Cheater French Onion Soup

This French onion soup is ridiculously easy and fast - there are only 5 ingredients! And you make it right in the bowl so there's less dishes which is always a plus in my book.

I am going to give amounts that make 2 dinner servings or 4 servings if it's with a meal, but since you are making it right in the serving bowls, you can easily make more or less depending on how many people you're feeding.

3 cups beef broth
2 T. cooking sherry
1 sm canister French fried onions (like you put on green bean casserole)
1 sm baguette (day old works best)
2-4 cheese slices (I've used swiss, muenster, provolone and mozzarella - use whatever you like)

Divide broth and sherry equally between oven safe bowls. Split the canister of French onions equally between bowls. Top each with a thick (about 1") slice of bread and a slice of cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees. Done! It's delicious and so simple.

The cheese in the red and yellow bowls is mozzarella and the cheese in the orange and blue bowls is swiss. Any of the cheese will brown up nicely - just in different amounts of time. I could have left the swiss ones in a bit longer, but I'm impatient!

One last tip: don't skip the sherry. Even though it's a very small amount, it adds a complexity to the soup that you really do miss without it.

Mind blowing cake decorating tip.

I cannot believe I forgot to include the amazing tip I used in frosting my ninja bread men in the last post. Do you know how to use a piping bag and not make a mess? The tip is from Karens Cookies but I found the video at Dollar Store Crafts. It made me dig my piping bag out of the back of the drawer. I never use it because it's a hassle to clean. Go watch the 2 minute video. You will think, "Why did I never thing of that? It's brilliant!"

Place your frosting or whatever you are going to pipe in a pile in the center of a piece of saran wrap. Roll it up like a Tootsie Roll. Put the whole thing in your piping bag with one end sticking out the bottom. Snip that off, pipe away, no messy bag or hands to clean up afterward. That didn't help did it? Go watch the video. It makes it clear and easy to understand.

My ninja bread men will kick your gingerbread men's butts

As I noted here this summer, I am a Pinterest addict. I am up to almost 1,000 pins. Ridiculous, I know, but I LOVE it and it is so inspiring. Anyway, last Christmas friends gave us ninja bread men cookie cutters. They are hilarious. We don't really like gingerbread cookies or sugar cookies but I knew I needed to make ninja bread men. Then I remembered making gingerbread ornaments when I was a kid that smelled wonderful but lasted from year to year, but I needed a recipe. Pinterest to the rescue!

The "dough" recipe is from Martha Stewart via Pinterest. It's just 1 c. cinnamon, 1/4 c. applesauce and 1/2 c. white glue. Poke holes with the end of a straw so you can string a ribbon through. Then either let it dry for 24 hours or put it in the oven at 200 degrees for around 2 hours or until it's dried out. I did have to use a bit more glue and applesauce than her recipe called for. 

The "frosting" is homemade puff paint, recipe courtesy Delaware County Moms via Pinterest. It's just equal parts flour, salt and water. You can add food coloring or paint if you want it to be colored.

I know you are jealous of my ninja bread men cookie cutters, but you can make ornaments with any cookie cutters or just shape the dough with your hands. We used the last little bit to make ninja stars to go on the tree too! Hilarious!

Hello. My name is Tonya and I am an addict.

It's not drugs or alcohol or even chocolate. It's Pinterest. I cannot stop.

Wait. You don't know what Pinterest is? I don't know whether or not to gush about it and encourage you to sign up, or yell "Run! Run away and don't read on!" So proceed at your own risk and know that Pinterest is wonderful but it will steal hours and hours of your life.

In their own words, "Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests."

It's a personalized, virtual bulletin board with beautiful pictures of food, clothing, home decor and anything else your little heart desires. You can categorize everything onto different boards. The best part is that it all links back to the original source, i.e. the webpage with the recipe, tutorial, online store, etc. I love that I can look at all my recipes at once.

I have been LOVING Pinterest for fashion and sewing ideas too. However this seems to have lead to a bad habit of clothing and shoe shopping online. Which makes my PayPal account sad but me squeal in delight when brown paper packages show up on the doorstep.

So what else besides recipe and fashion am I pinning? My 301 (yikes!) pins are on 20 boards including sewing inspirations, crocheting, tattoos and henna, travel, home decor, color combinations, graphic design, Halloween, gift ideas and products I want. Check them all out on my Pinterest page.

It also has a fun element where you can follow boards and people so your homepage has a cornucopia of ideas handpicked by like minded people you've chosen to follow. Pinterest will send you an email (if you want it to) to let you know when people repin your pins. I get a silly amount of pleasure when I get one of these with a huge list.

It's an ego boost. "They like me. They really like me!" Or at least my pins... But whatever. I enjoy it! Joining Pinterest is by invitation only, so if you're interested, let me know and I'll email you an invite. But remember - don't say I didn't warn you about the hours, days and weeks of your life that will suddenly go missing.

Spinart roll-ups

 

I made these spinach and artichoke roll-ups for dinner, but they would make a great appetizer too. They are very similar to spanakopita but sound better than "spinach pie" to a picky eater.

Ingredients:

• 12 sheets phyllo dough
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

Directions:

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Stir the mayonnaise, cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, spinach and artichokes in a small bowl until the ingredients are mixed.
3. Layer 6 sheets of phyllo together, spraying olive oil between each sheet. With the short side facing you, spread half of the spinach mixture on the pastry to within 1-inch of the edges. Starting at the short sides, roll up like a jelly roll. Repeat with remaining phyllo sheets and spinach mixture.
4. Cut each roll into 10 (1/2-inch) slices. Place 2 inches apart on lined baking sheet.
5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown around the outside.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

This soup has become one of our mainstays, frequently making it on the weekly menu. It is very similar to the Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana soup, but less fattening and even tastier. Enjoy!

1 lb spicy Italian sausage
1/2 jar Real Bacon Bits
1 qt. water
2 cans chicken broth
1 large potato, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 med onion, chopped
2 c kale, chopped
1 c fat free half & half
salt and pepper

1. Brown sausage, drain and set aside.
2. Put water, broth, potatoes, garlic and onion into a pot, simmer over medium heat until potatoes and onions are tender. Around 20 minutes.
3. Add sausage and bacon to pot, simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Add kale and half & half to pot. Season with salt and pepper. Heat through (a few minutes will do) and serve.

Couple of notes: We usually use the whole bunch of kale, which is closer to 3 cups. A few extra dark leafy greens never hurt anyone! The recipe serves four but goes great with breadsticks and, coupled with an extra potato, can stretch a little farther than four servings.

If you don't want to use the entire bunch of kale for the soup, make kale chips! Chop into large pieces, wash and dry thoroughly. Spray with olive oil, season with salt and anything that sounds good. Garlic, Greek seasoning and onion powder are all good choices. Lay the pieces in one layer on a baking sheet and pop under the broiler for a few minutes. They will crisp up like chips, taste great and are much better for you. Yum. Now I wish we hadn't used all the kale in the soup...

Kitchen sink veggie pasta

This is a great recipe for using up lots of veggies from the garden or an over zealous trip to the farmer's market or grocery store. I think you could put about any veggies in this and it would be yummy. Vary the colors for the veggies and it turns into a very pretty dinner. 
Ingredients:
1 lb penne or other larger pasta
2 lbs garden veggies, here's what I used:
1 small egg plant
1 medium zucchini
1/2 a large yellow onion
1 red bell pepper
1 16oz. pkg button mushrooms
1/4 c EVOO + 2 Tbsp
1 tsp dried sweet basil
1 tsp dried Turkish oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper

1. Cook pasta as directed on the box.
2. Mix all the spices together in a small bowl.
3. While pasta cooks, wash and dry veggies. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Toss with 1/4 c. EVOO and half the spice mixture. Put in a single layer on a baking sheet. Broil veggies for about 4-5 minutes, then flip/stir and broil for another 4-5 minutes.
4. Drain pasta. Toss with 2 Tbsp EVOO and remaining spice mix.
5. Mix pasta with veggies. You can add some salt now if you think it needs it or a couple of splashes of balsamic or red wine vinegar would be good too. Last time I made this I also topped it with some crumbled chevre, which was delicious. Feta would be a nice topper too.

Centro's tomato basil soup doppelganger

If you've ever lived or worked in downtown Des Moines, you've likely had lunch at Centro, which hopefully included their tomato basil soup, which is delicious. I found this recipe on Breaking the Recipe Rut, made a few of my own changes - more basil, add tortellini, etc. It turned out so good - exactly like Centro's. 

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
1/2 c butter
1 c flour
4 c chicken broth
3 1/2 c fat free half & half
1 1/2 c marinara sauce
1 can diced tomatoes, Italian style
1/4 c chopped fresh basil
1 package tortellini
Ground black pepper

Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour and stir for 5 minutes to slightly brown the mixture. Whisk in the broth. Increase the heat and cook and stir until thickened. Decrease the heat to low, stir in the half and half and simmer for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the tortellini according to package directions.

After the 20 minutes of simmering, stir in the marinara sauce, tomatoes, basil and tortillini and cook until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

A few notes: After you whisk the flour into the butter, it will look a little like sugar cookie dough. This was unexpected to me for some reason, but appears to be correct, so go with it. Also, I doubled the basil to 1/4 cup and thought it was perfect, but if you don't like basil as much as I do, go back to the 2 Tbsps recommended in the original recipe or 1/2 a teaspoon of dried basil. You can also switch to vegetable broth to make this vegetarian.

Eat this, not that

We've been in a dinner funk lately. Every night it's a struggle to figure out something to make. I feel like "Dinner? We just ate dinner yesterday! Do we have to do it again?" I found a recipe for Spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) online that had potential but wasn't quite there. I asked my friend Andrea, also known as the Kitchen Witch, if she had any suggestions. She had several but the one that sold me was to switch out half the spinach for artichokes. The end result of combining the online recipe, my own ideas and Andrea's suggestions was delicious.

For some reason I cannot seem to remember the name spanakopita. I keep thinking spina bifida, which is clearly not right! Anyway, here's the recipe so you can try spanakopita, not spina bifida.

• 1 (10 ounce) packages chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry 
• 1 can artichokes, diced
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup cottage cheese
• 1 (4 ounce) package crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup mozzarella 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon dill
• 10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
• Cooking Spray or melted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350*
2. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients except the phyllo dough spray/butter.
3. Lay one sheet of phyllo in the baking dish, allowing edges to hang over. Spray completely with cooking spray or brush with butter. Repeat with 4 more sheets of phyllo, spraying and alternating the direction of each sheet. Transfer spinach mixture to phyllo lined dish. Spray and layer remaining sheets as directed for bottom layer. Turn in edges to form a rim. Spray rim and top layer.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown. Let stand 15 minutes before slicing into 4-6 pieces. 

This was super simple to make and one of my first tries with phyllo dough. It's a really fun ingredient that seems to have great results. I think I'll use some of the extra to make turnovers. Mmmm.

Carnita is Spanish for Delicious

Not really, but it should be. It's actually Spanish for little meat typically referring to seasoned shredded pork. All you really need to know is that they are simple to make, great for when you have company and really delicious. Here's the recipe:

Mix rub:
1 t. garlic powder
4 T. chili powder
1 t. kosher salt
1 t. cumin
1 t. oregano
1 t. black pepper
1 t. crushed red pepper

Other ingredients:
2 - 3 lb pork roast
2 yellow onions
1 can chicken broth
1-2 bay leaves
tortillas
tomatoes
cilantro

Mix seasonings together and roll the roast into the mix, creating a thick coating or crust.

Put 1-2 bay leaves in the bottom of the crock pot. Place roast on top. Pour in 1 can chicken broth and add 1 yellow onion in large slices. Sprinkle in remaining rub.

Cook in crockpot 5-6 hours on high or all day on low.

Once the roast is cooked through and sort of falls apart, remove it from the crockpot and shred. Transfer meat and 2-3 cups liquid from crockpot, but be sure to remove the bay leaves, into an extra large saute pan. Cook on high until almost all of the liquid is gone. *This is the most important step. The carnitas are good without this step, but so much more flavorful if you take the time to reduce the liquid. It usually takes under 5 minutes.

If you're not ready to eat yet, you can throw the meat back in the slow cooker on warm until it's time to eat.

Serve on tortillas with fresh cilantro, onions and tomatoes.

Every time I have made carnitas for company, I have been asked for the recipe.

Mmm Chevre

I made my second attempt at goat cheese today and it worked out great. I had a much easier time this around. I don't know if it's because I wasn't as nervous as I was last time or if it was because I made firm chevre and the processes is a little different than making the creamy version.

You start out by heating the milk to around 190 degrees. Then stir in 1/4 vinegar with 1 teaspoon of citric acid dissolved in it. It was instant gratification, my favorite kind of gratification. The milk curdled right away and only took about 10 minutes to drain. The wheel on the left (reddish one) has aleppo peppers and chili powder. The wheel on the right is just salt and cracked black pepper.

I am so excited at how pretty they look and more importantly, how yummy they taste. No one else seems as impressed with my cheese making as much as I do. Don't care; I'm still amazed at my talent. Ha!

Thanks again to Urban Cheesecraft for making these fun cheese kits!

Fettuccine with artichokes and beans

This is one of those recipes I found when I was sick of everything on my "go-to" list of things to make for dinner. I was still looking for something at least a little healthy. I am not a big fan of beans. Mash them up and add a bunch of seasoning, call it dip, and I'm in. But whole beans aren't my thing. Which is why I am so surprise that I love this so much. Here's the recipe:

3/4 pound fettuccine
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can cannellini beans, rinced
1 can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
salt and pepper
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1. Cook pasta as directed. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water.
2. Heat  oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add beans, artichokes, salt and pepper. Cook until headed through. (3-4 minutes)
3. Toss pasta with artichoke mixture and reserved pasta water. Sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Sometimes we use more artichokes. In our house, there can never be too many of them. Sometimes I add a little Parmesan on top or sprinkle the artichokes with Italian seasoning while they cook. Mix it up. This is really good. Try it even if you think you won't like it. I did and I think you will too.

Enchilada soup you can make in 3 minutes

Yes. 3 minutes hands-on time. This soup is really good. It tastes sinfully cheesy and spicy, but is really low fat and calorie.

1 can Rotel - however hot you want it
1 can low fat cream of soup (I use mushroom but chicken works just as well)
1 can Campbell's Fiesta Nacho Soup
1 can enchilada sauce - again, however hot you want it
2.5 c. skim milk

Put everything in a pan. Stir. Cook until hot and enjoy! That's seriously it. If you are feeling ambitious you can add either shredded cooked chicken breast or a can of chicken. We serve with fat free Greek yogurt and baked tortilla chips. The ff yogurt is much better that fat free sour cream and much creamier. It only has 7.5 calories per tablespoon.

Here's the fat/cal for just the soup. The yogurt ads basically nothing but remember to add the chips if your counting calories or points.
1 serving = 1/4 of finished soup, about 1.5 cups, I'd guess.
Fat = 6.5
Calories = 178
Fiber = 2
WW points = 3

This soup is so good we have it about once a week. It's that "go-to" when no one wants to cook. Mmmm.

NYE appetizer

I made these on NYE and they turned out really yummy. Here is the original recipe:

Artichoke Wonton Cups
Ingredients:
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup mayonnaise*
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (14 ounce) can water packed artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 (12 ounce) package wonton wrappers
*I used 1/2 c. mayo and 1/2 c. greek yogurt, which cut calories and fat but not taste at all!

Directions:
1. In a small mixing bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, mayonnaise, onion powder and garlic powder; mix well. Stir in the mozzarella cheese and artichokes; set aside.
2. Coat one side of each wonton wrapper with nonstick cooking spray; press greased side down into miniature muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 5 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Fill each cup with 1 tablespoon artichoke mixture. Bake 5-6 minutes longer or until golden brown. Serve warm.

There are a few things I'd change for next time. First, make sure your wonton cups are very open before baking. Some of mine closed up during baking, which made them very hard to stuff. I will also double the artichokes and cut back some on the mozzarella and Parmesan. Don't get me wrong, I love cheese, but I think it they will be even tastier that way.

Random photo of the day:

Turns out you can make a french fry glow red if you leave it under the burner inadvertently while making tea.

Bechamel sauce, mmm

We just had an amazing dinner that took us less than 20 minutes - start to finish. None of the Rachel Ray crap, where she says it takes 30 minutes but that's if all your ingredients are pre-chopped and measured and the oven is already heated.

I started with jumbo seafood ravioli from our local Italian grocery store, Graziano Bros. Whenever I hear someone say something like "local Italian grocery store" I immediately think "we don't have a local Italian grocery store." If Des Moines has a local Italian grocery store, then I'd bet your city has one too. We lived here for years not knowing it was there and then for another couple of years knowing about it but never going. We missed out for a long time. But we finally made it there this summer and everything we have bought has been amazing.

Anyway, back to the recipe. We tried a couple of different sauces (some with really terrible results) before I found a recipe for béchamel sauce that goes great with the seafood pasta. Here it is (with my own changes and contributions):

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grated onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half (or milk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch dried thyme
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in the onion. Cook for about a minute then add flour, salt and pepper.
2. Add cold half-and-half (or milk) and COLD chicken broth all at once. Stir well.
3. Cook, stirring frequently, at medium heat until thick. Remove from heat and stir in seasoning.

The great thing is, if you use milk instead of half and half, it is all ingredients you always have on hand. With milk, I found that letting the sauce cool for a bit before serving will help it thicken up. We had breadsticks with the pasta and it was perfect.

I am reading Julie and Julia - about the woman who spends a year cooking all the recipes from Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I attribute my eventual success with the french sauce to the book.

So goat cheesy

I finally got around to trying out my Urban Cheesecraft goat cheese kit. Most of the hold up was that I couldn't find goat milk that hadn't been ULTRA-pasteurized, but I finally found Poplar Hill milk at Campbell's Nutrition. I'd say the cheese turned out pretty well for a first try. Here's what I did last night:

Boiling the utensils before use.

My makeshift double boiler filled with milk, cheese salt and citric acid. 

Reaching the necessary 180 degrees.

Cooling. The curds and whey have started to separate. You can see the whey in the upper left of the picture. It's sort of yellowish. 

Straining the cheese.

Seasoning the cheese. I just used cracked black pepper and Hawaiian sea salt so I could still really taste the cheese to see if I need to change anything for next time. 

Scooping the cheese into the molds. 

One final draining before putting them in the fridge.

Not so pretty, but very tasty. I think I didn't let them sit in the molds long enough. 

It was really fun and I was so proud of myself when I finished. I can't wait to try again. Next time I am going to make a firmer cheese that is more like feta. Mmmm.

Tiny bits of heaven

I found a recipe for filled red velvet cupcakes on Sweet Harvey's blog. I don't get much into baking - my attention span usually isn't long enough to deal with more than one pan of cookies. But these looked amazing and I really wanted to give them a try. She said she thought they would be a mini indulgence, which apparently made me think they were mini cupcakes. So I bought all the ingredients and made the batter, expecting to make 24 mini cupcakes. My mini-muffin pan has 24 spots, so that would have been perfect. One pan in, bake and done.

75 mini red velvet cupcakes later, I was rather tired of baking. But they turned out so cute and they taste amazing. I took some pictures along the way:

Millions of mini cupcakes lined the counters.

I used the end of a wooden spoon to poke holes to put in the filling. 

Put the frosting in a Ziplock baggie to fill the centers.

Swirl on a mountain of frosting. I put a ton on and still had some left over. 

So pretty and delicate. 

But more importantly, so tasty!

Here's the recipe: (Makes 24 regular sized cupcakes or 75 mini cupcakes.)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

1 pkg. (2-layer size) red velvet cake mix

1 pkg. (3.9 oz.) JELL-O Chocolate Instant Pudding

1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese softened

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

1 pkg. (16 oz.) powdered sugar (about 4 cups)

1 cup thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

1 square BAKER'S White Chocolate, shaved into curl

1. Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 24 cupcakes, blending dry pudding mix into batter before spooning into prepared muffin cups. Cool.
2. Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Gradually beat in sugar. Whisk in COOL WHIP. Spoon 1-1/2 cups into small freezer-weight resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Cut small corner off bottom of bag. Insert tip of bag into top of each cupcake to pipe about 1 Tbsp. frosting into center of cupcake.
3. FROST cupcakes with remaining frosting. Top with chocolate curls. Keep refrigerated.

I put the frosting I wasn't using in the piping bag in the fridge because it was starting to get runny. Worked much better - and the cupcakes looked much nicer - when the frosting was chilled. 

Making something new

I eat meat. It's not my favorite thing and I'm pretty sure I could do without it, but I eat it. I have a mild iron deficiency but usually forget all about it until it comes time to donate blood when I only have enough iron about 50 percent of the time to actually do the donation. But every once in a while my body reminds me by crazy red meat cravings. Usually in the form of really wanting beef jerky, which normally I don't even like very much. This time instead of buying the expensive, slightly disgusting store variety, I hijacked my dad's dehydrator and made my own. It was really easy and turned out so good! Here's the recipe I used from allrecipes.com with some slight variations from me:
Buy a 2 pound roast or steak or whatever your butcher recommends and get him/her to slice it thinly for you (most will do it for free). This saved a ton of time and headache.
1. Mix together:
    * 1/4 cup soy sauce
    * 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
    * 2 tablespoons liquid smoke
    * 2 tablespoons brown sugar
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
    * 1 teaspoon meat tenderizer
    * 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    * 1 teaspoon onion powder
    * 1 teaspoon paprika
2. Place beef strips in the bottom of a large bowl.
3. Pour seasoning mixture over meat and mix to assure all the strips are evenly coated. (I put the lid on and shook it up.)
4. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight.
5. Arrange the meat strips on the tray of a dehydrator and dry at your dehydrator's highest setting until done to your liking, at least 4 hours. Store in an airtight container or resealable bags.
(I'd post a picture, but beef jerky isn't very pretty!)

My next adventure is making goat cheese (chevre). I told you wanted to order a cheese making kit in the I Heart Goat Cheese post. Now I finally ordered a kit from Urban Cheesecraft on Etsy. It's taken me trips to grocery stores in three towns, several phone calls to other stores and calls to two goat farms, but I finally found goat milk that isn't ULTRA-pasturized at Campbell's Nutrition in Des Moines. I am going to pick some up on Monday. I'll let you know how my first batch turns out. I am hoping it's good enough to take to the in-laws for Thanksgiving.

Raw cheesecake

Before you read this post, I need to impress upon you my extreme skepticism for food crazes and diet fads. I have never done Atkins, South Beach or any of the other many programs that restrict you completely from eating certain things.

So when I stumbled upon CureCravingsForever.com and was reading recipes, for her "28 Desserts You Can Eat Everyday," I wasn't buying it. Honestly, I'm still not sure, but tonight I made Raw Raspberry Cheesecake. It has no cheese and no cake. Also no sugar or graham crackers, two things I think are rather key in cheesecake. The crust is pecans, dates and salt. The filling is cashews, honey, lemon juice, coconut oil, vanilla and water. I haven't eaten a slice yet, but I tasted the crust and the filling and they are both good. I think it's going to be even better when they are cold and topped with raspberries. If this works out the next recipes I want to try are chocolate mint coconut bars and strawberry shortcake.

Nathalie Lussier is the author of these recipes and she's a raw foodie. The basic idea is that foods lose nutrients when they are cooked above a certain temperature, so eat raw. She is offering her 28 Desserts You Can Eat Everyday book as a free PDF download. I am excited to try a few more.Guilt-free mint chocolate fudge balls? Don't mind if I do.

This photo is from Nathalie's recipe book.

My first cheesecake

Last night we made this Martha Stewart spiderweb cheesecake. I've never made a cheesecake that didn't come from a box and it was a pain! It was worth it in the end because it turned out really cute. It's in the freezer now until Saturday for the party. I'm hoping the whole "out of sight, out of mind" thing works because I really want to eat it! I am very excited to unmold it and put it on my fancy new cake stand for the party.  Tonight I am making the goat cheese ball and a taco cheese ball that looks like a pumpkin. No one will be able to accuse my party of lacking in cream cheese! I also need to go buy more Halloween bowls (we serve soup for dinner) and pick up both small decorative and large carving pumpkins. Whew, that makes me tired just thinking about it.