NO BAKE CHEESECAKE

This is a SUPER fluffy, delicious cheesecake recipe, and it's so easy. Luc and I make it in 20 minutes!

You'll need:
1 graham cracker pie crust (i always buy mine. feel free to make your own if you know how!)
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese (room temperature)
2 tsp lemon juice
1 pint heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup white sugar
any fruit sauce or topping you desire

In a medium bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the cream cheese (if it's cold, it's very hard to get a creamy texture) and lemon juice until soft. Add the whipping cream and beat until batter becomes thick and creamy. Add the sugar and continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (This takes a few minutes. Also, I always taste it right about now and make sure it's sweet enough. I usually have to add a pinch more sugar)

When your mixture is very thick and fluffy, spoon it into your graham cracker crust and spread evenly. Chill several hours or overnight (THIS IS IMPORTANT. It melts fast if you don't chill it. Overnight is best.)

Just before serving, top with whatever fruit or sauce you desire!

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

This is a Thanksgiving classic, but it's so delicious, we like to eat it year round!

You'll need:

about 30-36 oz frozen whole green beans
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 1/2 cups heavy cream or milk
1 container French's onions
Salt and pepper to taste

Thaw your green beans in a strainer under hot water. Let them sit to dry.

In a large bowl, mix your two cans of cream of mushroom soup, soy sauce, and heavy cream or milk. (NOTE: I've made this recipe with either one and it always turns out yummy. Milk is, of course, the healthier of the two options so I use it most often.) Mix these together until you have a smooth, creamy sauce. Add salt and pepper generously, and stir some more.

When your beans are dry and thawed, stir them into your sauce until they are all covered. Then dump them into a 9x13 glass dish and cover with tinfoil.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 min or until bubbly.

Remove from the oven and generously sprinkle French's onions on top, covering the entire dish. Leave the tinfoil off and bake for an additional 5-10 min or until onions are crispy and browning in places. Remove and EAT!


P.S. This is a really easy recipe to make smaller or bigger:
For every bag of frozen green beans, it's 1 can of soup, 1 TBSP of soy sauce, and 3/4 cup milk.

30 Minute Rolls

I found this recipe over at Real Mom Kitchen  and I am in love! Making any sort of bread (besides banana bread) terrifies me. I refuse to even attempt it half the time because I don't like failing.

Last Sunday I found this recipe and decided to brave it. Let me tell you, it is the easiest recipe ever! I didn't need to knead it, it only had to rise for 15 min, there was no rolling it out and cutting it, and I had fresh delicious dinner rolls in about 30 min.

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://realmomkitchen.com/20/30-minute-rolls/

The only thing I would do differently is to let the rolls cook a bit longer. They were still delicious but I'll let mine brown a bit more next time.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

We have an obsession with this soup at our house, we eat it at least twice a month during the winter. It is delicious, and extremely easy to make.

I'm posting two recipes because they are both delicious. The first is amazing but I don't always have all the ingredients on hand (I never have half and half,Velveeta, or fresh broccoli) so I have simplified the recipe so I can make it whenever we want.

Here is the link to the first recipe:

http://southerncolor.blogspot.com/2011/11/panera-broccoli-cheese-soup.html


Simplified Recipe:

Broccoli Cheese Soup
1/4 c Butter
1/2 chopped onion
1/4 flour
2 c chicken stock or broth
2-3 c Milk (depends on how much you're making)
1/2- 1 lb frozen broccoli
1/2 c chopped carrot (optional)
2 c cheddar cheese (or more if you like it extra cheesy)
Garlic Salt
Salt
Pepper

In a small saute pan cook onions and carrots in a little butter until tender.

In large pot: Melt 1/4 c butter. Add flour and stir until incorporated. Continue stirring and cooking flour and butter for a few min. Don't brown the flour.

Add chicken stock and milk to the butter/flour mixture. Add seasoning. Cook for about 5-10 min.

While base is cooking, de-frost broccoli in microwave or under warm water. If desire break broccoli pieces up into small bite size pieces.

Add onions, carrots, and broccoli to pot and cook for about 20 min.

Add cheese and stir until incorporated.

Taste, add more cheese and seasoning if desired.

Enjoy!

This recipe is easily adjustable to your taste buds. Add other seasonings if you want, add more cheese, add more milk to make it thinner. Play around with it and figure out what your family like! :) 

HOLIDAY HAM

Tis the season! You cannot mess this one up!

Cover the bottom of the crockpot with brown sugar. 
Place ham on top of the brown sugar and add pineapple tidbits with the juice. 
Cover that ham with the whole can of pineapple and juice! 
Sprinkle a few whole cloves in the crockpot too. 
Sprinkle ham with more brown sugar. Be generous!
Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours. 

Voila!

Queso Blanco Dip

via meg

I got this recipe from a BYU friend and we LOVE it! 

You can make it spicy or mild, and it's delicious either way.

Queso Blanco Dip

1 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup diced white onion (about half a small onion)
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
{i say leave all the seeds in, you'll need em for flavor unless you are using pepper jack.}
3/4 cup half and half {or milk, if you don't have it}
1 pound (16 oz.) white American cheese, thinly sliced or shredded
4 oz. Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack cheese, thinly sliced or shredded
2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
salt & white pepper to taste
{i like white pepper for things like this cause it's not harsh like black, and for the obvious reason of black specs in my pretty white dip...uncool}.

what to do:
heat up the oil in a large sauce pan on med-hi heat. add onion and jalapeno.  cook until pretty soft, and even a little carmelizedish. add half-n-half and reduce heat to low. layer your strips or shredded cheese gradually and keep it moving until all of the cheese is melted. add spinach, cilantro, and salt & white pepper to taste.  if you need more heat, add crushed red pepper, or even a few hits of tapatio.