Loaded Mesh Patoto Cake

Loaded Mesh Patoto Cake

Ingredients:

• 9-10 medium potatoes
• 8 slices of bacon
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese {I like sharp!}
• 8 oz light cream cheese
• 1/2 cup {1 stick) I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!, softened
• 1/2 cup light sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2-3 Tbls chopped chives

Directions:

• Bake bacon and chop into small pieces.
• Peel and cube potatoes. Place potatoes in a large pot and fill with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and let simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the water and return potatoes to pot. Mash potatoes with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, cream cheese, sour cream, milk, onion powder and garlic powder.
• Stir in 1 cup of cheese and 2/3 of the chopped bacon.
• Spray a 9 in x 13 in baking dish with non-stick spray and transfer mashed potatoes to the dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bacon.
• Place dish in a preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and the potatoes are heated through. Sprinkle with chopped chives before serving.
• If preparing in advance, cover with plastic wrap and stick in the refrigerator. Removed 30 minutes before baking. Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees or until heated through. Sprinkle with chopped chives before serving.

Easy, Cheesy, Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

Easy, Cheesy, Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients

• 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbls olive oil
• 1 lg onion, thickly sliced
• 1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
• 32 ounces pasta/spaghetti sauce {use your favorite, the flavors just intensify during cooking}
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese {I used shaved Parmigiano Reggiano that I had on hand}
• 1 cup + grated mozzarella cheese

Directions :

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides. Don't overcrowd the pan.
• Slice up onion into nice thick slices and place in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add the browned chicken breasts and sprinkle Italian Seasoning over the top. Pour pasta sauce over the chicken. The chicken should be completely covered with the sauce.
• Cook on low for 5-7 hours.
• Sprinkle chicken with parmesan and mozzarella cheeses. Continuing cooking, uncovered until cheeses melt.
• Serve over hot spaghetti with some crunchy French bread and a nice salad and dinner is served!

Mini Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Mini Gingersnap Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

• 18 gingersnap cookies
• 12 oz light cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbls corn starch
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup canned pumpkin {pure pumpkin}
• 1/3 cup Karo Light Corn Syrup

Directions:

• Preaheat oven to 325 degrees. Place paper baking cups in a muffin tin. Place a gingersnap cookie in each cup.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, corn starch, and pumpkin pie spice with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin and syrup and beat for an additional minute.
• Pour cheesecake filling into cups {I used an ice cream scoop}, dividing evenly. {Pay no attention to how much batter is shown in the picture…you want them filled almost to the top.} Bake for 30-35 minutes until cheesecakes are just set.
• Let cool for 15 minutes and then chill for an additional hour in the fridge before serving. If you put the cheesecakes in the fridge too soon it can cause the cheesecake to crack.
• Top with whipped cream and voila!

Festive Fall Cheesecake Leaves and Pumpkins in Brilliant Autumn Colors

Festive Fall Cheesecake Leaves and Pumpkins in Brilliant Autumn Colors

Ingredients:

• butter, to coat the inside of your leaf mold
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• red, yellow, green food coloring (orange, optional) - you can use natural food coloring, if you prefer

Special Supplies Needed:

• food processor or a mixing spoon
• baking sheets
• 2 or 3 Wilton leaf and pumpkin silicone mold (you'll get 8 cheesecakes, so if you want all leaves you'll need 3 molds, otherwise you can make a few pumpkins)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Butter your leaf molds. For stability, I always set my silicone molds on a baking sheet before filling them.
• Make cheesecake filling:
• Combine cream cheese, sugar, heavy whipping cream, eggs, and vanilla in the bowl of a food processor, pulse until smooth. Alternatively, mix cream cheese and sugar together until well blended. Add whipping cream, eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
• Note: You don't want a lot of air in this mixture, so I don't recommend using a hand mixer.
• Divide cheesecake mixture into three or more bowls, depending on how many colors you'd like in your leaves. Color each small amount with food coloring. To create orange, make yellow then add a bit of red coloring. To deepen the red color, add one small drop of green.
• In a bowl, pour in about a 1/4 cup of two of your cheesecake colors side by side, leaving room for the third color. Add the third color.
• NOTE: You do not want to swirl your colors in the bowl nor do you want to fill one big bowl with all of the colored fillings. They will get swirled as you pour them into the leaf mold. If you were to swirl them while they were in the bowl, by the time you made a few leaves the colored would look muddy.
• Use a spoon to scoop out some of your cheesecake colors from the center of the bowl. See how each of the colors is still pretty separate?
• As you spoon the filling into the silicone leaf molds, the colors will swirl.
• Tap the mold several times to remove excess air bubbles after each scoop of cheesecake filling you add.
• Fill the mold so that it isn't completely full, so there is room for the cheesecake leaves to expand while baking. I filled this one too full and ended up scooping some out.
• You can see that I don't have a lot of cheesecake filling left in the bowl and that is good, as it gets swirled as the spoon goes in and out of the bowl and will start to blend all together. Top it off with your three cheesecake colors and repeat the process.
• If you have two molds and want to make some pumpkins with your excess cheesecake filling, mix what you have remaining together. You should get an orange color. Adjust the color using food coloring if desired. Remove a teaspoonful and put in another bowl. Add a small drop of red and a small drop of green. Mix to get brown. Use a spoon to paint the brown cheesecake filling into the stem area of the pumpkin cavity. Pour the orange cheesecake filling into the pumpkin cavity.
• You should have enough cheesecake filling to make 6 leaves and two pumpkins, or any combination, you choose.
• Bake your cheesecakes for 20-24 minutes until the top forms a smooth film and the center is still giggly but not wet.
• Allow your cheesecakes to cool for an hour then refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
• Carefully turn the silicone mold upside down and set it over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a cutting board and gently tug at the mold pulling it away from the cheesecake, allowing the cheesecake leaf to fall out of the mold. You will want the cheesecakes cold in order to move them onto dessert plates, so do it now, or refrigerate the tray of cheesecakes and plate them later.

NOTE: 

• I made these leaf and pumpkin shaped cheesecakes twice while developing this project. The picture above was my first batch of cheesecake leaves and pumpkins. I wasn't happy with all of the air bubbles and the texture of the cheesecakes were a bit dry, but I had taken all of my step-by-step pictures during this process, so I wanted you to see the first batch.
• When I made the second batch, I added whipping cream to the recipe, which really made them much creamier, I intensified the colors a bit, I shortened the baking time, and I really tapped my molds to remove all the air bubbles.
• They are ready to serve, but can be kept in the refrigerator for several days. Place them in an airtight container. To keep moisture from forming on your cheesecakes you can use this trick - place a piece of paper towel over the opening of your container and set the lid on top. Seal the container leaving paper towel showing all around the outside edge. Don't lay the paper towel directly on the cheesecakes.
• Allow cheesecakes to sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before serving