Cheesecake Tarts for Ali

Makes 12 mini cheesecakes, using vanilla wafers as the crust.

Preheat oven to 375.

With an electric mixer, mix:
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar

Once smooth, add these:
2 TB flour
1/4 tsp baking powder

Then add these:
1 Tbs fresh lemon juice
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Fill a muffin pan with foil cupcake liners and place one of the vanilla wafers at the bottom of each one. Divide batter between the 12 of them, filling each cup up to about 1/4 inch from the top. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. 

When you take them out of the oven, place them on a cooling rack and let them cool completely. While they cool, it's normal for them to sink down in the center. Refrigerate until chilled.

Optional toppings:
berries and whipped cream
chocolate and caramel sauces
pie filling
chocolate chips

Overnight Oatmeals

Blueberry Maple (4 servings)
1 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/3 cup milk or almond milk
1 cup Greek yogurt (I used Mountain High plain--not Greek--instead)
2 TB dried chia seeds
3 TB maple syrup (or less to taste)
1 cup blueberries
Let soak overnight and eat cold or warm (I like warm)

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal

This apple cinnamon oatmeal was awesome. I followed the recipe exactly, using unsweetened almond milk. Ours was done after 6 hours on low. There are other varieties at the bottom of the page to try!

Apple Pie

Mr. Brady is always trying for the perfect apple pie. I don't usually care for apple pie much, but I wanted to get in on the action. So I found a top rated recipe and read a bunch of its reviews. I loved this one.

Lower your oven rack one notch. Preheat oven to 350. Line deep dish pie plate with bottom crust. Plan out your top crust before you start the other stuff: cut strips for a lattice or fun designs (even using cookie cutters) for venting.

The filling involves 2 easy parts: peeling/cutting the apples (easy if you have a corer slicer tool) and making the syrup to go with it. If you're doing it by yourself, do the apples first; the syrup hardens quickly, reviewers say. We used 5 large apples: 2 Granny Smith and 3 sweeter firm apples. We chopped them pretty small.

On stovetop melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

Add, stir constantly and bring to a boil:
3 TB flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar

Mix about 2/3 of the syrup with the apples and pour onto the bottom crust. Add the top crust (crimping the edges) and brush the rest of the syrup onto the top crust. Bake until golden brown (I forgot to time it)--somewhere between 45-60 min.

Other reviewers suggest brushing the bottom crust with egg white to avoid crust sogginess, as well as adding cinnamon if you like it. I think I'll try those next time.

French Bread

4 loaves! I freeze 2 of them for later.

Let sit until foamy:
4 1/2 cups warm water
4 1/2 TB sugar
3 TB yeast

Add:
1/2 cup + 1 TB oil
2 eggs
3 tsp salt
12-15 cups flour (you know, mix a few cups in, mix, add more while mixing, etc., until bowl is scraped clean)

Let rise.

Form 4 loaves on 2 cookie sheets (I use my kitchen scale nowadays to make them each about the same size). Bake at 375. Actually, I just accidentally baked mine at 350 with my speed bake option and I think I like them better. Also, you can glaze them with egg white mixed with water before baking if you want.

Fajita Marinade

We used this yesterday. I would omit the salt and use half the cayenne next time (too spicy for some of the kids). The flavor was great, though. I used lemon instead of lime juice. We cut the raw chicken/beef in strips, marinated them for a couple hours, and then cooked them with the marinade on the stove.

Red Velvet Pancakes

2 cups  all-purpose flour  
1 cup  powdered sugar
1/2 cup  granulated sugar 
1/2 cup  unsweetened cocoa  
1 1/2 teaspoons  baking powder  
1/2 teaspoon  baking soda  
1/2 teaspoon  salt  

1 1/2 cups  buttermilk  
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red liquid food coloring
mini chocolate chips (optional but I think it would be a great addition--can sprinkle them once the pancake is already poured)

Cook on 300-325 degree griddle and use butter to grease it each time. I burned my first pancake, so I lowered the griddle temp and thinned the batter a bit. Then it wouldn't stay together as well, so I added another egg. Basically, they cook differently than regular pancakes but they're fun. Serve with whipped cream!