Sour Cream Cheesecake

 

This recipe include Strawberry Glaze (at end of post); however, we usually have it with canned blueberry topping as shown in these photos. 

Sour Cream Cheesecake & Strawberry Glaze 

 

Sour Cream Cheesecake

1 ¾ C. fine graham cracker crumbs
¼ C. finely chopped nuts
½ t. cinnamon
½ C. melted butter
2 (8 oz.) pkgs. Cream cheese softened
1 C. sugar
1 t. vanilla
¼ t. almond extract (optional)
¼ t. salt
3 eggs
3 C. sour cream

 Combine crumbs, nuts, and cinnamon. Add butter, stirring until well combined. Reserve ¼ cup for top. Press remaining into bottom and 2 1/2” up sides of an 8” spring-form pan. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, almond extract, and salt until smooth. Add eggs, beating at low speed until just combined. Do not overbeat. Stir in sour cream. Turn into prepared crust. Sprinkle reserved crumbs on top. Bake at 375° for 50-55 minutes or until knife comes out almost clean. Cool on wire rack. Chill 4-5 hours. Makes 12 servings.

 

Cheesecake with Blueberry Topping

Strawberry Glaze: 

1 ½ C. mashed fresh strawberries
1 C. sugar
3 T. cornstarch
½ C. water 

Place ingredients into saucepan over medium heat. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook 6-8 minutes, or until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat. Cool. In a saucepan over medium heat, add strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch. Stir to combine. If your strawberries are not very juicy, you may need to add 1-2 tablespoons of water as needed. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and allow to cool 

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The Best Buttery 4-Egg Pecan Pie

Ingredients: 

• 1 9-inch pie crust, partially pre-bake Pioneer Woman Pie Crust 
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup light corn syrup*
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs, whisked
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• 2 cups pecan halves (plus extras to line the top, if desired)

Directions: 

1. Partially pre-bake a pie crust in a 9-inch pie pan according to its instructions, then heat oven to 350°F.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, salt and cinnamon; add eggs and whisk until smooth.

3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until the butter turns brown and fragrant. Slowly pour butter into the sugar mixture, and whisk to combine. Chop the pecans, then stir them into the butter and sugar mixture until combined. Then pour the entire filling into the prepared pie crust. If desired, line the top of the filling with extra pecans.

4. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until the filling is set. It may jiggle slightly but not too much. If needed, place it back in the oven for another 10-20 minutes. To keep the crust edges from burning, cover the crust with a pie crust shield or with aluminum foil; remove foil about 15 to 20 minutes before the pie is done. When the filling is set, remove the pie and let cool completely on cooling rack, 3 to 4 hours, before slicing. 

{Source} 

 

For pre-baked pie crust:

After placing the crust in the pie pan, pick the dough with a fork.

Line the shell with parchment paper or aluminum foil, shaping it about the inner edges of the crust.

Fill it with pebbles, beans, or rice to keep it from bubbling up while baking. Remove the lining with the pebbles, beans, or rice a few minutes before the baking time is over.

Place in preheated 450° oven.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Baking time varies according to which type of pan you use.

Cool before filling.

Apple Butter

Apple Butter Recipe

• Prep time: 20 minutes
• Cook time: 2 hours
• Yield: Makes a little more than 3 pint jars.

Ingredients

• 4 lbs of good cooking apples
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar {I did not use vinegar.}
• 2 cups water {I used only about ¼ cup water. See NOTE.}
• Sugar, about 4 cups, (After cooking and pureeing, add ½ cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp)
• Salt – a dash
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ½ teaspoon allspice {I used ½ teaspoon nutmeg instead.}
• Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Preparing the Fruit

Cut the apples into quarters, without peeling or coring them (much of the pectin is in the cores and flavor in the peels), cut out damaged parts. {I did core my apples.}

Cooking the Apples

Put them into large pot, add the vinegar and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Note: I put all my apples in a large pot (see photo), adding about ¼ cup of water, and placed the pot to cook over a very low heat until the juices from the apples were released.

Measure the purée and add the sugar and spices

Ladle cooked apples and liquid into a blender (about 2 cups at a time). Measure resulting puree. Add ½ cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add a dash of salt, and the cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon rind and juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Cooking the Purée

Cook uncovered in a large, wide, thick-bottomed pot on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming at the bottom. Cook until thick and smooth (about 1 to 2 hours). A small bit spooned onto a chilled (in the freezer) plate will be thick, not runny. You can also cook the purée on low heat, stirring only occasionally, but this will take much longer as stirring encourages evaporation. (Note the wider the pan the better, as there is more surface for evaporation.)

Canning

There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal. If you plan to store the apple butter unrefrigerated, make sure to follow proper canning procedures. Before applying the lids, sterilize the lids by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. Wipe the rims of the jars clean before applying the lids. I use a hot water bath for 10 minutes to ensure a good seal.

Read more: Apple Butter Recipe

Apple Cranberry Pie

~ Apple Cranberry Pie ~

Ingredients:
homemade pie crust {Perfect Pie Crust} The Pioneer Woman's recipe
3 large apples, cored, peeled, and sliced into 1/2-inch slices (about 6-7 cups)
1 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 Tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed {I use salted butter}
egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon milk

Directions:

Prepare pie crust

Make the filling: Stir the apples, cranberries, granulated sugar, cornstarch, orange zest, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Set filling aside as the oven preheats.

Preheat oven to 400°F

Spoon the filling into the crust, leaving any excess liquid in the bowl

Dot the pieces of butter on top of the filling. Stick in the refrigerator until ready to cut the lattice.

Cut the top crust into lattice strips, or simply cover the filling with the 12-inch pie dough circle (cut slits in the top to form steam vents). Or a crumble or streusel topping would be great as well.

Lightly brush the top of the pie crust with the egg wash mixture.

Place the pie onto a large baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Keeping the pie in the oven, turn the temperature down to 350°F and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes.
NOTE: I cover the edges with a strip of aluminum foil to prevent the crust from burning and remove the foil during the last 20 minutes of baking.

Allow the pie to cool for 3 full hours at room temperature before serving. This time allows the filling to thicken up. Cover leftovers tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

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Jello Jam ~ It's Easy and Delicious

Earlier this year, I made this wonderful Jello jam. I recently opened one of the delicious jars of jam. It was so yummy that I had to tell you about it. This is the easiest jam to make, no pectin used, just Jello.

I love the flavor of  the watermelon Jello in this plum jam.

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Jello Jam
Ingredients
• 5 cups crushed fruit   
• 2 cups crushed pineapple ; drained {I used more plums and did not add the pineapple to my plums.}
• 6 cups sugar
• 6 oz. Jello gelatin powder

NOTES : Use any fresh fruit you like, such as berries, apricots, peaches, plums, pears, cherries. Choose a complimentary flavor of Jello to go with the fruit you use.

How to make it
• Boil fruit, pineapple and sugar together for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
•Turn off heat.
• Add Jello, mix well.
• Ladle into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch from tops. .
• Wipe jar rims and threads.
• Cover with two piece lids, screw bands tightly.
• Invert onto clean towel.
• After 5 minutes, turn upright and check for seals.
• Makes 12 half pints.

{Source}

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Or see: PLUM JAM
Ingredients
 6 c. plums, ground
1 pkg. frozen raspberries (more if desired)
7 c. sugar
2 (3 oz.) pkg. raspberry jello

Directions
Boil plums, sugar and raspberries 20 minutes.
Add jello until dissolved.
Bottle and seal.

Or See: Make Your Own Jell-O Jam
Or Raspberry Rhubarb Jell-O Jam

Quick and Easy Lazy Quiche - Made with Bread

~ A favorite breakfast when having overnight guests ~

I love this recipe first of all because it is delicious (yes Delicious - so delicious it is hard to eat just one piece). Other reasons for loving it is that it is easy to make, it is best made ahead of time, and it is a great way to use up leftover foods.

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Lazy Quiche

• 16 slices of bread {This does not have to be exact}
• Optional - 1/2 cup melted butter {Actually, I add this ingredient to the recipe because my bread was SO dry. The recipe is good without butter added}
• 8 eggs {I used 12}
• 2 cups milk
• 1 large can diced chilies
• Sausage, cooked {or ham or bacon, diced}
• Green onion
• Cheese, shredded
• Salt and Pepper to taste

{I just sprinkle salt into the beaten eggs, but I see that similar recipes use 1/2 teaspoon salt}

Instructions:

Cover the bottom of a  9 x 13 inch pan with bread (broken into small pieces). (My bread was very dry, so I poured 1/2 cup melted butter over the bread) 

Mix the chilies, sausage, green onion - scatter evenly over the bread. Sprinkle cheese liberally over the bread mixture.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Mix milk, salt and pepper into eggs - pour mixture over bread, meat, and cheese in pan.

Set in refrigerator overnight.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Note: this is HOT right out of the oven; let it set at least 10 minutes before serving.

Really, you can change the amount of ingredients to suit your needs and to use the food you have on hand.

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Here are two similar recipes:

 BREAKFAST QUICHE 

and

 Simple Quiche Recipe – Use Bread for the Crust!. 

I ate this for breakfast yesterday, 
and it really is as good as I remember it being.