Butterfly Cheesecake Muffins

Dear sister just had a birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! She wanted to bring something to share at work since she had to be there on her birthday. I said I would make mini cheesecakes for her to bring. We have been making cheesecake muffins for years. You can make so many variations. I have shared a few on the blog already. These I wanted to make special so I set out to make them "springy". Sister loves butterflies so I wanted to use this cute pretzel idea I saw all over Pinterest. But I needed to find a way to make a green topping or field for them to sit on. That is when it came to me I could tint the sour cream topping from the Ultimate Cheesecake recipe. It worked perfectly. It also makes a great flat top on each muffin. This little technique is going to make for tons of other cute cheesecake muffins. Sister said the sour cream topping balances the other sweet ingredients. These little cuties are sweet because hidden inside is an Oreo and a Snickers bar. So with the pretzel and the candy inside and out this little muffin is salty and sweet. They are cute and tasty too! Perfect for any birthday or Easter event. I hope you will find a way to celebrate spring with this recipe.

Butterfly Cheesecake Muffins

Makes 24 to 28 muffins

Ingredients

1 pkg. Oreo thins

1 bag mini Snickers bars

3 (8oz.) pkg. Cream Cheese

3 eggs

1-1/4 cup Granulated Sugar, divided

1-1/8 tsp. Vanilla, divided

16 oz. light sour cream

16 drops green food coloring

1 bag Flipz white fudge covered pretzels

1 bag Easter M&Ms

1 bag peel and eat Fruit Punch Twizzlers, peeled

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.

Place 1 Oreo thin in paper lined cupcake pan. Place a Snickers on each cookie and set aside. Cream the cream cheese and 3/4 cup sugar together until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add 1 tsp. vanilla and beat until well mixed. Spoon cream cheese over each cookie until cup is 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes. Meanwhile mix sour cream, remaining 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/8 tsp. vanilla and green food coloring adding drop by drop until desired green color is achieve and sugar is dissolved.

Remove muffins from oven and top with green sour cream mixture. Bake for 5 more minutes, remove from oven and let cool completely. Top each muffin with two pretzels spread just far enough apart for a row of M&Ms in between. Place one color of M&M to make the head of the butterfly. Place three of a different color below for the body. Poke two pieces of Twizzler string near the head for antennas. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.

Note: Be sure to let the muffins cool completely before decorating. Heat and moisture will affect the candy. Heat will make the coating melt. Moisture will make the candies caulk. For perfect muffins you may want to decorate just before serving.

Linking to:
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie

This year in a quest to make Easter dinner a little healthier we opted for a Yogurt Pie for dessert instead of the Coconut Baba I made last year. I still wanted to do something special or different. But I could not get the families' cherry version of the pie out of my head. Of course cherries are not in season, so I could not find them in the produce department. It was Mom that suggested using frozen cherries. Then it occurred to me, what about adding chocolate to the cherry yogurt pie? Do you like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt? I DO! So I went to search the baking and candy aisles for chocolate covered cherries to add to the mix. I found a bag made by Dove. It turned out really good! Everyone enjoyed it. Dear sister liked it a lot but suggested we try using one cherry and one vanilla yogurt next time. Then she recanted saying she did not want to lose any of the cherry flavor. I think I might add a little pure vanilla next time just to see if it adds anything. I am on the fence about whether or not to chop up the chocolate covered cherries next time. They freeze a little on the hard side, so if you encounter one when you are cutting the pie it is difficult to get through. I think with a few tweaks this pie might just keep me out of the ice cream case in the future.

Cherry Garcia Yogurt Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients

2 cartons of light cherry Greek yogurt
1 cup frozen cherries, thawed
6 oz. bag chocolate covered cherries
8 oz. light whipped topping, thawed
1 prepared Oreo cookie pie crust

Directions

Place yogurt in a mixing bowl, fold cherries and chocolate covered cherries (reserve 7 for garnish) into yogurt. Add an equal amount of whipped topping (about 1-1/2 cups or half of the carton) gently fold whipped topping into yogurt and fruit mixture. Pour into pie crust and spread evenly. Place pie in the freezer and freeze solid. When frozen, spread the top with the remaining whipped topping, and garnish with reserved chocolate covered cherries.

Note: I usually remove the pie from the freezer when we sit down to dinner. That way it is thawed just a bit when it is time to serve dessert.

Want more ice cream inspired treats?

Check out this Banana Split Yogurt Pie

Linking to:

Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday

Kneaded Creations: Tuesdays With a Twist
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Love Bake Good Cakes: The Ultimate List of Ice Cream, Frozen Yogurt and Milkshakes

Happy Easter!

The Potato Salad is made already. There is also a new version of Yogurt Pie in the freezer, but I will post that later. I am going over to Mom and Dad's to make the Baked Ham and Green Vegetable Medley. I just want to wish you and yours a very Happy Easter! I hope you enjoy a day of fun, food and family. 

God Bless!

Grilled Shrimp Po Boy with Kickin' Po Boy Sauce

Happy New Year everyone! (Very belated) I have observed all my New Year Traditions. I spent it with my favorite person in the world. I had a meal of smothered cabbage and black eye peas with the family when I returned. This year is off to a great start.

Central Texas was cold and rainy. We cooked black eye peas and a few other things together. We discovered we do not like fresh black eye peas we prefer dried. This totally surprised both of us. I mean fresh is usually better? Right? I guess in this case we have been cooking from dry so long that they evoke that comforting memory. The fresh were not bad? Just different. They smelled and taste different. They even took longer to cook. Odd? We won't try that again.

We did make a good old fashioned 7 Layer Dip for New Year's Eve. We made our own guacamole and added many pickled jalapenos, so technically it might have been an eight layer dip. It was amazing how happy this made us. I don't know why I don't make this more often. It has been years since I made one. We also cooked many other things. Mayo Baked Tilapia and Veggies, Beef Filet and Mushroom Pan Sauce and of course lots of Breakfasts. That is his specialty. But the stand out recipe of the week was a Grilled Shrimp Po Boy. 

This Po Boy was amazing! It was really just a "winging it" recipe. My favorite person wanted a good po-boy on good bread. So he bought the bread from Jimmy John's. As for what to put on the po boy? We both agreed shrimp. We talked about using a marinade for BBQ Shrimp he was given by a friend. Well? We left our shopping list at home so we left a key ingredient at the store. So this marinade is the result. It was still great. I don't know if you can tell much difference from the original. They are well flavored with a hint of smoke from the grill. Perfect on their own or on a po boy. I asked what kind of sauce he wanted. He said something with a kick. Well I think "winging it" yet again worked to our benefit. We now have a Kickin' Po Boy Sauce. It's spicy, creamy, a little sweet and tangy. It had a nice flavor kick but did not over power or compete with the shrimp. It was so good! I will definitely make this for the family soon. Maybe on a warm day. We nearly froze to death at the grill that night. It was so so cold! But totally worth it. (Smiling)

Grilled Shrimp Po Boy with Kickin' Po Boy Sauce
Serves 2 or 3

Ingredients

For Shrimp and Marinade:
1 lb. large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tsp horseradish

For Kickin' Po Boy Sauce:
2 Tbsp. ketchup
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 to 2 tsp. capers
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

For Po Boy:
French bread, sliced in halved
Butter, softened
Kickin' Po Boy Sauce (recipe above)
Shredded lettuce
Tomato, sliced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Grilled shrimp

Directions

For Shrimp Marinade: Combine everything but shrimp in a jar and shake to combine. Pour over the shrimp to cover. Let marinade at least 30 min before grilling.

For Kickin' Po Boy Sauce: Combine ingredients stirring well to combine. Set aside for later.

For the Po Boy: Pre-heat the grill to medium high heat. Butter both insides of french bread. Grill the shrimp a few minutes each side, until opaque and has nice grill marks. Place bread on the grill butter side down. Grill until butter has melted and has nice golden brown grill marks. Remove from grill and assemble the po boy. Spread the kickin' sauce on both sides of the bread, place lettuce, tomatoes on bottom half of bread. Season with salt and pepper. Top with grilled shrimp and the top half of the bread. Cut into 2 or 3 sandwiches. Serve immediately!

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
Dizzy Busy & Hungry: Wine'd Down Wednesday
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday
Love Bakes Good Cakes: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends
The Diary of a Real Housewife: Friday Favorites

Eggnog Cheesecake Muffins

I mentioned the other day that I spent the day sipping Egg Nog Lattes and baking Christmas goodies. I made very easy desserts this year. In fact I didn't even have to change the oven temperature between recipes. I just took one pan out and shoved in the next pan. The recipes I chose were Eggnog Cheesecake Muffins and Peppermint Dark Chocolate Brownies.

Mom was the one who mentioned eggnog cheesecake. I suggested trying to make the muffins for portion control. Really these Eggnog Cheesecake Muffins were a lighter and lazier version of many recipes I found on Pinterest. I did not make my own crust or whipped cream. I bought ginger snaps for the crust and lite whipped topping. I also used neufchatel cheese. It has 1/3 less fat than cream cheese. So I guess these little cheesecake are diet right? They are delicious! Mom said they taste like they were made with creole cream cheese. I love how creamy they turned out. You can taste both the cream cheese and the eggnog flavors. Just delicious! I will definitely makes these again when it is eggnog season.

Eggnog Cheesecake Muffins
Make 12

Ingredients

12 ginger snap cookies*
2 (8 oz.) blocks neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat), softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1-1/2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg, plus more for garnish if desired
2 large eggs
3/4 tsp rum extract
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup eggnog
Lite whipped topping, thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with cupcake liners. Place a ginger snap cookie in the bottom of each liner.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, flour and nutmeg. Add cheese to a large mixing bowl, then pour sugar mixture over cheese and using an electric hand mixer, blend cheese mixture just until smooth. Mix in eggs one at a time, blending just until combined after each addition. Add rum and vanilla extracts along with the eggnog and blend well to incorporate. Drop bowl against counter top several times to release some of the excess air bubbles. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups, adding about 1/4 cup batter over each cookie. Bake 20 minutes until cupcakes barely jiggle in center. Remove from oven and allow to cool 1 hour at room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or until serving.

When ready to serve top each cupcake with whipped topping and sprinkle lightly with nutmeg if desired.

*Note: Make sure you purchase ginger snap cookies that will fit in the bottom of the cupcake liners (I used Archway crispy Gingersnap cookies. They fit perfectly).

Now the Peppermint Dark Chocolate Brownies were another easy, I mean lazy dessert. I just jazzed up a brownie mix. I added peppermint and vanilla extracts; baked as directed on the box then decorated. I melted a large handful of white chocolate in the microwave and then spread it on the brownies once cooled. I sprinkled the warm chocolate with crushed candy canes. They were so good! The only thing I would do differently is to drizzle with the white chocolate next time. I think it will make it easier to cut. Spreading it over the top you have to cut or crack through the chocolate to cut the brownies into pieces. Lesson learned. I will definitely make these brownies again. They were a great taste of the holidays.

Peppermint Dark Chocolate Brownies

Serves 16

Ingredients

1 egg

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup canola oil

I pkg Dark Chocolate Brownie mix*

3/4 tsp. peppermint extract

1 tsp. vanilla extract

White chocolate chips, melted

3 Peppermint candy canes, crushed

Directions

Pre heat oven to 325º. Prepare a 8”x8” Pyrex baking dish with cooking spray.

Place egg, water and oil in a medium bowl and stir until fully mix. Add brownie mix and stir until well combined. Spread in prepared pan.

Bake 50 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Melt the white chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Garnish with melted chocolate and crushed peppermint.

*Note: I used Ghiradelli Dark Chocolate Brownie Mix.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Christmas 2014 and Broiled Tomatoes

We just had a great Christmas. I finally made the Turkey Gumbo Christmas Eve. Mom made the Potato Salad; and we gathered at Mom and Dad to enjoy the meal, exchange gifts and sleep over. Everyone ate light for some reason? We had lots of leftovers. Maybe they were saving room for the baked goodies I made. I fancied up some boxed dark chocolate brownies with white chocolate and candy canes. I also made Eggnog Cheesecake Muffins. Both were very easy and went over very well. More on that soon.

Christmas day we had another brunch because dear sister went in to work about noon. We made great recipes from Cuisine at Home and Foodista. Mom made her Broiled Tomatoes too. It was a delicious brunch!

The Eggs Benedict Breakfast Bread Pudding was from the November/December 2014 issue of Cuisine at home. It was so pretty, fluffy and light. It really did taste light eggs benedict. I had my doubts because the recipe called for spinach, but you really didn't taste the spinach and it added so much color to the dish. The only adjustments we made was to eliminate added salt and the wine it called for in the hollandaise sauce. We did not miss either, the ham and Parmesan had plenty of salt to season the dish. Using water in the hollandaise instead of wine worked out fine too. It called for both vinegar and lemon juice. I think the sauce would have been too acidic had we used the wine. I would definitely make this casserole again but I would try to cut the recipe in half. It made a ton!

The Winter Fruit Salad from Foodista was so pretty! It looked so "Christmasy". The mint and pomegranates almost looked like holly. The citrus dressing was delicious with the pears and apples. Just a delicious combination. We did take a short cut and used a jar of mandarin orange instead of supreming oranges. We also peeled the pears because their skin was a little over ripe and not a pretty light green as in the Foodista photo. It was still a very pretty salad. I would make this again too. I told Mom it would make a great pot luck dish for a Christmas party. We are going to enjoy having this recipe in our recipe box.

Mom's Broiled Tomatoes are so easy. She has been making them or some variation for years. I think it was dear sister's favorite. Mom said she makes them basically two ways; sliced like she did for brunch or as halves. Either way they are delicious. We used Swiss cheese this time because it is lower in sodium than other cheeses, but you can use mozzarella too. I need to make these more often. They make a great side for a variety of dishes.

Broiled Tomatoes
Serves 4

Ingredients

4 ripe tomatoes, sliced
6 oz. Swiss or Mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 slices pre-cooked bacon, chopped

Directions

Slice off both ends of the each tomato, then slice each tomato into 3 slices. Place tomato slices on a baking sheet. Top each tomato slice with cheese and chopped bacon. Turn on the broiler. Place baking sheet under broiler and broil until cheese is melted, bubbling and beginning to brown. Watch closely it happens really fast. Serve hot. Also delicious at room temperature.

Christmas evening we had planned to make a beef roast for sandwiches but like I said we had so many leftovers. We decided to wait until the weekend so we could really enjoy it. Instead we made an appetizer and had more Turkey Gumbo. The appetizer was from Holly Clegg's Trim and Terrific Cookbook. Her Shrimp, Artichoke and Avocado Dip was so different. When Mom had suggested the recipe I thought whoa that is a lot going on. It had two bunches of green onion, grainy mustard, ketchup, artichokes, avocado and shrimp. I was a little worried about the onions and mustard overpowering everything. But I was so wrong. It is delicious. Very well balanced. It made a great appetizer. It would also make a great addition to a salad plate. Another great new recipe for this family.

See I told you we had a great Christmas! I hope you and yours did too. Wishing you a great New Year as well.

Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

Design Can Be Scary

Happy Halloween!

Have you seen the Ashley Furniture commercial yet? Oh my gosh! This made me laugh and smile for hours later. This little girl is getting a scary design lesson. 

I agree this dining room is not attractive at all. But as a designer I get scared by both things that don't match and things that do match. Good design includes repetition of pattern, form, or color and focal points or the unexpected object.

Sometimes matching things or as I say "Matchy Matchy Foo Foo" is just too much. It can be dull or just plain scary. Sometimes it can hide an architectural flaw or make a space appear larger than it really is. A single color can be soothing not boring.

Is this too much? or Is it covering a irregularity in the right wall?

One color is soothing and fresh. But notice 

the texture and pattern created by the variety of tile size.

You need variety in design to create character and individuality. But if everything is different is it distracting or exciting?

 This would be a boring room if all the chairs were the same. 

There differences make this room exciting.

These fabrics do not match. But there is repetition

of color and the scale of the patterns are similar.

I love the merging and alternating of two different chair styles.

Lesson is don't go out and feel you have to get the whole matching suit or collection of a certain line of furniture for good design. You can collect things of interest over time. Don't feel the drapery must match the furniture. It does not have to be the same fabric.

Don't be scared to be an individual. Scary is thinking you have to follow the crowd or that you must do it the way everyone does it. Frightening is conforming to a trend because everyone is doing it. Do use wallpaper if you like it. Don't be discouraged from the purchase because your neighbor said wallpaper is out.

Go out and scare someone with your own personal style and design.

Easter, Dad's Birthday and Coconut Baba

WARNING! Long, wordy and lots of photos.

I hope everyone had a very Happy Easter! We had something big to celebrate in our family. Dad's birthday fell on Easter this year. I immediately knew what I wanted to do for him. I would make him a Coconut Baba. My Maw Maw (Dad's Mom) would always make Coconut Baba. I never saw her make it. It was just something she would take from the frig in a covered 9x13 baking pan and unveil at the table after one of her iconic meals. I have never had anything similar any where else. It is a moist yellow cake topped with a creamy coconut layer, then a coconut custard and finished with meringue. We don't have her recipe but Mom would make her own version every now and then. It is definitely a labor of love. Lots of steps involved. Dad said he remembers being the one to crack open the coconuts for Maw Maw. I remember him drilling, beating the coconut with a hammer and even smashing a few coconuts against the garage floor for Mom. See Maw Maw used fresh coconut and simmered it with sugar and the liquid from the coconut. Mom has done this a few times too. But lately we have used store bought sweetened coconut with great success. Warming a bag of sweetened coconut with a can of coconut milk makes a sweet creamy coconut layer. Dad was thrilled with the outcome. He said it tasted like what he remembers. I still wish I had Maw Maw's exact recipe but I am happy I could make our version for Dad's special Easter birthday.

The only problem I had was I needed a deeper cake pan. I found myself dangerously filling the pan to the tippy top. Mom said she thinks Maw Maw used a Jiffy cake mix. I could not find one the day I went to the store. So, I did not use all the custard and meringue for fear it was going to spill over. Jiffy is a smaller cake mix, I think that would help or maybe I just need a bigger pan? Believe me you want to use every bit of these wonderful ingredients.

Now for the Easter garnish. This is totally optional, Maw Maw never garnished her Coconut Baba and it was still delicious. I just got inspired by all the Pinterest desserts featuring little eggs in a nest. I think dear sister's friend "J" would totally approve of using toasted coconut for my nesting material. Mom sure did. She kept asking, "Now how did you do this? What is in the topping?" It is so funny how marvelous toasted coconut is. Coconut is normally quite chewy and not real sweet on it's own. But sweetened and toasted it is like candy! Sweet, light, crispy and still a little chewy. It made a sweet little nest for a few Cadbury eggs. I think this is going to become an Easter tradition.

Coconut Baba

Serves 12 to 16

Ingredients

Cake:

1 box yellow cake mix, prepared as directed

3 eggs

1/3 cup oil

1 cup water

Coconut layer:

14 oz bag sweetened coconut

1 can coconut milk (or cream of coconut)

                                                                                                            

Custard layer:

3 cups 2% milk

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup flour

Dash of salt

5 egg yolks

2 Tbsp. butter

1 tsp coconut extract

1/2 tsp vanilla

Meringue:

5 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/8 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 Tbsp corn starch

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp hot water

Easter Garnish:

Toasted coconut

Cadbury candy coated milk chocolate eggs

Directions

Prepare cake as directed on box in a rectangle 9x13 pan. Meanwhile, combine shredded coconut and coconut milk in a sauce pan, heat until creamy. When cake is done, remove from oven and prick surface of the cake with a fork. Spread coconut mixture over warm cake.

Prepare custard by combining milk, sugar, flour, and salt. Cook until it begins to thicken. Whisk egg yolks together, temper with a little of milk mixture. Add yolk mixture to milk mixture continue cooking until thick and creamy. Add butter and extract. Pour on top of coconut.

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating adding sugar, corn starch, extract and hot water. Beat until stiff peaks form. Swirl over custard and bake at 325 degrees until meringue is browned evenly about 20 minutes. Remove from oven allow to cool. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Easter Garnish:
Toast 3/4 cup of sweetened coconut in a dry non-stick pan over medium low heat. Stir often until golden brown. Remove from heat, continue to stir until cool. Store in an air tight container until ready to garnish. To garnish place a spoon full on top of each piece of cake forming a nest. Place two or three Cadbury eggs in the center of the coconut nest.

Linking to:

Jam Hands: Recipe Sharing Monday

Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo

My Pinterventures: The Yuck Stops Here!

Yesterfood: Treasure Box Tuesday

It's Your Life: Tuesday with a Twist

Anyonita Nibbles: Tasty Tuesdays

Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday

Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Full Plate Thursday

Turnips 2 Tangerines: Four Seasons Blog Hop

Diamonds in the Rough: Share Your Stuff Tuesdays

My Turn for Us: Freedom Fridays with All My Bloggy Friends

Hungry Harps: Get Him Fed Fridays

Carole's Chatter: Food on Friday - Coconut