Cheater Cheesecake Recipe

I love this recipe because it is so easy!  It is a great go-to dessert recipe when I need something quick to serve guests or take to a potluck.  I call it "cheater cheesecake" because it is way easier and much quicker to make than a real cheesecake - it has minimal ingredients and there is no baking involved!  I usually prepare the filling and put it in a store-bought prepared graham cracker pie crust.  I have also made my own graham cracker crust, but find it more convenient to just use the graham cracker pie shells pre-made.  You can usually find them in the baking goods isle at the grocery store.  I have often topped it with a can of cherry pie filling, but tonight I made it with homemade blueberry pie filling.  I hope you enjoy this recipe!

Cheater Cheesecake Recipe

1 - 8 oz tub Cool Whip, thawed
1 - 8 oz bar of cream cheese, softened
1 - prepared graham cracker crust
Pie filling of your choice

In mixing bowl, place thawed cool whip and softened cream cheese and combine with a mixer until well blended and creamy.  Place cheesecake mixture into the graham cracker crust and top with pie filling of your choice.  Refrigerate and serve when ready.  It is best when well chilled.

Chocolate Cake In A Cup - Oh Yes, You Can!

Oh yes, you can make chocolate cake in a coffee cup in the microwave!  The kids were wanting something chocolately and sweet, but I was not in much of a baking mood this afternoon.  I have heard rumors that you could actually make individual chocolate cakes in the microwave, so it was off to Google I went, searching for the tasty treat.  I did happen to find one, so we tried it out today.  In place of the plain flour, I used whole wheat flour instead.  We made ours with the optional chocolate chips, because my motto is more chocolate is always better!  This was a really easy to make, and the kids said it was really yummy.  If you want some chocolate cake, but don't want to make a whole one, or don't want the temptation of a whole one sitting around (hey, it's great portion control!), this is the recipe for you.  I adapted the recipe from here, and each mug is about two servings of cake.

Microwave Chocolate Cake in A Coffee Cup

1 large coffee cup
4 tbsp whole wheat flour
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp chocolate chips

In coffee cup, add whole wheat flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking powder.  Stir until well blended.  Add egg and mix together well, then stir in the milk and oil. Stir until mixture is the consistency of cake batter.  Mix in chocolate chips.  Place coffee cup in the microwave and cook on high setting for approximately 3 minutes.  Cake may rise over the top of the cup (kind of like a muffin top).  Remove cup from microwave, let cool, then dig in!

Mixed Berry Crisp Recipe

We recently went wild raspberry picking out in the country.  Last year, we found plenty to pick and made some wild raspberry jam.  This year, we did not find enough raspberries to make jam, but we found enough to make a little bit of something.  I decided I would use the raspberries to make a berry crisp.  I added the wild raspberries in with some frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries) and made a mixed berry crisp.  This dessert goes well served with ice cream or topped with whipped cream.  Yummy!

Mixed Berry Crisp

4 1/2 cups berries of your choice
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a large bowl, mix berries and honey together, set aside.  In another bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon.  Mix well, then add melted butter.  Continue to mix until crumbly.  Place half of the mixture in the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan, pressing with a spoon to make a crust.  Top the crust with the berry mixture, and spoon the rest of the oat/flour mixture on top.  Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Oatmeal Cake

Recently, a friend brought me some zucchini from her garden.  I didn't plant any zucchini this year, but every year it seems that friends and neighbors gift me some.  It is an abundant crop around here!  I am always looking for recipes and new ways to use my zucchini.  I decided that I would like to try a very chocolately zucchini cake, with oatmeal.  However, a recipe search for such a thing did not avail much.  So I did what I always do when I can't find just the right recipe - I made my own!  And besides, if my kids are going to eat chocolate cake, it may as well have vegetables and lots of fiber :-)  I topped this cake with a simple cream cheese icing.  It was yummy!

Double Chocolate Zucchini Oatmeal Cake

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups quick cooking oats
3/4 cup cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup milk
3 cups shredded zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, cocoa, baking powder. baking soda, and salt.  Mix well.  In another large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, honey, eggs, and vanilla.  Gradually add the dry ingredients, mixing well.  Add milk and continue to blend until combined well.  Mix in the zucchini, and then the chocolate chips.  Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 cake pan and bake at 375 degrees for 60 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Homemade Candy Bars - Heath Toffee Bar Copycat Recipe

I just tried a new recipe today that turned out fabulous! It is a toffee bar recipe that I tweaked to my own styling, and it turned out wonderfully! It tastes just like a Heath candy bar. It was really simple, and made from ingredients that I keep regularly stocked around my house. I have always wanted to try a toffee recipe, but never did, thinking it might be complicated and hard to do. It's not! It's one of the easiest things I have ever made, and it is relatively quick as well.

Toffee Bar Recipe

3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chocolate chips

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter until boiling, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium and boil for seven minutes, continually stirring. Remove from heat and fold in walnuts. Place mixture in a greased square baking pan. Top with chocolate chips. When chocolate chips melt, spread evenly over toffee. Cut into squares immediately, and place pan in refrigerator until toffee has hardened.

Butterfinger Bars Recipe

I am currently 3 weeks postpartum, and I was looking for an easy recipe to make for snacks today. I came across a recipe for Butterfinger Bars that looked relatively simple, so I decided to try it out. My almost four year old pulled up a chair to the kitchen counter and helped me make them. These bars don't taste like the candybar, but they are quite yummy. My husband informed me that they were not going to last long around here!

Butterfinger Bars

Crust:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
4 cups quick cooking oatmeal

Topping:
6 oz. chocolate chips (about half a bag)
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix crust ingredients together well. Press mixture into a 9x13 inch baking pan, bake for 15 minutes. Next, melt topping ingredients together in a medium saucepan, over medium heat, stirring constantly until a smooth consistency is reached. Spread topping mixture evenly over crust. Chill in the refrigerator approximately one hour.