Blueberry Cheesecake Tart

Blueberry Cheesecake Tart

Crust:

½ cup powdered sugar
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup butter, softened
½ cup finely chopped pecans

Filling:

6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup heavy cream
¼ cup sugar
1 (21-ounce) can blueberry pie filing
Cool whip, or whipped topping
Fresh blueberries for garnish

Crust: Preheat oven to 350.

Combine powdered sugar, flour and butter in the bowl of a food processor, processing until mixture forms a ball (or you can combine dough by hand if desired. Food processor works much better!) With your fingers, press dough into a 12 inch tart pan with a removable bottom, taking care to push crust into indentations in the pan. Pat nuts onto crust. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until very lightly browned. Let cool completely before filling.

Filling: In a large mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the powdered sugar. In a separate mixing bowl with a hand mixer, beat the heavy cream with the sugar until it forms soft peaks. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. Spoon this mixture into the cooled pie shell. Top with blueberry pie filling. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours. Serve with cool whip and a few fresh blueberries for a garnish.

Layered Veggie Tortellini Salad

With its cheesy dressing, this layered pasta salad goes perfectly with grilled meats!

1 pkg (16 oz). forzen cheese tortellini

2 c. fresh broccoli florets

2 c. cherry tomatoes, quartered

2 celery ribs, finely chopped

1 can (2.5 oz) sliced ripe olives, drained

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Dressing:

3/4 c. mayonnaise

3 T. grated parmesan cheese

2 T. lemon juice

2 T. heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. dried thyme

Cook tortellini according to package directions, drain and rinse in cold water.  In a large 2 1/2 quart glass salad bowl, layer the tortellini, broccoli, tomatoes, celery, olives, and cheese. 

In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients; spoon over salad.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Paul Bunyan Burgers

This is a great recipe and the topping is soooo good!

Paul Bunyan Burgers

6 bacon strips, diced
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 T. worchestershire sauce
½ tsp. seasoned salt
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp. prepared horseradish
1 pound ground beef
Hamburger buns

In a large skillet, cook bacon until crisp, remove to paper towels to drain. In the drippings, sauté mushrooms and onion until tender. Transfer to a large bowl, add bacon.

In another bowl, combine the egg, worchestershire sauce, seasoned salt, salt, pepper and horseradish; sprinkle beef over the mixture and mix well. Shape into 4-6 patties, depending on how big you want your burger. Grill, top with American cheese, and add bacon mixture on top of that. ( I left the bacon strips whole and added the sliced onions to that. I didn’t have mushrooms, and they were still fantastic!)

Alternate method:

Form into 6 patties. Divide bacon mixture and put on top of three patties. Top with a slice of American cheese, folding in corners. Top with another burger and seal edges very well. This is what makes the Paul Bunyan burger, but I thought they would be too big so I improvised a little..

Taco Burgers - A delicious alternative to a plain burger!

Taco Burgers

1 cup finely chopped crushed corn chips
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 ½ lbs. ground beef
6 slices cheddar or American cheese
Hamburger buns
Shredded lettuce/tomato slices
Salsa

In a large bowl, combine the corn chips, taco seasoning, onion and egg. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 6 patties. Broil or grill until a meat thermometer reads 160 and juices run clear (or until desired doneness).

Top each burger with a cheese slice, cook just until melted. Serve on buns with shredded lettuce and salsa.

* I didn’t have corn chips on hand but had tortilla chips so I used those instead. Worked out well!

Hash Brown Casserole

Another amazing recipe!

Hash Brown Casserole


1 (2 lb.) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
½ c. melted butter
1 (10.75) can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 (8 oz) container sour cream
½ c. chopped onions
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
2 c. crushed cornflakes cereal
¼ c. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl, combine hash browns, ½ c. melted butter, soup, sour cream, chopped onion, cheese, salt and pepper. Place mixture in 3 quart (13 x 9” dish works well) casserole dish.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, sauté cornflakes in ¼ c. melted butter, and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the casserole.

Bake covered in preheated oven for 40 minutes.

Apricot Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

This recipe is absolutely amazing!

Apricot and Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast


1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
½ c. chopped dried apricot halves
3 T. sugar
1 (16 oz) Italian bread loaf
4 large eggs
1 ½ c. half & half
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
Confectioners sugar
Maple flavored syrup

Spray 13 x 9 inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine cream cheese, apricots and sugar; beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

Cut and discard ends from bread. Cut bread into 2” thick slices; cut through top crust of each bread slice to form a pocket (do not cut completely in half). Stuff cream cheese mixture evenly into pockets. Place in prepared baking dish.

Whisk together eggs, half and half and vanilla. Pour mixture over bread slices. Cover and chill for 30-45 minutes, turning once.

Spray a griddle or large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Heat over medium high heat. Cook bread slices on hot griddle 4-5 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve with syrup.

Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts

A new twist for me on this chicken... very interesting flavor... quite delicious says my husband!










Mediterranean Stuffed Chicken Breasts


1 large red bell pepper
¼ c. crumbled feta cheese
2 T. finely chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1 T. minced fresh basil
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts

Preheat broiler. Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip top baggie. Seal and let stand for 15 minutes.
Peel and finely chop.

Prepare grill to medium-high heat. Combine bell pepper, cheese, olives and basil. Cut a horizontal slit through thickest portion of the chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff 2 T. bell pepper mixture into each pocket; close opening with a wooden pick. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place chicken on a grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 6-7 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from grill, cover loosely with foil and let stand for 10 minutes. Serves 4.   (Serve with rice/potatoes and/or vegetable.)