Black Forest Pie

Black Forest Pie

I got this from Taste of Home. It's really chocolaty and VERY rich, but it's good.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Domino or C&H Granulated Pure Cane Sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling, divided
1 unbaked pastry shell (9 inches)
Whipped Topping (optional)

Directions:
In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cocoa and flour. Stir in milk until smooth. Add butter. Cook and stir over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Reduce heat; cook and stir 2 minutes longer.
Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot filling into eggs; return all to pan, stirring constantly. Fold in half of the pie filling.
Pour into pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until filling is almost set. Coll completely on a wire rack. Just before serving, top with remaining pie filling and whipped topping if desired. Yield: 6-8 servings.

Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

¾ cup dried, pitted cherries
1 Chocolate cookie crust, baked in 9-inch springform pan, cooled
2 lbs. Cream cheese, softened 3-4 hours at room temperature
1 ¼ cup plus 2 TB sugar
2 TB unbleached all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp almond extract
1 TB fresh lemon juice
2 TB whipping cream
6 oz. Semisweet chocolate, chopped into approx. ½ -inch pieces

Put the cherries in a small bowl and pour boiling water over them, just to cover the cherries. Let the cherries sit in the hot water for 30 minutes. Drain the cherries and pat dry with paper towels.
Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside of the springform pan with curst with a large piece of heavy aluminum foil and place it in a large baking pan with sides at least 2 inches high.
Put the cream cheese in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until the cream cheese is smooth, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and mix until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Mix in the flour. Add the eggs, two at a time, mixing the batter smooth after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl twice during this mixing. Mix in the vanilla, almond extract, and the lemon juice. Mix in the whipping cream. Stir in the soaked and drained cherries and chopped chocolate. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Put the cheesecake in the oven and pour hot water into the large baking pan to reach 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake 1 hour, or until when you give the cheesecake a gentle shake, the top looks firm. (see note at bottom)
Cool the cheesecake, covered loosely with paper towels, in the water bath for 1 hour on a wire rack. Remove the cheesecake from the water bath. Remove the paper towels and cool 1 hour more. The cheesecake should feel cool to the touch. Cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Rachel's note: I didn't bother with the crust when I made this. Also, after the cheesecake baked for one hour, instead of taking it out of the oven and cooling it on a rack, I left the oven door closed and just turned off the oven. I let it sit there for another hour before taking it out of the oven to cool for another hour on the counter. This cheesecake is so thick it really needs the extra "baking" time.

Fast Pork Fajitas

3 Tbs chili powder
2 Tbs ground cumin
2 tsp ground oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt (optional)
pork tenderloin, about 2 pounds, thinly sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 green peppers, sliced
10 to 12 flour tortillas, warmed

In a shallow bowl combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and salt. Coat pork pieces with fajita seasoning.

In large skillet over medium-high heat, stir-fry pork pieces with onion and green pepper and 2 Tbs olive oil until pork is cooked and vegetables are just tender.

Wrap portions in flour tortillas with any of the following: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, cheese.

I made this for dinner last night and we all really liked it. Even Ellen who has been pretty picky lately. It was a large amount, but it was just right for dinner for our family plus some leftovers for James' lunch. There was plenty of extra seasoning mixture left over so I think next time I'll just use half of it and save the rest for next time. I served it with rice, which we like to put in the fajita instead of eating on the side.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

This is an incredibly easy recipe, and is really good! It is meant to be microwaved, but I cooked mine on the stove.

Prep: 5 min. Total: 16 min

2 medium baking potatoes, unpeeled
1 can (14 1/2 oz) fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup milk
3 slices bacon, cooked, crumbled and divided
3/4 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
2 TB sliced green onions, divided
1/4 cup Sour Cream

Pierce potatoes; microwave on High 5 min, turning over after 2 1/2 min. Cut potatoes into chunks. Combine potatoes, broth and milk in large microwaveable bowl. Microwave on High 6 min, stirring after 3 min. Slightly crush potatoes with a potato masher.

Reserve 2 TB each of the bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

Serve topped with reserved bacon, cheese, onions and sour cream.

Makes 4 servings, about 1 cup each


When I made this I trippled the recipe as it doesn't make a whole lot. Instead of the can of chicken broth I just made 2 cups of broth from buillion, which does make a few ounces more than the recipe calls for. Also, instead of sliced bacon I used bacon end pieces which we like since the pieces are thicker. When we have this again, I will use more potatoes and rather than mashing them slightly will just leaved them in chunks. With the potatoes mashed they settle at the bottom of the soup, so the bottom is thick but the top layer of soup is pretty runny.
Next time I also plan on making the soup a little thicker by adding some flour; it was pretty runny.

Upside Down Pizza

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 (16 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 (8 oz) can refrigerated crescent rolls

(I often just use my left over spaghetti sauce and then the cheese's and crescent rolls!)

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Brown beef, onion and garlic in large saucepan over medium high heat. Once browned, drain fat and stir in spaghetti sauce.
3. In a 9x13 baking dish, spread a layer of sauce. Top with 1/2 of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses, another layer of sauce, and the rest of the cheese. Top with crescent rolls, pinching seams together.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
¾ cup white chocolate morsels
½ cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Preheat oven 350 deg.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix well and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix into the creamed butter, scraping again. Stir in the white and semisweet morsels.

Bake 9-12 minutes. High altitude: Reduce sugar to ¾ cup. NOTE: It’s hard to tell when dark chocolate cookies are done. A trick is to lift the baking sheet and bang it on the oven rack; if the cookies still have a dome, leave them in; if they flatten, remove from the oven.

Morning Glory Muffins

½ cup raisins, packed
½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
1 cup fresh or canned crushed pineapple, drained
1 tart apple, peeled, cored, finely chopped
½ cup shredded coconut
About 4 large carrots, peeled and grated (2 cups)
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup oil
1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

TOPPING
brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all fruits, coconut, carrots, and nuts. In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla. Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and add to wet mixture. Stir until just blended. Stir in fruit mixture. Divide among muffin cups, filling almost to top. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until done. Cool in pans at least 10 minutes then remove. Serve warm. NOTE: you can refrigerate batter over night to let the flavors blend. Makes 16-18 muffins