Turtle Cheesecake

This cheesecake was a major hit at Thanksgiving this year! I adapted this recipe from the Barefeet in the Kitchen blog. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 24 chocolate sandwich cookies (about 1 cup finely crushed, gluten free cookies work fine)
• 5 tablespoons butter melted
• 3/4 cup caramel sauce (I did not measure this, and just used a drizzle-y caramel sauce from the store)
• 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips melted
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans toasted if desired

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees (this can wait until you put the crust in the refrigerator, unless your oven needs more than 15 minutes to pre-heat). 
• Crush the oreo cookies - I love using a food processor to do this! You can also put it in a large freezer-weight ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin or something else hard enough). 
• Combine the crumbs with the melted butter and press the mixture into the bottom of an 8-10" springform pan. Pour 1/2 cup of the caramel sauce over this crust and spread it out lightly with a spatula. Refrigerate the caramel coated crust for 10 minutes.
• Beat the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed just until each one is blended. 
• Pour this mixture over the refrigerated crust. Place the spring-form pan on a large baking sheet prior to placing it in the oven. (If you line the baking sheet with foil first, clean up will be a breeze.) Some of the caramel in the crust will drip through the pan onto your oven if you forget the baking sheet - this is very important.
• Bake 65 - 70 minutes, until the center is almost set. Run a knife around the edges of the pan while it is still warm. Let cool at room temperature and then refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before removing the sides of the pan.
• Once the sides of the pan have been removed, sprinkle the pecans across the top of the cheesecake and then drizzle with the remaining caramel and the melted chocolate. Store remaining cheesecake in the refrigerator. 

Pineapple Fried Rice

I think that this was my favorite recipe out of the most recent round of meal prepping. I found this recipe on the COOKIE+kate blog, and I think I may have to go back for more! To be totally clear, this is not necessarily a meal prep must. It's actually a skillet meal, and is probably best when cooked as the instructions below. However, I would highly suggest chopping all of your veggies and fruit ahead of time. That simple step will save you a LOT of time on the day of cooking. Also, this one cooks pretty quickly, so there will not be time to chop in between steps.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons coconut oil or quality vegetable oil, divided
• 2 eggs, beaten with a dash of salt
• 1 ½ cups chopped fresh pineapple
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• ¾ cup chopped green onions (about ½ bunch)
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• ½ cup chopped raw, unsalted cashews
• 2 cups cooked and chilled brown rice (about 2/3 c dry), preferably long-grain brown jasmine rice
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or sriracha
• 1 small lime, halved
• Salt, to taste
• Handful of fresh cilantro leaves, torn into little pieces, for garnishing

Instructions:

Heat a large wok, cast iron skillet or non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and place an empty serving bowl nearby. Once the pan is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles on contact, add 1 teaspoon oil. Pour in the eggs and cook, stirring frequently, until the eggs are scrambled and lightly set, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer the eggs to the empty bowl. Wipe out the pan if necessary with a paper towel (be careful, it’s hot!).

Add 1 tablespoon oil to the pan and add the pineapple and red pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid has evaporated and the pineapple is caramelized on the edges, about 3 to 5 minutes. Then add the green onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant while stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Transfer the contents of the pan to your bowl of eggs.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pan. Pour in the cashews and cook until fragrant, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Add the rice to the pan and stir to combine. Cook until the rice is hot, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes.

Pour the contents of the bowl back into the pan and stir to combine, breaking up the scrambled eggs with your spoon. Cook until the contents are warmed through, then remove the pan from heat. Add the soy sauce and chili garlic sauce, to taste. Squeeze the juice of ½ lime over the dish and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and set aside.

Slice the remaining ½ lime into 4 wedges. Transfer the stir-fry to individual serving bowls and garnish each bowl with a lime wedge and a light sprinkle of cilantro. Serve with bottles of soy sauce and chili garlic sauce or sriracha on the side, for those who might want to add more to their bowls.

For Meal Prep:

Bag 1: 

• chopped pineapple
• red pepper
• green onion
• garlic

Bag/container 2: 

sauce ingredients (there are only a few, so this doesn't have to be done ahead of time, but it can be done

In the Kitchen: 

• eggs
• cashews
• brown rice (can cook several days ahead and refrigerate, minute rice makes this very quick and easy)
• sauce ingredients (if not prepped ahead)
• cilantro
• lime

 

Option: Add Chicken

I love this rice on it's own, but I recently decided to make some teriyaki chicken to go on the side, and it was not a mistake. For the part of the chicken, I just bought a 30 minute marinade (Lawry's is my favorite), and put the chicken on the grill, stovetop, or in the oven. I cook the two (rice and chicken) separately, but the chicken adds to the flavor and substance. You can stretch this meal much further by adding that component.

Meal Prepping #3

I just need to say this: I LOVE MEAL PREPPING! Here is the 3rd round that I've done for myself. I'm working on getting all of the recipes up and linked to this post. I have learned included a few Instant Pot recipes this time. 

One of the things I noticed as I made these was that the pasta and rice dishes that I made in the Instant Pot were pretty good the first day, but became pretty mushy in the days after (leftovers). I am still working on a plan for how to make the rice and pasta recipes in a way that are better for leftovers, because there are always leftovers at my house. 

Without further ado, here are the most recent recipes:

• 21 Day Fix Instant Pot Asian Chicken
• Spicy Peanut Chicken
• Sriracha Mustard "Chicken Wings"
• Instant Pot Bang Bang Shrimp Pasta
• Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice
• Instant Pot Jambalaya
• Pineapple Fried Rice

Easy Instant Pot Jambalaya

I originally used the recipe from Life with Dee  as my inspiration. However, I like to meal prep... and by meal prep I mean chop and mix and freeze as many things as possible ahead of time, so I can just throw things in make it happen quickly when I have to cook during the week. So, I have made some small changes to the preparation process, which made small changes to the putting it all together part at the end. (If you're wanting to make it all at the same time without the meal prep, you can click on the link above to see how she did it!) Here's how I did it:

INGREDIENTS

1 onion - diced
1 bell pepper - diced
3 stalks of celery - diced
3 garlic cloves - minced
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounce package of Andouille sausage (may substitute smoked sausage for less spicy version)
2 cups chopped tomatoes - undrained
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup long grain white rice
1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon worchestershire sauce

PREP

Freezer bag #1: diced veggies: 

• onion
• pepper
• celery
• garlic

Freezer Bag #2: protein

• cut up sausage (I also added a small bag of frozen shrimp - I just love shrimp in jambalaya

Freezer Bag 3: sauce + seasoning

• chopped tomatoes
• chicken broth
• spices
• soy sauce
• worchestershire sauce

In the pantry:

• rice (I used Uncle Ben's whole grain brown rice)
• olive oil (with the option of butter)

INSTRUCTIONS

As you're getting ready to make your meal, keep this in mind: Thaw your frozen bags. I have put some frozen items in my instant pot... but it doesn't usually work quite as well - I have not quite figured out the timing on frozen items yet. I usually pull the items I'm planning to cook out of the freezer and into the refrigerator 1-2 days before actually cooking the food.

Also, I occasionally have a hard time remembering which parts I've taken care of, and what I need to do on the day of cooking... so I've started writing some directions on one of the bags, so when it comes to putting everything together, I don't even have to look back at the recipe... Just a quick hint to try if you have a similar struggle to me in the wonderful world of meal prepping.

1. Turn on Instant Pot to sauté setting, add butter and oil. (I used 2 T of oil, no butter)
2. When hot, add sliced sausage (I waited a few minutes, then added the shrimp as well).
3. Cook 2-3 minutes or until slightly browned.
4. Add the bag of veggies (cook about 3-5 min).
5. Add the bag of sauce and the rice. 
6. Stir well.
7. Put the lid on (make sure it's set to sealing). Set to Manual for 8 minutes.
8. Release the steam, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes. 

My results and thoughts... My first time around was mostly successful. I ended up with Jambalaya that tasted GREAT (I could've enjoyed a little more spice...), but was a bit... soupy. So I have decided to put 1.5 - 2 cups of rice in next time (I'll probably start with 1.5 just to make sure I don't totally overdo it!). For today, I made a little extra quick brown rice to add in to soak up some of the liquid. I will update this recipe once I've tried it again with the extra rice!

Fish and Asparagus over Jasmine Rice

This is a new favorite of mine - simple and oh-so-tasty!

You can make your rice whichever way you like it best. My new favorite is Jasmine rice in my Instant Pot!

1. Measure dry rice, set aside. (about 1 “cup” minimum recommended, any “cup” you choose) - I usually do 2-3 cups at a time.
2. Measure same amount of water, add to Instant Pot’s inner pot/liner.
3. Rinse rice, add wet rice to the measured water in the inner pot.
4. Lock on the lid, and set the steam release valve to “sealing” position. 
5. Use the "Manual" setting - Select your pressure cooking time - for Jasmine rice, about 4-5 minutes should do it.
6. Let the rice rest for about 10 minutes after cooking is finished before releasing any remaining pressure, and serve.

For the fish and asparagus, cut and wash the asparagus.

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Cover your pan with foil (I roast asparagus on a foil-covered pan in the oven most of the time). 
3. Sprinkle fish and asparagus with olive oil and sea salt and pepper.
4. Roast in preheated oven until fork easily punctures thickest part of stem, about 20 minutes. (I flip over the fish and move around the asparagus once, about halfway through cooking)

Once everything is finished cooking, lay the fish and asparagus on top of a bed of rice, and sprinkle with soy sauce (additional salt or pepper if you'd like).

Spicy Peanut Chicken

This recipe from Betty Crocker is very simple, and pretty yummy! I keep forgetting to take pictures when I'm cooking lately, so I do not have a picture for you - but you can see it on the Betty Crocker website (just use the link above).

Give it a try!


Ingredients
1/4 cup chicken broth (from 32-ounce carton)
1 T cornstarch
1 T sugar
2 T soy sauce
1 T white vinegar
1/4 t ground red pepper (cayenne)
1 T vegetable oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breast halves, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 t grated gingerroot
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts
2 medium green onions, sliced (2 tablespoons)

Instructions

Mix broth, cornstarch, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper seasoning; set aside.

Heat wok or 12-inch skillet over high heat. Add oil; rotate wok to coat side. Add chicken, garlic and gingerroot; stir-fry about 3 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Add bell pepper; stir-fry 1 minute.

Add broth mixture to wok. Cook and stir about 1 minute or until sauce is thickened. Stir in peanuts. Sprinkle with onions.