Key Lime Cheesecake Bars

My sister sent me a jar of Key Lime Curd and I've been anxious to use it. I love the tangy tart flavor the Key Limes offer, desserts made with them are always so refreshing on a hot day. We have a Key Lime tree in our backyard but it's too young to bear fruit, I can't wait until we are able to start plucking them off the tree! If you'd like to make your own curd you can find the recipe here.

Ingredients for Crust
2 2/3 c Nilla Wafer Cookies
1 TBSP sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
5 TBSP butter, melted and cooled
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Ingredients for crust

Preheat oven to 350. In food processor crush Nilla wafers until crumbs. Add sugar, vanilla and melted butter, pulse until combined. Pour into a 9 inch square pan and press into bottom and sides. Press crumbs tightly so that the bottom layer is even. USe a pastry brush to gently brush the beaten egg white over the surface, you won't use entire egg white. Bake 12-15 minutes, until crust begins to turn golden brown around edges. Cool completely before next step.

Ingredients for Cheesecake 
1/4 c Sugar
1/4 c Milk
2 large Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 TBSP flour
1/3 c Key Lime Curd

Ingredients for Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl or a stand mixer bowl combine cream cheese and sugar until well combined. Beat in milk, eggs and vanilla until very smooth. Whisk in flour and mix thoroughly. Pour onto crust, add dollops of Key Lime curd and swirl in gently using a butter knife. Bake for 22-26 minutes, until cheesecake is set and jiggles only slightly at the center. Cool completely before slicing. Serve chilled.

Crust 

Spreading egg white over top of crust, then bake

YUMM

Cheesecake mixture, whisk in flour

Ready for cheesecake to go on top of  baked crust

Dollops of Key Lime Curd

Swirled in with a knife

Enjoy!

Source: Baking Bites

Beach Day Cookies

The last time we were at the beach I made a comment about how pretzels were the perfect beach snack; they are easy to eat, satisfying and travel well. I came upon this cookie recipe that uses Pretzel M&M's and thought hmmmm, the perfect snack mixed into a cookie???? Oh yea! These are awesomely yummy cookies and  I know they are going to make our Memorial Day beach trip the best ever!

Ingredients
2 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
1 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
1 TBSP vanilla
1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
1 c Pretzel M&M's
1 c toffee pieces (Heath)
1 1/2 c milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk flour and baking soda, set aside. In a stand mixer cream butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar, beat on high speed until fluffy. Add the salt, vanilla, whole egg and egg yolk, beat until combined. Add the Pretzel M&M's and beat for a few seconds until slightly crushed. Gradually add flour mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips and toffee chips.

Using a small cookie scoop, scoop dough onto prepared cookie sheets, slightly flatten with fingers. Bake for 11-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Let sit on baking sheet a few minutes before transferring to cooling rack. Makes 40ish  cookies.

Ingredients 

Dough ready to scoop

I used a small cookie scoop

Cool on the rack

Enjoy! 

London Broil

We love to grill London Broil at our home and I have a fool proof method that's easy and yummy! I love this cut of meat and whenever the butcher has a special I fill my freezer.

Ingredients
3/4 c Worcestershire Sauce
2 cloves Garlic, minced
London Broil, your choice of weight




In a large ziploc bag mix Worcestershire and garlic, place meat in bag and seal. Let sit overnight.

 Place London Broil on a hot gas grill and let cook for 15 minutes, turn over and cook for another 15 minutes.  ( if your steak is thick you may need longer cooking time) Test the doneness of your meat with a meat temperature gage, we prefer ours medium rare. Let rest on a cutting board for 10 minutes before thinly slicing. Serve immediately.

Out of the Ziploc and ready for the grill

this is after 24 hours of marinading 

My marinade bag

On the grill

Off the grill and resting

Enjoy! 

Summer Party Season Starts!

It's finally Memorial Day weekend which means the end of school and the start of grilling season. Here are two of my favorite BBQ sauce recipes, plus some other goodies as well.

Jack Daniels Rib Sauce is an amazing sauce that tastes great on more than just ribs!

Memphis Sweet Sauce is a yummy sweet sauce that goes great with chicken.

If you are having a BBQ then you've got to make Mac and Cheese, it's an American thing.

Confetti Squares are one of our favorite party treats, they are easy to make and even easier to eat!

Enjoy!

Scallops and Shrimp with Rice (low fat)

 I remember when I first got married and my husband mentioned that he'd prefer to not eating anything with tater tots, ground beef and cream of mushroom soup in it. We'd both grown up in Utah, a place well know for their casseroles. Well it's been over 22 years and I've tried to steer clear of most casseroles but sometimes you find one that is just too good to pass up, this is one of those dishes. A few years ago I discovered it in Paula Deen's The Lady and Sons Cookbook and have changed it up over time to make it something that we all just love. I've made it using lower fat ingredients but of course you can always fatten it up :)

Ingredients
Two 6 ounce boxes Uncle Ben's long
grain and wild rice
1 lb Shrimp, deveined, cleaned and peeled
1 lb Scallops, if large cut into fourths
1 Onion, diced and sautéed in  2 TBSP butter
Two 10 1/4 ounce cans condensed cream of mushroom soup
(low fat version)
16 oz low fat Cheddar Cheese
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1 lb sliced Mushrooms
Salt and Pepper to taste

Remove seasoning mix from rice; do not use. Cook rice as directed on box. Preheat oven to 375. Saute mushrooms, onion and butter until soft. Mix in remaining ingredients including cooked rice and pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes. Serves 8

Ingredients

Saute onions and mushrooms

Mix in soup and other ingredients 

Cooked wild rice ready for the shrimp, scallops and soup mixture

Look at those yummy scallops

Ready for the oven

Enjoy!

Source: The Lady & Sons

Veal Scallopini

I've been wanting to try this recipe for quite some time and this weekend it finally happened. This is a super quick and easy recipe, great for nights when there isn't much time.


Ingredients
6 veal cutlets
6 TBSP flour
Salt and Pepper to taste
9 TBSP butter, divided
3 TBSP olive oil
1 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
3/4 c chicken broth
2 tsp minced fresh parsley
Juice from 1/2 of a Lemon
2 TBSP Capers



Flatten cutlets to 1/8  in thickness. In a large ziploc bag combine flour, salt and pepper. Add veal, seal bag and shake to coat. In a skillet, heat 3 TBSP butter and oil. Add veal, cook over medium heat for about 1 minute on each side or until juices run clear. Remove and keep warm, I placed a piece of foil over my serving platter.

Add mushrooms to skillet, cook and stir. Add broth into skillet, stirring up any browned bits. Add parsley, lemon juice, capers and butter. Cook and stir 2 minutes longer or until slightly thickened. Pour over veal. Serve immediately. Serves 6

Ingredients, minus the lemon and capers, they were add ins

Place breaded cutlets into skillet

Cook and remove from pan

Add remaining ingredients to skillet and simmer

Enjoy!

Oreo Cake

I know I've been using a lot of Oreo's lately but when they are in your pantry you feel the urge to gobble them up, so I decided to bake with them....again. I also have an abundance of cake mixes in the pantry right now, believe me when they offer buy one get one free I tend to go nuts. So I pulled out a chocolate cake mix, some chocolate chips, oreos and went to work. I think I am one of the few people who like using cake mixes, don't get me wrong a homemade chocolate cake recipe can be as sacred as anything, but sometimes I can't help using the shortcut that a cake mix offers. 

Ingredients for Cake
1 Chocolate Cake Mix, prepared to packages directions
1 cup Milk Chocolate Chips




Prepare cake batter and add chocolate chips before pouring into 2- 8 inch prepared pans. Bake according to directions,  once out of oven let cool for 25 minutes before removing to cooling rack.

Ingredients for Oreo Frosting
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, room temp
1 Pinch Salt
1 TBSP Vanilla, the real stuff!
1 1/2 lbs Powdered Sugar
3/4 TBSP  Cold Milk
25 Oreo cookies, chopped
Duncan Hines Amazing Glaze

Cream the butter and vanilla in a mixer. Begin adding sugar and thoroughly mix before adding more powdered sugar. After all sugar has been added and mixed, begin adding cold milk, one TBSP at a time. Once desired consistency has been reached add chopped Oreo Cookies and mix. Frost your cake. Drizzle glaze over top of cake and pop into fridge to set. Serves 10

Ingredients for frosting

Frost bottom half of cake with half of the frosting

This glaze tasted okay, nothing more, nothing less

Drizzle on top of cake

Ready to serve

Enjoy!

Source; Adapted from My Baking Addiction 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Covered Oreos

My husband has a work party tomorrow and I volunteered to bring a plate of goodies. Since it's already super hot and humid in Florida so I have to be very careful about what to make, especially if it's going to be sitting outside for an extended period of time. I decided to make these chocolate chip covered Oreos and my Brownie Covered Oreos . I know that they will both withstand the heat and are easy to eat while standing around at a picnic. I would like to warn you that I've been suffering from a horrific case of asthma this week and so I cheated and used store bought cookie dough; if I was feeling better I would have used this recipe, minus the cadbury eggs and subbing 2 cups chocolate chips. shh don't tell 
anyone! 
I had a lot of people mention to me that they would
love to eat these with ice cream, so keep that in mind.  A large vat of milk is 
also something you might want to keep next to  you. 

Ingredients
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Double Stuffed Oreo Cookies




Preheat oven to 350. Spray cupcake pans heavily with non stick spray. Place a scoop of cookie dough in bottom of pan, top with Oreo cookie then place another scoop of cookie dough on top of Oreo. Mush down cookie dough so that it covers Oreo completely. Bake for 13 minutes or until golden brown on top. LET COOL COMPLETELY in pan before using a knife to help remove cookie from pan. These are large cookies so give them plenty of time to cool.

Ready to go into the oven

Letting them cool

I took these to a party and before serving placed them in cupcake holders

Enjoy!