Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Cheesecake

On my favorite board on The Nest, Katie was nice enough to put together a recipe exchange. We all decided on desserts for the exchange due to some peoples dietary restrictions. I am not sure who submitted the recipe I made (yet)...but I am pretty sure they got it from the Kraft website.

INGREDIENTS

20 Oreo Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed (about 2 cups)
3 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz. each) Cream Cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup Sour Cream
4 eggs
6 squares Semi-Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted, cooled

DIRECTIONS

PREHEAT oven to 325°F. Line 13x9-inch baking pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides of pan. Mix cookie crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 10 min.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended. Remove 1 cup of the batter; set aside. Stir melted chocolate into remaining batter in large bowl; pour over crust. Top with spoonfuls of the remaining 1 cup plain batter; cut through batters with knife several times for swirled effect.

BAKE 40 min. or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight. Use foil handles to lift cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve. Store in refrigerator.

Buffalo Chicken Burgers

I wanted to make a burger that had a buffalo chicken wing taste. Jason thought it was too salty...but I love salt and thought it was perfect. Since I did not added any salt I guess it was the cheese or wing sauce that had a high sodium content. Nonetheless - I LOVED it!

INGREDIENTS

Ground Chicken

Wing Sauce (I used Budweiser brand - SO good)

Blue Cheese Crumbles

Bread Crumbs (you may not need this depending on how "loose" your meat mixture is)

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

DIRECTIONS

Combine the ground chicken, wing sauce, blue cheese and bread crumbs (feel free to add an egg if you need the meat to bind more). Shape into patties and cook on your stove top, flip as needed. I added some more wing sauce and extra virgin olive oil to the pan to keep the burger from sticking.

Classic Pecan Pie

This was my first Pecan Pie! When trying to find just the right recipe I thought the best place to look would be the Karo Syrup website. Everyone loved it so much I have been told that I HAVE to make it for Christmas dinner!

Prep Time: 15 minutes - Cook Time: 55 to 60 minutes - Yield: 1 pie

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo® Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
2 tablespoons butter OR margarine, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen** deep-dish pie crust

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Beat eggs slightly with fork in medium bowl. Add sugar, Karo® Corn Syrup, butter and vanilla; stir until blended. Stir in pecans. Place pie dough in pie pan. Pour pecan filling into pie crust.

Bake 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean.

Cool on wire rack.

**To use prepared frozen pie crust: Place cookie sheet in oven and preheat oven as directed. Pour filling into frozen crust and bake on preheated cookie sheet.

TIPS: Pie is done when center reaches 200°F. Tap center surface of pie lightly - it should spring back when done. For easy clean up, spray pie pan with cooking spray before placing pie crust in pan. If pie crust is over-browning, cover edges with foil.

My Notes: Once I poured the filing in the crust I added in a little more pecans so it looked nice and full!

Lemon Bundt Cake with Glaze

I was looking for a easy and moist recipe for Lemon Bundt Cake. I found this one on Allrecipes and it was WONDERFUL...so moist and lemony!

INGREDIENTS

1 (18.25 ounce) package lemon cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant lemon pudding mix
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup lemon-lime flavored carbonated beverage (I used Sprite)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding mix, then stir in the oil. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the lemon-lime soda.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

My Notes: Mine took about 20 minutes longer to cook. I also made a glaze using powdered sugar and some left over Sprite. Next time I want to use some lemon juice and lemon zest with the powdered sugar instead of Sprite.

Hershey's Deep Dish Brownies

While working on an all sweets menu for a family gathering I thought brownies would be a good way to bring in some chocolate. I found this Hershey's recipe and thought I would give it a try.

INGREDIENTS

3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
1-1/2 cups sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease 8-inch square baking pan.
2. Combine butter, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Add eggs; beat well with spoon. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; gradually add to egg mixture, beating until well blended. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan.
3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from sides of pan. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. About 16 brownies.

VARIATION: Stir 1 cup REESE'S Peanut Butter Chips, HERSHEY'S SPECIAL DARK Chocolate Chips or HERSHEY'S Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips into batter before spreading batter in pan. (I Added in some chocolate chips!)

My Notes: Aside from adding in chocolate chips, I had to cook mine a little longer...and probably could of cooked them another 5-10 minues, but I like my brownies a little undercooked.

Dorito Chicken

Not sure why the pic came out blurry...but you get the idea.

Jason is a BIG fan of Doritos. When I told I saw this recipe he kept asking when I was going to make it. I finally did....it was ok. We think it needed some more flavor (even though I added some spice). It was missing something.

INGREDIENTS

Egg Wash

Chicken Breast

Crushed Doritos

Ranch Dressing (I added this)

Hot Sauce (I added this)

Red Pepper Flakes, Cumin, Garlic, Smoked Paprika and Chili Powder (I added these)

DIRECTIONS

Crush Doritos and mix in spices. Mix ranch and hot sauce together. Dip chicken breast in egg wash, then ranch mixture and lastly dip into Dorito mixture.

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes (or until done).

I believe the orginal source of this recipe is: Southern Living's Easy Weeknight Favorites

Peanut Butter Delights

Jason was asking for something that was salty and sweet. I saw how simple these treats were in Carrie's blog and thought I'd give them a try.

INGREDIENTS

Ritz Crackers

Peanut Butter

Bakers Chocolate (I used semisweet...use can also use "Almond Bark")

DIRECTIONS

Spread the peanut between two Ritz crackers.

Melt chocolate

Dip peanut butter filled crackers in chocolate.

Place them on wax paper and allow them to set (I put mine in the frig).

*I meant to add some almond extract to the chocolate....but got excited and forgot. Next time I will add it in...I think it will be a nice touch.