Pumpkin Cheesecake

This is a great cheesecake!
12 Servings

Crust:
1 ½ C. gingersnap cookie crumbs
5 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 T. sugar
Preheat oven to 350 F. Wrap outside of 9-inch diameter springform pan with foil. Mix crumbs, butter, and sugar in bowl. Press mixture onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake crust until slightly darkened, about 5 minutes. Set aside. Maintain oven temperature.

Filling:
3 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 C. sugar
1 C. canned pure pumpkin
3 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
½ t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
1/8 t. ground allspice
Blend cream cheese and sugar in processor until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, and spices. Process until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Transfer filling to crust. Bake cheesecake at 350 F for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 F. Bake until center is set and edges begin to crack, about 50 minutes. Cool in pan on rack. Chill uncovered until cold, at least 6 hours. Cut around pan sides; remove sides. Top with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Caramel Sauce:
1/3 C. butter
1 C. brown sugar
2 T. corn syrup
pinch of salt
1/3 C. cream
Melt butter in a sauce pan, then add the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar is dissolved.

Cinnamon-Vanilla Syrup

This syrup is so good I could drink it and I'm not ashamed to admit it!

1 cube butter
1 C. sugar
1 C. half and half or cream
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon

Heat ingredients in a saucepan until sugar is dissolved.

Pumpkin Pie Pancakes

I love these pancakes! They are pretty healthy, but you would never know it! You could use all whole wheat flour if you want and they would still be great.

1 C. unbleached all purpose flour
1 C. whole wheat flour
1 T. baking powder
2 eggs
1 C. canned pumpkin
2 C. buttermilk
1/2 C. plain fat free yogurt
2 T. butter, melted (optional)
4 T. sugar
1/4 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
3/4 t. pumpkin pie spice

In a small bowl, combine the white flour, whole wheat flour and baking powder. Set aside. in a medium bowl, combine eggs, pumpkin, buttermilk, yogurt, butter, sugar and spices. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Heat a nonstick griddle over low heat with a bit of vegetable spray. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter onto the griddle and cook. Serve with Cinnamon Vanilla syrup or dusted with powdered sugar.

Apple-Almond Cheesecake

This cheesecake was the very first cheesecake I have ever made! The texture is pretty firm but creamy, and the flavor is wonderful if you like almond. I had never used almond paste before making this cake and it is quite expensive. I think I paid $7 for one 7 oz package (I divided the recipe by 2/3 and used an 8" pan) of almond paste! For this reason, I don't think I would make this cheesecake again, but I'm still putting it here just in case I change my mind! Make sure you use a food processor when mixing the filling. Otherwise the almond paste won't blend in smoothly.
12 Servings

Crust:
1 C. graham cracker crumbs
1 C. slices almonds, toasted
6 T. unsalted butter, melted
2 T. golden brown sugar
¼ t. salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter 10-inch-diameter springform pan. Wrap bottom with 2 layers of heavy-duty foil. Mix all ingredients in medium bowl to blend, crumbling almonds slightly. Press mixture onto bottom and 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake until set, about 7 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

Filling:
1 ½ 7-ounce packages almond paste, crumbled
3 8 oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
6 tablespoons sugar
4 large eggs

Combine almond paste, cream cheese, and sugar in processor; blend until smooth, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Mix in eggs until just blended. Pour filling into crust. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 F. and bake until center is set and top appears dry, about 45 minutes longer. Cool. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate over night.

Apples:
4 large Jonagold apples, peeled, cored, cut into ½-inch-thick slices
2 T. fresh lemon juice
4 T. unsalted butter
¾ C. golden brown sugar
¾ t. ground cinnamon

Toss apple slices with lemon juice in large bowl. Melt 3 T. butter in heavy large skillet over high heat. Add apples and sauté until golden and tender, stirring frequently, about 9 minutes. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Stir to coat. Add remaining 1 T. butter. Stir until coated and glazed. Cool slightly. Run small sharp knife around edge of pan to loosen cheesecake. Release pan sides. Arrange apples in concentric circles atop cheesecake. Brush apples with any juices left in skillet. Cut into wedges and serve.

Apple Syrup

I love this syrup with Cinnamon-Apple Pancakes, but I'm sure it's good on regular pancakes too!

1 C. Apple juice (I like Simply Apple)
2 C. sugar
1 cinnamon stick or dash of cinnamon

Bring to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves. About 5 minutes.

Cinnamon-Apple Pancakes

I wasn't really a pancake lover until I had these!

Serves 4 to 6
2 C. flour
1 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
1 T. brown sugar, packed
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 eggs
1 3/4 C. buttermilk
1/2 C. fat free or light sour cream (you could also use plain yogurt in place of sour cream)
1/4 C. butter, melted
1 Granny smith apple, cored, peeled and grated

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl; set aside. Mix eggs, buttermilk, sour cream and butter together; add to flour mixture. Fold in apple. You may want to add more buttermilk if you feel the batter is too thick. Pour 1/4 cup batter onto a greased hot griddle or non-stick pan. Heat until little bubbles form through the batter, then flip. Serve warm with apple syrup.

Rosemary Focaccia

I have made this bread for years and it's one of my favorites. This is the perfect bread to make on a rainy or snowy day when you just want to stay inside and read a good book.
Hint: I have made this bread with homemade mashed potatoes as well as with prepared instant potatoes. I find that the instant potatoes are easier and make a smoother dough. Homemade mashed potatoes tend to be lumpy no matter how much you mash them!)

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (about 2 or 3 T.)
1 T. honey or corn syrup
1 pkg active dry yeast
2 t. salt
1 T. olive oil
1 C. mashed potatoes
2 1/2 C. all purpose flour (sometimes I use bread flour)
3 T. grated Parmesan cheese

Pour 1 C. boiling water over rosemary sprigs in a small bowl and let sit for 20 minutes or until the water is lukewarm. Remove rosemary from water, chop finely and set aside. Add honey to water. Put yeast in a large bowl and pour rosemary water over yeast. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes until foamy. Stir salt and 1 T. olive oil into yeast mixture. Add mashed potatoes, rosemary and enough flour to make a kneadable dough. Sometimes you may need more than just 2 1/2 C. flour, so just add flour 1/4 C. at a time until the dough is no longer sticky. Knead dough for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. Slather the dough with olive oil and place in a bowl. Cove the dough loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. Punch dough down and kneed for another minute. Add flour if sticky. Coat a 17 x 11 inch baking sheet with olive oil and stretch dough to edges. Drizzle a little more olive oil over dough if necessary and then sprinkle Parmesan cheese over the top. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap and make small indentations with your index finger in the dough. Bake bread at 400 F. for 16-18 minutes until golden brown. Let cool slightly and cut into 12 pieces. Serve warm.

Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

I had this soup at Olive Garden and I really liked it, so I found this recipe on-line. You can find gnocchi in most grocery stores in the pasta section.

2 C. Rotisserie chicken(light and dark meat), cubed or shredded
4 C. chicken broth
2 C. half and half
1 stalk celery, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 C. fresh spinach, chopped
1 T. olive oil
1 t. thyme
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz potato gnocchi
1 T. cornstarch(optional)

Saute onion, celery, garlic and carrot in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add chicken stock, salt, pepper, and thyme and bring to a boil. Add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer. Add half and half and chicken and simmer for 10 minutes. If you would like a thicker soup, you could bring the soup to a boil and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 T. water. Add spinach and cook for another 1 -2 minutes until spinach is wilted.