Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

These bars are a-maz-ing!  I wish that I was responsible for this most fabulous recipe but I cannot take any of the credit.  I was introduced to these bites of heaven via my fab friend (and cook) Stacie, and they hail from Melanie over at MelsKitchenCafe, she has a dynamite food blog, definitely worth taking the time to browse her site!  These babies are 5 layers of bliss, the bottom is a buttery cookie crust, topped with a creamy layer of cheesecake, then comes the tart and sweet cinnamon apples, topped with an oat streusel (my favorite part) and then finally, a drizzle of caramel sauce.  Really, need I say more.  I have made these for a couple of showers (baby and bridal) and there has never been one bar leftover.  I have emailed this recipe to most people who have tasted.  Honestly, I am drooling just thinking about them!  My one bit of advice is that they are kind of messy and fragile, so be careful as you cut them and place them on your serving platter. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars with Streusel Topping


INGREDIENTS:
Base:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
Cream Cheese Layer:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Apples:
3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Streusel Topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup quick cooking oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
Caramel Sauce:
4 tablespoons butter
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cups half-and-half or cream
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, two tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel topping ingredients and mix until crumbly. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture is crumbly but combined. Press evenly into a 9X13-inch baking pan lined with aluminum foil. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.
While the crust is baking, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese with 1/2 cup sugar until smooth. Then add eggs, one at a time and then the vanilla. Mix well. Pour over the warm crust.
Spoon the apple mixture evenly over the cheesecake layer. Sprinkle the streusel topping over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes until the filling is set.
Cool the bars to room temperature. Drizzle with the caramel topping (or plate individual slices and drizzle with topping one by one).
For the caramel sauce, mix butter, brown sugar, half-and-half or cream, and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook while whisking gently for 5 to 7 minutes, until thickened slightly. Add the vanilla and cook another minute to thicken further. Turn off the heat and pour the sauce into a jar. Refrigerate until cold. If the caramel sauce has cooled in the fridge long enough to harden, warm slightly before drizzling on bars.

Recipe Source: MelsKitchenCafe

Creamy Bachamel Mac N Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower

Alrighty, time to step away from our Halloween sugar over-load for a moment and talk about pure comfort food with a gourmet twist.  I really should be posting something super healthy to balance out my (our) over dose of candy and pumpkin goodies, but I have really been wanting to post this creamy, dreamy, straight to the hips dinner for a while now.  Roasted Cauliflower really goes well with cheesy pasta, I love the combination.  The Bachemel base allows you to use a lot less cheese but it doesn't taste any less cheesy.  The sauce also sticks really well to the pasta (a bad recipe is too oily and the cheese doesn't adhere to the pasta well enough).  This is a great balance of creamy, cheesy deliciousness with a touch of gourmet when you toss in the roasted cauliflower.  Just right with a salad on a cool winter night.  Enjoy!   PS- Kitchen to table in about 30 minutes.   

** My husband ate the leftovers the next day with chopped turkey bacon we had leftover from breakfast, I took a bite, it rocked.  A great way to add meat if you are a "it's not a meal without meat" kind of cook or you just love bacon. 

Creamy Bachemel Mac N Cheese with Roasted Cauliflower

Serves 8 to 10 (recipe can easily be cut in half)

Ingredients 
1 stick butter
1/2 plus two tablespoons flour
4 cups of milk
1 cup cheddar
1 cup mozzarella
1 pound dry macaroni pasta
sea salt and white pepper to taste
1 head Cauliflower
About 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400.  
2. Start your water for the pasta
3. Cut  head of cauliflower into bite size pieces.  Place on baking sheet and toss in a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast at 400 for 12 to 15 minutes. Cauliflower should be slightly soft but still hard enough to hold it's shape well and not feel "mushy".  Just taste one
4. In the meantime,  Cook pasta according to package directions. 
5. In the meantime, make the sauce.  
6. In a large saucepan, melt  butter over medium heat.  Once butter is melted, add flower while whisking, whisk until smooth, this should take about 2 minutes.  Gradually add milk and whisk continually until the sauce is smooth and creamy.  Simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of your spoon.  Remove from heat add cheeses and season with salt and pepper.  Toss in cauliflower and serve while hot.

Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes {Baked}

Good donuts are hands down, my very favorite dessert, they always have been.  My mom said that when I was just barely talking, I would say "dough-no's" over and over again any time we passed them at the supermarket or anywhere they were available.  Odd kid- my favorite foods were salad and donuts.  I am still they same way- super healthy but I love to splurge!  Nowadays, I am very picky about my donuts but a good, from scratch doughnut, oh man, there is nothing better.  We are going home to San Diego for Christmas, I can tell you that I will be eating at VGs Donuts over and over again.  I will be going on long runs up and down highway 1 enjoying the ocean breeze, followed by a spulrge of delicious donuts- I can't wait!

Now, on to this yummy recipe.  I am slightly reluctant to call these "dougnuts", they are baked, not fried and made in mini muffin tins but after you roll these babies in melted butter and cinnamon and sugar, they really do taste like a pumpkin donut.  Being the health freak that I am, I had to give a "baked" donut a try and I am very pleased with the results..  I have seen a million recipes online over the past few years and have been inventing my own variation in my mind for a while.  I love that they were easy to make and that I didn't have to deal with the big pain of deep frying.  I made them twice this week, my family gobbled up the first batch way too quickly.  I made the second batch for a baby shower and they were a big hit.  This is a must try sweet recipe and has definitely become a family favorite in our house.

{Baked} Pumpkin Spice Donut Holes

Makes 2 dozen 
*Equipment needed- Mini muffin pan (typically holds 24)


Dry Ingredients 
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Wet Ingredients
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping3/4  stick of butter, melted
2/3 cup granulated sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon, mixed together

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray mini muffin tins with cooking spray.
2. Place all dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and mix together well with a wire whisk, set aside. 
3. Mix pumpkin, oil, sugar, egg, buttermilk and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.  Mix thoroughly with a wire whisk until combined well.
4.  Fold dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture and mix until combined, being careful not to over mix.
5.  Place 2 generous tablespoons of batter into each tin.
6. Bake for 12 minutes. 

As soon as they are cool enough to handle roll in melted butter and then in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Serve while hot and crisp.  They are best if eaten within a few hours, the coating will get soggy after a while.  If you want to serve them up to a day after you make them, make the muffins, store in an airtight container and wait to roll in the butter and cinnamon sugar until ready to serve. 

Tex-Mex Goulash

Goulash, "A mixture of many different elements; a hodgepodge".  Um, yum. Yes, hodgepodge is a real word, in fact a great word to describe this meal. Please don't be scared off because you read the world goulash.  I happen to be a big fan of the much feared goulash.  Just think of all of your favorite Tex-Mex flavors mixed together in one great, easy to cook meal. Also, I made this without planning ahead or going to the store, all of these items were in my pantry and I figured out that the entire meal cost less then $5 buck-a-roos.  Healthy+Easy+Yum+Quick+Cheap= 4 happy tummies and 1 extra happy, non-exhausted mom (well, at least for a small moment while I ate my dinner and nursed Princess Q at the same time, so I think that makes 5 happy tummies).  

The Ultimate Bite

Tex-Mex Goulash

Serves 4 large portions

2 cups of leftover cooked rice (white or brown).  

1/2 of a large white onion or 1 small
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoon crushed garlic (refrigerated or fresh will work). 

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained and rinsed
1 4.5 ounce can diced, roasted green chilies
About 3/4 cup roasted bell peppers (the Trader Joes glass bottle is fantastic, use about 1/2 of it). You can use a raw red bell pepper if you don't have roasted on hand.
1 tablespoon of cumin
Side options- cilantro, grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips and salsa to serve on the side or load on top.
1. Saute onions in olive oil in a medium saucepan, once tender add garlic, cook for 1 minute.  Add roasted bell peppers and green chilies and cook for another minute (if you are using a raw bell pepper instead, put it in the pan with the onions).
3. Add beans, corn, tomatoes and cumin and stir until combined. 
4. Let mixture heat through and serve immediately
5.  Serve over hot rice with all of the sides to pile on top. Dip with chips if desired.

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes with Sauteed Cinnamon Apples

I absolutely LOVE pumpkin, seriously, yummy pumpkin goods are one of my most very favorite foods.  Praise the season of the pumpkin!  This delicious fall breakfast was love at first bite.  I do have to say that some pumpkin baked goods can be too "pumpkiny" or leave me wishing their was more pumpkin goodness.  These pancakes are the perfect balance of pumpkin flavor.  Spiced a plenty along with sauteed cinnamon apples, toasted pecans and real maple syrup.  If you really wanted to go over the top, you could make some fresh whipped cream.  Also, these are quite hardy and I love breakfast for dinner . . . just sayin.

 

Spiced Pumpkin Pancakes with Sauteed Cinnamon Apples

Makes about 2 dozen pancakes

Dry mix
2 cups white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour (can use all white if preferred)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (I love Trader Joes mix)
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon all spice
2 teaspoons baking powder

Wet Mix
3 cups buttermilk
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 tablespoons butter, melted, cooled

Sauteed Cinnamon Apples (this is enough apples for half of the pancakes, we usually save the rest for a quick weekday breakfast or two , if you are going to serve all of the pancakes, then double this)
2 cups diced, peeled apples
3 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions
1.Combine dry ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk well, set aside.
2. Combine wet ingredients in a large bowl, whisk well. 
3. Fold dry ingredients into wet, mix with a large wooden spoon until just combined.  There should be no dry mix left but lumps are ok.
4.  Let batter rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
5.  Cook pancakes on a skillet over medium heat.  These pancakes take a little longer to cook then traditional buttermilk pancakes.  They need to be cooked at a little lower of a temperature and they will take longer to be ready to flip.  Watch them close.

In the meantime, while you are cooking the pancakes, make the apples.  Melt butter in a large saucepan, once butter is melted add the apples, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Saute on medium heat until apples are tender and mixture begins to caramelize. 

Serve pancakes hot and fresh with apples, toasted pecans and real maple syrup.  Serve nuts and apples on the side so guests can add as desired. 

{Perfection in a bite}

Caribbean Jerk Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa

Oh man, this was a dynamite dinner.  I absolutely love Caribbean flavor- fresh, bold and double-delicious!.  Jamaican "Jerk" is Caribbean BBQ.  The dry rub has thyme, all spice, ginger, chipolte and brown sugar and the salsa has lime and jalapeno so you get all the best of Caribbean flavors in these babies .  The tacos are finished with fresh mango salsa and crunchy cabbage in a toasty corn tortilla.  We took this meal down fast and I was so sad when it was gone. I had 3 tacos and could have(and would have) easily had double.

Caribbean Jerk Chicken Tacos with Mango Salsa

Makes 8 Tacos

Jerk Rub Seasoning
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 to 1/2 (depending on how hot you want it) teaspoon dried chipolte chile pepper
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Mango Salsa
2 Mangos (almost ripe), peeled and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1 jalapeno, seeded, finely chopped (leave in the seeds if you want it hot)
Large handful of fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
2 pinches of sugar
1 pinch of salt

Other ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half, chopped into thin strips
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 Yellow Corn Tortillas (My favorite, if they aren't homemade is Mission "Extra Thin" yellow corn). 
2 cups green cabbage, sliced thin

Directions
1. Mix all of the dry rub ingredients together, toss well onto chicken strips and let marinate in the refridgerater for 2 to 4 hours.
2. Make the salsa- combine all ingredients, taste, adjust seasonings if necessary.  
3. Heat a large nonstick skillet and the vegetable oil over medium high heat, add chicken, saute for 3 minutes turn over and saute for about 3 minutes more.  Turn off heat and cover until ready to serve.
4.  Heat the tortiallas up individually in a skillet, letting them brown a little on each side.
5. Pile chicken, mango salsa and cabbage into tortilla.  

Honey Whole Wheat Breadsticks with Honey Butter Glaze

 I know this is not the most attractive picture.  I dare say that these look like something that starts with a {P}, but we won't go there (or did I just do that already) and I was too hungry to take a good picture, and I can't post a great recipe without a photo.  However, these are extremely yummy, have a great texture, my kids loved them and the honey butter glaze puts them over the top.  This is a great go-to recipe that is healthier then your average breadstick and they will go with just about any meal. 

Honey Whole Wheat Breadsticks with Honey Glaze
Makes about 10 large breadsticks

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups white flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons honey

Glaze- 2 tablespoons of melted butter, mixed with 2 teaspoons of honey.

Proof yeast,warm water and sugar in the bowl of your mixer for 10 minutes.
Add flours, salt, olive oil and honey.  Mix until mix is combined and a soft dough begins to form.  Turn mixer up to medium and let dough knead for about 2 minutes (you can also do this by hand).  Place dough in a large greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm, draft free place for about 1 hour.  Punch dough down, cut into 2 pieces and divide each half evenly into 4 or 5 pieces.  Roll each piece into a ball and each ball into a long thin breadstick.  Place breadsticks onto sprayed baking sheet or a silpat mat and let rise again for about 30 minutes.  Bake for 14 to 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven.  Remove from oven and brush immediately and generously with glaze. Serve warm.  They go great with pasta dishes like this or this or this