Red Velvet Cheesecake

I wanted to make a cheesecake for our anniversary since we had cheesecake on our wedding day and red velvet cake for our Walima. But ended up making this a few days after our anniversary today. This cake was really good but takes way to long to make. Plan on making a day prior to the day you plan on serving. The frosting was really good but got kinda messy was my first time using an icing bag. Note to self next time chill the frosting before icing the cake. Otherwise it still was really good but very rich.

Ingredients:

Red Velvet Crust Ingredients:

2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Red Velvet Filling Ingredients:

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs, beaten slightly
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 (1 ounce) bottles red food coloring

Topping Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Strawberries for garnish

Red Velvet Cheesecake Directions:

1. Mix together chocolate graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Add melted butter and mix well.

2. Press mixture into bottom and up sides of 9-inch spring-form pan. Bake in 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes; cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl combine cream cheese and sugar and beat with a mixer until combined.

4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add cocoa, sour cream, buttermilk, vanilla extract, vinegar and red food coloring and continue to beat until filling is smooth and well mixed.

6. Pour batter into prepared crust and bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cheesecake looks almost set. Remove cheesecake from oven and cool in pan. Cover and chill in refrigerator overnight (in pan).

7. To make the topping: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla extract, beating until smooth. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake. Remove sides of spring-form pan and garnish if desired with fresh strawberries.

Chicken and Black Bean Enchiladas

These were so good. This recipe made a lot. The chicken and black bean combination is really filling. Made this with cilantro lime rice was amazing!

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
  
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/3 cup prepared sweet corn salsa
  
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 4 (8-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 1/3 cups shredded Monterey jack and or Cheddar
• fajita season or taco seasoning mix
  

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 2 minutes. Add chicken and saute 5 minutes,Add taco seasoning mix , cook until golden brown and cooked through. Remove chicken and set aside.

In 2nd pan .stir in black beans, and salsa and simmer 5 minutes, until sauce thickens and reduces. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.

Arrange 4 tortillas on a flat surface. Top each tortilla with an equal amount of chicken mixture, and black beans, add cheese. Coat shallow baking dish with enchilada sauce. Roll up tortillas and place side by side in a shallow baking dish. Top tortillas with Enchiladas sauce and shredded cheese (1/3 cup per tortilla).

Bake enchiladas 15 minutes, until cheese is golden and gooey!

Easy Chicken Stirfry

Yum yum and then some. This meal was super easy, quick and tasty. I used pre-cooked chicken, and store bought Teriyaki marinade. If you have the time to make your own marinade here is a simple recipe that I've used before that is pretty awesome. But since finals were coming up I went with the bottle.
Teriyaki Marinade

• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1 cup water
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup dried onion flakes
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

Ingredients

• 2-cups chicken cut up
• 2 cups Asian vegetable medley stir-fry mix (wally world has huge bag for $5)
• Teriyaki sauce
• Basmati rice 1 1/2 cups
  
• 1 tablespoon Garlic ginger paste (from local Indian market)
• salt
  
• pepper
• 1 red bell pepper sliced
• 1/2 white onion diced
• 1 1/2 tablespoon EVOO
  

Directions:
Make small pot of rice ~set aside.
Saute chicken in EVOO , add garlic ginger paste, bell pepper, onion, spices, and cook until chicken is done. Add veggies and Teriyaki sauce, cook another 10mins until veggies are done. Serve over rice. Viola. Using precooked chicken and marinade this only takes about 20-25mins tops. Enjoy!

High protien Parfait

Ok so, I have really been slacking on this amazing blog. But for good reason. This semester has been crazy, and it is finally over. I'm free, free at last. That's cause enough for celebration. Oh did I mention I graduated this past week. Yeah I know , I'm kinda a big deal. Ok, back to reality. I still have been cooking this whole time during crunch time and finals. Nothing extra special, no 5 course award winning meals coming out this kitchen this last month but still tasty. So the next couple of post will be updates of what I made , quick easy dishes, that I had no time to blog about.

Prior to this post, lots of my updates have been filled with chocolate, something fating, or something with melted cheese on it. Its not that I don't eat healthy, I do I promise, its just no time for updates. Anyhoo during this semester this was one of my favorite things for breakfast. Much better than the little .99 cent fruit and yogurt parfait from MickyDs. Start with 6-80z of Greek Yogurt. Must get the Greek kind has 13g of protein in it. Add strawberries, bananas, more yogurt and sprinkle with granola cereal. This little breakfast combo kept me energized and full for hours of studying. And was High in protein, and low in fat, a great combination.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza ..omg so good

Omg this pizza was so good. Ok so if you read the previous post you can see I made Buffalo chicken wraps. If you didn't read the previous post shame on you, because you are missing out on wraps that are borderline amazing. So anyways, although the wraps were oh so yummy they kept falling apart, partly due to the greediness of over stuffing them. (note to self buy bigger wraps next time). So since I still had quite a bit of the buffalo chicken left I decided to make some buffalo chicken pizza. After all you know what they say, a meal is a terrible thing to waste.

Ingredients:
1 Boboli original pizza crust
1 cup cut buffalo chicken strips
1/4 red onion sliced small
*about* 1/3 cup Blue cheese dressing
1/4 cup Gorgonzola cheese
1/4 cup cheddar cheese
Sargento Italian cheese mix (however much you like)
Franks redhot hot sauce
Directions :

• Pour blue cheese dressing onto pizza crust, but do not go overboard, blue cheese dressing does not dry up when baking like traditional tomato base pizza sauce. You do not want a soupy pizza.
• Sprinkle with Gorgonzola cheese. Add chicken and dash of redhot sauce , add onions, and cheddar and Italian cheeses.
  
• Bake at 350 for 12-15 mins depending on oven.
  
• Viola! amazing party in your mouth pizza.
  

Buffalo chicken wraps

I wanted to make something light since it was nice and sunny outside and also didn't feel like slaving in the kitchen for 5 hours. So, decided to go with Buffalo chicken wraps and waffle fries. Yum!

Ingredients:

2 chicken breast
2 tablespoons butter melted
1/3 cup red hot hotsauce
1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
dash salt, pepper, garlic power
lettuce
mozzarella cheese
blue cheese dressing
10in. honey wheat tortilla wraps

Directions:

1. Season chicken with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper and marinate for at least one hour.
2. Remove chicken from fridge and grill in George foreman (or bake if you choose)
3. Melt butter and mix with Franks red hotsauce . Cut chicken into slices and add to hot sauce mix well to all chicken is coated.
   
4. Place chicken in tortilla wrap, add lettuce, cheese and blue cheese dressing, fold tortilla over and wrap to close.
   
5. Enjoy.
   
6. I wanted my cheese melted in this recipe so after I wrapped the tortillas I added them back to the George foreman grill and melted the cheese. YUMM.
   

Baked Ziti

This was really good. I made two big pans of this one for my bestie who just had the cutest little pumpkin baby. This recipe defiantly makes a lot so you should be prepared... or have greedy people on hand. I used ground lamb instead of ground beef and whole wheat pasta, and low fat sour cream for a healthier version.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry ziti pasta
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
• 6 ounces provolone cheese, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.