Easy Oreo Cheesecake Cupcakes

So I found this recipe online, yes at Pinterest again (it's not like I'm addicted or anything...). You can find the original recipe and post here at Handle the Heat. Their photo of the cupcakes looks so much better than mine as well. Here's their photo:

Here's mine:

Okay, so mine isn't nearly as pretty, but trust me, they were tasty. I took some in to my coworkers and I was told that they were pretty bad@$$. And they're incredibly easy to make, the only hard part is that you have to refrigerate them for awhile.

What You'll Need:

42 cream-filled sandwich cookies (read: Oreos), 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped

2 pounds cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature and slightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

What You'll Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees. Line your muffin tin with regular paper liners (the foil doesn't peel as easily away, learned this one the hard way). Place one whole Oreo cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

2. Beat cream cheese until it's smooth with an electric mixer. Slowly add sugar and beat until combined. Add in vanilla and beat again.

3. Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly. Beat in sour cream and salt. Then add the chopped cookies in and stir by hand.

4. Divide batter evenly amongst your lined cups, filling almost to the top. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through the cooking time, until the filling is set (about 22 minutes). Transfer to wire racks to cool and refrigerate atleast 4 hours (up to overnight). Remove them from the tins just before serving so they hold their shapes.

Voila. Easy peasy and very delicious!



Easy Crockpot Chicken Recipe

With my new job which keeps me away from home until well past 6pm, I'm thankful for my new crockpot. It means I can have dinner on the table as soon as I hit the door, and that's a good thing with two toddlers who are often starving and impatient. Here's my latest foray into my crockpottery:

Easy Crockpot Chicken:

What You'll Need:

1 to 2 lbs. chicken breast or tenderloins (I used frozen)

1/2 cup Italian salad dressing
1 teaspoon Italian seasonings (basil, oregano and garlic powder)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
4 medium potatoes, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
2 stalks celery, coarsely chopped

What You'll Do:
Mix salad dressing, seasonings, and cheese together in measuring cup or bowl. Pour half of the mixture into the bottom of your crockpot. Then add your chicken into the bottom, and top with the remaining half of the mixture. Throw in the assorted vegetables around the chicken. Set the crockpot on low setting, and let cook for 6-8 hours, until chicken is cooked and potatoes are tender.

This serves well on a bed of rice or with rice as a side dish. Enjoy!

Roasted Pears with Goat Cheese

As I may or may not have mentioned a million times, I'm addicted to Pinterest. There's so many fabulous finds out there, but I really love pinning recipes. I'm not too adventurous in the kitchen (I tend to stick to the same old recipes) so I really love getting out there and trying something new. Yes, I own a cookbook. No, it's not nearly as much fun as seeing a pin on pinterest. Here's my attempt at Roasted Pears with Goat Cheese (as adapted from HERE).

What You Need:
2 ripe but firm pears
3.5 oz goat cheese, crumbled
3/4 oz almond slivers
1 sprig rosemary
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp butter

What You Do:
1. Wash the pears and slice them lengthwise into halves. With a small sharp paring knife and a spoon remove the core and seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling.

2. Heat the butter in a skillet and brown the pears, skin side down, on low heat for about 10 minutes. Preheat your oven at 350ºF (180ºC).

3. Place the pears in a ovenproof dish and pour the cooking butter on top. Add half a cup of water in the ovenproof dish. Bake 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, gently toss the goat cheese with the almond slivers and the rosemary in a small bowl. Season to taste. I added some chives.

5. Remove the pears from the oven. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation. Spoon a bit of honey and bake them again for another 10-15 minutes. Serve immediately.

Easiest Sopapillas Ever

Recently we had Mexican night at our house for dinner, so in that spirit I created sopapillas for dessert. They were so yummy and easy that I thought I'd share the recipe. The recipe is adapted from here.

Easy Sopapillas

What You'll Need:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tbsp of cinnamon sugar mixture (optional)
      tortillas (one per person)
1    tbsp honey
1    tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
1    tbsp raspberry sauce (optional)
1    oz. vegetable oil

What You Do:
Heat the oil in a medium skillet (just enough oil to thinly cover the entire bottom surface of the skillet) over medium heat. Meanwhile, in another medium skillet melt the butter and stir in the cinnamon sugar.  Once the oil is warm, fry one tortilla until the bottom is golden brown, then flip and fry the other side until it's golden brown as well. Remove the tortilla from the heat, patting dry with some paper towels if necessary to remove excess oil. Move the fried tortilla into the skillet with the butter, dipping each side into the butter mixture. Plate the tortilla and garnish with extra cinnamon sugar, honey, powdered sugar or raspberry sauce to taste. Serve warm.

That's it! Incredibly easy and quick. They were a huge hit around here. My husband loved his with extra powdered sugar and raspberry sauce. I figure the raspberry sauce isn't a traditional sopapilla topping but it worked out really well. I've already gotten requests to make it again!