Valentine's Day @ The Podilas...

Roses are Red and Violets are Blue...
Another year... another Valentine's Day comes and goes...

Interestingly enough I noticed that the price of a box Strawberries didn't hit the roof a few days prior. I know, a silly tidbit but still... in years past, I have noticed that a regular box only doubled in price and quartered in quality. I wonder what happened this time around??  I'm not complaining though. ;)

And so, the day of hearts and flowers started off at our house with breakfast together, after a long time S didn't have her early AM class, so homemade pancakes were had by all...literally, I didn't get a picture. ;) And then on to the usual routine... school, work, chores and what not... I did spend more time in the kitchen though. :)  So here are my dishes... Made With Love... and a few crossed fingers.

Because my Instant Pot trials and tribulations continue... and today was a good day...  we had a Brussel Sprouts appetizer inspired by this recipe I saw on momnoms.net, Ginger Ale Bread, Pesto Pasta (made by our resident chef, the husband) ;) and my first ever IP Cheesecake!!

The Brussel Sprouts were yummy but... not exactly picture worthy... yet... will post again when I remake.  Here's my version of the recipe though... had great flavor and would make a good appetizer.  I had the oven on so just before we ate them, I put them in for a few minutes to heat them up.  Just keep an eye out that they don't burn...

Subha's IP Chili Brussel Sprouts

1 package (16oz) Trader Joe's Brussel Sprouts 

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 handful chopped pecans

1/8 cup Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Chili Sauce

1.5 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp red chili powder

pinch of salt

1. Mix the soy sauce, chili sauce, garlic powder, 
red chili powder and salt - set aside.

2. Ready the Brussel Sprouts - I cut off just a bit at the bottom
and remove any damaged leaves. If any are super large, cut in half.

3. Put the Instant Pot (IP) on Saute and add Olive Oil, 
after a few seconds, add pecans. Saute for just a minute to crisp. 

4. Add Brussel Sprouts to IP and mix... then add sauce mixture. 
Saute and add just a bit of water to rinse out sauce cup. 

5. Close lid and vent, put IP on Manual, High Pressure for 1.5 minutes. 

6. When it beeps, carefully quick release the steam.

Open and Enjoy!   

And on to my First Instant Pot Dessert...

NY Cheesecake from "This Old Gal"

I made this recipe as is, in my 8" Springform pan, I did not double the recipe.  Hence you can't see the crust that much. If you make it in smaller size pans, you will have the crust come up the edges.  My 8" pan fit perfectly into my 6qt IP with the handle trivet it came with. 

For the 8" I put it in for 37 minutes and Natural Release. There was no water on top and it set beautifully.  Be sure to add the sour cream layer while hot, it definitely added to the flavor. 

Notes for the future... take the time to line with parchment so as to not get the little rough edges you see here... 

Before serving, I added caramel topping and toasted pecans. :)  YUM!!

Pecan Caramel Espresso Cheesecake Bites

Made this for a party and everyone loved it.  :)  You definitely need to like coffee as the fresh Espresso has wonderful kick to it.  It's definitely a blend of 2 passions from my house... For those who don't know, my hubby loves coffee.. more like LOVES Coffee. I came across a recipe and then he came to mind.  The original recipe called for "Instant Coffee" and at that "instant' I thought, I could have the coffee instantly made for me instead. And of course, the fact that no Instant Coffee can be found at my house helps. ;) So, I chose a time that was good for both of us to make my Pecan Caramel Espresso Cheesecake Bites. 

 

Realized later that I forgot to mention to my guests that I made it with Low Fat Cream Cheese... apparently that made no difference at all.  ;-)

 

Here's my version of the recipe... I tweaked it to our liking and believe the use of fresh Espresso made a huge difference!  It should be used within minutes of making else will bring on a bitter taste to your dessert. Making my own crust with freshly ground Oreos added to the taste as well.  :)  I made 24 Mini Cheesecake bites using a mini-muffin pan lined with paper liners (very important).

For Cheesecake

2 pkg.  (8 oz. each) Trader Joes Low Fat Cream Cheese, softened

1/2 cup  sugar

2 tsp.  vanilla

2  eggs

2 Tbsp.  milk

1 Double Shot of Espresso - freshly made (use within minutes)

For Crust

Mini-cupcake pan with liners

OREO Cookies - crushed into a fine powder (I used my Magic Bullet)

1-2 Tbsp. melted butter - to hold the Oreo mixture together

Topping

1/2 cup Toasted Pecans - roughly chopped

Smucker's Caramel Sundae Topping

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. 

Make Crust: grind up Oreos into fine powder.  Mix in butter as needed just enough to hold the powder together. Put a teaspoon (or so) into each of the cupcake liners in the pan and press down with the end of a spoon so it's flat.

Beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add eggs; mix just until blended.

MICROWAVE milk in small microwaveable bowl 15 seconds. Add Espresso shot to milk. Then add that mixture to the batter; mix well. Pour into individual crusts.
BAKE 20 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. 
While oven is still hot put pecans in and toast for 5-8 minutes. Keep an eye on them as they burn easily. Once cooled, roughly chop.

Few minutes before serving take the mini-cheesecakes out of the fridge. Remove liners from each and set out on a platter to serve.  Top each piece with the crushed pecans and top with a little bit of the caramel syrup.  Serve and Enjoy!! 

Store any leftover cheesecake in refrigerator.

 

 

Happy New Year!

Hi!
I hope the start of 2012 has been fabulous for you and yours!  :o)  With all the holiday parties you attended did you taste some thing that you'd just like to have a little more of?  Have you asked a friend for a recipe? :)  Well, of course the saying goes, "Imitation is the greatest form of flattery."

This post is thanks to a friend of mine who ate a dessert I made recently.  It was something I'd seen before but, made in different forms.  For this particular get together I made them bite-sized and entirely from scratch.

I didn't think too much of it prior to her asking for the recipe but, after typing it up, all I have to say is don't be scared by the length.  ;)  Once you make it you'll be able to use the techniques in other recipes. I've also included options to cut down the effort. So, give it a try. :)

Without further ado, here are my

Pecan Caramel Cheesecake Bites...

 Ingredients

• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• dash salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup chopped, roasted pecans -  while the oven is already on & preheated if you put the pecans in for about 15 minutes - stirring in between, they will roast nicely.

Directions - Preheat oven to 325 degrees

• 1. In large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar on medium speed of electric mixer until fluffy. Beat in lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla and salt. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined after each addition.

Easiest Method:  If you'd like to make it into just one large cheesecake you can purchase 1 Keebler® Ready Crust® Graham Pie Crust at the store. Place crust on baking sheet. Pour in cream cheese mixture. Bake at 325°F about 25 minutes or until knife inserted into filling 1 inch from edge comes out clean.

If you'd like to make your own crust :)  Which is what I did, you can. Then you can decide what size you want to make.  Which is how I came up with just the bites.

1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter , melted
1/3 cup light brown sugar or 1/3 cup white sugar , for less sweet crust (this is what I used)

I added some of the roasted pecans to the graham cracker crust and saved the rest for presentation. :)

Directions:

Mix ingredients together. 

Press onto bottom and up sides of pan until desired size.

Bake silver pan at 350F for 8-10 minutes, or dark pan at 300F for 8-10 minutes

Fill!  Then bake according to the original recipe. 

I used my 24 cup mini cupcake pan for the bites. I baked the crusts first and then I added the filling, baked again and then I put it in the fridge.

After they set for a few hours, I took them out and put them in an air tight container for storing.  

Before serving I took them out about 10 minutes prior. Placed them on the serving try.  

I topped them with Caramel Syrup (I like the Smucker's brand Caramel Sundae Syrup) and the remaining roasted pecans.

Here they are:

Yikes! January's gone...

But...I'm back, after a few busy weeks which included sick kid, sick me, trip to visit my folks (who are all in Texas now), getting together with friends and remembering old times...it's time to get back in motion. 

February is here! It's still quite cold (Hello? What happened to my beautiful California weather??) and so hot cups of coffee/tea and cozy days at home are much more inviting.  :)

As many of my near and dear know, a hobby I've had for some time now is baking; hence the title of this blog.  Here's the full deal on it, in case you're wondering... it's a combination of the Wii Mii my daughter made for me some time ago, she calls me "Baker Mom" and her love for the Diary of a Wimpy Kid book series!  ;-)

Voila!       There we have it....   "Diary of a Baker Mom"  is born!

So, baking and I have had a long standing relationship.  I've always found it to be fun and it's a wonderful stress reliever for me too.  :)  I have many memories of my mom saying "It's finals time but, you can find Subha making brownies for her friends" - amongst other things. ;-)  I'm not really picky about what type of treat it is and am happy to try new things from scratch as well as semi-homemade.

If you're new to baking and creating and don't know what I mean by "semi-homemade," no worries.  Basically it means using a mix or other prepared ingredients as a base and then adding and incorporating other ingredients to complete the recipe. A simple example would be: purchasing brownie mix, following the directions on the box but, adding nuts or more chocolate chips to the batter before baking. :)

So, happy baking and creating from me to you.  :) 

Here's what I've made recently... Caramel Pecan Cheesecake, Rice Krispie Treats and Zucchini Bread (which is a yummy recipe from a friend of mine, Thanks Jen K.). Now to attack the blueberries I still have in my fridge!!

Caramel Pecan Cheesecake

Rice Krispie Treat

Hope you'll try some thing new too! :)

Until next time...