Thursday, October 23, 2008

Carmel Apple Cheesecake

I saw this recipe in September's Cooking Light and couldn't resist making it. It proved just as tasty as it looked/sounded!

From September 2008 Cooking Light: This creamy cheesecake showcases fall flavors. Granny Smith apples lend a pleasant tartness, but you can substitute Rome, Braeburn, or your favorite apple variety. Make this cake the night before your gathering.

Yield 16 servings (serving size: 1 cheesecake wedge and 1 tablespoon topping)

Ingredients

CRUST:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs, about 8 cookie sheets (I used cinnamon)

1 tablespoon egg white

1 tablespoon water

Cooking spray


CHEESECAKE:

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup light sour cream

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened

1 (8-ounce) block fat-free cream cheese, softened

4 large eggs



TOPPING:

1/3 cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1 3/4 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 8 ounces)

Dash of nutmeg

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. To prepare crust, combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Press mixture lightly into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 6 minutes. Remove from oven; cool on a wire rack. Wrap outside of pan with a double layer of foil. Reduce oven temperature to 325°.

3. To prepare cheesecake, place 1 3/4 cups sugar and next 7 ingredients (through fat-free cream cheese) in food processor; process until smooth. Add eggs, 1 at a time; process until blended. Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan. Place springform pan in a large roasting pan; add hot water to larger pan to a depth of 1 inch.

4. Bake at 325° for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove from oven; let stand in water bath 10 minutes. Run a knife around outside edge of cheesecake. Remove pan from water bath; cool on a wire rack to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 8 hours.

5. To prepare topping, combine 1/3 cup sugar, 3 tablespoons water, and lemon juice in a small, heavy saucepan; cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Cook 4 minutes or until golden (do not stir). Remove from heat. Add butter to pan; gently stir until butter melts. Stir in half-and-half. Cool slightly.

6. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add apple to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in sugar mixture and nutmeg. Serve topping with cheesecake.

(OR Instead of making the sauce you could just saute the apples in melted carmel candy then pour on the cake)

Nutritional Information

Calories:256 (33% from fat)

Fat:9.5g (sat 5.6g,mono 2.7g,poly 0.7g)

Protein:7.6g

Carbohydrate:35.8g

Fiber:0.4g

Cholesterol:79mg

Iron:0.6mg

Sodium:268mg

Calcium:59mg


Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Three Months!


Blaise is 3 months now! He's so much more aware and alert-smiling, babbling and laughing more and more. When David comes home from work and says hello, Blaise will give him a big smile. So precious!  He has rolled over from his belly to his back and holds his head up for much longer. He weighed around 14.5 lbs on his 3 month mark. Here are few pics from the last month....

Reading a truck book with daddy
Yes...he's eating! These nursing tanks are great!

Playing in the exosaucer
Uncle Paul couldn't believe how much he'd grown since August!  
I love my hands! 
hiding in the warm laundry


chilling in the carseat
Airplane!

Sunday, October 12, 2008

A Healthy & Simple Dinner

Mmmm, this is a new favorite recipe and I wanted to share it. Alisa, a friend from church, made it for us after Blaise was born. It's also in the Simply in Season cookbook. Healthy and delicious!

Black Bean & Sweet Potato Burritos

Ingredients:

3 cups sweet potatoes,diced (usually one large sweet potato makes this much)

1 small onion diced or chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 cups cooked black beans (one can)

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

8 tortillas (I use whole wheat)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

sour cream & salsa

Preparation:

Saute sweet potatoes until tender. If they start to stick, add a little water. Add black beans, onion, cumin, cinnamon, salt; cook until heated through. (Last time I added a little brown sugar too which was tasty-of course!;)

Divide bean mixture & cheese among tortillas and roll up. Place in a 9x13 pan. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20-25 min.

Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or avacado. Also great with rice and corn on the cob!

Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

A Camping We Will go....


For several months, we've been planning a camping trip with the Newmans, some good friends of ours from the Rolla days.  (David had structural classes with both Annie and Nathan.) As October approached, and the cool crisp evenings lingered, we became more and more excited for our little excursion. We originally looked at camp grounds outside of STL then decided to stay closer to home and head to Babler.  Well, apparently LOTS of other people had the same idea, it was a gorgeous autumn weekend.  When we showed up at the State Park to stake out a site Friday afternoon, the sign very cleary said "No Vacancy." What?! Our car was loaded down with food, a tent, bedding, and a gazillion other supplies needed for a weekend away.  We drove around to look, just to make sure. Then David checked with the camp host and sure enough, NO room. Just peachy. What to do? The other place we were looking into was booked to, of course. We had to go somewhere and there was no way we were going back home. So, we ended up....
In my parents backyard! haha so fun! Yes, we camped out in the great Wildwood-complete with the lovely comfort of indoor plumbing.  The Newmans met us there and we sat up camp like normal, enjoying David's ever famous foil dinners for our meal (hamburger, potatoes, onions, and carrots cooked on the fire) and of course, s'mores for dessert. I think it was quieter and more private than a campsite would have been.  It was gorgeous weather and nice and cozy in our tent that night (I had two layers of matress pads for us to sleep on from my parents basement-nice!) Blaise seemed to enjoy the outing as well- Mimi bought him a fuzzy bear sleeper to wear at night. Bummer, I don't have a pic;( he was adorable in it. 

A bonus, Blaise got to play with Mimi in the morning while everyone slept in, and momma got a fresh fruit smoothie, yum!
Saturday, after everyone awoke, we made Nathan's speciality, pigs in a blanket (cooking biscuits on a stick and mini sausages over the fire.) Later we went to Rockwood Reservations for a picnic and a beautiful hike. Blaise enjoyed the ride on daddy in his Ergo and eating for the first time in the woods. 

Annie and Nathan are expecting their first baby in early March. This is a picture of Nathan  holding Blaise-his first time ever to hold a baby. Good job, Nathan! 

It was a great weekend away with friends, enjoying God's beautiful creation. I think I'm pretty thankful that the campgroud was full-my old backyard was just perfect! Thanks for hosting us, mom and dad! :)