My Oma's Spaetzle and Goulash

This is the real-deal, authentic German Spaetzle and Goulash recipe: DELICIOUS!

Of course you'll need to pick up one of these bad boys to make it: Don't waste your money on a plastic one, it will break. There are other methods, but this is the best and easiest way. Hey! It’s how my grandmother always did it.

Spaetzle

Ingredients

         *4 cups all-purpose flour
         *3 eggs
         *1 teaspoon salt
         *3/4 cup water or milk

Directions

1. In large bowl, combine flour, eggs and salt. Add water/milk a little at a time to form a soft dough.
2. Boil 2 quarts of water in a large pot.
3. Put dough in holder of spaetzle press, then squeeze press handles, pushing noodles out and into the water.
4. When noodles float to the top of the water, they are done (3 to 4 minutes).
5. Remove from water with slotted spoon and place on platter lined with paper towels. Serve as a side or main dish.

You do want your dough to be relatively stiff, so that your noodles hold their shape well. If your dough is too watery, the noodles will become more of a congealed mass than anything else. I will admit, it will be tough to push the dough through the press. Matt likes the noodles to be very noodly {is that a word?}, so the deal is I make the dough and he presses it.

Crumble-ies

These are what make the spaetzle in my opinion. We always have crumble-ies on our spaetzle {sometimes on our broccoli too!} Take a decent amount of butter {a couple of tablespoons} and some bread crumbs, melt them together in a pot until they’re browned and pour them over the top.

Goulash

Ingredients

          * Stew beef (approximately 2-3 lbs, depending on how many people you're feeding)
          * 1 can tomato paste-optional (small size)
          * Flour (approx 1/4 cup)
          * Salt and Pepper (to taste)
          * 3 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like garlic)

Directions

1. In large bowl, combine flour, salt and pepper Dredge all pieces of stew beef until well-coated with flour mixture.
2. In a large pan heat olive oil, and brown garlic.
3. Cooking as many as will fit at a time, brown all the pieces of stew beef.
4. Place all browned beef in large pot, fill with just enough water to cover meet, put on lid, and allow to slow cook for several hours, being sure to stir and scrape bottom frequently (crock pot works great for this).
5. Add in your tomato paste (this is optional). Mix well. Allow to continue to cook.
6. About an our before it’s ready to be served I throw in my carrots. If there isn’t enough “sauce” to actually cook the carrots in I will cook them in a separate pot and then toss them in at the end.
7. When the meat is sufficiently tender (I let mine cook all day), you should be able to break the chunks into smaller bites with a fork. It's ready to serve!
   

   

This is one of those things that tastes even better the next day....so feel free to make it ahead of time, just add extra water when you're re-heating it. The finished product should have the consistency of a thick gravy. Enjoy!

Maple Glazed Squash

Take an acorn (they're green and look like a big acorn nut) or a butternut (they're orange-y and are kind of bell shaped) squash and cut it long-wise (from top to bottom). Scoop the seeds (aka "guts") out of the squash and do whatever you would like with it (some people will take the seeds out and roast them or save them for next year's garden).

In the belly of the squash (where you scooped the seeds out of) put a 1tsp of butter, a sprinkle of brown sugar, and a good dollop of maple syrup (there is NO WRONG WAY to do this...it's entirely up to you and the flavor you want, also how many extra calories you want to add).

Place the squash halves on a cookie sheet (you might want to line it with foil or parchment to make your clean up easier) and bake for about 45-50 minutes on 375*. Depending on the size of the squash it could take longer (or shorter). You want the squash to be soft and to be able to scrape it out of the shell. Voila! It's done!

I usually figure a 1/2 an acorn per person, and depending on the size of the butternut squash a 1/4 per person.

Apple {or Pear} Galette

This is a wonderful apple recipe (we love apples!): The carmelizing of the apples prior to baking them gives such a rich flavor! You can substitute pears for the apples to give it a whole different taste.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1/4 lb.) plus 2 tablespoons cold butter
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten
1/2 cup walnuts
2 pounds tart apples (3 to 5), such as Pink Lady or Granny Smith
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg, beaten to blend with 1 tablespoon water

1. In a food processor or large bowl, combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Cut 1/2 cup butter into pieces and add to flour mixture; pulse motor, cut in with a pastry blender, or rub in with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal. With motor running (or stirring with a fork after each addition), add egg yolk and 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water, 1 tablespoon at a time; process or stir just until mixture comes together in a ball. Form dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill until firm but still pliable, about 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, spread walnuts in a baking pan and bake in a 375° oven until barely golden under skins, 6 to 8 minutes (leave oven on). Coarsely chop nuts.

3. Peel and core apples; cut each into eight wedges. In a 10- to 12-inch nonstick frying pan over medium heat, melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. When it's foamy, add apples and stir often until slightly softened and brown at edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle brown sugar and nutmeg over fruit and stir until liquid is syrupy and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir in walnuts. Remove from heat.

4. Unwrap dough. On a lightly floured surface, with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll into a round about 15 inches in diameter. Line a 12- by 15-inch baking sheet with cooking parchment (or butter the sheet well) and carefully transfer dough round to sheet (edges will hang over sheet).

5. Pour apple mixture onto center of pastry, mounding wedges in a circle about 8 inches wide and 2 inches high. Gently fold edges of dough over apples, pleating as you go, leaving an opening about 4 inches wide in the center. Brush pastry all over with beaten egg.

6. Bake in 375° oven until pastry is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced, 40 to 45 minutes (35 to 40 in a convection oven). Transfer galette (with parchment, if using) to a wire rack to cool. Transfer to a large plate, gently pulling parchment from under tart. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.

Sloppy Joes with Honey Whole Wheat Rolls

Love the way that just flows off the tongue!

We haven't had sloppy joes in a long time, I thought today was a good day to have them! Also, I've never followed a recipe to make them...but this time I did write things down to share with you. However, just kind of add stuff until you like how it tastes...that's pretty much what I do.

Here is my recipe for Sloppy Joes:
1lb ground beef
3 cloves garlic minced (or however many you would like to add)
1 medium onion chopped
2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pepper
1-1 1/2 cups ketchup (if using regular ketchup, as opposed to no salt, decrease your salt)
2-3 cups water

Cook onions and garlic in pan with a little bit of olive oil.
Add in ground beef and cook until done. Drain off grease.
Add in ketchup and water. It should be rather soupy looking.
Reduce heat and simmer until the consistency you would like.
Flavor with additional salt, pepper, and garlic powder to your flavor.


Honey Whole Wheat Rolls
1 cup warm water (110-115*)
3 cups flour (I used a mix of 1 cup hi-gluten flour (such as Sir Lancelot) and 2 cups whole wheat flour and out bran)
1 tbsp honey
2 teaspoon dried milk
2 teaspoon yeast
2 teaspoon salt

Combine ingredients and either mix by hand or kneading hook. Place dough in lightly buttered bowl, allow to rise until slightly less than double.
Tear fistfuls of dough and knead into balls, slightly smaller than a tennis ball.
Place 2" apart in greased pan. Allow to rise again until double
Bake at 350* for 30 minutes...or until golden brown.

Split rolls in half, top with sloppy joe meat and your choice of shredded cheese (pepper jack is our choice) and serve!

ENJOY!

Stuffed Chicken Breast

Very easy to make: Pound the chicken breasts until thin, mix however much ricotta, mozzarella, and garlic you like together, spread on the chicken breast, top with tomato and spinach, roll up, place in dish seam down, bake until cooked through (about 45 minutes at 375*)...voila!

Orange Cranberry Scones

I bought these originally as a mix from King Arthur Flour, but it's a bit pricey and they were just so yummy. One of the great things about King Arthur Flour is that they have a lot recipes on their website...and everything I have tried is delicious!

• 1 3/4 cups King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice, optional
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, very cold, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 1 tablespoon orange juice
• 1 large egg
• the grated peel of 1 medium-to-large orange OR 1/2 teaspoon orange oil

• 7 ounces King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 1/4 ounces sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice, optional
• 2 1/2 ounces unsalted butter, chilled, cut into pieces
• 2 ounces dried cranberries
• 2 5/8 ounces half and half
• 1/2 ounce orange juice
• 1 large egg
• the grated peel of 1 medium-to-large orange OR 1/2 teaspoon orange oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) a baking sheet.

1) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, then add the butter, rubbing it in till the mixture resembles coarse meal.

2) Stir in the cranberries.

3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the half and half, orange juice, egg, and orange peel or oil. Add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir till the dough just comes together.

4) Transfer the dough to a thoroughly floured work surface, knead it a couple of times, and shape it into a 1/2"-thick round, about 8" across.

5) Transfer the round to the prepared baking sheet. Brush with milk, and sprinkle with coarse white sugar, if desired.

6) Cut the round in 10 wedges. Separate the wedges slightly. Just as with the biscuit recipe, it's best to let them rest for 15 minutes in the freezer before baking.

7) Bake the scones for about 15 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and serve immediately.

Tips from our bakers

• Scones are like biscuits—tender, soft, and best made with as little handling as possible. Once you add the liquid to the scone's dry ingredients, stir VERY briefly; just till everything is moistened. Pat the dough out gently, cut, and bake.
• Don't like whole wheat? Make these scones with King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour instead.

Fudge Brownies

When I was a kid I was always trying to make brownies from scratch and they usually came out gritty, so I gave up and for the past 15 years have used box mixes for brownies. Then I got brave. Someone suggested King Arthur's recipe for Fudge Brownies....I'm never going back to a box mix again!

Fudgy, cakey, fudgy, cakey... can't make up your mind? If you're looking for a brownie that's right in between those two styles, you've found it. These brownies combine a fudge brownie's ultra-moist texture with a subtle cake-like rise, for the best of both worlds.

Our guarantee: These brownies, deep chocolate brown inside with a lighter-colored top crust, will be about 3/4" to 1" tall when cut. They'll be ultra-moist without crossing the line into gooey/underbaked.

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-process cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups chocolate chips

• 8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 15 3/4 ounces sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 3 3/4 ounces Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa or Dutch-Process Cocoa
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 6 1/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 12 ounces chocolate chips

Directions

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan

2) In a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl, or in a saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter, then add the sugar and stir to combine. Return the mixture to the heat (or microwave) briefly, just until it's hot (about 110°F to 120°F), but not bubbling; it'll become shiny looking as you stir it. Heating this mixture a second time will dissolve more of the sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.

3) While the sugar heats a second time, crack the 4 eggs into a bowl, and beat them with the cocoa, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla till smooth.

4) Add the hot butter/sugar mixture, stirring until smooth.

5) Add the flour and chips, again stirring until smooth. Note: If you want the chips to remain intact in the baked brownies, rather than melting in, let the batter cool in the bowl for about 20 minutes before stirring in the chips.

6) Spoon the batter into a lightly greased 9" x 13" pan.

7) Bake the brownies for about 30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The brownies should feel set on the edges, and the center should look very moist, but not uncooked. Remove them from the oven and cool on a rack before cutting and serving.

Swedish Creme

This is one of Matt's favorite recipes that I've gotten from his mom. It's great to use up sour cream if you have it (for some reason we always end up with 1/2 used containers of sour cream hiding in the fridge).

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (1 tablespoon if you got your gelatin from The Market Place)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups sour cream
1 cup fresh raspberries or strawberries

Combine cream and 1 cup sugar in saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over low heat until candy thermometer reads 160* or steam rises off from pan (DO NOT BOIL!). Stir in gelatin until dissolved, add extracts. Cool 10 minutes. Whisk in sour cream. Pour into eight dessert bowls. Chill 1h our. Spoon fruit over before serving.

Enjoy!

"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six." Yogi Berra

There used to be this little pizzeria in the town where I worked....they made the absolute best pizza....the crust was thin, chewy, and yet crusty, the sauce was perfect...with just a little bit of a spice to it, and the cheese....I love cheese.

They closed down about a year ago. The building they were renting was getting demolished and that was the end of it. I've been lost without it. I love pizza....if I had to choose one of the things (food-wise) that I could not live without, it would be pizza.

A while back we subscribed to Cook's Illustrated for the artwork....if you've never seen the magazine...check it out! They have beautiful illustrations of food. We are planning on framing a bunch of the back covers (which are cheeses, spices, sausage, herbs etc) and hanging them in the store. This past issue there was a recipe for Thin Crust Pizza. I put it aside, planning on trying it.

It took me a while, but I finally got around to it. The thing is...the dough needs to be made 24 hours ahead of time and quite frankly I don't always think that far ahead about dinner. Yesterday I did. And tonight we had pizza.

One word: YUM! This was, by far, the BEST pizza I've ever made...and may just be the best pizza I've ever had (the sauce wasn't quite right, in my opinion). The crust was fantastic: The flavor and texture and everything was there!

There are really no words to describe what kind of an experience this was....just make it yourself and find out!

Here's the recipe ....It's worth trying it!

Ratatouille

One of our favorite movies is "Ratatouille": The story of a rat who arrives in Paris and voila! a chef is born. Great family movie....it's filled with laughs, a good message, and great looking food. Every time we watch this movie we say "We should make ratatouille sometime". Well we finally did!

One of our family New Year's resolutions was to pick out 12 new recipes and try one each month: Ratatouille was January's experiment.

I kept finding a variety of different recipes for ratatouille....all of them completely different from the next. I found one from Julia Childs that sounded really good, but it was made only with eggplant. I could have sworn I saw some sort of squash in the one from the movie. I kept searching and finally I found it: Remy's Ratatouille Recipe.

Delicious! And surprisingly easy to make. It could be even easier if you just use a delicious pasta sauce as your piperade rather than making your own sauce from scratch. I also recommend using fresh garlic....I used bought minced garlic and it just didn't have the flavor intensity that it should have. I did alter the piperade, because I didn't have peppers...I just increased my tomatoes. Also, I used a summer squash, a yellow squash, and an Italian eggplant.

What surprised me the most about this dish is that there was no cheese in it! I kept rereading the recipe thinking that I must have missed it, but I didn't. I think, if nothing else, I would probably sprinkle some Parmesan (fresh grated if you have it) over the top in the last 30 minutes of baking. I think it would just give it a little bit extra.

When I first read this recipe I just kept thinking this is an intense recipe, but really it's the cooking time that's intense...not so much the actual prep work. Another great trick to this would be to lay some chicken breasts in the bottom of the pan, then put your piperade on that and continue the recipe. I had a roast chicken from our store, that I took the breast off of and served that on the side with a bit of the piperade on top.

We'll definitely be adding this one to our new family favorites!

Curry Chicken Salad (or at least that's what I call it)

I've realized I haven't done a food post in a very, VERY long time...like I can't remember when the last one was. I decided it was high time and knew just the thing to showcase: Curry Chicken Salad. This is one of my all time favorite summer dinners. It's quick, easy, delicious, and awesome as leftovers for lunch the next day.

I got this recipe at a Pam.pered Chef party about 5 years ago. I honestly don't remember what the precise recipe was, but I've made do for this long.

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Chopped Apples
Craisins (dried cranberries)
Red Onion
Peppers (if you like them...I don't use peppers because peppers don't like me)
Whatever other things you like in salad.
Ranch Dressing (store bought is fine)
Lemon Juice
5 cloves of Garlic (more or less depending on your preferences
Curry Powder
2 Chicken Breasts


*Wash and chop all of your salad ingredients and throw them in a bowl (make sure it's a big bowl, so that you can toss all the ingredients together). Put aside

*Cook your chicken: I don't add any seasoning to the chicken breast. You can cook it on the grill, oven/broiler, stove top, whatever (just not the microwave).


*While the chicken cooks take your bottle of ranch dressing and dump the ENTIRE contents (if it's a regular size bottle) into a high sided bowl (I use my pyrex measuring cup).

*Add 1 tbsp of lemon juice to dressing.

*Using a garlic press squeeze however much garlic you want into the dressing.

*Pour however much curry powder you want into the dressing (curry is a spicy-spice). The dressing should be taking on a slightly golden look with little flecks from the curry powder and clumps of the garlic...sort of like this...
~I always do this part in increments...you can always add more. I'd rather keep adding to get the flavor I want than taste it and have it be WAY too spicy.

*By now your chicken breasts should be done. I rough cut them and allow the breasts to cool, the best way to do this is put them in the fridge (especially if you need them in 10 minutes for dinner).

*Toss your chopped/shredded chicken breast with a little bit of the salad dressing (enough to give it a good coating).

*Slowly add in your salad greens and other fruits/veggies (I never used fruits in salads before this recipe, but MAN are they delicious!)

*Toss the chicken with the salad, then slowly add as much (or as little) of the dressing as you want. If you're someone who likes their salad SMOTHERED in dressing, by all means, but if you prefer to actually taste some of the salad and not JUST dressing do that.

And there, my friends, you have it: Curry Chicken Salad! Another great way to serve this is to put it in a tortilla or lettuce wrap....that's what I plan on doing for lunch tomorrow: Mange!

Orange Marmalade

Most of my day was spent in the kitchen making marmalade. I've never liked marmalade until I had it in Scotland and Ireland: American marmalade is always more bitter, across the pond it's more of a sweet flavor...much more palatable.

I follow two recipes and take a bit of each one. One is from Sure-Jel and the other is from http://www.pickyourown.org/marmalade.php.

8-9 Oranges
2 Lemons
1 Pack Sure Jel
4 cups of Sugar
8-10 8oz jars and lids

Use a vegetable to peel all oranges and lemons. Be sure to keep the colored part. Peel the fruit as you would normally for eating (removing the pith).

Pull fruit apart, removing any seeds and thick skin.

Chop fruit. Be sure to do this in a tray of some sort (I used a cutting board placed inside of a cookie sheet), you want to collect all of the juice to use in the marmalade. Put all of this aside.

Take the peels and chop them up into small pieces. The best method of doing this is a food processor. It takes a long time to do this by hand.

Pour 1/2 of the chopped peels (more or less depending on how bitter or sweet you want it), 2 1/2 c water, and 1/8tsp of baking soda. Bring to boil for 20 minutes.

Measure chopped fruit and juice. You should have about 5-6 cups of fruit and juice: Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Add in 4 cups of sugar and 1 packet of pectin mixed into 1 cup of additional orange juice (add to pot). Let boil for an additional 10 minutes, a full rolling boiling.

Prepare jars for canning.

Remove jars from water and place on work surface and fill within a 1/4" of the top. Cover with lids and place back in pot of water. Allow to boil for 10 minutes. Remove immediately from pot, twisting lids tighter, and inverting on counter. Allow to cool completely. Jam will take up to two weeks to set up.

Enjoy!

As promised...Cheddar Biscuits

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp ice cold butter chopped fine
2/3 cup milk
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional: Sprinkle on top or mix in with wet ingredients)
Heat oven to 450*

Directions
Sift dry ingredients together (You can use a fine mesh colander for this if you don't have a sifter).
Cut in ice cold butter. Add milk and eggs. Stir until just combined, butter can be lumpy.

Flour work surface and transfer sticky dough to work surface. Flour hands and pat dough until desired thickness (I do mine about 1/2" think). Using a VERY sharp biscuit cutter or a sharp knife, cut biscuits. Place on buttered cookie sheet (or other surface).

Brush tops of biscuits with melted butter. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Bake 15 minutes or until tops are golden. Serve warm with butter.

KEY TRICKS!
*Butter must be FREEZING COLD! If it isn't the biscuits won't be as flaky.
*DON'T over mix!
*Cut biscuits with a VERY SHARP tool: If you don't they won't rise properly.

Oat-Rageous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last Friday I baked! For the first time in over a month. My sister had gotten this recipe from a friend at work and they are delicious!

Oat-Rageous Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter, vanilla and egg until well blended. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the batter just until moistened. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Drop by tablespoonfuls on to lightly greased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges start to brown. Cool on cookie sheets for about 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

DO NOT OVERBAKE THESE COOKIES! The more underbaked they are the better they will be!

Raspberry Cheescake Bars

I made these for my brother's birthday: They are delicious!

Ingredients
CRUST
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar (sometimes called icing or powdered)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cut into 12 pieces
RASPBERRY FILLING
1 lb cream cheese, SOFTENED
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup fresh raspberries or frozen raspberries, THAWED AND PATTED DRY WITH PAPER TOWELS
Directions
1)Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Adjust the oven rack to the bottom third of the oven. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with heavy duty aluminum foil, making sure that the foil is tucked into all the corners and that there is at least 1 inch over-hanging the top of the pan on all sides.

2)MAKE THE CRUST: Combine the flour, confectioners’ sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. With an electric mixer, mix on low speed to combine. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the ingredients just begin to come together in clumps. Sprinkle this mixture across the bottom of the baking pan and press it with your fingertips into an even layer. Place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes and then bake the crust until it is light golden, 20 to 22 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees, and let the crust cool until just warm to the touch.

3)MAKE THE FILLING: Combine the cream cheese and granulated sugar in a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the mixture until very smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat again until smooth.

4)Pour the filling on top of the warm crust. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Scatter the berries over the top of the filling. Bake at 325 degrees until the filling is just set in the center, 50 to 55 minutes. Let the pan cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate until the bars are completely chilled, at least 3 hours.

5)Grasping the overhanging foil on either side of the pan, lift the foil from the pan onto a cutting board. Cut 16 squares.

6)Raspberry Cheesecake Bars will keep in the refrigerator In an airtight container for up to 2 days. Makes 16 bars.

Operation Dinner ~ Sun Dried Tomato and Eggplant Pizza

I'm sure you're thinking: WHAT!? There is nothing better than eggplant (well, maybe spinach or broccoli) on pizza. Here it goes... I made a whole wheat crust...I don't follow a recipe for my bread doughs...
Topped it with olive oil, then mushroom tomato sauce.
Diced up some sun dried tomatoes.
I leeched my eggplant....this is very important, it's what removes the bitter taste from them.

To leech eggplant:
Slice/dice (whichever you prefer) your eggplant.
Salt each piece thoroughly and place between two papertowels.
Allow to sit for 10 minutes...pressing occasionally.
Rinse each piece of a dry thoroughly...now you can use it :-)
Covered the top of the pie with the sundried tomatoes, eggplant and mozzarella. Pop into a 500*+ oven for 10-15 minutes (until brown on bottom and tops is bubbly). Let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving...YUM!

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

Molasses Crinkle Cookies

¾ Cup Butter/Shortening
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 Egg
¼ Cup Molasses
2 ¼ Cup Flour
2 tsp Backing Soda
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Ginger
½ tsp Cloves
Cream first 4 ingredients, add dry ingredients. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Roll small balls in sugar. Heat oven to 350*, Bake 8-10 minutes. Yields: 4 doz.