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:

Old Recipe...New Twist?

I was always under the impression that I am the only one in my house who is constantly on the lookout and "listen-out" (is that a word??) for new recipe ideas. Apparently, I learnt this past weekend, that in fact is not the case. ;)

My hubby came home and told me that a colleague at work was telling him about a recipe (who knew techie guys discussed food!?) ;)  and that reminded him of another recipe and how would that taste if we changed it up? I'm in!!

We took his usual staple of Egg Bhurji (which is like an Indianized version of extremely scrambled eggs) to Tofu Bhurji (substituting tofu for the eggs).

So, with my 7 year old "kitchen helper-in-training" we set out to try this new recipe for ourselves. She chopped all the tofu into the tiny pieces, while I cut up the rest. :)

Here's our recipe for approximately 1 person. 

We finely chopped (totally the key to type of recipe) to start:

approx. 1/4 of the Tofu block
half a large onion
half a large tomato
half a green bell pepper

a little bit of olive oil
Salt, to taste
Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp.- to taste
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp. - to taste
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp. - to taste
Turmeric - just a pinch

First, saute the onions, when they are almost done, add the bell peppers, and after some time the tomatoes. After they all fry together a bit, add the salt.  After the tomatoes let out some water, add the chopped tofu. As you mix everything together the tofu will become crumbly. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder, red chili powder and turmeric. Keep stirring until everything gets mixed together. Once all the ingredients have come together and the tofu is a looking cooked through, your dish is done. It should look something like this. :)   Good Luck!

Tofu Bhurji

Substitutions:

Red Chili Powder - Finely Chopped Green Chilies
Tofu - Eggs
Tofu - Paneer