Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

The Girl Who Ate Everything is amazing! Thanks for the recipe! I will be changing my crust to the crust I have listed below for the next round because I think I will like it much better.  If you're interested in the original crust, use the link above!  Also, I found that this tasted the best after sitting in the fridge for 1 day. 

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars

For the crust:1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
12 tablespoons of softened salted butter, cut into 1/4″ cubes (1 1/2 sticks)

Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Apples:

3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Streusel topping, recipe follows

1/2 cup caramel topping

Line a 9″ x 13″ pan with enough parchment paper to go about 1″ up on all sides. In a bowl mix the flour, rolled oats, powdered sugar, and salt. Then add the vanilla.  Next, cut in butter with a fork until the dough looks like pea sized gravel. Sprinkle the dough evenly over the parchment lined sheet and use your fingers to press the dough into a uniform sheet of dough that goes about 1/2″ up all the sides. Put it in the freezer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, place the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the crust from the freezer and put in oven and bake for around 20-25 minutes, or until it is golden brown and fragrant.

 

While crust is baking, beat cream cheese with 3/4 cup sugarin a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until smooth. Then add eggs, 1 at a time, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Pour over warm crust.

In a small bowl, stir together chopped apples, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon evenly over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle evenly with Streusel topping. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until filling is set. Drizzle with caramel topping and let cool. Serve cold and enjoy!

 Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients. Combine it by using clean hands to thoroughly combine the butter into the mixture.

Steak Rub/Marinade

Thank you All Ears.Net for this delicious recipe!  I will definitely be trying more from this site!

Flank Steak Marinadefrom Liberty Tree Tavern, Magic Kingdom

4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 tablespoons rosemary, fresh, chopped
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons coriander
2 tablespoons granulated garlic
2 teaspoons oregano, dried

Method:
Combine all ingredients then store in a sealed container. Rub steak with marinade and let sit in cooler for at least one hour. Steak can marinate for 24 hours in advance.

Easy Pumpkin Crumble

Thanks to Our Best Bites for this recipe! I ended up making the thicker version with more pumpkin, but the thin version would be delicious, too!

Easy Pumpkin Crumble
Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 boxed yellow or white cake mix
1-2 sticks butter (see notes in instructions)
1 16 oz can pumpkin*
2 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t ginger
1/8 t cloves
1/8 t nutmeg
1/2 t salt
1/3 C chopped pecans
1/2 t additional cinnamon for topping

*This makes a dessert about an inch thick or less. That’s because I like a high topping-to-pumpkin ratio. If you’d like it thicker, use a large can of pumpkin and double the rest of the filling ingredients (Eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and spices). Leave the rest of the recipe the same.

Preheat oven to 350.

Place 2 C of the cake mix in a bowl. Cut in 3 T chilled butter. Just use your fingers to crumble the butter until it’s in small crumbly pieces. Place mixture in a 9×13 baking dish and press flat with your fingers.

Mix pumpkin, eggs, sweetened condensed milk, and spices until smooth. Pour on top of the cake mixture in the pan.

Now take the rest of the dry cake mix and mix in 1/2 t cinnamon. Sprinkle it all over the top of the pumpkin mixture. Use a measuring cup so you have a rough measurement of how much you’re putting on.

Next sprinkle on the chopped pecans. You’ll have 3 distinct layers now:

For every 1 C of cake mix you sprinkled on top, you’ll need 6 T of melted butter. Drizzle it right on top.

Pop it in your 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes or so.

A knife should come out without globs of pumpkin on it and the topping should be nice and golden.
You can eat it warm, at room temp, or chilled!

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

This recipe has been posted ALL OVER blogs and such.  I tried this recipe as it was published on The Sisters' Cafe about a year ago and felt that something was seriously lacking.  Thanks to my sister, Camilee, this recipe is now TOP NOTCH!

Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas

6 Tbsp. Honey
4 1/2 Tbsp. Lime Juice
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder

2 Cans Chicken (the pre-cooked variety--make sure you shred it into small pieces after opening the can)
Flour Tortillas
Colby or Moneterey Jack Cheese, shredded
Large can of green enchilada sauce (I prefer either Macayos brand or 2 bottles of Trader Joe's Salsa Verde salsa)
Sour Cream

Mix first 4 ingredients together and toss with the canned chicken.  Let it "marinate" for at least 15 minutes. 

Mix the green enchilada sauce with some sour cream (the amount of sour cream you add will depend entirely upon your taste preference). Pour some of this sauce on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. 

Fill flour tortillas with chicken and some of the shredded cheese.  Place rolled enchiladas in the pan and cover with the rest of the sauce.  Sprinkle with more cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.  Put it under the broiler at the end to make the cheese brown and crispy on the top.


***If you decide to use fresh cooked chicken instead of canned, add a little bit of salt to the Honey-Lime mixture.

Thick, Soft Sugar Cookies

These sugar cookies are soft and cake-like.  Not your typical sugar cookie, but very good! Thank you Peppermint Plum for the amazing variation!

Thick, Soft Sugar Cookies

1 C. butter
2 C. sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 C. sour cream
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
5 1/2 C. flour

In mixer, cream butter and sugar, and then add eggs and vanilla. Add sour cream. Combine salt, soda, and flour, and add to mixture.

Roll out on a floured surface to about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. 

Use a spatula to carefully slide under each cookie and place onto greased (with Pam) parchment-lined cookie sheets--or use Silpat mats. Bake at 375 degrees F for 7-8 minutes. 

THEY WILL NOT LOOK DONE! They should still be very pale and have no browning anywhere.  If you have a golden brown color along the edges then you have baked them too long.

Wait about 5 minutes and then transfer carefully to a cooling rack.  If you wait longer they will get soggy on the bottom and sometimes get stuck to the parchment paper.

Once they are completely cool, they are ready to be frosted.

Buttercream Frosting

1/2 C. butter, softened
4 C. powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1/4-1/3 C. milk

In a mixing bowl, cream butter.  Beat in sugar and vanilla until crumbly.  Gradually add milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.  Add desired food coloring.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

Oh man! I love a good banana bread! This did not disappoint!  Thanks Shelley from House of Smiths!

Buttermilk Banana Bread

Combine and set aside:

3 C. flour
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

in a separate bowl, mix together:

3 eggs
3/4 C. butter (I used salted)
1 1/2 C. buttermilk (I used just under 1 1/2 C. milk + 1 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon juice)
4 large mashed bananas

Directions:

Combine both dry and wet ingredients.  Mix well. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-35 minutes.  Results are best if made in small greased loaf pans (DO NOT USE REGULAR LOAF PANS IF POSSIBLE).

Yields about 6-7 small loaves.

Chicken with Coconut-Lime Peanut Sauce

I made this for dinner tonight, and it turned out great! It was also very easy to throw together.  Thank you Marla Meridith and Tasty Kitchen for the recipe!

Ingredients

FOR THE SAUCE:

• ½ cups Natural Peanut Butter (I Used Crunchy)
• ½ cups Light Coconut Milk
• 1 Tablespoon Thai Red Curry Paste
• 1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce
• 2 teaspoons Toasted Sesame Oil
• Honey to taste (about 1 Tbsp.)
• 1 pinch Black Pepper
• 1 pinch Cayenne Pepper
• 1 pinch Cinnamon

FOR THE CHICKEN:

• 1 teaspoon Coconut Oil
• ½ cups Diced Onion (Optional: I left this out)
• 3 cloves Garlic Chopped
• 2 pounds Chicken Breast Cut Into 1 Inch Cubes
• 1 cup Chopped Asparagus Spears (1 Inch Pieces)

Preparation Instructions

Note: You can adjust all the peanut sauce ingredients according to taste. If you like sweet, go sweeter, spicier, etc. All is good!
Optional garnishes: cilantro, toasted peanuts, green onion, unsweetened toasted coconut flakes.
Sauce: In a medium bowl whisk together the peanut butter, coconut milk, curry paste, lime juice, soy sauce, fish sauce, sesame oil, sweetener and seasonings to form a sauce. Taste and change anything if you want to. Set aside.
Chicken: Heat coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add onion and garlic, cook until softened. Add chicken, cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally for even cooking. Stir sauce into the chicken. Partially cover and simmer for about 5 minutes to let the flavors combine. Add asparagus during the last few minutes of cook time.
Serve with spicy Sriracha sauce and garnishes mentioned above.