Pumpkin Cheesecake

Well I had a can of pumpkin puree on hand that was going to expire in a month. Pumpkin Cheesecake. When I was getting my nails done I came across a recipe in Real Simple. It Sounded delicious. Well this project turned out to be more than I had expected. The recipe from Real Simple was a refrigerator pie. No cooking. Now this is fine but I had a baking craving going on.

So on to the search I went to Food Network and looked at Paula Deans recipe  plus a recipe from The Joy of Baking that gave me the cream cheese topping for the pie. It was a project.  I cooked it at 355 for a little over an hour . The time cooked truly depends on your stove. Oh also I did not have enough cream cheese I was about 4 oz. off so I went to this link and it has all the Common Ingredient Substitutes really cool and very handy site. I replace the cream cheese with some Greek yogurt. The results awesome.

So it ended up going like this

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups of graham cracker crumbs.
* I used half graham cracker and half english tea cookies/crackers.
They had a little sweet taste to them and where thicker.
3 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 cup of melted butter


In a food processor break up the crackers into crumbs , add the butter and sugar. Take the cracker crumb and press it into a spring form pan. Cook in the oven at 375 for 8 minutes. Take it out and cool it while you prepare the filling

Filling

1 cup of pumpkin puree
1 1/2  8 oz sticks of cream cheese (room temperature)
1 6 oz container of plain Greek yogurt
1 cup of granulated  sugar
3 eggs and 1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons of flour
1 tablespoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice
1 teaspoon of nutmeg

In a mixer mix the cream cheese until it is smooth , add the pumpkin and yogurt until it is mixed well. Now add the spices , eggs and sugar. Last add the flour and mix well.

 Pour the mixture on to your crust and bake in the oven at 350 for 1 hour. Cook it until the middle is still giggly. Take it out and let it cool then put it in the refrigerator for 4 hours

Topping
1 cup sour cream
4 tbs sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whip up the topping

In a small bowl add your sour cream, sugar and vanilla extract. Use a whisk and whisk till smooth and top your cake or if you prefer just put some whip cream in a bowl to add if you or your friends want to. I sprinkled a little pumpkin spice on top . It was a hit

Sprinkle the top with some nutmeg. You can use Pumpkin Spice but enough is enough with the pumpkin ! 

This is a nice change from the usual Pumpkin Pie and it is so light and scrumptious !

Old Fashion Turkey Stuffing

Well this Thanksgiving my Mama now lives with us. How convenient because everyone loves her stuffing. She makes just your standard stuffing but her love makes it everyone's favorite. I watched with eager anticipation to see the secret ingredients and all the magical ingredients. It must be the love. When I was little all I did was grab a handful as I passed the bowl prior to her cooking it.

She would not let me near the creation as she was working. It was a delightful time and great memory.

  

Ingredients

One chopped onion white or red
3 to 4 celery sticks chopped
Homemade croutons or enough dried bread squares to fill a large brownie pan or a bag of store bought if you must
Enough chicken stock to coat everything about 2 cups
1/2 cup of butter melted that is one stick
1 finely chopped garlic clove

Salt and Pepper are the only seasoning you should need. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper you can personalize your stuffing with so many different herbs like rosemary, sage, basil, thyme it endless. Warm your chicken stock and butter together in a pot on the stove, until just warm and combined




Mama puts all the bread cubes into a large bowl adds the onion, celery and garlic. She then takes the butter and chicken broth that have been mixed together on the stove in a pot and slowly pours it over the mix.






She does this a small amount at a time she wants the bread coated but not just one section soaked to become mushy. You will be surprised how fast that bread soaks up the juices.

Now put it into a baking vessel we use a large brownie pan. Cook the stuffing at 350 for 45 minute to one hour. You can make it the day before and cook it for 30 minutes then put it into the oven for 30 minutes prior to your dinner.








You can uncover it 10 minutes before to crisp the top if desired.

I know I know where is the magic? The magic is like any recipe our Mommy or Grandma made. They put love and sometimes ingredients we will never know because it came so naturally to them they assume we know. Funny Mommy !!!!

Look at that a before and After picture. I am getting there people! Rome was not built in a day!