Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

(i got all these recipes from allrecipes.com, but i thought i'd put them on here anyway. here goes...)

1 (16 oz) package pound cake mix
3 eggs
2 T. butter, melted
4 t. pumpkin pie spice, divided
1 (8 oz) softened cream cheese
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin puree
1/2 t. salt
1 c. chopped pecans (optional)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 15x10 in. jelly roll pan with non-stick spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, on low speed, combine cake mix, 1 egg, margarine, and 2 t. pumpkin pie spice until crumbly. Press onto bottom of prepared pan.
3. In another large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk, then remaining two eggs, pumpkin, remaining 2 t. pumpkin pie spice, and salt; mix well. Pour over crust; sprinkle with pecans.
4. Bake 30-45 min., or until set.
5. Cool, then chill in refrigerator. Cut into squares. Store covered in refrigerator.

these bars are phenomenal. they remind me a bit of those pumpkin things they used to sell at jim's bakery. yum!

Unbelievable Chicken

1/4 c. vinegar
3 T. prepared mustard
3 cloves minced garlic
1 lime, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
ground black pepper to taste
6 T. olive oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
Directions:
1. In a large glass bowl, mix the vinegar, mustard, garlic, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Place chicken in mixture. Cover, and marinate 8 hours, or overnight. (I marinated it over 24 hours and it was great)
2. Preheat an outdoor grill on high heat.
3. Grill 6 to 8 minutes per side, until juices run clear. Baste during grilling, then discard marinade.

Indian Stir-Fried Shrimp in Cream Sauce (Bhagari Jhinga)

1 T. tomato paste
1/2 t. salt
1 t. white sugar
1 t. garam masala
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
3 T. chopped, fresh cilantro
1 fresh jalapeno, chopped
1 T. fresh lemon juice
1 c. coconut milk
3 T. vegetable oil
1 t. black mustard seed
3 cloves minced garlic
1 1/4 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 T. cornstarch
1 T. cold water

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, stir together tomato paste, salt, sugar, garam masala, ground cumin, cayenne pepper, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Set coconut sauce aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the mustard seeds and cook until they begin to pop. Immediately stir in garlic, and cook until garlic begins to brown. Add shrimp, and cook until shrimp is opaque; this should only take a minute or two. Pour the coconut sauce over the shrimp; cook until the sauce begins to simmer. In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch and water; stir into the sauce, and continue cooking until thick. Serve over rice.

Vegetable Curry

I made this up, with inspiration from the Indian Chicken recipe in More With Less.

Chop up cabbage, onions, red bell pepper, potatoes and green beans. Fry in a mixture of olive oil and margarine until the cabbage starts to wilt. Add equal amounts of weak chicken broth and soy sauce, and about 1/3 as much honey. (That should make enough sauce to almost cover the vegetables.) Season with minced garlic, ginger (I don’t use real ginger), turmeric, cumin, curry and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in a bunch of chickpeas. Simmer till the potatoes are done. Serve on rice.

Crepes

These are so good just sprinkled with cinnamon sugar while they are hot, and then rolled up and eaten quickly. :) Another great way to serve them is with pie filling that has whipped cream folded into it. I tried it with peach sauce that we get here (like chunky applesauce) and it was great. In restaurants here you can get them with vanilla ice-cream inside and hot chocolate sauce over them.

Combine in blender:

5 eggs

1 ¼ cup flour

2 tbsp sugar

rounded ¼ tsp baking powder

1 ¼ cup milk

5 tbsp water

4 tsp melted butter

Blend for one minute, scrape down sides and blend 15-30 seconds longer. Heat buttered omelet pan and fry scant ¼ cup batter at a time. Tilt pan quickly to spread batter in a circle. Fry till the top appears almost dry, then flip the crepe. Stack on a plate or fill and roll immediately. Crepes should appear slightly ‘lacy’ around the edges and slightly thicker in the middle.

Makes about 14, I think.

Tomato Soup for One

Fill a large mug almost to the top with pure tomato juice. Add a bit of milk until it looks creamy enough (or you could add some water too to tone it down).
Add:
seasoning salt
garlic powder
basil
pepper
hot pepper sauce
Microwave on medium power (so the milk doesn't curdle, but even if it does it still tastes good). Drink it up with a slice of whole wheat toast, a slice of cheese, and you have a full meal deal. What a great way to get a big serving of veggies in! This will be my new handy lunch.

Stuffed Italian Meatloaf

1 lb. ground beef or turkey (I used turkey and it's fine if it's good quality)
1 egg
1/2 c. Italian bread crumbs
Worcestershire sauce
ketchup
mustard
1/4 c. chopped onion
garlic powder
salt
pepper
Italian seasoning

Mix together and put half the mixture into a loaf pan. Push some of it up the sides of the pan a bit to make room for the filling.

Filling:
1/2-3/4 c. ricotta cheese
Italian seasoning
garlic salt
1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Put filling on first layer of meat and then put the rest of the meat on top of the filling. Squirt a little ketchup on top and sprinkle on some garlic powder and a little more Italian seasoning. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Yes, I did make this up and I didn't measure so you're guess is almost as good as mine. Just make meatloaf like you know how, except use these general ingredients. You won't be sorry. If you are, just don't ever make it again. Also, treat it well by serving it with mashed potatoes.

Breakfast Casserole

3 cups hashbrowns (thawed, if using frozen)
1 1/2 cups ham or 1 lb. sausage
1 1/2 cups shredded Colby cheese
Onion flakes or onion to taste
6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt

Mix hashbrowns, ham, cheese, and onion flakes together. Beat eggs and milk; add salt and mix together. Pour mixture in greased pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour.

Note: this is all the info the recipe gives. If you put this into a 9x13 it will be kind of thin, but it works. Also, it serves about 5 people. It works fine to double it, put it in a 9x13 and bake it just 5 or 10 minutes longer. And, last but not least, I've never bothered with onions of any sort and it still tastes great.

Indian Chicken

This recipe is from the More with Less cookbook. I change it a bit when I make it, so here is my slightly-altered version.

Heat in large skillet:
2 T margarine
1 T vegetable oil (basically enough of both/either to saute the onion in)
Saute 1 med. onion, chopped
Combine and add to onions:
3 T flour
2 T curry powder (I like madras curry for an extra kick, and I add extra)
1 t ground ginger
2 t salt
Combine and add to onion mixture:
1/3 c honey
1/4 c soy sauce
3 c chicken broth or bullion
3-4 c drained chick peas
approx. 1 lb. cooked, shredded chicken
Cook over high heat, stirring, until sauce thickens. Serve over rice.

In the original recipe it says to use a "3-lb fryer" for the chicken. I usually just cook a bunch of chicken legs and take the meat off the bones ahead of time. It's cheaper than using other chicken parts, I think. :)

Mocha Mousse Brownies

2/3 c. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 c. butter
1 c. plus 2 tbsp. sugar
2 eggs
1/4 c. hot water
2 tbsp instant coffee granules
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. baking cocoa
1 tsp. baking powder

Mousse:
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 c. cold water
2 tbsp. instant coffee granules
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips, melted
1 c. heavy whipping cream

In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chips and butter; pour into a mixing bowl. Beat in sugar until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine hot water and coffee granules; add to chocolate mixture. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking powder; beat into chocolate mixture.
Spread into a greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 min. until a toothpick comes out clean (brownies will be thin). Cool completely.
For mousse, in a saucepan, sprinkle gelatin over cold water; let stand for 1 min. Cook and stir over low heat until gelatin in dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in coffee granules until dissolved.
In a small mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth; beat in milk and melted chips. In a chilled mixing bowl, beat whipping cream and gelatin mixture until soft peaks form. Fold into cream cheese mixture. Spread over brownies. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours or until firm. Cut into squares. Yield: 2 dozen.

These take a little time to make, but they're worth it!