Peach Butter

I like apple butter on my toast. It reminds me of my great-grandmother for some reason, but I not sure what that reason is. So when I saw this recipe in a magazine (I do not recall what magazine) I knew I had to try it because I love peaches! It is my favorite!! It is so amazing on a piece of hot toast! And amazingly enough my daughter loves it too. She can not smear enough of it on her toast. I have to monitor it when we get it out. So if you are looking for some yummy goodness to spread on your toast, try this recipe.

Peach Butter

Peel and half your peaches. Place in blender and puree. Pour in large pan. For each 8 cups of pureed peaches add:
4 c. sugar
1 t. nutmeg
1 t. ginger
Boil on medium heat until thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. Laddle into hot jars. Process in hot water bath for 10 minutes to seal.

Tips:

• To peel peaches, pierce skin at the top near the stem and place in boiling water for 30-60 seconds. Remove and place in ice water to stop the cooking process. Skin should peel easy.
• When boiling it takes about 1 hour to thicken.
• I keep my jars hot by filing with about 1 inch of water and placing them on a cookie sheet and setting them in the oven on the lowest temperature.
• This will keep for 2 years sealed and about 3 months in your refrigerator.

Dulce-de-Leche Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of my most favorite desserts. Often my friends want to go to The Cheesecake Factory for girls nite. My husband has often said, "Why don't you make a cheesecake and let them pay you?" And I have considered it. But I have yet to charge my friends for cheesecake.. But I love cheesecake and love to make them. I found a basic recipe and have played around with it to make a lot different kinds.

My husband's favorite is this Dulce-de-Leche cheesecake. I made it last year for his birthday and he was in Heaven. It is sooooo good. Very rich and yummy! My oldest child has even started requesting it as her birthday cake.

This year when I asked my husband what he wanted for his cake he told me that I should already know the answer. So I made another Dulce-de-Leche Cheesecake. This time I saved a little caramel to write Happy Birthday on the top.

Dulce-de-Leche Cheesecake

1 Graham cracker crust (see recipe below)

4 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 1/4 c. sugar

2 T. unbleached flour

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 T. dulce-de-leche flavored syrup

1 t. vanilla

2 T. whipping cream

1 bag Kraft caramels

1/4 c. whipping cream


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside of your springform pan with heavy duty foil and place in a large baking pan with sides at least 2 inches high.

Unwrap the caramels and place in small sauce pan. Add 1/4 c. whipping cream.
Heat over medium-low heat and stir occasionally until completely melted. Let cool about 15 minutes. Pour half of the caramel sauce over the bottom of the crust.


Put the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and beat for 1 minute until creamy. Add sugar and beat for 1 minute or until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Mix in the four. Add the eggs two at a time, mixing completely after each addition. Scrape the sides of the bowl twice during this process. Add the flavored syrup and the vanilla.
Add the whipping cream.

Pour batter over caramel in crust. Shake slightly to remove any excess bubbles. Drizzle caramel over top.

Place in oven and pour boiling water into baking dish about 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake for 75 minutes. Remove from oven when the cheesecake wiggles but is firm in the middle. Place on cooling rack, in water bath and cover with paper towels for 1 hour. Remove from water bath and remove towels. Cool for 1 hour on cooling rack. Remove the side of the springform pan. and let cool until cool to the touch.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator overnight. Serve with extra caramel or chocolate sauce.

Graham Cracker Crust

1 1/2 c. graham cracker crumbs

6 T butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter sides and bottom of pan. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Stir with fork until moistened. Press evenly into bottom of pan and up the side about an inch. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Tips:

• Invest in a good springform pan. You will have better success with making cheesecakes with the proper tools to make one.


• Be patient and plan. This is the hardest part of making a cheesecake. I get my eggs and cream cheese out of the refrigerator early in the morning, around 6am. I start working on the cheesecake at about 10 am. And I let it cool completely before we eat it. Trust me it is so much better nice and chilled than warm in the middle.


• Make sure you give your ingredients time to come to room temperature. If it is cold or you add cold ingredients the batter can become lumpy. This gives the cheesecake a strange consistency.


• Boil the water as you are making the cheesecake. You do not want to wait for the water once you have poured the batter into the pan.


• We use the Torani's or DaVinci flavored syrups. We love them for a lot of recipes. And they have so many flavors, you are bound to find a few you love.


• I use store brand cream cheese for a lot of recipes, but for cheesecake I only use Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese. It really does make the best cheesecake.

Raspberry Lemonade

I have a lot of wonderful drink recipes that I have collected over the years, but this has to be one of my favorites. In fact, I made it for our Fantasy Football Draft Party. My kids and husband love it. And it is really popular with my friends and they often ask for the recipe.

Raspberry Lemonade

1 64 oz. can unsweetened pineapple juice or 1 can pineapple juice frozen concentrate mixed according to directions

1 packet Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light

1 packet Raspberry Ice Crystal Light

4 c. water

1 8 oz. package frozen raspberries

1-2 liter bottle lemon-lime soda (You may want to have more than one.)


Combine pineapple juice, Crystal Light juices and water in pitcher and stir. Add raspberries. Chill. When ready to serve, combine with lemon-lime soda in a punch bowl.

Tips:

• Pour concentrate into a mold, or bundt pan and freeze for at least 6 hours. Un-mold and place frozen ring in a punch bowl. About 20 minutes before serving add lemon-lime soda. You will want to have more than one bottle of soda.



• You can serve the concentrate from the pitcher, mix a one to one ratio for concentrate and soda.



• Serve with extra frozen raspberries on the side.



• Invest in a cute punch bowl. You will be amazed at how often you will use it.



• You can also freeze the concentrate in an old ice cream tub or other container and scrape ice off to add to the soda if you are not serving to a crowd. Just put the extra back in the freezer for later.



• You can also use Kool-aid if you do not want to use the Crystal Light, but you will also have to add the 2 cups of sugar.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I was at a friends house and she made us these amazing chicken salad sandwiches. I love chicken salad and have compiled several favorite recipes . My friend put them on croissants but I did not have any when I made it for my family, so I used the sandwich thins.

Chicken Salad

1-2 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless, cooked, cooled and cubed
1/3 c. mayonnaise
1 t. mustard
9-12 red seedless grapes, halved
1/4 c. pecans, chopped
Dash of Mrs. Dash seasoning
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve on bread of choice.


Tips:

-I like to buy the big packages of chicken breasts on the bone and cook them in the oven with the skin still on and seasoned with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. I bake them at 375 degrees F. for about 30 minutes or until the meat is not pink in the middle anymore. I let them cool and peel the meat off the bone for salads and freeze the remaining breasts in a freezer bag until I want to make another chicken salad. The chicken tends to stay more moist on the bone and I can reheat them in minutes to make another salad.

-I use Dijon mustard for this recipe but I am sure you can use whatever your family likes.

-The pecans are optional. If you are allergic or simply do not like them omit.

-Season to taste. If you like more Mrs. Dash add more. This recipe is pretty flexible.

Ham and Cheese Roll-ups

One night I was looking in the refrigerator for something to make my family that I thought they would eat.
(I do this a lot in the summer because I don't tend to cook as much due to the heat and because I would rather be doing something else. :) )
I glanced around and saw crescent rolls, ham and cheese and thought quick and easy ham and cheese sandwiches.

So super easy and the kids all liked them. I am sure someone out there has done the same thing a million times, but for us it was a first.

Ham and Cheese Rollups

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls
8 slices ham
4 slices Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Unroll rolls and pull apart. Cut ham and cheese in half crosswise and place on rolls. Roll up just like you would if making the rolls alone. Place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until tops are golden brown.

Tips:

-Make extra and serve with a dipping sauce for parties.
-Place a small amount of mustard inside the rolls before rolling to give them tang.

Hawaiian Chicken

My parents brought this recipe back from Hawaii when they went 18 years ago. I remember they loved it so much and made it so often that we all got tired of it. But now that 18 years have passed I love it again. It is the perfect summer dish. And it can be baked in the oven in the winter if you are craving a dish to liven up the table. Served with fresh fruit and rice it is so wonderful. A nice salad goes well too.

Hawaiian Chicken

Chicken thighs and legs
1 c. pineapple juice
1/2 c. Dijon mustard
3/4 c. honey
1/4 c. water
2 T. cornstarch
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Place chicken on large baking sheet. Salt and pepper lightly. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in oven for 2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove foil and peel skin off of the chicken.
While chicken is cooling preheat grill. Combine pineapple juice, honey and mustard in sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Dissolve cornstarch in water and add slowly to mixture in pan. Stir constantly until the cornstarch has cooked in completely. Place cooked chicken on the grill and brush with pineapple Dijon glaze. Turn over after about 4-5 minutes and brush on the glaze again. Continue to heat for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot. Serve extra glaze on the side for guests to put more on or add to their rice.

Tips:

-If you are baking, do not precook the chicken. Instead, marinate in glaze for about an hour and then cook in 350 oven for 20-25 minutes until chicken is done.

-If you like the chicken skin you do not have to remove it. We prefer not to eat it and if you leave it on and then glaze, the flavor goes with the skin when you peel it off later.

-The glaze will be very thick. Keep stirring or it will stick to the bottom.
You will know the cornstarch has cooked in when the sauce no longer looks milky.

-You can cook the chicken on the grill but do not brush the glaze on until the end of cooking. The honey and pineapple juice in the glaze will make it burn.

-Precooking a the low temperature with the foil keeps the chicken nice and juicy and allows the skin to act as a natural moisture retainer. Then you can peel it off for the final heating on the grill and you do not have to worry about flare ups on the grill from the grease and your chicken will be done and not dry.

Cherry Cheese Cupcakes

For the Fourth of July we had a BBQ at our house and I wanted to make a treat. I saw all over the blogs these amazing cupcakes. So I thought I would follow suit and make cupcakes for our get together. In college, I went to a graduation party and they served this wonderful sheet cake. It was a white cake with a fluffy icing and cherry pie filling. So yummy. I asked my friend for the recipe and thought these would be perfect because they are red and white. And I could easily turn it into cupcakes.

Cherry Cheese Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix and ingredients to make the cake

2 8 oz. pkgs. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

4 c. powdered sugar

16 oz. cool-whip topping

1 can cherry pie filling

Prepare cupcake pans and make cake mix according to package directions. Bake cupcakes and allow to cool.

Combine cream cheese and sugar. Mix until it is light and fluffy. Gently fold in the cool-whip. Using a butter knife cut a small x in the top of the cupcakes. Fill cupcakes using a decorator's tip and piping bag or plastic bag, push tip into x and squeezing filling in. Frost cupcakes and top with a couple cherries.

Tips:

-For the Fourth of July I wanted red and blue too. So I colored some of the batter blue and red. I used the paste food coloring so the consistency of the batter was not altered.

-We had a lot of kids coming so I also made mini cupcakes and filled them the same. Each got one cherry and they were perfect for little hands.

-To make this a sheet cake bake the cake in a large sheet pan for 20 minutes and let cool. Spread frosting and top with the pie filling.

-I can imagine that these would be wonderful with fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries instead of the pie filling. Any of those pie fillings would also be delicious too.