LuvBug

Cream Cheese Pancakes

This morning my kids were begging for homemade pancakes that looked like Mikey Mouse (everything is Disney right now).  As I was looking in the fridge for ingredients I came across some cream cheese that I had bought for some other recipe & knew it would ruin so I decided to look up some recipes.  I figured it would be a long shot, but it never hurt to google, so I looked up cream cheese pancakes.  I came across a very easy & decadent pancake recipe.  The best part was my kids could not eat enough - the pancakes were fluffy, delicious & the perfect consistency.

 

Cream Cheese Pancakes

2 cups self-rising flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 to 2 cups of milk (I used 1 1/2)

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine self-rising flour and sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.

Combine egg & next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring well; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened.

Pour 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto a hot, lightly greased griddle.  Cook pancakes until tops are covered with bubbles & edges appear cooked; turn & cook other side.  Serve pancakes with warm maple syrup &, if desired, bacon (I used plain syrup & no bacon - Simple is key at my house).

Note:  1/4 cup egg substitute, skim milk, & light cream cheese may be used.  Pancake batter will be thinner & will cook faster.

Courtesy of Myrecipes.com

 

Yummy Pumpkin Bites

Last spring Weatherly brought home a little clear plastic cup containing a pumpkin seed buried in some soil.  I sat it in my window seal to show how proud of her I was and to my disbelief a vine grew across my window seal.  Before too long a big beautiful orange bloom appeared.  Weatherly begged me to plant the vine in our back yard and I did, even though I thought it would not produce anything.  Well, I was incredibly mistaken!  In the beginning of September we picked our one and only beautiful pumpkin.  It was perfectly round without a blemish.  Weatherly was so proud of her little pumpkin!!  She then insisted we make something out of it - something yummy.  Unfortunately I never made it around to pureeing the pumpkin myself due to life. Little to her knowledge, I tossed the molded pumpkin away and bought a very hard to find can of pumpkin at the grocery store. Weatherly and I searched the internet until we found a perfect recipe to fulfill her desire....

The winner was (from picky-palate.com)...

Black Bottomed Mini Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake Bites

8 whole Oreos, finely ground in food processor

1 1/2 Tablespoons melted butter

8 oz softened cream cheese

1/2 Cup granulated sugar

1/2 Cup pumpkin puree (I used Libby’s)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

3 Litehouse Lowfat caramel dip (comes in a package of 6 20z little cups)

12 Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kisses, unwrapped

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine ground Oreos and melted butter into a bowl until well combined.  Spoon into 12 mini cheesecake cups that have been sprayed with cooking spray.  Press into the bottom of each cup so the crust is flat.  Partially bake for 10 minutes then remove from oven.

2.  In a stand or electric mixer beat the cream cheese,  sugar and pumpkin until smooth.  Beat in egg, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg until combined.  Pour evenly into the 12 cups filling about 3/4 way full.  Spoon about a teaspoon of caramel into the tops of each filled cup and swirl with a toothpick gently.  Bake for 25-28 minutes or until cheesecake is cooked through.  Let cool completely.

3.  Remove cheesecakes from pan and top each with a spoonful of remaining caramel and a Pumpkin Spice Hershey Kiss.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.

12 mini cheesecakes

The cheesecakes turned out delicious, however, next time I will probably do a few things different.  Trying to find the pumpkin kisses was incredibly hard (Target is the only place that carried them out of 4 places I tried) and they didn't add that much to the overall taste to me.  I actually took mine off and enjoyed the cheesecake more without them.  I also did not like the dollop of caramel in the middle you add before cooking, I would have been just fine with the carmel you drizzle on top.  I will definitely make these little yummies again - it was an easy project for the kids and I to do and we got to celebrate growing a pumpkin together :)

Agua De Jamaica — Hibiscus Flower Water

I have had a week full of ups & downs.  This morning was no different.  As I was eating my breakfast feeling a little depressed from the day before I noticed our friend Ken drive up.  Jason went outside to talk to him because I was still in my pj's & I just figured it was ministry related.  A little while later Jason came inside with his hands behind his back, a twinkle in his eyes & a grin larger than life on his face.  I closed my eyes in response to his request then found a wonderful surprise lying in front of me once I reopened them. For the past year Ken & Jason have been looking for my favorite drink I found while we were on a mission trip last year in Cancun - Jamaica (ha-my-ka) which is a very popular drink in Mexico  (resembles the taste of cranberry juice).  Ken found dried hibiscus flowers at Ingles & a receipe for me to make it.  I was thrilled!  And I felt so loved by some very wonderful people!

So today I made some fresh Jamaica to enjoy...

Aqua de Jamaica

2 cups dried hibiscus flowers
1 1/4 cups sugar

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil, add the flowers and the sugar and stir why the mixture boils for about a minute. Pour into a non-staining, noncorrosive bowl and allow to steep for about 2 hours.

Strain the mixture through a sieve pressing to extract as much liquid as possible. Taste, if too "tangy" add more water, if too "tart" add more sugar. Cover and refrigerate until time for serving.

(This is me enjoying a Jamaica in Cancun last year - I loved it!!!)

Fish Tacos

Tonight I decided to cook something different, something yummy, and something that would make Jason really happy :).  I bought a grilling magazine last week to get some new ideas for the grill when I found a fish taco recipe that sounded delicious!  I had to cook without the grill (Jason wasn't home and he is my grill man) so I popped the fish in the oven and kept on preparing....

It turned out terrific, my two oldest kids even ate the fish! 

Open invitation next time we cook :)....

Tacos

1/2 pound cod or other mild whitefish fillets (I used talapia)

1 tablespoon melted butter (I used butter spray Pam)

1 pkg taco seasoning mix

1/2 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat)

2 tablespoon milk

8 hard corn tortilla shells or soft flour tortillas

4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded

Toppings

chopped avocados

chopped tomatoes

shredded coleslaw mix

sliced green onions

Directions

1.  Heat gas grill on medium or charcoal grill until coals are ash white.  Arrange fish fillets in single layer on heavy-duty aluminum foil.  Brush with milted butter; sprinkle with 2 tbls taco seasoning, turning to coat.

2.  Place aluminum foil with fish on grill.  Grill until internal temperature reaches at least 145 degrees or fish flakes easily with fork (10-12 minutes).

*(I totally omitted the above steps concerning the grill.  Instead I heated up my oven to 425 degrees, sprayed my fish with butter Pam, squeezed a fresh lime on the fish and then rubbed the 2 tbls of taco seasoning onto my fish.  I then cooked my fish in a shallow baking dish for about 15 minutes, or until the fish was flaky)*

3.  Meanwhile, combine sour cream, milk and remaining taco seasoning in the small bowl.  Heat taco shells as directed on package.

4.  To serve, cut fish into bite sized pieces; place into taco shells.  Sprinkle with cheese; add toppings, as desired.  Drizzle with sour cream mixture.  Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash = Yummy :)

I made spaghetti squash the other day and found out both my kids liked it - I was in shock!!  My kids don't like anything but chicken and macaroni & cheese (plus a lot of fruit).  During my celebration and telling people about my children's new food I found out there are many of you out there that have never experienced or heard of spaghetti squash.  So I decided to share the delicious and nutrious side of spaghetti squash.

There are many ways to cook the squash; but my favorite way (because it is easiest for me) is to split it long ways, place face down in a casserole dish with a small amount of water, and cook in microwave for 15-30 minutes until the skin is soft.  You have to be careful not to cook it too long because the squash gets more watery as it gets more tender.

While the squash is cooking it is time to make your spaghetti sauce (you do not even have to use spaghetti sauce on it if you do not like - some just use salt, pepper, butter and parmasean cheese).

Once the squash is tender to the touch, take it out of the microwave and turn it over so it is face up. Fork out the middle which consists of seeds and something kind of gooey, then scrap the squash with a fork and the squash looks just like spaghetti strands.  I then mix it with my sauce and serve - delicious :)!

I hope you like it :)!!

Jason's Birthday Receipes

Nikki's Chicken Spaghetti

1 large uncooked chicken
2 pkg thin spaghetti noodles
1 can cream of celery
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 can rotel
16 oz velvetta
ritz crackers
butter

Boil chicken for one hour or longer (until meat starts to fall off the bone) - season with italian seasoning, oregano, seasoning salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper while boiling. Take chicken out of water and debone and deskin. SAVE THE WATER! Boil the noodles in the chicken broth as directed on the package. If the noodles absorb all the water add a can of chicken broth (you want it juicy). DO NOT DRAIN NOODLES. Add all soups, rotel, cheese, noodles with broth and chicken meat together. Once well blended poor into two baking pans. Crush 2 rolls of crackers and mix with 1 stick of melted butter. Poor cracker mixture on one chicken dish and repeat for other baking dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Enjoy!!

Grandma's Mississippi Mud Cake

2 cup sugar
1 cup shortening or butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup plain flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1 1/4 tsp salt
3 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans
1 package mini marshmallows

Icing
1 1/2 sticks melted butter
1/3 cup cocoa
1 box shifted powdered sugar
1/2 cup canned milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix sugar, butter, eggs, flour, cocoa, salt, and vanilla until well blended. Add nuts. Poor into cake pan and cook for 30 minutes. Pour marshmallows on top of cake. Cook another 10 minutes.

Mix icing ingredients together. Pour over cake and marshmellows.

Enjoy!!