No Bake Tropical Cheesecake...

It's August...... I cannot believe another school year is upon us! I have one daughter entering the 4th grade and another entering high school...... yikes!

To celebrate that last hurrah of summer......

....... a pie.

...... a tropical pie.

...... a tropical cheesecake pie. Yes, a cheesecake/pie. They exist.

...... and it's NO BAKE!

...... and the recipe title rhymes. You should make it and consume it, for that reason alone.

So, you hooked now?


No Bake Tropical Cheesecake

• 2- 8oz. Packages of Cream Cheese, Softened
• 1/3 Cup Regular or Light Sour Cream
• 1/4 Cup Pineapple Coconut Juice
• 1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
• 1- 8oz. Can of Crushed Pineapple, Drained
• 1- 11oz. Can of Mandarin Oranges, Drained
• 1/4 Cup Shredded Coconut
• 4oz. Cool Whip, Thawed (About half of the container)
• 2- 6oz. Prepared Graham Cracker Crusts or a Baked Pastry Pie Crust

Garnish (optional): Cool Whip and *toasted shredded coconut.

Using a hand mixer, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, juice, and vanilla extract. Add the sugar, pineapple, oranges and coconut. Mix well.

Fold in the whipped topping. Divide the filling between two prepared pie crusts. Chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.

Slice and serve with a dollop of whipped topping and toasted coconut.

* To toast coconut:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F). Place the desired amount of shredded coconut in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Place in the oven, to brown. It will not take very long, so watch carefully. You do not want it to burn! Remove the cookie sheet carefully and allow the toasted coconut to cool.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream...

 

It's been a long time, my friends!

At last, we are settled here in Oregon... and I've finally got my derriere in gear and decided I better start posting some recipes... right?

With missing two full summer months of blogging, I needed to get in at least one ice cream recipe for you.

My girls love, love, love strawberries and cheesecake... not to mention ice cream. So, this trio seemed the way to go. Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream... YUM!

A bonus to this recipe...... you don't need an ice cream maker... yay! I love making ice cream using this method. It's super easy. For reals.

It's so, so, so nice to cook and bake after going about 6 weeks without being able to. I mean, at first it's great to have a break, but then it gets a little old.

Please say you'll try making ice cream this way... you won't regret it.

I promise.

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

• 1 Pint Heavy Whipping Cream
• 1 Can (14 OZ.) Sweetened Condensed Milk
• 1/4 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
• 6 OZ. Fresh Strawberries, Diced
• 8 OZ. Cheesecake, Crumbled

Begin by chilling a large stainless steal or glass mixing bowl and your mixing beaters in the freezer for 10-15 minutes.

Pour the whipping cream into the chilled bowl and beat on high with the chilled beaters until stiff peaks begin to form. Gently fold in the strawberries and the crumbled cheesecake. Slowly fold in the sweetened condensed milk.

Pour the ice cream into a freezer safe container. I've found that covering the top of the ice cream with parchment paper helps so that the ice cream does not develop freezer burn. Freeze six hours or overnight. Makes 6 1/2 cups of ice cream.

Enjoy!

I'm linking this post on I'm Lovin' It at Tidy Mom.

Fluffy Cheesecake with Blackberry Lemon Sauce...

 

I totally did not participate in Simple Mom's Project Simplify: Week #4. Not because I didn't want to... because my refrigerator and pantry really need a good cleaning!

It was one of those super busy weeks... really, it was... and that's why, OK.

I had a PTA fundraiser pick-up that I needed to be at...

A doctor's appointment...

And I started back to working out... and when I start exercising after months and months and months of stopping... well, I'm drained... and for a good week at least.

In between all of that though, I did find the time to go to Target...... I love Target.

I found the cutest 4 inch springform pans in the Easter section.  You see, cookware for me is like a pair of Louis Vuitton heels for someone with a shoe obsession. I could wander all day in a specialty kitchen store.

Once I saw these little babies, I knew I had to make cheesecake...... I love cheesecake, maybe even more than I love tuna.

It's a pretty simple recipe. The only thing baked is the crust... and if you don't want to do that, you can buy the pre-made graham cracker crust...... slacker. Just kidding.

Anyway, this recipe will make 4, 4 inch cheesecakes or 1, 9 inch cheesecake.

I even made some Blackberry Lemon Sauce to drizzle on top...... and it was good...... very good.


Fluffy Cheesecake

For the crust:

• 1/2 a Box of Vanilla Wafers
• 4 Tablespoons of Butter, Melted

For the filling:

• 8 OZ Cream Cheese
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 1 Teaspoon of Pure Vanilla
• 1 Cup of Cool Whip

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (F).

Crush the wafers and mix them with the butter in a large bowl. Divide the wafer/butter mixture evenly into 4, 4 inch springform pans and press to cover the bottom. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Cool completely.

In a large bowl, cream the cream cheese and sugar for 2 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Fold in the cool whip. Divide the filling evenly between the springform pans. With the back of a spoon or a small spatula, press the filling down onto the crust and smooth out. Cover with foil and chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Before serving, run a butter knife, gently, along the edge of the springform pan before releasing. Top with berries or with Blackberry Lemon Sauce (recipe below).

Blackberry Lemon Sauce

• 12 OZ Blackberries, Rinsed
• 1/2 Cup of Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Water
• 1 Whole Lemon, Juiced

In a medium saucepan, reduce all the ingredients on medium/ high heat for 20-30 minutes; stirring occasionally. Once the berries have popped and the sauce has reduced and thickened, remove the saucepan from the heat and cool. Pour the sauce into a sieve and with the back of a spoon or spatula, press the berries so that the juices are strained into a small bowl. This should yield 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup of sauce. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Drizzle over vanilla ice cream, cheesecake, or pancakes.

Enjoy!



I'm linking this post up to Tasty Tuesday.

Cheesecake Lollipops

  What could possibly be better than cheesecake? Well, I've got an answer for you... lollipops, cheesecake lollipops.

After putting the kids to bed, my hubby and I were watching The Best Thing I Ever Ate on Food Network a few weeks back. This episode featured David Burke's Gourmet Pops. He's the co-owner and chef of New York City's David Burke and Donatella. I was literally drooling over these beautiful pops. I am a sucker for all things cheesecake... really, I am... Oh Costco, how I love your ginormous affordable cheesecake... sigh. OK, I'm done... let's move on, shall we?

A little light bulb went off over my head... I can make these! With the girls Valentine party approaching I thought I would experiment. These would look adorable on a dessert buffet!

I adapted these little gems to suit a kid's party and just to make it easier on myself. Of course you could take the time to puree other ingredients (like goat cheese, smoked salmon, or Champagne) with the cheesecake and roll them into perfect balls, as well as decorating them beautifully. I was just looking to make a cute dessert for 11 and 6 year old girls... so, I simplified. I know, I know, Martha Stewart would be disappointed... but my kids weren't, and that's what counts.

Would you like to know how to make 'em? Yeah, I knew you would...


Cheesecake Lollipops
Inspired by David Burke's Gourmet Pops

What you'll need:

• Lollipop sticks
• Decorative sprinkles
• White chocolate chips or milk chocolate chips
• A scant teaspoon of shortening
• Pre-made New York Cheesecake
• Parchment paper

You can make your own cheesecake from scratch, or just buy it at the store. I opted for the latter. Hey, why stress myself out?

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scoop the cheesecake out using an 18/10 sized ice cream scoop and place on the parchment lined sheet. Push a lollipop stick in the center, halfway down. Transfer the cheesecake lollipops to the freezer for about 10 minutes to set.

Finally, in a double boiler, melt about half of the bag of chocolate chips with a scant teaspoon of shortening. I find the shortening helps the chocolate drizzle better. You can always use candy melts in place of the chips and shortening. It does make life easier... and life is always better when easier... wouldn't you agree?

Take your lollipops out of the freezer and with a spoon, drizzle them with the melted chocolate. Gently shake the excess chocolate off and decorate with the sprinkles. Return lollipops to the parchment paper and place in the refrigerator to set. Remove 5 minutes before serving.

Printable Recipe here at Tasty Kitchen



Truly and Forever Yours,