White Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake

Okay, so I'm cheating a bit here because I haven't made this recently but it's NATIONAL CHEESECAKE DAY!! It would be sinful if I didn't post my favorite go-to cheesecake recipe on this holiday, and plus, it's my favorite dessert. Not only would it be sinful I didn't post this, but it's also sinful if YOU don't try the recipe. It's so sinfully delicious. I've said sinful five times so I really hope I'm getting through to you. This recipe is a winner even though the pictures don't do it justice. 

White Chocolate Oreo Cheesecake

Recipe adapted from Kraft 

Half packet of Oreo Cookies (approx. 15 cookies)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white chocolate chips, melted
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 lb. softened cream cheese, 16 ounces
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a food processor crumble Oreo cookies until finely ground. To make the crust, mix the cookie crumbs and melted butter together until evenly moistened. Press the cookie crust mixture into the bottom of a square pan until firmly packed. The oreo filling will also act as a binding agent to hold the crust together.

3. In a separate large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and the melted white chocolate and beat together. Add eggs in one at a time, and continue to beat slowly until combined.

4. Spread cheesecake mixture over crust and bake for approximately 25 minutes until cheesecake is firm in the center.

5. Let the cheesecake cool before putting it in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Tips:

You really can guesstimate with the amount of white chocolate you put in, but keep in mind the more chocolate you put in, the sweeter it will be. Now there are several ways you to tell if this cheesecake is done: 1) you stick a toothpick in the middle and see if it's firm. 2) the cheesecake should just be pulling away from the sides. 3) it should be nice and puffy! 4) if you see any cracks and it starting to brown, pull that sucker out! The cheesecake will firm up when you let it cool.  Also, make sure you bake your cheesecake in a SQUARE baking dish. The problem with using rectangular baking pans is that the center of the cheesecake doesn't fully cook through. Happy baking! :)

Momma's Mango Lassi

I actually made this a while ago, but I've been behind on updating all my recipes. For those of you have no idea what Mango Lassi is, it's a traditional Indian mango smoothie. It's deliciously creamy and is perfect for summer weather. My Mom is the one who taught me this recipe, and as ya'll know, Momma knows best!

And the best part about this drink is that it's embarrassingly easy to make with only three ingredients! (Four, if you count the additional sugar for taste.) Look down and you'll notice that this recipe only has 1 step. Can I get a hallelujah?

Mango Lassi

Makes 2 servings

1 sweet ripe mango, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup ice
1 tablespoon sugar (to taste)

1. Take the peeled, diced mango and puree in the blender. Add the rest of the ingredients until the all the ice is crushed and it's your desired consistency.

Tips:

If the lassi is too thick add some water and blend well. Also, if the mango is not naturally super sweet then add the additional tablespoon of sugar to the lassi.

Mini Cream Cheese & Parsley Biscuits

During one of my many executions of English Sticky Toffee Pudding, I thought I didn't have enough flour to finish baking my cake. In my frantic search I found not only regular flour but self-rising flour.

After doing a quick google search (and reading the back of the packet) I found out that self-rising flour has salt and baking powder already added in its mixture. It's great for making things like scones or biscuits, which is why I decided to make some mini cream cheese and parsley biscuits!

According to this livestrong.com article, to substitute self-rising flour for regular flour you have to "Read the recipe to see how much baking powder and salt are required. If the amount is less than 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt per cup of flour, the substitution will not work well. ' If the ratios work, you will then "omit 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt for every cup of flour in the recipe. In most cases, this means you will not add baking powder or salt at all".


So although I used self-rising flour in my trial, you can use regular all-purpose flour with the additional salt and baking powder requirements! If I have confused you thoroughly, check out the original recipe which I made a twist on. 

Overall, this recipe was very simple: especially for a baked product. The size made them super appealing and I kept grabbing one to eat whenever I was on the go! The parsley adds some freshness and life to a normal buttermilk biscuit whilst the cream cheese makes the biscuit extra moist.

I made my biscuits a little bigger (2 inches in diameter) so I only ended up with 25 biscuits as opposed to 50. And you may think 24 is a lot, but right now there's high demand  for them within my family, and I only have a couple left! Who would have thunk these biscuits would be such a hit. 

Mini Cream Cheese & Parsley Biscuits

Recipe from How Sweet It Is

Serving Size: 2 inch biscuits in diameter- 25 biscuits  

2 cups self-rising flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into piece
1/2 cup cold whipped cream cheese
3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and soda, salt and parsley, stirring well to coat. Using your hands, a fork or a pastry blender, add the butter and mix until coarse crumbles form. ( If you don't have a fancy machine like me, use your hands! It's the easiest way to control the consistency of the mix.)

3.  Once finished, add in the cream cheese in spoonfuls. Once again, use the same technique applied on the butter- but you don't want to mix the cream cheese in as much. Combine the mixture until there are a few larger chunks of cream cheese and it's worked into the flour.

4. Add the buttermilk and stir until it is JUST combined - do not overmix! 

5.  Add some flour to your workspace and place the dough on top.Roll out the dough and pat it into 1/2 inch thick. Take a small biscuit cutter or a (clean) lid to one of your spice containers and cut the biscuits into rounds. You want to use an instrument that is roughly two inches in diameter. 

6. Place biscuits on a nonstick baking sheet. Bake for 6-8 minutes, until slightly golden. These are best served warm when the cream cheese is still soft!

Tips:

 Make sure to flour your work station so the dough doesn't stick to your table! My advice to you is to watch your oven because these babies cook up REAL fast. One minute too long, and you could end up with blackened bottoms.  My personal serving suggestion is to eat them warm topped with butter. 

English Sticky Toffee Pudding

It was a regular Wednesday night, 9 pm to be exact, and I settled down on my couch (with my blankie of course)  to watch Masterchef. A friend had asked me earlier if I had seen everyone's reactions to Gordon Ramsay's sticky toffee pudding. I eagerly awaited the scene and you can see for yourself their reactions HERE.  I knew that I HAD to try the recipe, and the rest is history.

Words cannot even describe how I feel about this recipe. This cake is so darn delicious that I've made it on four separate occasions this past month. In fact, I think it might even tie with cheesecake as my favorite dessert. This cake will change your life.








I was surprised to learn that the cake has dates in it, which is what the brown stuff on my cutting board is. In the recipe you mix the roughly chopped dates with the baking soda & boiling water, and this causes the dates to soften and disintegrate. It resembled a date soup!

The easiest place to mess up making the cake is the finicky toffee. First, when you're cooking the toffee make sure that your flame is on low-medium heat. You want to watch and stir your sauce constantly until it becomes a medium brown color.  Once it reaches your desired color, take it off the heat and pour on top of your cake. My new oven actually has a broiler setting (YES!) but I'm pretty sure just sticking it in the oven for the toffee to become bubbly should do the trick. You stick the cake back in the oven for LESS than a minute AND WATCH IT THE ENTIRE TIME. Toffee/caramel burns just like that (insert me snapping my fingers) so you really need to watch it doesn't burn. I made that mistake the first time...

Your end product should be a super moist cake with a flaky, crunchy crust. The toffee should form a shell on the outside of the cake so you can hear it crunch when you cut into it. I would suggest eating right when it comes out of the oven, but otherwise just serve warm with a quenelle of ice cream.

English Sticky Toffee Pudding

Recipe modified from Marie Simmons's original posting.

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup pitted dates
1 1/4 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Vanilla Ice Cream (optional)

TOFFEE SAUCE:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch round or square baking dish. 

2. In a bowl of electric mixer beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla; beat until blended. Gradually beat in the flour and baking powder mixture.  ( If your flour and baking powder are lumpy sift before adding. 

3.  Roughly chop your dates & place in a small bowl. To your dates add the boiling water and baking soda; set aside. 

4. Add the warm-temperature date mixture to the batter and fold until blended with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared baking dish. 

5. Bake until pudding is set and firm on top, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven to a wire rack.

Toffee Sauce: 

1. Combine the butter, heavy cream and brown sugar in a small heavy saucepan; heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil gently over medium low heat until mixture is thickened, about 8 minutes. 

2. Preheat broiler. Spoon toffee sauce over the pudding and spread evenly on top. Place pudding under the broiler until the topping is bubbly, about 1 minute. Serve immediately spooned into dessert bowls. Drizzle with toffee sauce and top with a spoonful of of ice cream.

Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt

My mom is on a restricted diet because of her health, and this motivated me to try out different gluten-free options! I've never cooked quinoa so I took it up as a challenge to make it as dinner for my family. 

Here's what I learned from cooking challenge: 

1. I actually love the taste of quinoa and you can cook it just like rice! It's simply another grain substitute so imagine rice but smaller, more tapioca like.  I'm actually going to buy a bag and take it with me to college.

2. There are three different ways you can cook the grain. You can cook in the microwave with the 2:1 water ratio, on a stove top,  or in a rice cooker! I chose the latter with the 2:1 ratio because I thought it was the easiest method. 

3. The recipe calls for WAY too much quinoa. I used only about half of what the original recipe called for and it still fed all three of us for dinner + we had leftovers. Don't worry the recipe I posted has all my modifications. 

4. I'm not sure how I feel about this recipe. I'm going to cook it again but I'm not in love with it. See that's my whole problem. I can't decide how I feel about it. My dad was not a fan of the recipe but that didn't surprise us much because he the only grain he likes is white rice. My mom and I liked the recipe but added some chili-garlic sauce for an extra kick and found that to really help the flavor. It definitely wasn't bad but not drool-worthy like my BBQ chicken paninis. Maybe we're just crazy because it has 4 forks on epicurious and 95% of people would make it again. 

Either way, I wanted to share my cooking-experiment and let you try and see for yourself! Plus, the quinoa was just screaming to be photographed. 

Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt 

Modifications to Original Recipe from Epicurious.  Makes 4 servings or 6 side dishes. 

1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons curry powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
1 1/2 cups COOKED quinoa or 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 firm-ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 fresh jalapeno chile, seeded (if desired for less heat) and minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup salted roasted peanuts (2 1/2 oz), chopped
Chili garlic sauce (optional)

1. Whisk together yogurt, lime juice, curry powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined.

2.  Use a 2:1 water ratio to cook the quinoa. If uncooked use 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa and cook in a ricecooker.  Cook until fluffy and dry, 10-12 minutes. 

3. Toss quinoa with curried yogurt and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Creamy Garlic Alfredo with Broccoli, Parsley, and Fresh Roma Tomatoes

I had some leftover heavy cream from a cake that I made, and not having any other use for it, I decided to make alfredo for the first time! Alfredo takes less than ten minutes to make and you can start your pasta at the same time you get your sauce going. Making the alfredo was thankfully quick, and it had all the creamy, cheesy goodness you want from your classic sauce. 

Because alfredo is not the healthiest thing in the world, I decided to saute some veggies in the pan to add into my sauce. I used the same pan to cook my veggies, make the sauce, and combine all the ingredients together! I even served my alfredo straight out of the pan because I'm not a fan of doing dishes. Plus I conserved water and time, so no one's complaining :)

While making my alfredo I noticed that my cheese and sauce starting to separate so I quickly put in on low heat and stirred constantly so the ingredients melded together. The reason my ingredients started to separate was because I wasn't continuously whisking, so whisk your alfredo is my advice to you! Other than than my almost-going-to-be-a-problem, I had no other issues and found the recipe straightforward. 

Also if you want to make a this recipe gluten-free friendly just swap out the pasta for whatever gluten-free kind you prefer. I just chose penne because I already had a bag open!

Creamy Garlic Alfredo with Broccoli, Parsley, and Fresh Roma Tomatoes

Recipe adapted from Allrecipes.com & makes four servings. 

2 cups penne 

5 tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy cream

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1/2 monterey jack cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 roma tomato, diced

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the penne pasta and cook until tender, 8-10 minutes.  Strain water from pot of pasta to stop the pasta from cooking further. 

2.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat. Place broccoli in the skillet and cooked until cooked through. Stir in the diced roma tomato and cook for an additional minute. Remove from heat and place in a separate bowl. 

3. In the clean skillet melt remaining butter over medium low heat. Add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, broccoli, & tomato. 

See how easy this was? You can mix up your cheese and add whatever toppings you want (bacon sounds delicious).  Hope your alfredo experience was as fast and filling as mine :) Also, I didn't add a whole tbsp of butter to cook my broccoli so just use as much as you need!

Fresh Peach Mint Lemonade

This recipe is frighteningly easy. In essence you are making regular lemonade and adding peach puree and mint. We had a whole bag of lemons, a whole bag of peaches, and mint growing rampant in my backyard so I thought why not?

And in this summer heat, my lemonade hit the spot. If you don't like mint/have mint then simply leave it out of the recipe! I guesstimated when typing up this recipe so adjust as necessary. 

Fresh Peach Mint Lemonade

Makes 2-3 cups of lemonade

5 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 peach 
Handful of mint leaves

1. Combine mint, sugar, lemon zest, and water in a small saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar and cook on medium/low heat for approximately 5 minutes. (Cooking the simple syrup allows the mint leaves to steep flavor and the sugar to dissolve).

2. Remove from heat, strain the mint leaves, and let cool. 

3. Quarter the peach and puree in the food processor with the simple syrup mixture. 

4. Combine lemon juice with peach puree and simple syrup. Mix well and garnish with mint leaves or peach slices. 

Tips:

If you want the cop-out version (like I made) you don't have to to cook the simple syrup mixture. Just stir all the ingredients together in a large glass & make sure all your sugar is dissolved! The primary reason for heating up the lemonade is to bring out the mint flavor so without it the mint won't play a defining role. I just chopped up a couple of springs and ate them while drinking (A bit weird) so I could get the full effect without having to spend time heating it up. Click HERE for another peach mint lemonade recipe in case you want to make a pitcher's worth instead of a couple of glasses. 

Griddled Polenta Cakes with Caramelized Onions, Feta, and Honey

Sometimes I feel like I need a leash when I'm at Trader Joe's. I always end up buying something NOT on my grocery list. This time a pre-packaged roll of polenta caught my eye. It looks like this -->

I've cooked polenta from scratch before and was naturally curious if the pre-packaged roll tasted any different. If I could save time by just heating up the polenta, why not? I cut the polenta into 1/4 inch rounds and griddled them in a skillet! Super easy and super delicious. 

This recipe calls for caramelized onions which I've never made before & now I understand what all the hype is about!  I definitely google-d how to caramelize them and you can read too if you want: Click HERE for the advanced guide on how to bring out the natural sweetness of an onion. Otherwise, the instructions in the recipe should do :)

I was honestly really happy with the final result! The honey and sweet caramelized onions were a great balance to the tang of the crumbled feta on top. The original recipe calls for goat cheese (which is even tangier) so I can only imagine how nicely the flavors would play off each other. I got a nice sear on the cakes by using just a little bit of butter (EVOO works fine too) so the overall texture was really crisp with a softness once you cut in.  Overall, this recipe was scrumptious and easy to prepare!

Griddled Polenta Cakes with Caramelized Onions, Feta, and Honey 

Recipe Adapted from HERE (Courtesy of Arielle!)

1 roll of pre-packaged polenta
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion sliced 
2 ounces crumbled feta
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Honey to drizzle 

1.  Add one tablespoon of butter to a heavy-bottomed skillet and set to medium/low heat. Add sliced onions and and cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are a golden in color. The natural sweetness of the onion should come through within 20-25 minutes of cooking. 

2. Bring large skillet to medium heat and place 1 tablespoon of butter to coat the pan. Cut the pre-made polenta into 1/4 inch disks and sprinkle with salt and pepper. After your pan is hot and lighlty coated with butter, place polenta disks into pan. You should hear crackling noise when you press down on the disks, otherwise your pan needs to be hotter. Cook polenta for approx. 3 minutes on each side until fully cooked through, and slightly browned on the outside.  Remove from heat and set aside.  

3. For final preparation, take the polenta cakes and place one tablespoon of caramelized onions on each one.  Top with crumbled feta and drizzle with honey. 

Back to the Basics: Salad

I know most people consider salads to be diet-food, bland, and boring. Although the former is really why my family started eating it in the first place, salads can really be yummy and fulfilling if you make them right! If you're looking to shed your freshman 15, or life's 50, then maybe you need to take a second look at the amount of calories you're consuming. After eating salad for lunch every day, EVERYONE in my family has lost weight. So maybe, just maybe, you should give our salad a try.

I consider salads to have 6 basic components: leaves, veggies, nuts, cheeses, meats, and a dressing. Of course I needed a diagram to illustrate my point because well, I couldn't help myself.

Below is a chart of some our favorite toppings & feel free to comment with whatever else you like to add in your salad! Our favorite salad dressing is Kraft's Toasted Sesame Asian but I also love Trader Joe's delicious vinaigrettes.

Banana Walnut Cake

So whenever there are bananas that are beginning to go bad in my house, my Mom always gives them to me with her signature "You know what to do" look. This time I had 6 black, spotty, mushy bananas which I calculated out to be three batches of banana walnut cake. Yup, you heard me right. I tripled the recipe below.

Which really was a shame because I forgot to add the baking soda and was left with tray upon tray of weirdly-textured banana nut muffins. Oops. The first time I made this was in the 7th grade, so I really have no idea who to give credit to for the recipe. I do promise that the cake is awesome if it's followed correctly!

Banana Walnut Cake

1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 eggs
2 mashed bananas, very ripe
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. First, take the walnuts and put them into the food processor. Pulse it to make sure the walnuts get are chopped into small pieces.  Measure 1 cup of chopped walnuts and set aside.
3. Take your two ripe bananas and mash together using a fork. Try to get the bananas as smooth as possible with a paste like consistency.
4. Next mix the flour, vegetable oil, sugar, baking powder, buttermilk, and baking soda together thoroughly.
5. Crack the eggs and beat them using a wire whisk. To the eggs add the vanilla, bananas, and walnuts.
6. Place all the ingredients into one large bowl and combine using a wire whisk. You may also need to use a rubber spatula to make sure the flour is evenly distributed in the entire batter.
7. Pour into a 9 x 13 greased pan. Cook at 350 degrees F for about 35 minutes.
8. Cook until the top is brown and springs back when touched. Cut into squares and serve.

Tips:

If your bananas aren't squishy to the touch, an easy way to make the bananas bake-worthy is to squish them in the skin! Apply slight pressure to the peel and squeeze the banana until you feel the banana starting to become mushy. Make sure to keep the skin intact during this process because the banana will get everywhere if the peel explodes.  

Also feel free to bake them in muffin pans, but remember that baking time will be much shorter! If you have the mini-mini pans then expect 10-15 minutes and the regular muffin size should take 15-20 minutes. 

Also, don't forget the baking soda.