Karla's New York Cheesecake

Crust:
1 c. flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. butter
1 large egg yolk
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Stir dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl. Cut butter into dry mixture and then add in yolk and vanilla. Mix together until a dough forms. Press dough into the bottom of a springform pan and slightly up the sides. Refrigerate (or freeze) while you make the filling and preheat the oven.

Preheat oven to 475 F with a pan filled with about 1/2 inch of water on the bottom rack.

Filling:
4 (8-oz) packages cream cheese
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1/2 c. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
5 eggs, room temperature

Beat cream cheese thoroughly with a mixer until it's smooth. Add all other ingredients except for the eggs. Beat again, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl until it's very smooth. Add eggs one at a time, mixing just until blended. Pour filling into crust and bake for 10 minutes at 475 F. Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for about 45 minutes. Cool completely, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate a minimum of 4 hours before serving. It's best after about 24 hours in the fridge.

You can serve it with fruit, of course, but it really (truly AND seriously 😉) doesn't need anything with it! We always eat it by itself (I refuse to say "plain") and it is probably our favorite dessert around here. Also, I am claiming it as my own since I've combined and tweaked three or four different recipes over the years until I settled on this.

Weekly... Monthly Menu

I haven't kept up my weekly menu posts, oops. But! I did remember to take screen shots of my menus so I could post them later. Here we go:

(No idea why Monday's missing or why we had pizza on a Tuesday)
Tuesday - pizza
Wednesday - salmon, sweet potatoes, asparagus
Thursday - kale, sausage, egg dish
Friday - Korean beef in bib lettuce (like lettuce wraps) (if you make the recipe in the link, cut waaaay back on the sugar and spice it up)
Saturday - birthday party
Sunday - quiche (I just use this recipe for ratios and ideas)

Monday - stir fry over riced cauliflower
  I was inspired by a friend to grill some chicken and chop it up, and add it to sautéed onions, tons of garlic, mushrooms, and kale (she used spinach which was also delicious), add some soy sauce and serve over riced cauliflower. So good!
Tuesday - grilled chicken, Brussels sprouts, salad
Wednesday - tacos, guacamole
Thursday - zoodle ramen soup
Friday - gallo pinto

Monday - cauliflower fried "rice" (I used this for general inspiration but didn't make the actual recipe)
Tuesday - roasted sausage/sweet potatoes/Brussels sprouts/broccoli/onions
Wednesday - taco salad
Thursday - chicken salad in lettuce cups (we didn't actually eat this, we ended up making breakfast sandwiches)
Friday - pizza

Monday - frozen tortilla soup and cornbread (yay for freezer meals!)
Tuesday - roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli, grilled chicken
Wednesday - taco salad
Thursday - chicken salad in lettuce cups (now we're having it)
Friday - tacos
Saturday - out
Sunday - brats, buns, whatever vegetables are left

Weekly Menu

It's still early in the week, right? Here's my menu:

Monday - Grilled chicken, brussels sprouts (roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a little soy sauce at the end), roasted potatoes
Tuesday - Taco salad
Wednesday - gallo pinto and kielbasa
Thursday - leftover chili & cornbread
Friday - black bean burgers, sweet potatoes
Saturday - pizza
Sunday - fish tacos (I love the tortilla crusted tilapia from Costco for these)

Some of these are a repeat from last week since we didn't get to everything. Anyone have an inspiring menu for me?

Chicken Biryani - Instant Pot

2 Tbsp. ghee or butter
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
5 black peppercorns
5 green (or black) cardamom pods
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 jalapenos, diced (optional)
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
6-8 mint sprigs, chopped
1 cup basmati rice, rinsed and drained
Salt
1 cup water

1. Preheat the Instant Pot by selecting Saute and adjust to More for high heat. When the inner cooking pot is hot, add the ghee and heat until it is shimmering. Add the cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, and cardamom pods. Stir and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the spices are sizzling.
2. Add the onion and cook until well-browned and crisp at the edges.
3. Add ginger, garlic and jalapenos and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add chicken and sear on both sides.
5. Spread out the chicken to cover the bottom of the pot.
6. Sprinkle cilantro and mint over the chicken, topped by rice and a generous sprinkling of salt.
7. Pour in the water and gently push down the rice so it's mostly covered by the water.
8. Lock the lid into place. Select Manual and adjust pressure to High. Cook for 5 minutes.
9. When the cooking is complete, let the pressure release naturally.
10. Mix gently before serving. (Serves 6)
This is taken from Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Urvashi Pitre.

Here are my notes:
-The first time I made this I doubled the recipe in my 5.5-qt. Instant Pot and it turned out great. My mistake was forgetting to push the rice down into the water, so it was a little unevenly cooked, but still...so stinking amazing!
-Both times I generously salted the chicken and I recommend doing that. I salted the rice as well, and still ended up adding a little more salt at the end of cooking.
-I left out the jalapenos for my kids' sake. #bestmomever 😏
-I used basmati rice the first time, jasmine the second...both are delicious, but I recommend basmati.
-Even if you have to track down these ingredients at some special international grocery store, I think it's totally worth it.
-Even if it looks like a lot of work, it's totally worth it. When you throw the onions in on the butter and spices, you start weeping with joy and wonder where that smell has been all your life. Same weeping thing will also happen when the cilantro and mint are added.
-It's really good with plain yogurt, in my opinion.
-Don't forget to try and fish out all the whole spices after it's cooked. Biting into a clove is not ideal.

My Menu

I thought I would start posting my weekly menu for anyone interested and needing some ideas! Hopefully “others” (read: my sisters) will also be inspired to post.

This week I decided to try to use as many things from my fridge and pantry as possible, which is why I am making:

Monday - breakfast for dinner: sausage patties, hash browns, eggs

Tuesday - chicken curry & rice

Wednesday - Brussels sprouts w/bacon, roasted tenderloin, sweet potatoes

Thursday - black bean burgers, veggies

Friday - tamales & flautas, salad

Saturday - pizza

Ashley’s Oven Ribs

Rinse ribs and pat dry.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Rub with fresh minced garlic.
Wrap the ribs in 3 layers of foil... One layer at a time so that all the seams are on top and the ribs are well sealed.
Place foil wrapped ribs (seam side up)on cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 3 hours.

Meanwhile either make BBQ sauce or use store bought.
After 3 hours, open foil packet and brush with BBQ sauce. 
Then either close the foil back up and let it sit in the oven for 20-30 more minutes or place the open foil packets under the broiler for a few minutes until bubbly.  

Shrimp Tacos

I made shrimp tacos for my birthday dinner today and they turned out deliciously. I thought I would resurrect ye olde blog and post what I did and what I would do next time to make them even better.

My inspiration for these tacos began with the marvelous shrimp tacos at Blanco Tacos + Tequila. Here's basically what they do:

Street taco sized tortillas, flour or corn
Pan fried shrimp
Guacamole
Pickled red onion
Sliced fresno chiles
Cotija cheese

I loosely followed the recipe from here for the seasoning for the shrimp and ended up mixing together:
1 1/2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

I used 2 tsp of the above mixture, mixed with 1 Tbsp cornstarch and tossed with the shrimp.

I also used this recipe and did a quick pickling of the red onion. Then it's just a matter of making the guacamole (fairly smooth, not so chunky, to be true to Blanco), slicing the chiles, crumbling the cheese, warming the tortillas, and frying the shrimp. I fried the shrimp in vegetable oil and a screaming hot pan for a couple of minutes per side and they were fantastically plump and not rubbery at all. I would, however, like to try the following seasoning amounts next time (for 1 lb of shrimp):

1 1/2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Use 2 tsp of the above mixture and mix with 1 Tbsp cornstarch. (I left out the thyme on purpose; I don't think the flavors went together.)

All in all, success! I hope you make them and enjoy them as much as we did.