No Bake Cheesecake...

I realize it has been a really long time since I have put a new recipe in here. I am still cooking but I have been a slacker on updating my recipe blog. Today I wanted to give you a simple recipe for what has become one of my favorite dessert recipes: No Bake Cheesecake. I love cheesecake, but making it is a long process. You mix it, bake it, cool it then it has to chill and finally you can eat it around 8 hours later.  I found this recipe online not only is it a quick cheesecake but it is also ALOT less fattening, which has been great for us since I have been lightening up our meals. This dessert is also very budget friendly, which is nice on everyone's pocketbook.

What You Need:

• 8 ozs of Fat Free Cool Whip
• 8 ozs of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of lemon juice
• One 9- inch round reduced fat graham cracker crust

How To Make It:
1. In a large bowl mix the cream cheese, sugar, and lemon till fluffy
2. Add Cool Whip and whip until smooth
3. Spoon into a pie crust
4. Chill for a few hours till firm
5. Enjoy!
(This recipe in only 5.5 WW points. )

Happy Cooking!

Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake

We had friends over Sunday night and I had a been wanting to try this recipe but not have a ton of cake for just the two of us. This is a *DIVINE* chocolate cake, if you never make anything on my blog please, please, please make this! I love Pioneer Woman's cookbook and throughly enjoyed making this recipe.

It makes an 18x12 sheet cake.(Note: I did not have an 18x12x2 pan so I used a standard size pan and just cooked the cake a little longer)

Below is the recipe from Pioneer Woman's website, click here and see her step by step photos!

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE:
• 2 cups Flour
• 2 cups Sugar
• ¼ teaspoons Salt
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 2 sticks Butter
• 1 cup Boiling Water
• ½ cups Buttermilk
• 2 whole Beaten Eggs
• 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• _____
• FOR FROSTING:
• ½ cups Finely Chopped Pecans
• 1-¾ stick Butter
• 4 Tablespoons (heaping) Cocoa
• 6 Tablespoons Milk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 pound (minus 1/2 Cup) Powdered Sugar

Preparation Instructions

In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and salt.

In a saucepan, melt butter.

Add cocoa.

Stir together.

Add boiling water,

allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture,

and stir lightly to cool.

In a measuring cup, pour the buttermilk and add beaten eggs,

baking soda, and vanilla.

Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture.

Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make the icing. Chop pecans finely.

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.

Add the milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar. Stir together.

Add the pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake.

Cut into squares, eat, and totally wig out over the fact that

you’ve just made the best chocolate sheet cake. Ever.

Happy Baking!!

Peanut Butter Balls

I love Chocolate, doesn't everyone :-), add peanut butter and you can not lose. So yesterday morning I decided to whip up some peanut butter balls. Perfect for Valentine's Day make these for your sweetheart and you are sure to have them wrapped around your finger! Ok are you ready to make this yummy dessert?Get your pen and paper out to write down this list of ingredients, are you ready??

What you need:

4 tbs of melted butter

1 cup smooth peanut butter

2 cups powdered sugar

6 oz semisweet chocolate chips

That is it! You probably have all of that in your pantry!

How to make it:

1. Mix the peanut butter, sugar, and butter together in a bowl

2. Now roll the mixture into balls and place in a baking dish

3. Put the balls in the freezer for 10 minutes

4. Now melt your chocolate in the microwave

5. Then dip your balls into the chocolate and cover them completely (***side note: I am sure there is a better way to do it like use a skewer but I didn't I used my hands can we say messy fingers***)

6 Place the covered balls back into the baking dish and place it in the refrigerator for 25 minutes and you are done!!

Enjoy!

**They may not be pretty but they are delicious, as you can tell my hubby stole a few before I took the picture***

Happy Cooking Y'all!!!

Fried Apple Pies

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with delicious dishes, we certainly did. Thanksgiving night my husband's best friend came over with a special request, Fried Apple Pies. I had made this dessert one other time when experimenting with apple recipes for this past fall season. After searching for the perfect recipe to capture that fresh out the oven at an apple barn flavor I found the perfect one. It was very easy and of course by one of my favorite cooks, Paula Deen (I am Southern through and through).

What you will need:

• 5-6 Gala apples (Paula's recipe calls for McIntosh but I am partial to Gala)
• 1 tube of 8 flaky biscuits (I get Hungry Man's in the green tube they are the best to me and you can get the 10 biscuits tube but your pies will be just a bit smaller)
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
  
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 tsp lemon

How to make it:

1. Add the butter to a large pan and melt.
2. Add the apples, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon juice and cook over medium heat until the apples are soft, about 15 minutes. Prepare for your kitchen to smell divine!
   
3. Remove from the heat and cool.
4. While the filling is cooling roll the biscuits out on a floured surface, so they don't stick. Make it so each biscuit forms about 7 inch circle.
   
5. When filling is cool, place 2 to 3 tablespoons of the filling on 1/2 of each circle.
6. Brush the edges of the circle with water, you can use your finger.
7. Fold the circle over the filling to make a half-moon shapes. Seal by pressing the edges with the tines of a fork.
8. Heat a deep fryer or a deep pot halfway filled with oil to 350 degrees F.
9. Carefully add the pies to the oil, 1 at a time, and fry until golden brown, turning the pies about every 2 and 1/2 minutes for even browning. Each pie will cook for about 5 minutes total.
   
10. Drain on paper towels.
    
11. Sprinkle a little powdered sugar on and serve immediately with vanilla ice cream.

If you love apple pies you will love this dish, give it a try and enjoy!
Happy Cooking!