Dreaming of a White Christmas with these Oreo Cheesecake Cups

It's suppose to be 75 this weekend which is rare for North Carolina normally I would love it but it doesn't feel much like Christmas. I made these delights for a holiday party and I hope everyone enjoys them. I'll still be dreaming of a white Christmas. :-)

Oreo Cheesecake Cups

15 whole oreos 6-7 coarsely chopped oreos
15 cupcake liners
1 pound of cream cheese (2- 8oz boxes)
1/2 cup of sugar
1tsp of vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup of sourcream
pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275. Line muffin pan with liners then insert one whole oreo in each liner

Beat cream cheese and vanilla until smooth with a mixer until smooth, gradually adding sugar, beat until smooth and combined

add one egg at a time and beat until smooth and mixed well. Scraping down sides if needed. Add sourcream and pinch of salt and beat/mix well.  Add coarsely chopped oreos by hand and stir with a spoon.

Divide batter evenly among cups,  filling each one almost to the top of the liner. Bake for 22 minutes, rotating pan after 11 minutes to ensure baking evening. If you have a convection oven no need for this step. Let cool completely then refrigerate overnight for best results.

A fluffy kids craft with a puffy birthday meal for my hubby!

Saturday was a busy day for my owl, my husband and ofcourse me! Hubby started Saturday morning off by killing a 10 point buck and on his birthday which was probably the best birthday present ever!  He was so happy cause it was now the biggest deer he has ever killed. :-) Me and my owl stayed home and did a snowman craft and hubby a special birthday dinner.

First up is the fluffy craft.

Awww Aren't they soo cute!!!

Well here is what you need to recreate these little guys!

Items needed:
cotton balls
toilet paper roll
poms (different sizes) I got mine at Walmart for 1.00
pipe cleaners
ribbon
glue
buttons
white baking cups (muffin)

So first you glue cotton balls all over the toilet paper roll until you completely cover it.

My little owl covering her roll. :-)

 Then do the same on the muffin cup.

I cut an orange pom for the nose, used 2 buttons for the eyes and the tiny poms for the mouth.
Then cut a ribbon and tie around the snowman. You can hot gun the head to the body but we didn't. My daughter thought it was hilarious when the head would come off, similar to the movie Frozen and the snowman. haha!

Cut a piece of pipe cleaner for the earmuffs and use 2 poms for the balls for the muffs. and 2 larger poms for the body for buttons or you can use real buttons. Add any special touches you want, or change it up and do a hat instead of ear muffs. My little owl enjoyed making these and I'm sure your kiddo's will too!

Now it's time for a puffy meal!

Cheeseburger Puffs

1 pkg of puff pastry
1lb of hamburger meat
2-3 tablespoons of montreal steak seasoning
1-2 tsp of onion powder or 1 small onion diced
1 brick of cheddar cheese

First thaw the puff pastry according to the package. In a bowl combine the hamburger meat, Montreal seasoning, onion powder or real onions. Form small mini cheeseburgers. In a frying pan add some olive oil and brown each side (do not over cook) just brown. Then place each burger onto the puff pastry and cut a square, add cheese on top and pinch to close. (see picture below)

Preheat oven to 350 and make for 20-25 minutes until slightly browned and puffy pastry has puffed.

YUM YUM WHEN THEY ARE DONE!

3 Musketeers Cupcakes

Makes 12 -18 depending on your muffin pan/cups

1 box of milk chocolate box cake mix (prepare according to box)
1 or 2 bags of miniature 3 musketeers or fun-size cut in half
1 container of marshmallow fluff
4 cups of powdered sugar
1 stick of butter
2 tablespoons of milk
cupcake liners
spray butter
muffin pan
preheat dark pan to 325 or light pan to 350

Make milk chocolate box cake mix according to box then pour about 3/4 full into sprayed butter cupcake liners. Bake for 5 minutes. Then dunk 1 miniature 3 musketeer candy or cut in half fun sized bar by pressing it into the cupcake batter cup until it is almost all the way down. This is so the cake batter will form around the candy. Then return to baking for 10-15 minutes.

Let them cool completely before adding frosting

Frosting Recipe

Melt in microwave or on stove top the remaining 3 musketeers bars until they form a marshmallow consistently, Add the marshmallow fluff and butter and mix well. Next add the milk and powder sugar and you are all set.

Put a ziploc or frosting bag into a cup and add frosting. Then cut corner of ziploc bag or end of frosting bag and add piping tip or just use opening. You can also just spread the icing on top. 

These were pretty yummy...

Super Easy Egg Carton Christmas Craft

Here is an easy craft to do with your little one for the Christmas Holiday.

Little owl did this one last year and she is still gets so excited to see it hanging in my office. It is super cute, I always get compliments on it. She did a great job!

Items needed:
white & brown cardstock
1 egg carton
little red bows (got them from dollar tree)
glitter
green paint
glue
1 star you can cut it out or use something from the scrapbook section. I already had this star from a scrapbook swap I was in many years ago.

Directions:

Cut the egg cartons into 12 pieces
Paint each piece green
glue onto the white card stock
sprinkle with glitter
cut the brown cardstock into a trunk as shown
and attach star and ribbons

Twelve Days of Boots Giveway! Country Outfitters & Pioneer Woman

Hey y'all, Just wanted to share the Pioneer Woman's Christmas boots give away. She is giving away a pair of boots every day for the next 12 days. This is an amazing giveaway. The boots are to die for. Here is the entry for today's drawing. Like, Share, Comment with your boot size to enter!

Lucchese Seagreen Madras Mad Dog Boots from Country Outfitter.

Click Here to enter http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2013/12/twelve-days-of-boots-day-3-2/

Good Luck and Happy Christmas!

Thank God for Thanksgiving Leftover Recipe Ideas

Are you wondering what to do with all your left over turkey or ham, here are a few recipes I came up with so you don't waste the food. My husband ate the first one all gone before I was able to take a picture. I made the 2nd one tonight, so I will upload a picture later on. The third one will be for tomorrow night.

Ham, Potato, Green Bean Casserole (HUBBY APPROVED)

Cut up left over ham
1 box of Au gratin or cheesy scalloped potatoes or make homemade with thin sliced potatoes, milk and cheese.
Use left over green beans or open up a new can (drain)
shredded cheddar cheese
 Mix it all together
salt and pepper to taste
Bake on 350 for 25-30 minutes, longer if you used real potatoes.


Baked Ham Alfredo Ziti  (HUBBY APPROVED)

Cut up left over ham
1 box of Ziti pasta
1 jar of Alfredo sauce or make your own with cream cheese, heavy cream and garlic
4oz of cream cheese
1/4 cup of milk
2 tsp of butter
1 bag of broccoli florets
salt, pepper, garlic, oregano
Panko bread crumbs

Cook pasta as directed on box
Cut up left over ham
Spray baking dish with butter
Drain Pasta into baking dish, add ham, butter and broccoli
In a saucepan, heat Alfredo sauce, milk, cream cheese together until blended add pepper and garlic.
Pour sauce over noodle ham mixture and mix well
sprinkle panko crumbs on top for a crunchy texture
Cook on 350 for 30 minutes until bubbly and bread crumbs are toasted.

 Cornbread Turkey Casserole

Cut up leftover turkey into pieces
1 box of jiffy cornbread mix
1 can of cream of celery
1 cup of milk
1 can of corn  drained or left over corn
1 can of carrots drained  or leftover carrots
1 can of peas drained or leftover peas
2 tsp of butter
1tsp of honey
1 tsp of onion powder or chop up a little onion (saute first in butter)
salt, pepper and garlic
Preheat oven to 400
Bake 20-25 minutes

Spray butter the pan
Mix turkey, cream of celery, milk, butter, cans of veggies, salt, pepper, onion powder or onion, garlic together and add to pan.
In a separate bowl make the jiffy cornbread mix according to the box, add 1 tsp of honey and then pour on top of turkey/veggie mixture and bake in oven until cornbread is brown and no longer jiggly.

For tonight's meal I didn't have peas or carrots so I used corn and broccoli. I also added some leftover corn pudding in the mix. And I didn't use the whole can of corn, I reserved about 1/4 of the can and added it to the cornbread mix. UPDATE: Hubby ate it all but didn't like it as much as last night's dinner. It was a little sweet for me, I think the corn pudding made it too sweet, I probably should have omitted the honey.

Save Time and the Day with this Pumpkin Cheesecake Cheat!!!!

So after many raves about my mini pumpkin cheesecakes, I must finally admit my secret.  I am a cheater. LOL I didn't have time to pull off a real cheesecake for our big day, and since everyone loved it and wanted the recipe I just decided to go easy once again for the big cake for turkey day!

Step 1 purchase a Jello plain no bake cheesecake .
Step 2 purchase a can of libby's real pumpkin puree (NOT FILLING)
Step 3 Assemble the crust as the directions say on the box but add a few sprinkles of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon.
Step 4 Assemble/Blend the no bake cheesecake as directions on box say then add 1-2 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice to filling mixture.
Step 5 pour mixture on top of graham cracker crust
Step 6 take a few tablespoons of the pumpkin puree and use a knife to swirl into the filling mix.
Step 7: place in fridge I recommend overnight

The first time I made these with cupcake liners that I sprayed with butter spray. Then used whipped cream on top and sprinkled pumpkin pie spice as decoration. After a while the whip cream melted, so I will suggest to use cream cheese icing instead. I just didn't want anything heavy on them, luckily most people ate them right away. lol

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Baked White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake French Toast

We go to church every Sunday and our church starts early at 9am, so Saturday evening I made this baked raspberry cheesecake french toast and put it in the fridge to soak overnight. Then popped her in the oven Sunday early morning for about 50 minutes and Viola we have breakfast before church... :-)

Raspberry White Chocolate French Toast

Recipe, I used a smaller pan, but double the recipe for 9x13 pan
6-8 slices of bread
4 large eggs
2 tablespoons of sugar (white)
1 tsp of vanilla
1-1/2 cup of half and half (you can use milk)
1 cup of raspberries
2 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup of brown sugar
3 oz of cream cheese
1 tablespoon of cinnamon
Half (4 squares) of white chocolate bakers bar

- Cut the bread in cubes
- butter than pan you use either with spray butter or real butter
- Mix/beat the eggs, white sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, half and half or milk
- cut cream cheese in small pieces and put in bread mixture all over.
- pour liquid mixture over the cubed bread
- add raspberries, mix lightly
- cover with foil and put in fridge overnight
Preheat oven to 350
- remove pan from fridge, uncover and cut butter on top all over ans sprinkle brown sugar on top.
- put pan with foil in oven for 45-50 minutes.
- when you are closer to the 45 minutes put white chocolate baker squares in a ziploc bag and place in microwave for 45 seconds, stopping every 15 seconds to turn and squeeze bag until it is all melted. cut the end off one edge of the ziploc bag.
-remove french toast from oven and drizzle white chocolate on top. 
You can place the pan back in the oven if the french toast is too jiggly for you. It will depend on the type of pan you use and your oven. I believe I baked mine a little over an hour but I like mine firmer.

Happy December! Enjoy this blessing!






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