Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars: Chopped Challenge - Animal Crackers

This is the first of the Chopped Challenge for the blog, and I think it turned out pretty well.  Animal Crackers were by no means a difficult ingredient, but I think it's nice to start out with baby steps.  The ingredients get harder and harder each season, so I'm sure there will be more interesting ones to come! These Animal Crackers worked out well though, and were perfect for a fall recipe.  I love cheesecake, but it can sometimes be boring.  Updating it with canned pumpkin was the perfect touch.  Did I mention that I topped it off with homemade whip cream and Bourbon Candied Pecans? Don't worry I have that recipe below too! I adapted this recipe from a blog I found called Grandma's Desserts.  Click the link to check out all her amazing recipes!

CRUST:
6 oz. Original Animal Crackers - about 1/2 of the bag
5 Tbs. Melted Butter
1/3 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Tsp.  Sugar

1.  Mix together all of the ingredients and press down into a greased brownie pan.  I don't like a lot of crust on my cheesecake, but I put about a 1/4 of an inch into the pan.

2.  Put the crust into the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes while you prep the rest of the ingredients.

FILLING:
3 8oz. Packages of cream cheese - softened
3/4 Cups Sugar
1 15oz. can of Pumpkin
2 Tbs. Flour
3/4 Tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
3/4 Tsp. Vanilla
2 Eggs - lightly beaten

1.  Cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the pumpkin, flour, spice, and vanilla.  Add the eggs and beat on low until combined.

2.  Pour over crust, and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until almost set.  It should wiggle just a little when you shake it.

3.  Refrigerate for 3+ hours before serving.

PECANS:
1/2 Cup+ Halved Pecans
1/2 Cup Sugar
2 Tbs. Burbon/Whiskey
1 Tsp. Coffee

1.  Over Medium-Low heat, pour the sugar into a pan.  Allow to heat for about 5 minutes.  Add in the bourbon and coffee and allow it to cook until melted.  The picture below shows most of the stages.

2.  Once the sugar mixture is melted completely, stir in the pecans and make sure they are coated completely.

3.  Pour onto a baking dish covered in parchment and allow to cool.

4.  When ready to serve your cheesecake, chop up some of the candied pecans and enjoy!

** I always LOVE whipped cream, so I've included that recipe as well ***

WHIP:
8oz. Heavy Cream
1/4 Cup Confectioners Sugar
1/4 Tsp.  Vanilla

1.  Whip until well blended and somewhat stiff.  Do not over whip the mixture or it will begin turning into butter!

It's the Little Things: Warm and Fuzzy!

Last week I skipped It's the Little Things post since Blake and I left for Pittsburgh for the weekend.  His cousin was nice enough to send us home with Blake's favorite beer, Yuengling, which I must say I also find delicious.  As an added bonus, I am also pretty stoked that the Tigers are going to the World Series!

There is nothing better than sitting on my couch with a brand new warm fuzzy sweatshirt.  I also love spending an evening at the sporting goods store with my hubby to do some shopping, followed up by a nice weekend dinner together. 

There is nothing I love more than when its time to put the fleece sheets on our bed.  They are the most comfortable and warm things in the world, and if I could I would leave them on all year round.  However, my husband tends to be warm blooded and complains even in the middle of winter that our bed is too hot.  I truly have to take advantage of the fact that it is getting cold and soak up every minute I can with these blankets. 

Potato Leek Soup

I guess I am on a bit of a soup kick.  This chilly weather and the easiness of just throwing a bunch of things together and leaving it on the stove is very appealing.  As the days get shorter, I have less and less motivation to do anything after work, so these soups are perfect.  Potato soup is very easy and you only need a handful of ingredients.  Of course I topped my soup off with some crispy pieces of bacon and it was the perfect compliment to the smooth texture of the soup.  This is definitely one of those meals that will get better as it sits in the fridge, so feel free to make extra.  The recipe below made quite a bit, but I know Blake and I will devour it all week.

P.S. Did I mention how perfect a nice cold glass of beer is for this meal? With the Tigers playing tonight, I had to give them a small shout out!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Lg Onion - diced
2 Carrots - diced
1 Leek - sliced
1-2 lbs. Yukon Gold Potatoes- diced
1 Lg. container Chicken or Veggie Stock
8 oz. Heavy Cream
1 Small bag Shredded Parmesan 
Salt and Pepper to taste
Bacon for topping

1.  Begin by cleaning the Leek.  You want to only use the white and light green part, so cut the top leaves off and discard them. Leeks tend to be very dirty since they have tons of crevices to catch dirt, so you will need to make sure you rinse them thoroughly.  After you cut the top leaves off, slice off the root and then cut the leek down the middle.  Rinse out each half, making sure to remove as much excess dirt as possible.

2.  Dice the onions and carrots and add to a pot with about 2 tbs. butter or oil.  Allow them to saute for a few minutes before adding the leeks.  After slicing the leeks (thinly), add them to the pot as well and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3.  Allow the mixture to saute and become soft.  Once the veggie mixture has softened; add the diced potatoes.  When cutting the potatoes, make sure to cut them into bite size pieces.  You want them to easily fit onto a spoon.

4.  Fill the pot with the entire container of chicken stock.  It should just cover the potatoes.  Allow the soup to come to a boil until the potatoes are soft.  Once the potatoes are done cooking mash them up a bit with the back of your spoon to create some smoothness to the mixture.

5.  Add in 8 ounces of heavy cream, and allow the soup to simmer over low heat for 15-20 more minutes.  Before serving, stir in the bag of Parmesan cheese.  Taste the soup to determine if more salt and pepper is needed.  The Parmesan cheese tends to be quite salty, so make sure that you taste before you over salt your soup.

6.  Top with crispy bacon and some olive oil or more cheese and enjoy!

Spicy Corn Chowder

VEGETARIANS BEWARE!!!!! Although Corn Chowder is usually known for being vegetarian, this recipe is definitely not.  You could most definitely adapt it though if you'd prefer to not enjoy all the delicious meat juices... 

I let this Corn Chowder simmer on low heat for the entire day to make sure it had the greatest taste possible.  I also added sausage to give it a bit more depth, and to throw in an extra twist, I used Japanese hot pepper paste to give it a kick.  

INGREDIENTS: 
2 bags frozen sweet corn 
1 large box stock - veggie or chicken will work 
16 oz. heavy cream 
1 fresh Italian sausage - casing taken off
1/2 large sweet onion - diced (save extra for topping) 
1/2 large red pepper - diced (save extra for topping) 
1/2 large orange pepper - diced (save extra for topping) 
1 large jalapeno - minced (save extra for topping) 
2 Medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes - cubed, but not peeled
butter
salt and pepper to taste 

Roux: 
2 Tbs. butter 
2 Tbs. flour 
1 Cup heated milk 
** melt the butter over medium high heat.  Stir in the flour and cook for about a minute.  Add in the heated milk and whisk to remove lumps.  Add to soup when needed to help thicken.

1.  Begin by cooking the sausage over medium-high heat in a large soup pot.  Add 1 tbs. butter to help the cooking process along.  My sausage didn't have enough fat, so I needed to add the butter.  once the sausage is close to being done, add in the diced onion, red peppers, orange peppers, and minced jalapeno.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to help the veggies sweat.  

2.   Add in the corn and allow  the kernels to cook for about 3 minutes.  Add the stock and heavy cream and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down to medium and allow the soup to cook at this temperature for about 20 minutes.  Add salt and pepper as needed!

3.  Once the 20 minutes has finished, add in the roux**  and stir to ensure there are no lumps.  Turn the heat down to low and allow the soup to simmer for as many hours as you have.  

4. About an hour before you are ready to serve, add in the cubed potatoes.  I cut mine so they were pretty tiny.  That way they cook quick and fit perfectly into each bite. Then, shortly before you are ready to serve the soup, add in 1 tbs. hot pepper paste.  If you don't have that, feel free to use a different hot sauce that yo do have.  Start slow and add it in until you get the heat that you like. 

5.  Top with left over peppers, onions, and jalapenos.  If you are really outgoing, you could make deep fried tortilla strips or something of the like, which would also be an amazing touch. 

It's the Little Things

One of my favorite Bloggers, Hello Hue hosts a "It's the Little Things" linkup, where you post about anything that you are thankful for or makes you smile that week!  I decided I had many things to be thankful for and happy about, so below you'll see all the things I loved this fall week! She's taken a break for awhile due to the newest addition to her family, but  if you want to join in, feel free to click the link above to be redirected to Hello Hue's website and check out the rules!

It's that time again ... fall is officially here! I finally got rid of all the old and dead summer flowers on our patio and replaced them with bright vibrant Mums.  They are the perfect fall flower and so easy to take care of.  

  Nothing says fall like the smell of "pumpkin harvest" or "spiced cider" candles.  Blake and I are both suckers for candles.  I don't think we can get enough!

Something about slippers is so comforting.  I hate being cold, so once the temps dip below 70, these bad boys are on 24/7.

Corn chowder cooking on the stove on a brisk fall day... ahhhhhhhhh.....

And of course these two.  I am thankful for all the work my husband did this week in preparation for buying a home, and my kitty who is always there to greet me at the front door, even if I only leave for a minute. 

Loaded Baked Sweet Potato

To say it's been awhile since I've cooked, would be an understatement.  To be honest, I just haven't felt like doing anything.  I've also been a bit uninspired.  I think the new fall weather will definitely bring some new and necessary inspiration, and I'm looking forward to it. 

Blake and I are officially in love with sweet potatoes, which most of you already know.  Anyone that says they don't like them, just hasn't had them the right way.  I love adding a little bit of sweetness, but I'm not looking to eat something that tastes like pumpkin pie.  Instead of using plain old sugar,  I wanted to use other items that could play up the sweetness of the potato.  That's why I added a heaping spoonful of slow cooked caramelized onions on top, right before serving it.  Of course, a loaded baked potato is not the same without bacon, and either is one of my recipes. 

After eating this, Blake suggested a little tab of cinnamon honey butter might be the thing that would take this recipe off the charts.  I can't say I disagree.  I served this along side a grilled Filet Mignon served on top of cream cheesy Polenta and topped with homemade herb garlic butter.  Needless to say, we are full. 

INGREDIENTS:
2 Small Sweet Potatoes - attempt to get ones that are generally the same size around
1/2 Sweet Onion
3-4 Slices Bacon - cook ahead of time
2 Tbs. Olive Oil or Butter
1 Tbs. Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbs. Sugar
2 tabs of butter for serving
salt and pepper to taste

1.  Slice or dice the onions depending on preference.  In a medium sized pan heat the butter or oil and begin sauteing.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to assist in the process.  Allow the onions to sweat for a few minutes and then add the balsamic vinegar and sugar.  Turn the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer while you continue cooking the rest of your meal.

2.  Then, wash the sweet potatoes but do not dry them.  Wrap each sweet potato in Saran Wrap tightly and microwave separately for 5 minutes.  The potatoes are ready when they are squishy to the touch.  If they are still hard in some parts, turn the potato over and microwave for a couple more minutes. 

**  This is much faster than baking them in the oven... not to mention we were out of foil, so this was really the only option.  Creativity is the key when cooking! The Saran Wrap acts as a steaming bag and cooks the potatoes super fast!

3.  Cut a slit in the top of the potato and place a small tab of butter inside.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with onions, bacon, and parsley for decoration.