Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust and Salted Caramel

I am a complete sucker for a cheesecake. It has got to be one of my favorite things in the whole world! That being said, when I came across a recipe for a Vanilla bean cheesecake with chocolate crust and salted caramel, I thought I had died and gone to heaven! Can you imagine? Well our friends over at Former Chef have sure figured it out!

Hot Dog Wraps- Take 1

So, I almost panicked when Spyder said he wanted hot dogs! I remained calm and chose to spice them up a little bit so that I could stomach the thought. We decided to wrap them in Pillsbury Biscuits! I added a half slice of “cheese” to mine. My oven bakes quite high, so I was baking them at 325 degrees until golden brown. I didn’t want to run the risk of the outside burning and the biscuit dough not being done, or the hot dog being cold, on the inside. We serve our’s up with a side of ketchup and spicy mustard around here. Perfect snack for a cold afternoon!

Monkey Bread Leftovers

So, this evening Spyder had asked for hot dogs for dinner. We very rarely have hot dogs, so there were no buns in the house. I had decided to spruce up our dogs by wrapping them in Pillsbury Biscuits. As much as I hate to admit it, serve with a side of ketchup and spicy mustard, they turned out pretty good! There is a forever mental struggle whenever I am dealing with hot dogs, but these were darn tasty! That being said, we only used a couple biscuits for dinner so I had to think of something on the fly...


I decided on Monkey Bread. This recipe is so simple and I honestly change it up each time I make it. Being that I was not working with a full can of biscuits, I decided to skip using a pan to cook it in and decided on a 2 c Mason jar instead. 

First I cut the biscuits into bite-size pieces and tossed them into a bowl of cinnamon and sugar to coat.

Next, toss all yummy coated pieces into greased jar. I cheated and used cooking spray.

 

Once almost to the top (they need room to grow), you could probably skip this step, but I added a big spoonful of butter and a dash of organic Vanilla Extract. mmmm

Then into the pre-heated oven at 325 degrees...

 until it looks like this....

I want to say that it took close to 20 mins., but honestly, my oven is extremely funky and I kind of guesstimate everything. Please feel free to ask any questions! 

Mexican Inspired Morning

I am missing my trip to Mexico more and more these days. Maybe it’s the changes going on that my brain feels like I just need some time away… Whenever I have a funk like this going on, I try my best to incorporate little things into my day, just as little reminders of those times that I long for. This morning, it was part of my breakfast… 

For this quick fix, you will need…

A couple sliced mushrooms, eggs, some spinach, fresh avocado or quacamole, EVOO, salsa, hot sauce, shredded cheese, sour cream, onion, garlic and bread of your choice (or a tortilla)

First wash and chop onion, mushroom, avocado and garlic. Throw a bit of mushroom and onion in hot pan with a dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and saute till almost tender. Throw in a handful of spinach and some chopped garlic, to your liking. When almost cooked, break 2-3 eggs in pan making sure to break the yolks! I like to cover the pan and cook over medium heat until eggs are no longer runny. I then sprinkle with cheese and recover. Make a couple pieces of toast to eat as a sandwich or one to use for an open-faced sandwich. Finally, when eggs are cooked, cut to size of bread, top with sour cream, avocado, salsa, hot sauce, etc. 

Avocado Quesadillas

Avo-dilla
vegan, makes 4 triangles

1 wrap or tortilla (if using extra large lavash bread, you may need to slice in half - and have a more square shape rather than a half-circle)
1/2 ripe avocado, sliced

1-2 tsp vegan butter (Earth Balance)
1-2 tsp maple or agave syrup
pinch of seasoned salt
additional spices for inside or outside of the wrap - optional

Directions:

1. Melt the vegan butter in a very hot skillet.
2. Add the tortilla. Toss it around in the melted butter a bit to wet all sides.
3. Lay "butter-tossed" tortilla flat in the pan and quickly add the avocado. Mash the avocado a bit into the tortilla and fold over one side - just as you would a quesadilla. Note: you can also sear the avocado a bit in the hot pan if you'd like a warmer - softer avocado filling texture.
4. Drizzle the maple syrup over top the hot tortilla and wait for the sizzling to begin. The maple syrup will caramelize with the butter to brown the edges of the wrap.
5. Carefully flip the tortilla so that both sides brown. If a few ago slices spill out, just open the wrap and slide them back in. And if you really want, you can add some Daiya cheese to make the tortilla stick together (not needed for flavor though!) The heating process is pretty fast - just a few minutes from start to finish.
6. Remove skillet from heat or transfer avo-dilla to plate to cool.
7. Slice and serve warm! Yummy with hot sauce. You can also add more spices over top the warm ago-dilla to flavor a bit.
Enjoy!

(source)

Spiderman's Laundry

Making my way to Better Health in Plymouth on such a dreary day, this is what I came across…

I had to chuckle being that recently I watched a documentary on HBO about real-life Superheroes … LOVED it!!! Actually, you can follow the Real Life Superhero Project on both Twitter and Facebook! There should be an explanation of how incredibly giddy I was when I found that out, but I just haven’t been able to come up with the words yet. Of course I joined both!  I want to sit down with all of them for a day and photograph each in their everyday settings. 

I know that this gentleman is not dressed as a superhero, yet something about the Spiderman hoodie and the, what seems to be, Spongebob lounge pants, my thoughts got the best of me. What if that’s how it was for Spiderman to run out to grab his laundry from the corner laundrymat? Just throw the mask back, no care about the world… makes me giggle. 

Homemade Black Bean Nachos

I have been noticing a pattern lately in my eating habits... It is a Mexican kick again. I swear, sometimes I could eat the same foods for a month straight, then all of a sudden, I can't take another bite of "it" for six months! Today I decided to throw myself together some black bean nachos while I was making the Lemur King his foods. Snagging a bit of the black beans and rice, those were the first to go on the tortilla chips... I ended up throwing on some tomatoes that needed to be used up, a little green onion, and cheese of course. Went out of my way to bake them in the oven to spoil myself a bit. Just threw them on 350 degrees just until the cheese melts. For myself, I tend to go a bit overboard here, baking until all edges are brown and crispy. Once cheese is melted, carefully throw onto a plate, add Ortega Medium sauce, and sour cream Full of awesomeness...