Mini Cheesecake Tarts

Courtesy of Real Women of Philadelphia

We had some friends over for dinner Sunday night and I had the abnormal desire to make something for dessert. Again, this is very odd for me. In any event, I wanted something no-fuss and fast! I reminisced to when I was a kid and loved the bite size cheesecakes -- well, almost bite size. I decided to go with that! This recipe was really easy and enabled me to use our KitchenAid mixer :) They were a hit! These are great for dinner parties or hors d'oeuvres. You could even get creative and make multiple batches and top with various fruits. Hm, this might make the go-to list.

Yield: 24 tarts
Cook Time: 25 minutes

12 vanilla wafers
2 packages 8 oz. cream cheese (I used one regular, one reduced fat)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 can cherry pie topping (or whichever kind you prefer)

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tin with foil liners. Place a vanilla wafer in each liner. In a mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, vanilla, and sugar. Beat until well blended. Beat in eggs until blended. Pour mixture over wafers, filling each liner about 3/4 cup full. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and top with your favorite topping, mine was cherry pie filling! Mmmm scrumptious :)

Grilled Mexican Chicken

Courtesy of Plated Perfection

A group of friends and I hit the town Saturday night to celebrate my 30th birthday. I didn't want to eat too heavy of a meal, so I decided to go with grilled chicken! I had some salsa and avocado on hand, so this is what I came up with! It was easy, light, and delicious :)

- 2 chicken breasts (pound out if too thick)
- 1 tb olive oil
- dash of salt and pepper
- dash of Adobo Seasoning (I used without pepper)
- 1 avocado, sliced and cut into cubes
- 1/4 cup grape tomatoes, cut in half
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 lime, juiced (save about 1 tbsp for avocado topping)

Brush the chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle  both sides with salt, pepper and Adobo seasoning. Place in a bowl and let marinate in lime juice for 30 minutes (or however long you can). Grill one minute on each side over medium heat to brown. Reduce heat to medium low and cook each side for approximately 6 minutes per side (depends on the thickness of the chicken). Cook until 170 degrees. Mix the avocado, tomatoes, and a few squeezes of lime juice. Plate the chicken and top with salsa and avocado mixture. Yum :)

Chicken Parmesan Meatloaf

Courtesy of Plated Perfection

This is something I've never cooked before, and I wanted to try something different. I found that this meal was pretty light since the meat is low in fat; it was a nice change! I'm also a sucker for anything using marinara sauce ... and cheese. Per usual, this was great for leftovers the next day :)

1 pound ground chicken
2/3 cup marinara sauce, plus another few tablespoons to coat (I used Rao's -- delicious)
1 tb fresh basil, chopped
1/2 tb chopped garlic
few dashes of salt and pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
dash of crushed red pepper flakes
5-6 slices of fresh mozzarella

Combine the ground chicken, marinara sauce, basil, garlic, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour into the pan and bake at 350 for approximately 30 minutes. Once the chicken pulls away from the sides, it's cooked. Spread the top with marinara sauce and top with fresh mozzarella. Bake for another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

Beatty's Chocolate Cake with Champagne Buttercream Frosting

Cake Recipe courtesy of Ina Garten
Frosting Recipe adapted from Andrea Ballus - Cupcake Wars 2010

OK, let me start out by saying two things. Most importantly, I don't know who Beatty is...so don't ask. Secondly, if you know me at all, you know that I do not bake. I have a cooking blog, so obviously I love to cook, but baking is...not.my.thing. I don't like to measure things, or time things, or take the patience to frost things. However, two of my friends had birthdays this past week and I felt the need to bake them a cake for the Housewarming Party Saturday. Yes, I baked my first cake FROM SCRATCH. This is a big deal people. The entire time I cursed about how I hated baking and won't do it again...I even threatened to throw it out, but Nick wouldn't let me. It's a good thing because everyone LOVED this cake. It got absolutely demolished. I'm not saying I'll be baking anytime soon, but this was a major hit. The frosting was a separate recipe, but I got rave reviews on both and thought the combination sounded good. I apologize for the lack of creativity in the picture as well -- I didn't get a snapshot before the cake was demolished, and yes, it's on a paper plate.

Beatty's Chocolate Cake

• Butter, for greasing the pans
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.
Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal (or a random Christmas plate in my case since I do not own a cake appropriate plate).

Champagne Buttercream Frosting

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 box powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons Champagne
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer with a whisk attachment, whip the butter until creamed. Add the powdered sugar, champagne, and vanilla and mix until the ingredients are evenly incorporated and the frosting is smooth and creamy.  Brush the top layer of the cake with a small amount of champagne. Let sit for a couple of minutes and then begin frosting!

Sweet & Salty Bacon Wrapped Scallops (with Prosciutto Asparagus)

Courtesy of allrecipes.com

First of all, Nick found this recipe and has made it twice for me. Every time I devour these scallops. I know I've posted bacon wrapped scallops on the blog before, but this is my new go-to recipe. They are just heaven. It's a nice combination of sweet and salty, and who doesn't love something wrapped in bacon?  I went the extra mile and decided to make asparagus..and keeping with the theme, wrapped it in prosciutto!

• 3/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 12 large sea scallops, halved
• 12 slices smoked bacon, halved
• 24 toothpicks
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

1. Stir together maple syrup, soy sauce, and Dijon mustard in a bowl until smooth. Add the scallops, and toss to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and marinate at least one hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Line a rimmed baking sheet with a sheet of aluminum foil.
3. Arrange bacon pieces on baking sheet so they do not overlap. Bake in preheated oven until some of the grease has rendered out of the bacon; the bacon should still be very soft and pliable, about 8 minutes. Remove bacon from the baking sheet and pat with paper towels to remove excess grease. Drain or wipe grease from the baking sheet.
4. Wrap each scallop piece with a piece of bacon, and secure with a toothpick. Place onto baking sheet. Sprinkle the scallops with brown sugar.
5. Bake in preheated oven until the scallops are opaque and the bacon is crisp, 10 to 15 minutes, turning once.

For the asparagus, simply snap off the ends of fresh asparagus. I peeled the stalks a bit this time. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 375 for approximately 10 minutes. Take out and wrap each stem with a piece of prosciutto. I usually tear each piece of prosciutto in two pieces. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake for another 10 minutes or so. YUM. This is a good snack.

Mix and Match Italian Skewers

Adapted from Giada de Laurentiis

As usual, I got this idea from watching Giada on the Food Network years ago. Her original recipe uses cherry or sundried tomatoes. I'm not a huge fan of tomatoes (unless they're simmering away in some pasta dish or in salsa or ketchup). Therefore, I changed this up a bit and it's been a hit at pretty much every gathering I've ever had. They're also very easy to assemble, which is a plus when you're cooking for multiple people to come over. This go around, I mixed it up and did different combinations. The mini mozzarella balls are the key ingredient and base for each skewer. You can either wrap ingredients around it, or stack them. I would definitely recommend using the mini sized mozzarella balls versus a chunk and cutting it up...it's easier, and it just looks cooler :)

• 24 medium basil leaves
• 24 small fresh mozzarella balls packed in water, drained
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 24 toothpicks
• 1 package of prosciutto, cut into approximately 1 inch wide strips
• 1 jar of roasted red peppers, also cut into long strips (if wrapping around mozzarella...these can be cut into chunks if stacking)
• olive oil and balsamic vinegar (if desired for drizzling)

Wrap the mozzarella ball with a piece of basil and a strip of roasted red pepper. Place on toothpick. Alternate by substituting prosciutto for the roasted red pepper, or use any variation you desire. Arrange the toothpicks on a platter. Drizzle with olive oil (if desired - balsamic vinegar is also tasty). Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve.

Maple Pepper Pecans

Courtesy of Food Network (Nigella Lawson)
Nick and I had a Housewarming party this past Saturday, which was a great success! I will be posting other items separately, but this is such a quick snack, and great for finger food / just having around for people to snack on. Be careful though -- they have quite a kick!

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (I recommend good quality maple syrup)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons table salt
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 1/3 cups pecan halves

Melt the butter with the syrup, salt and cayenne pepper in a pan over a gentle heat. Add the pecans and stir to mix, leave them on the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Spread the pecans on a silicon pad, parchment paper, or piece of foil to cool. Arrange the sticky pecans in bowls to serve.