Sopapilla Cheesecake

***EDITED TO ADD*** 9/25/2009
Welcome Visitors from Kelly's Korner! I'm linking to an older post - this is one of my FAVORITE recipes! This is SO EASY - and so good! Very rich, you will want to cut it in to smaller squares, they don't look like much, but it is just enough!



At Bunco a few months ago the Hostess served the most fabulous dessert. It was still warm when she served it and OH. MY. GOODNESS!! Some of the girls called it "Heart Attack in a pan" and I've decided that is partly due to how yummy it is, and partly because there isn't one thing in this that could be described as healthy!

It sure looks pretty in my Gail Pittman Hand Painted Casserole...

Sopapilla Cheesecake

2 Cans Crescent Rolls (I used Great Value, Flaky crust style)

2 (8 ounce) Cream Cheese, softened

2 cups Sugar, divided

2 Tablespoons Vanilla

2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

1 stick of BUTTER

In a 9 x 13 pan, lay out one can of the crescent roll dough, pinching seams together. In a separate bowl, combine cream cheese, one cup of sugar and vanilla. Spread mixture across crescent roll dough. Cover with the second can of crescent rolls. In a saucepan, melt the stick of butter, one cup of sugar and cinnamon. Stir until well blended and pour over the top of crescent dough, spreading evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Party for the Cure 2009

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure was held in NW Arkansas on Saturday. For the third year in a row I held my own little Fundraiser, A Party for the Cure. I donate a portion of my commission in Memory of my Sister in Law Debbie. She lost her battle with breast cancer on January 8th, 1996.



I had a little product tour around my house, showing some ideas for how I use the products in our home. These are the Camille Vases. I've taken some of the glass beads that you can buy at Wal*Mart or Hobby Lobby and created a diffuser in the smaller vase, and just added a candle to the taller one. You could easily use these in any room with tons of uses and they are on sale this month for only $9.95 with a $29.95 purchase. Wouldn't they make a great gift for Mother's Day?
Of Course I had some good food! You have to have snacks when you shop! Something salty, something sweet and something to drink. I've got it all covered! I bought some pink tulle and a lighter pink fabric remnant at Wal*Mart to set my "THINK PINK" buffet. I made Brownies and Sopapilla Cheesecake for my sweet choices. For my salty selctions I had some mixed nuts and dried beef and pickle roll-ups. So salty, but so GOOD!

The Sopapilla Cheesecake. I'll share the recipe on Tuesday for my Tuesday Treats!

I made Kelly's Cherry Limeade punch. So yummy! And EASY.

A closer view of the roll ups. A jar of dried beef, a tub of spreadable cheese, and baby dill pickles. Careful, they're addictive!

Throughout the year I accumulate more product than I should. Some items retire, so I don't need them for my kit to show anymore. Sometimes they are on special and I'll grab an extra to meet a personal sales goal. I pass the savings on to my customers, and donate a percentage of the sales. Here's some of the loot I have for sale.

It was a good time! Wish you could have been here!

Tuesday Treats: Larry's Birthday Cake

For my Handsome Prince's Birthday, I attempted my first ever layer cake. (I usually just do a 13 x 9 and frost it in the pan.) I think it turned out pretty good! I had a box of Carrot Cake mix, but I wanted to kick it up a notch. I dug out my Southern Living at HOME "Cake mix miracles" cookbook and found this recipe for Cheater's Carrot Cake.

Cheater's Carrot Cake
1 (18.25 ounce) package spice cake mix
1 (10 ounce) package shredded carrots (about 3 cups)
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained well
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans. divided
2 (16 ounce) containers ready-to-spread cream cheese frosting

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Fold in carrots, pineapple, and 1/2 cup chopped nuts. Pour batter into three greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 28 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
• Combine remaining 1 cup chopped nuts and frosting;stir well. Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Chill, if desired. Yield: 1 (3-layer) cake.

Keeping it real:

I used my carrot cake mix, and it was fine. I didn't have shredded carrots, but I did have baby carrots and a salad shooter, worked great. I used walnuts, again I had them on hand. I did not use the containers of frosting, because Cream Cheese frosting is my favorite part of the cake, and I like to make my own. Could NOT be easier.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

1 stick of butter, softened

1 (1 pound) box confectioner's sugar

mix together until desired consistency.

I doubled the recipe for this cake, since I was frosting each layer. I didn't quite need all of it - there may have been some bowl and spatula licking taking place! :)

We had our good friends, Bob and Lisa over for a Birthday dinner on Saturday evening. We had a wonderful salad, Cavatini and garlic bread, and this birthday cake. There was some over-eating done by all! Another GREAT weekend, and Larry thought it was a good way to celebrate his birthday!

Tuesday Treats: Easy Cheesecake

One of my very favorite desserts is cheesecake. Any flavor. YUM!
For Tuesday Treats today, I have another super simple recipe that will make you look like a rock star without ANY stress. I don't think there is any way you can mess this up! Here is what you'll need:

Easy No Bake Cheesecake
3/4 Cup Powdered Sugar
1 (8 oz.) Cream Cheese, softened
1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (16 oz.) can Pie Filling (can be any flavor, we like cherry or blueberry best)
Graham Cracker Crust (if you are using ready made, the extra helping size works best)

In a large bowl, combine powdered sugar, cream cheese and cool whip. Pour in to crust and work filling out to the edge. Spread pie filling on top. Chill until ready to serve.

Too Simple! Only FIVE ingredients!! You could make it a little more difficult if you want to make your own graham cracker crust, but why? Why would you do that?
Here is what it will look like before your choice of pie filling goes on.

Enjoy!

A Thanksgiving Trifecta!

I have three recipes to share today, just in case you are still planning your menu for tomorrow. All three of these are super simple, but sure to dazzle your guests. I've got you covered from start to finish with an awesome cheese ball, a side dish and a dessert!

Dried Beef Cheese Ball
2 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
1 jar (I use Armour) dried beef, chopped in to tiny pieces
4 green onions, chopped
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Form in to a ball using wax paper. Chill. Serve with crackers.

I've been using this cheese ball recipe for years and it has always been a favorite at any occasion I've made it for. I've rarely had leftovers!

Here's a new twist for cranberry sauce. I got this recipe from my girl Paula Deen, so ya'll KNOW it's GOOD!

Mrs. Hoggle's Stuffed Cranberry Sauce
1 (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
2 Tablespoons Hellman's Mayonnaise
1/4 to 1/2 Cup chopped pecans
1 (16 ounce) can of Jellied cranberry sauce, chilled

Mix cream cheese and mayonnaise until creamy. It needs to be spreadable. Add pecans and mix well. Slice cranberry sauce in 1/4 inch rounds and spread cream cheese mixture on one round. Place another round on top, sandwich style. Cut each round in half like a sandwich, place in a shallow container and cover. Refrigerate until time to serve. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

This dessert recipe is another from Paula Deen. My Larry is not a huge fan of pumpkin pie, but he does like pumpkin in other things. I think you have to have pumpkin at Thanksgiving, and this is so good, and simple!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle
2 (14 ounce) packages gingerbread mix
1 (5.1 ounce) box cook and serve vanilla pudding mix
1 (30 ounce) can pumpkin pie filling
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon ground cardamom or cinnamon
1 (12 ounce) container Cool Whip
1/2 cup crushed gingersnaps (optional)

Bake the gingerbread according to the package directions; cool completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pudding and set aside to cool. Stir the pumpkin pie filling, sugar and cinnamon into the pudding. Crumble 1 batch of gingerbread into the bottom of a large, pretty bowl. (a punch bowl would work great for this) Pour 1/2 of the pudding mixture over the gingerbread, then add a layer of whipped topping. Repeat with the remaining gingerbread, pudding, and whipped topping. Sprinkle the top with the crushed gingersnaps, if desired. Refrigerate overnight. Makes 20 servings.

So what makes Thanksgiving special for you? I'm thankful that our families will be able to spend time together. We all are so busy that we don't make time like we should, so it is a Blessing when everyone can spend the day together with the people we love. Happy Thanksgiving!!

Creamy Pumpkin Dip

Sorry for being AWOP (Absent with out Posting) this week! I had my Southern Living at HOME Holiday Open House on Saturday. I was busy with the cooking and planning and stressing and the blog took a back seat. As did the picture taking, so I can't show you how pretty the Berry Punch looked, or the No-Bake Chocolate chip cookie pie, so you will just have to trust me that everything looked beautiful. And tasted pretty fantastic too!

One of the YUMMY treats I made for Saturday was this dip recipe. By now you know I am a fan of EASY, and this fits that requirement. If you are looking for an alternative to the pumpkin pie this year, this is it.

Creamy Pumpkin Dip
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 (16 ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1 (16 ounce) can pumpkin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Beat cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Stir in pumpkin, cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve immediately, or cover and chill. Makes 5 cups.
Serve Dip with Gingersnaps.

Just in case I get crazy with the whole thought of 20+ people coming for Thanksgiving dinner and forget to say this later, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

No-Bake Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

Could it get ANY better? I think not! No baking, so it's easy! Chocolate chip cookies, YUM! AND it's PIE! YAY! This recipe comes from the Southern Living Incredible Chocolate recipes cookbook. (page 50)

1 (15 or 18 oz.) package chocolate chip cookies*
1 Cup Milk
1 (9 oz.) commercial graham cracker crust (extra serving size)
1 (8 oz.) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Dip 8 cookies in milk and place in a single layer in graham cracker crust. Top with 1/3 of the whipped topping. Dip 8 more cookies in milk; place on top; spread with 1/3 of whipped topping. Repeat layers with 8 more cookies dipped in milk, and remaining whipped topping. Crumble 2 cookies and sprinkle over pie. Cover and chill 8 hours before serving.

* For cookies, we used Nabisco Chunky Chips Ahoy. You'll need 26 cookies for this recipe (you MAY have a few leftover cookies in the package - we didn't!).

Blueberry Crunch Cake

Today's "Tuesday Treat" is by special request - Thanks Lindsay! I've made this recipe several times, and it could not be any easier! It is featured in Paula Deen's magazine, the July/August 2008 issue. This is a great recipe for potluck or picnics. Try it, I know you will like it!

Blueberry Crunch Cake
Makes 1 (9x13) cake
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple in juice
1 (21 ounce) can Blueberry pie filling - I use 2 every time I make it and I like it better!
1 (18.25 ounce) box butter recipe yellow cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
3/4 cu butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour pineapple with juice into a 9x13 inch baking dish; spread evenly over the bottom of the dish. Spoon pie filling evenly over pineapple. Sprinkle dry cake mix over pie filling; level with a fork. Sprinkle pecans over cake mix; drizzle with melted butter. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until brown and bubbly.

The blueberry pie filling can be substituted with strawberry, blackberry, cherry or peach pie filling.

Tuesday Treats

I like "theme" days! So I think we will have recipes on Tuesdays! Yay!! For our first Tuesday post, I will share my recipe for Pumpkin Bars. These are the best thing you have EVER wrapped your lips around!! They are very simple to make, but everyone will think you went to way more trouble than they are!

Pumpkin Bars
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
5 eggs, beaten
1 cup salad oil
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups canned pumpkin (15 1/2 ounce)
1 cup chopped nuts (I like pecans)

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Mix Well. Pour into a large jelly roll pan (greased and floured) Bake for 20 to 25 minutes
Let cool completely and then frost with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounce cream cheese
1/2 cup butter or margarine (make Paula Deen proud here! - BUTTA)
1 pound powdered sugar

Mix room temperature cream cheese and butter together. Gradually add powdered sugar until frosting is the consistency desired


Now as soon as I figure out how to add pictures, we'll have some of them! Until then, Happy Baking!!