctored Cupcakes

I found this recipe on another blog, Dinner on a Dime, and made them yesterday for my Achievement Day girls. They were a huge hit! They call for LOTS of butter, so be prepared!

1 white cake mix
1 C. whole milk
1 stick butter (melted)
3 lg. eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Combine, mix on low 1 min, scrape sides of bowl, mix on medium 2 minutes. Use temps and times on cake mix box.

Fluffy Frosting:

3 C. salted butter
6-8 C. powdered sugar
vanilla to taste (around 4 tsp)
1-2 TB milk

Mix everything together well, spread on cupcakes.

**I suggest making only half, or even a quarter of the frosting. I made half and still have lots left over.

(Also I stole the picture, my cupcakes were certainly not that beautiful!)

Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls

I have two really yummy cinnamon roll recipes, but this one was requested- so this one's for you Ashby!

Dough:
1-1/2 packages dry yeast (about 3-1/4 tsp.) yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 shortening (I use butter flavored)
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
4-5 cups sifted flour

Filling:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cinnamon
(you may substitute brown sugar for the white sugar)
raisins (optional)

Frosting:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tbs. butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
2-4 tbs. milk or cream

Preparation:
Add the warm water to the yeast and soak for 10 minutes. Scald milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid (lukewarm). Add the dissolved yeast and beaten egg. Add 4 cups four, one at a time, beating after each addition.
Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle.
Knead on floured surface until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.
Press dough down and divide into workable size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cover with melted butter, leaving about one inch on ends. Layer generously with filling. Roll up jellyroll fashion. Using a knife or piece of string, cut off slices about 1 to 1-1/2 inches thick. Place slices in a pan. Press rolls down to even out. Let rise until rolls fill the pan generously- about another hour.
Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. If rolls begin to brown too fast, cover with a piece of tin foil until the end of baking. Do not over bake.

For the frosting:
In a medium bowl, place sugar, butter and vanilla. Then stir in enough milk or cream to reach a consistency you like. Spread over warm rolls.