Cherry Cheesecake

1 unbaked pie crust plus extra pie dough for lattice top
1/2 cup sugar
1TBSP cornstarch
2 bricks (8 oz each) 1/3 less fat cream cheese (Neufchatel), softened
1 large egg
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
White from 1 large egg, in a small bowl
1/3 cup sliced almonds

1. Heat oven to 350. Have a 9 inch pie plate ready.
2. Fit 1 crust into pie plate. Cut remaining dough in 1/2 inch wide strips. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate.
3. Mix sugar and cornstarch in a medium bowl. Add cream cheese; beat with mixer on medium speed until smooth. On low speed, beat in egg and extract until just blended.
4. Spread batter evenly in crust; spoon pie filling evenly over top. Beat egg white with a fork until foamy. Brush on pastry strips. Arrange about 4-5 strips evenly spaced across pie filling. Place 4-5 more strips diagonally over first strips to form a lattice (discard remaining stips). (I only use about 4 across each way.) Trim and press ends to bottom crust. Brush rim with egg white; press on almonds.
5. Bake 50 to 60 minutes until crust is golden brown and cherries bubble. Remove to a wire rack to cool. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold. Serves 12
Per serving; 360 cal, 6 g pro, 40 g car, 0 g fiber, 19 g fat (9 g sat fat), 51 mg chol, 305 mg sod.

Savory Pancakes

This is one of my favorites. It is easy, healthy and tasty. I often add sweet potatoes (yams) instead of zuchinni. If you usually use a premade pancake mix just use it and add the veggies.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
	1/2 cup flour
	1/2 teaspoon baking powder
	1/2 teaspoon salt
	1/4 teaspoon pepper
	1 egg
	1/4 cup milk
	1 cup grated carrots
	1 cup grated zucchini
	2 small scallions, diced
	Vegetable oil
	Sour cream and salsa (optional)

1. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and milk, then stir in the carrots, zucchini, and scallions. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture and combine thoroughly.
3. Place a large skillet over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of oil. When the oil is hot, spoon the batter into the pan, about 1/3 cup per pancake, and cook the pancakes for 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Add more oil to the pan as needed.
4. Remove the pancakes from the pan. Once they're cool enough to touch, roll them up and use a toothpick to secure each one if needed.
5. Serve the pancakes warm with a side of sour cream and salsa, if desired. Makes 5 rolls.

Easy Caramel Apples

We have started a tradition of making carmel apples each fall with Jake's grandparents. They really enjoy them and it is a nice activity to do while we visit with them.

I found this recipe to make homemade carmel apples and it is easier than buying and unwrapping carmels. Plus it is yummy.

1 cup butter (no substitutes)
2 cups packed brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
8-10 wooden sticks
8-10 medium tart apples

Melt butter in large microwave bowl. Add brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Stir well. Microwave 3 minutes, Stir, microwave another 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Insert wooden sticks into the apples. Dip each apple into hot caramel mixture; turn to coat. Set on buttered plate to cool.

You can also use this recipe to make homemade carmels just pour the cooked carmel into a greased pan and let it set up an hour in the fridge.

Apples and Brussel Sprouts

When we first got married, I was surprised to learn that one of Ryan's favorite vegetables is brussel sprouts. I was surprised that anyone actually ate them. After a few years I found a recipe that I liked. I recently found a good way to simplify it. So, I thought that someone might like a change up in their autumn vegetable courses.

6 brussel frozen sprouts per each person, roughly chopped
1 slice of bacon
1 shallot or green onion or red onion diced fine (about 2 tablespoons total)
1 - 2 apples cored, but not peeled, diced finely (about the same amount of apples as brussel sprouts)
2 tablespoons chicken stock
1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper

Heat the bacon to render the fat. Add the shallot/onion and saute until browned. Add the apple and saute 2 more minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts and saute for another minute and then add the chicken stock and vinegar. Continue cooking until the Brussel sprouts are tender (about 5 minutes). Taste for seasoning, depending on the saltiness of the bacon you may need more salt.

Note: The bacon/onion/stock/vinegar amounts are based on a recipe for 2 people. If you make it for 6, you'll probably want to think about adding more.

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cupcakes

I came across this recipe just this year. We put a little candy corn on top after we frosted them! It was a fun festive treat.

1 1/2 C. cake flour
2/3 C. cocoa powder
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 C. plain lowfat yogurt
1 3/4 C. canned pumpkin (15 oz. can)
1 t. white vinegar
2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 C. unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 C. lightly-packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup mini chocolate chips
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners.
2. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt together; set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together the yogurt, pumpkin, vinegar, and vanilla extract, set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, and using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Alternately beat in the flour and pumpkin mixtures in thirds (for example, beat in 1/3 flour mixture followed by 1/3 pumpkin mixture and repeat until everything is combined). Fold in the mini chocolate chips.
4. Working quickly, spoon batter into cupcake cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Place cupcake pans in the center of the preheated 350 degree oven and bake approximately 25 minutes. Cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool pans on wire racks for 10 minutes then remove cupcakes from pans and let cool completely on the wire racks.
5. While cupcakes are cooling, prepare cream cheese frosting (recipe follows). When cupcakes are completely cool, spread with frosting.


Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. unsalted butter, softened
2 C. powdered sugar
1/4. t. vanilla extract
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. fresh ground nutmeg
In a medium bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. If frosting is too soft, chill in fridge for 15-20 minutes.

Spectacular Peach Pie

1 baked pie shell
4 sliced peaches
1 cup sugar
3 TBSP cornstarch
2 peaches, mashed
¼ cup lemon juice
2 TBSP butter
1 tsp vanilla or almond flavoring OR ½ tsp nutmeg

Peel and slice 4 peaches into baked pie crust. In a small pan combine sugar and cornstarch, stir well. Add mashed peaches and lemon juice and bring to a boil. When mixture thickens, remove from heat and add butter and flavoring. Pour over sliced peaches and cool until set (about 2-3 hours). Serve with whipped cream, refrigerate left over pie.

Ham Rolls

Here's a receipe Heather made for conference weekend that we really liked. It's from easyfoodstorage.blogspot.com.



HAM AND CHEESE ROLLS

One batch of bread recipe/ or 1 loaf rhodes frozen dough, thawed
8 oz. ham or turkey thinly sliced
1/2 lb. shredded cheese (Jarlsberg is our family's favorite, but cheddar or whatever you have works great!)

Mix together:
1/2 cup dijon mustard
2-3 Tblsp honey.

Roll out dough in a rectangle as you would for cinnamon rolls. Spread mustard-honey mixture on dough, leaving 1/2 inch along edges. Lay meat slices on dough and sprinkle with cheese. Roll up jelly-roll style. Slice into 10-12 equal slices with a sharp knife. Place in greased muffin tin (for gourmet look) or place on greased cookie sheet (for easier clean up, use Reynolds non-stick Release foil--then you don't even have to grease it!). Let rise until double, about 45 mins-1 hour. Bake 400 degrees for 10 minutes until light brown. They can be baked at a lower temperature, for a longer time, as you would a loaf of bread, just watch them carefully! Serve warm, or at room temperature. Great for a picnic!

Cooks Note: Due to the ingredients, these rolls must remain refrigerated after baking, until they are consumed. Often, I will wrap the leftovers in individual sandwich bags and freeze them. They will thaw in a lunchbox and be ready to eat while staying cool until lunchtime. Once thawed they can be warmed up in a microwave easily for 15-30 seconds, and re-melt the cheese all over again!


EZ Dough Recipe (Makes 1 loaf) - This is for sea level, if you live in high altitude you may need to adjust the yeast)
This recipe came in the recipe book from my first breadmaker. We loved it so much, always seemed to be successful, and it used all our food storage, so I quit trying to mess with other recipes. I use it to make my cinnamon rolls, cover a cookie sheet with it to make pizza, quick dinner rolls, scones, fry bread, breakfast pastry, ham and cheese rolls, and my santa bread at Christmas (um...don't worry, I've already asked her to send me the recipe and pictures for this).

EZ Dough White Bread Version
1 1/8 cups warm water
1 3/4 - 2 tsp active dry yeast
2 Tblsp sugar (you can use a little more sugar if you like your dough a little sweeter)
3 cups flour
1 Tblsp vital wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat dry milk
1 1/2 Tblsp butter/margarine or oil (My preference is the butter, but as long as you use the wheat gluten you can get away without adding any fat, by doubling the amount of wheat gluten to the recpie and omit the butter/oil.)

Add the ingredients in the order listed into a mixer bowl (like a kitchen-aid) with a dough hook attachment and mix on low for 10-12 minutes. Or mix it on the dough cycle in your bread machine. After all the mixing is complete, if the dough still seems too gooey and you are unable to handle it, add 1 Tblsp flour at a time, and mix after each addition until the dough is manageable with your hands.Let rise 45 mins -1 hour, punch down and use to make bread, cinnamon rolls, cookie sheet pizza, rolls, or anything else you can think of! Let rise after you have made your creation and bake according to the direction of the recipe you are making.If you are making it into bread, form into a loaf at this time, place in a loaf pan, let rise in a warm place 45 min -1 hour and bake 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped.If you are making this recipe in a bread machine. Follow your bread machine's directions and add the ingredients in the order listed in their recommendations.


EZ Dough Wheat Version
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 Tblsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup honey or 1/3 cup sugar
2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (or whatever combination white/wheat you like)+ 1/4 cup vital wheat gluten
1 tsp salt
2 Tblsp nonfat dry milk
1 Tblsp butter/margarine/oil

Mix ingredients in order listed in mixing bowl of mixer with dough hook attachment (like kitchen-aid) for 12-15 minutes. Let rise until double, 1- 1 1/2 hours. Punch down, and shape into loaf or rolls. Let rise again until double and bake 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes until golden brown and sounds hollow when lightly tapped. If you are making this recipe in a bread machine, follow your bread machine's directions for wheat or whole grain selection and add the ingredients in the order listed for their recommendations.