No Bake Banana Pudding Cheesecake

I took two of the hubby's favorite desserts and combined them into one! 

Banana Pudding Cheesecake!

Graham Cracker Pie Crust*

Base:

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 cup Sugar

1 ripe Banana, mashed
Banana Pudding mix, (prepared with 1 1/2cups milk) 

Combine cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Mix until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Add 1 cup of pudding to the cream cheese mixture. Pour into pie crust and chill.

Topping:

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

4oz whipped topping (such as Cool Whip)

1/2 cup Banana Pudding 

Combine cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl. Mix until smooth and sugar is dissolved. Add 1/2 cup of pudding to the cream cheese mixture. Stir in the whipped topping. Pour on top of base. Refrigerate for several hours or do a quick set in the freezer.

Garnish with graham cracker crumbs and a mini vanilla wafer if desired. 

* For homemade pie crust...

1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/4 cup Sugar
4 T melted Butter

Combine and press into the bottom of a pie pan/plate. 

Cherry Delight Pie

This dessert has been called so many different things, but I grew up with it being called a layered delight dessert. 

8oz package of Cream Cheese, room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 tsp Vanilla
8oz tub of Whipped Topping (like cool whip type)
1 can Cherry Pie Filling

Graham Cracker Crust

Beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Fold in Cool Whip. Spread mixture in pie crust and refrigerate until firm. Top with cherry pie filling. Top with more whipped topping if desired. 

Lemon Pepper Garlic Salt

Salt Preserving! There are a host of ways to use salt. I have several ways that I used it, but this recipe is a quick one that only takes an hour or so to complete, start to finish. I decided to infuse salt with citrus and herbs. 

1. 1 lemon
2. 2-4 cloves garlic*
3. 1/4 tsp course black pepper, or more to taste
4. 1 cup kosher salt

1. Zest lemon in a bowl. Mix salt in with the lemon.
2. Juice the lemon and add to the salt. Run the garlic through a garlic press and add it to the salt also. Mix the salt, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic. Use a fork or your fingers to work the salt as much as possible.

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees. Pour the lemon salt evenly in a shallow oven-proof dish, lined with parchment paper. Place in the oven for about an hour to dry out the salt. (When it's done, it will be rock hard with no moisture left.) Prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon to provide ventilation for proper drying.
2. Wait for the salt to cool and use a fork, wooden spoon or your fingers to break up salt.
3. Store the salt in small jars.

*I use 2 large cloves or 4 small, depending on their size and the strength of garlic you desire. Add or subtract the amount you want.

Hamburger and Potato Casserole with a Bechamel Sauce

I was trying to figure out what to cook for supper with the things I had on hand. The cabinets are getting pretty bare, and those that know me, know that "running to the store" is not an option out here. I need a couple of hours to be able to do the shopping. Well, I had ground beef in the freezer and thawed it out. I had a few potatoes, a couple of onions and some cheese. Most recipes would call for some cream of mushroom or broth next, but I didn't have any on hand. I decided to go with a bechamel with a garlic kick. Here's a step by step, and the recipe is at the end.

Layer potatoes and onions.

Next combine hamburger, spices and bechamel,

then top the potatoes and onions.

Next Cheese!

Another layer of potatoes and onions.

More meat mixture.

Continue layering.

After 4 hours cooking on high.

All plated and ready to gobble up! It went fast!

1 1/2 lbs ground beef

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

2 garlic cloves, run through a garlic press

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp. Pepper

3 lbs. peeled russet potatoes, sliced

1 sliced onion

3 cups shredded sharp cheese

Salt and Pepper, to taste

Brown the ground beef on the stove top. Remove meat and reserve grease. Add flour to grease and stir to cook the flour to make a roux. Add a little butter if needed. Slowly whisk in milk until smooth. Bring to a boil. Sauce won’t thicken until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in meat and seasonings.

In a Crock Pot* base, layer 1/3 of the potatoes. Salt and Pepper the potatoes, to taste. Add 1/3 of the onions, 1/3 of the meat mixture, and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat the layers ending with cheese.

Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or until the potatoes get soft.

*If you don’t have a crock pot, layer as instructed in a casserole deep dish and cook at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until potatoes are fork tender.

Too Much Chocolate Cake with Ermine Frosting

BTW...

He likes the frosting just as much as the cake!

Maybe more!

I made this cake for my hubby today. He says, "There's no such thing as too much chocolate!" Here's the recipe. It's my kind of baking... simple, easy, very little measuring and just plain good! 

Too Much Chocolate Cake

1 (15.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix

1 (5 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups mini semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix together the cake and pudding mix, sour cream, oil, beaten eggs and water. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour batter into a well-greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool cake thoroughly.

Ermine Frosting

Ermine Frosting is an old fashioned/Vintage recipe. It's claimed to be of French origin, others claim it is German based. It is also often known as “boiled milk frosting”. It’s silky smooth and less sweet than traditional buttercream and is the traditional frosting used for red velvet cake. It was used before Cream Cheese Icing came along.

1 1/2 cups Cold Milk
7 1/2 tablespoons Flour

Pinch of salt

3 sticks Butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla

In a medium saucepan, whisk flour into milk and add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Whisk constantly. (Do not walk away!) It will thicken like soft mashed potatoes. Place in a bowl and cover against mixture with plastic wrap. (to keep a skin from forming) Let cool. 

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla. Whip in flour mixture. If loose, refrigerate until stiff. Frost cake as usual.