Mini Mason Jar Cheesecake!

My love for Mason jars runs deep.
I'm seriously kinda obsessed with them. 
Functional, beautiful, environmentally friendly, affordable...
And there are so many uses!
Canning
Freezing
Food storage
Crafts
But today's recipe and its use of jar lids takes the cake.
The cheesecake.

These perfectly portioned cheese cakes are easy, delicious and adorable. 
I've topped mine with a simple caramel sauce, but feel free to be creative.
Classic cherry
Fudge
Blueberry
Salted caramel
Lemon curd
Lots of options!

Make one or make 'em all and have a cheesecake bar at your next gathering.
Or just after dinner tonight!

Mini Mason Jar Cheesecake
The Mason jar lids and rings will act as mini spring form pans. After cheesecakes have baked and cooled you will be able to easily pop them out of the rings.

Ingredients

Cereal crusts.

Crust:
1 cup crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch(about 2 cups whole cereal)
3 Tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake filling:
1 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons flour
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons cream

Before heading to the oven.

Caramel Topping:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup heavy cream

Method

1. For crust, combine crushed cereal and melted butter.
2. Press the cereal combination into 12 mason car lids/rings.Set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. For cheesecake filling, combine all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer.
5. Starting on low, mix ingredients. Gradually increase mixer speed until smooth.
6. Divide filling among the 12 prepared crusts. Do not overfill.
7. Bake for 12 minutes and then turn oven off and leave cheesecakes in the oven for 10 more minutes. Do not open the oven door. 
8. Remove cheesecakes and cool completely.
9. For caramel topping, melt butter in a medium sauce pan.
10. Add sugar and cream. Whisk constantly over low heat until sugar is dissolved.
11. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. 
12. Remove from heat and cool. 
13. Remove cheesecakes from jar lids and top with cooled caramel topping.

Homemade Chicken Stock, Crockpot Style

Making your own chicken stock may, at first glance, seem like a tedious, time consuming and even extreme task.
Especially when you can easily walk into any supermarket and have multiple choices at your fingertips. 

I mean seriously, we don't have enough to do without adding "make chicken stock" to the to-do list?!

I get it. 
And if this recipe wasn't so incredibly easy, fast and delicious, I would be right with you.

But it is easy, fast and delicious, so I'm going to have to insist that you give it a go. 
Please!

Okay. Now that we have that settled, let's make some stock. This stock is perfect in chicken noodle soup, or anything else that requires chicken stock. If you're not going to use the stock right away, it freezes very well. Simply portion the stock into freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months(truthfully, it will probably stay good in the freezer much longer than that).

Chicken Stock

Ingredients
All of the leftover bones, drippings, skin, etc. from the crockpot chicken
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
1 onion roughly chopped

Before straining.

Method

1. Leave all of the leftover chicken parts in your crockpot after you've removed all of the meat.
2. Add celery, carrots, and onion.
3. Fill the crockpot with water and cover.
4. Cook for 8-10 hours on low. I usually let this cook overnight.
5. Carefully strain the stock through a mesh strainer. 
6. Use right away, refrigerate or freeze.
   

Soup's On!

I love me some soup.
And why not?
Healthy, check.
Easy, check.
Crowd pleaser, check.
Inexpensive, check.
Freezes well, check.
Kid pleaser, check.
And the options are endless...vegetable, noodle, tomato, creamy, lasagna, meaty, brothy, spicy, pizza, cold, hot...

I could really go on about the virtues of soup for quite a while.
But I won't.(Maybe I already did?)
Because we need to get on with the making, so we can get on with the eating.

This is my own chicken noodle soup recipe. 
I add two secret ingredients to make this soup extra special.  

I'm going to use the chicken stock I made in my crock pot using the leftovers from my whole chicken recipe. 
If you don't have homemade chicken stock, and aren't inclined to make any(I've had those days too!) use the store bought variety that comes in the carton. 
The same goes for the chicken. I'm using leftover chicken from the whole chicken in the crockpot recipe. If you don't have any leftover chicken, a store bought rotisserie chicken will work very well.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients
8 cups of chicken stock
2 ribs celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced**secret ingredient**
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
1/2 package egg noodles, make it more or less noodley depending on your taste
2 cups cooked, chopped chicken
Juice of 1 lemon**secret ingredient**
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add chopped celery, carrot and onion. Cook until tender, about 6-8 minutes.
3. Add minced garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook for 45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, cook egg noodles in a separate pot according to package instructions.
6. 10 minutes before serving, add chicken, cooked noodles and the lemon juice. Heat through and enjoy!

Valentines Day, And Other Fluff

The dead of winter.
Depressing turn of phrase, but oh so true.
Nothing much is growing in northeast Ohio.
No major holidays or celebrations.
Activities are at a minimum.

Around now I try to look for anything to boost morale, including making a big deal out of a little holiday called Valentines Day. 
It's a holiday devoted to love!
Who doesn't love that?
Ok. A lot of people.

It's cheesy and commercialized. 
It's silly and frivolous.
We should express our love everyday, not just in mid February.
I get it. 

But, it's February and we need a reason to celebrate, so I'm going for it. 
I hope you drape everything in pink, cut out a million paper hearts and make these special treats.

Cheese is good, in moderation.

Homemade Marshmallows
I often make these at other times of the year without cutting them into heart shapes, so if you're short on time, skip that part and just use a knife and cut them into squares.

Ingredients
2 1/2 Tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar-for dusting
Chocolate wafers-for melting

Method

1. Combine gelatin and 1/2 cup cold water in the bowl of an electric mixer. Let this stand while you prepare the rest of the recipe.
2. In medium size heavy saucepan, combine granulated sugar, corn syrup, salt and 1/2 cup of water. Cook over low heat until sugar has dissolved.
3. Wash down the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush to dissolve sugar crystals.
4. Clip on a candy thermometer and cook on high without stirring until the syrup reaches 244 degrees.
   
5. Immediately remove pan from heat.
6. With mixer on low speed, slowly pour the hot syrup into the gelatin mixture. 
7. Add vanilla.
8. Increase speed to high. Beat until the mixture is very thick, white and has tripled in volume. Approximately 15 minutes.
9. Generously dust a 9x13 pan with confectioners sugar.
10. Pour marshmallow mixture into prepared pan and smooth into an even surface. Dust the top with confectioners sugar and let dry overnight.
    
11. Using a heart cookie cutter, cut hearts out of marshmallow.
12. Melt chocolate wafers in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring each time until melted.
13. Using a toothpick, pierce the side of the marshmallow heart and dip in chocolate. Let excess chocolate drip off and place finished heart on waxed paper to dry.
    

Home Sweet Home

I'm the kind of gal that a certain group of people hate to see coming.

The guy at the car repair shop, the tech support people, every employee at Home Depot and Lowes, and maybe most of all, contractors.
I'm not rude, or cheap and I don't even nag about time lines too much. 

What I am is CLUELESS.
You can tell by the caps that this is a serious issue.

I have a specific end result in mind with no sense about how to get there(it should be easy), how long it will take(it shouldn't take long), or how much it will cost(this part gives the hubs a minor coronary, daily.)
So, when I had the brainstorm to renovate the 1860s farmhouse my Grandpa Zimmerman was born in, I went forth with reckless abandon, as usual.

I met with several contractors and each had his own strengths and creative ideas. 
One was $40k over budget, not good for the coronary patient.
One was $40k under budget, but didn't include everything we wanted.
And one was right on the nose, included everything we wanted and seemed to know exactly what to do. 

Bill and Kenny of Martin's Home Improvements were now my partners in crime and home renovations.
These 2 are saints among men. They dealt with me daily. Can you imagine?  
They explained all of the technicalities, told me what I needed to do and helped me make decisions. 
I changed my mind, made additions, took things away, asked for advice, and sometimes just told them to decide. 
Yes, we paid them, but I know their true heart was in the business of giving my family and I the home we wanted.
And they did.
I couldn't be more grateful.

And, after all this training I feel equipped to build something.
But not a house because I'm never doing this again.
Ever.


This recipe(originally from Betty Crocker) is quick, easy and Delicious! It uses a shortcut method, which I don't always like, but this one is good. I've made my own adjustments and additions and am always asked for the recipe, so here it is!

Chocolate Chip Biscotti

Ingredients:
1 pouch sugar cookie mix
1/3 cup butter
1 egg
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 tablespoons milk

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
2. Blend cookie mix, butter, egg, flour, almonds, cranberries and 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips and milk until a stiff dough forms.
3. Divide dough in half and press into a rectangle on one side of a cookie sheet. Repeat with the rest of the dough on the other side of the pan. 
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
5. Cut each rectangle crosswise into 3/4 inch slices. Place slices cut side down on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 more minutes. 
6. Cool completely on cooling rack.
7. Microwave the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips for 30-60 seconds until smooth.
   
   Drizzle chocolate over cooled biscotti. Let stand until chocolate is set. 

Feel free to get creative with the add-ins! 
How about white chocolate chips, dried cherries and pecans?
Or, butterscotch chips and chopped cashews?
Endless possibilities!

It's January, Smile!

Today my 2 year old said to me, "Mommy, it's a good day. The sun is shining right in my eyes, and I'm happy." 

These words of wisdom snapped me out of my Blah, it's Wednesday and it's bitter cold, and the sun is reflecting off of this stinking snow and making me squint, which is probably giving me wrinkles kind of mood.  

January is tough.
At least for me. 
Maybe it's the calm after the storm of the holidays. Or the cold weather. Or the lack of sun. Or the fact that it's still quite a while until spring. It's probably a combination of all of that.

The good news is, this too shall pass. 

In the meantime, my January survival techniques include:

• Daily physical activity, because we know we feel better when we move
• Vitamin D supplements, because it might be May before we see the sun again
• Numerous daily Facebook chats with the funniest, most brilliant women I know, for sanity
• Cooking and eating lots of vegetables, because they're tasty and good for you!

So here's an easy winter vegetable recipe . I even added bacon, for health purposes. 
Don't be afraid. 
Brussel sprouts are delicious and one of the most undervalued veg around. 


Give it a try. 
It's January, whaddya got to lose?

Ingredients
2 pounds brussel sprouts, washed and halved
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

I forgot to take the pic until after we ate almost all of them!

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl combine sprouts, bacon, olive oil salt and pepper. 
3. Dump sprout mixture onto prepared pan and spread evenly.
4. Roast for 30 minutes or until tender.