Cheesecake Cookie Cups

1 package (24 each) chocolate chip cookie dough

(or you can use your favorite home made recipe)
2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs
2 t pure vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
24 muffin paper liners

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line 24 liners into muffin cups. Place one piece of cookie dough in each cup. Bake cookie dough for 10 minutes. Beat cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, salt, and vanilla in bowl until smooth. Place an ice cream scoop full of cream cheese mixture over each cookie in cup. Turn heat down to 325° F and bake an additional 15 minutes until set. Refrigerate for two hours. Serve plain or with your favorite topping!! (Shown is cherry fruit filling!)

Great Strawberry Lime Topping (good if in season!!)
1 lb fresh strawberries, chopped & hulled
¼ c sugar
2 limes, juice and zest
1 pinch salt
1 T fresh mint (optional)
Combine all ingredients for topping and chill. Place heaping tablespoon on each cheesecake before serving.

Caesar Salad a la Mindy

Change the amount of ingredients
by how large of salad you want!!

Romaine Hearts of Lettuce
Lite House Caesar Dressing
Black Olives
Shaved Parmesan Cheese
Fresh Cracked Pepper
Croutons
(I like Costco Garlic Focaccia Croutons
or I make my own Wheat Garlic Croutons)

Sweet & Savory Mango Wraps

2 large flour tortillas
1/3 c whipped cream cheese
12 strips mango (fresh or from a jar)
2 green onions, green tops only, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips
4 oz thinly sliced turkey or ham
Spread cream cheese over tortillas and layer with mango, green onion, bell pepper, and meat. Gently squeeze rolls to secure ingredients and cut into ½” thick slices.

Raspberry "Cheesecake" Cake

This is the cake my mom makes me for
my BIRTHDAY every year!!

CAKE
1 white cake mix
Bake per instructions in large glass baking dish. Cool.

CREAMY TOPPING
1 pint whipping cream
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 c powdered sugar
1 t pure vanilla extract
Whip all ingredients together and frost cake.

RASPBERRY SAUCE
1 package raspberry Deserta
2 c water
1 package frozen raspberries
Mix in sauce pan and chill in fridge until ready to eat!

Lemon Sour Cream Pie

Crust
1 sleeve graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 T butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients and place in large glass baking dish. Bake crust for ten minutes.

Filling
1 cup sugar
3 T plus 1-1/2 t cornstarch
1 T grated lemon peel
½ cup lemon juice
3 egg yolks, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
¼ cup butter, cubed
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
Combine sugar, cornstarch, lemon peel, lemon juice, egg yolks and milk in heavy saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thickened. Stir in butter and cool mixture to room temperature. Stir in sour cream and pour filling into cooled crust.

Topping
1 cup heavy cream
1 t pure vanilla extract
Powder sugar to taste
1 T lemon zest
Beat cream, vanilla, and powder sugar until whipped. Mix in zest and spread over lemon filling. Garnish with lemon twists if desired. Keep in fridge.

Fairy Salad

1 cup cream
1 t vanilla
powdered sugar to taste
zest of one lime
1 lb strawberries, sliced
1 carton raspberries
4 containers (4 oz) strawberry yogurt
Whip cream, vanilla, and sugar. Add zest, yogurt, and fruit.
Chill until serving. My daughter calls this "FAIRY SALAD"
because the fairies love to eat fruit and cream!!

Luscious Lemon Cupcakes & Lemon Butter Cream Frosting

Cake:

1 c sour cream
1 package lemon cake mix
3/4 c water
3/4 c canola oil
1 t lemon zest
4 eggs
1 dash salt
1 small package lemon instant pudding
Mix ingredients with electric mixer for about two minutes. Line 24 cupcake tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Frosting:
2 sticks butter, softened
6 c powdered sugar
½ c fresh lemon juice
1-2 t lemon zest
12 strawberries (for garnish)
Beat butter and half of sugar. Add juice and zest and beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add remaining sugar until frosting is a good consistency. Pipe frosting onto cool cupcakes, and garnish with half of a strawberry (greens on or off) on each cupcake!

Soft Sour Cream Sugar Cookies & Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Soft Sugar Cookies
1 cup butter
1 t salt
2 cups sugar
1 t baking soda
2 eggs
4 t baking powder
1 cup sour cream
4 ½ cups flour
1 t pure vanilla extract
Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and combine with wet ingredients. Roll into ball. Refrigerate. Roll out and cut into shapes. Bake at 350° F for 10-12 minutes. (Thicker cookies longer.) Cool and frost.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese (room temp)
1-2 t milk
8 T butter (room temp)
1 t pure vanilla extract
3-4 cups powdered sugar
Beat cheese and butter. Add milk, and vanilla. Slowly add sugar until the consistency you want. Beat until smooth.

The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies EVER!

Soft, Chewy Cookies
You will never use a different recipe again!!
Mindy Powell

1 c butter flavored Crisco

¾ c white granulated sugar
¾ c light brown sugar
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
2 ½ c white flour
1 bag Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips
(This is the brand I prefer because they are larger
size chocolate chips and they taste the BEST!!)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray pans with cooking spray. Beat Crisco, sugars, vanilla, and eggs until mixed well. Add dry ingredients slowly and then mix in chocolate chips. Use small scooper to place twelve even sized balls on cookie sheet. Bake for exactly 11 minutes. Makes four dozen cookies. (Note: If you half the recipe, still use the full teaspoon of baking soda.)

Creamy Chicken & Cheese

6-8 skinned chicken breasts

1 can cream of celery soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 lb. grated Monterey jack cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 T parsley flakes
Place chicken in lightly buttered casserole dish (or spray with cooking spray). Salt and pepper chicken and spoon soups over chicken. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese over chicken. Bake 50 minutes more or until bubbling and cheese is light brown. Serve with rice.

Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Smokies

Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Smokies

1 bottle honey barbecue sauce
14 oz package little smokies
12 oz sliced bacon
1/4 c brown sugar
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Pour one half of barbecue sauce into large glass baking dish. Cut bacon strips into thirds. Wrap 1/3 slice bacon around smokie and insert toothpick to hold. Place in dish on top of sauce. Repeat with all smokies and bacon. Top with brown sugar and remainder of barbecue sauce. Bake 60-80 minutes or until browned. Makes 36 bacon wrapped smokies.
HINT: You can also cut the smokies in half length wise and use another package of bacon and have double the smokies! Great for parties!!

Mango Limeade

This is one of my FAVORITE Summer drinks!!

Mango Limeade
1 can of frozen limeade (made as directed)
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 cup water
1/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
2 c frozen mangoes
1/2 bottle of Sprite
ice cubes
Garnish with lime slices, if desired
Make up frozen limeade in large pitcher. Fill a blender half way with ice cubes. Add mango, sugar, lime juice, and fill to near the top with limeade. Blend well. Pour this mixture back into the pitcher and stir until blended then add Sprite.

Kristen's Yummy Granola Bars!

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
1 1/3 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour (include wheat germ)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups rice crispies
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup coconut(optional-I don't use this)
1 cup gogi berries, craisens, or raisens(I like gogi berries but my kids like it without)

Preheat oven to 350 and grease 11x14 pan. I also like to use an 8 1/2x11 pan for thicker chewier bars. Cream sugar and butter. Add honey, peanut butter, vanilla and egg. Blend together. In seperate bowl stir flour, cinnamon, soda, salt, rolled oats, rice crispies, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. Add to creamed ingriedients. Mix in chocolate chips, coconut and berries. Turn into pan. Press and bake approx. 22 minutes (adjust according to pan you use and your oven)

Note: Many of these items can be found in bulk at the health food store. That is the best place to buy them and more cost efficient than the grocery store. You can store the seeds in your freezer for longer shelf like. Also to make a quick fresh batch of wheat flour for this recipe, use your dry vitamix grinder and 1 cup whole wheat. It grinds exactly 1 1/3 cups of fresh wheat flour. You can buy wheat flour just make sure the germ has not been removed as it has many nutrients!
Also you can slice these in individual bars and wrap them in saranwrap for a quick snack on the go. Perfect for hikes too!

Heavenly Brownie Dessert!

I found these BEAUTIFUL raspberries at the store,
and immediately knew I needed to make a
HEAVENLY DESSERT with them!! So I opted to
make a layered Brownie dessert!!
Here are the layers...
Chocolate Brownies- Homemade or from a box!
Chocolate Pudding- Homemade or from a box!
FRESH heavy whipped cream
FRESH raspberries
It tasted UTTERLY DIVINE!!

My daughter does not like her foods to touch, so she opted
for the "deconstructed" brownie dessert!! SO YUMMY!!

Mindy's Puff Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries!!

Mindy's Puff Pancakes
4 T butter
5 eggs
1 ¼ c milk
1 ¼ c flour
1 t salt
1 T sugar
1 t vanilla
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in 9x13 glass baking dish in oven while waiting to preheat. Mix all ingredients and add batter to baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Serve with fresh fruit (we like fresh strawberries with a little sugar and lemon juice!) and powdered sugar.

Chili Cheese Egg Souffle & the BEST Buttermilk Waffles

This is what we had on Christmas Day for Breakfast...
Chili Cheese Egg Souffle & Buttermilk Waffles,
along with Hashbrown Potatoes, Sausage, and Bacon!!

Chili Cheese Egg Souffle
5 eggs
1/4 c flour
1/2 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 c grated cheddar cheese
1 c small curd cottage cheese
2 T melted butter
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilis
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add eggs, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Add remainder of ingredients. Grease a square glass baking dish and pour mixture in. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and continue baking for 20 minutes. (For amount shown in picture, double this recipe.)

The BEST Buttermilk Waffles
1 3/4 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t salt
1 t sugar
2 c buttermilk
1/3 c canola oil
2 eggs
Beat all ingredients together and drop batter on hot waffle griddle.