Oreo Cheesecake

Who doesn't love Oreo cookies?  Oreos and cheesecake are a match made in heaven.  My favorite cheesecake recipe has an Oreo cookie crust . . . actually in my opinion, they make the best crust for cheesecake.

What I love about this recipe are the possibilities to make it lighter by using no fat cream cheese and no fat Cool Whip.  

The recipe and photo comes from the Taste of Home website, although it is officially a Philadelphia Cream Cheese recipe.  If you love cookbooks, Taste of Home has the best annual cookbooks and one of the favorite cookbooks is from Philadelphia Cream Cheese that I have had for more years than I care to mention.

Ingredients

• 36 OREO® Cookies, divided
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 4 packages (8 ounces each)PHILADELPHIA® Cream Cheese, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tub (8 ounces) COOL WHIP® Whipped Topping, thawed

Directions

CHOP 15 cookies coarsely. 

Finely crush remaining cookies; mix with butter. Press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.

BEAT cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP and chopped cookies; spread onto crust.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Yield: 16 servings.


HOW TO EASILY REMOVE CHEESECAKE FROM A PAN TO SERVE: 
Line pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides before using to prepare cheesecake as directed. Use foil handles to lift chilled cheesecake from pan before cutting to serve.


Source: Taste of Home
Originally published as PHILADELPHIA-Oreo No-Bake Cheesecake Provided by Philadelphia® Cream Cheese

Chicken and Potato Casserole

Love the combination of the chicken, potatoes and the sauce.

This recipe and photo is courtesy of Grandmother's Kitchen . . . link follows the recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups milk
• 1 large onion, slices
• 1/2 cup white cheese, shredded
• 5 cups potatoes, peeled, par-boiled and sliced

Directions

Preheat over to 350 degree F. 

Peel and par-boil the potatoes. Drain the water, let the potatoes cool, then slice them into rounds.

Meanwhile, while the potatoes are cooking we will cook the chicken. 

Heat the oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken pieces until they are not pink. Set aside. 

To make the creamy sauce, melt butter in large sauce pan over low heat and whisk in flour, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute. Remove from heat gradually whisk in milk. Return to heat and cook until thickened and bubbly.

Fold in chicken, onion slices,and cheese. Gently stir the mixture together. 

Place a layer of potatoes slices into the bottom of a buttered 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour the creamy mixture on next. Make a top layer with the remaining potato slices. Cover with aluminum foil. 

Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes to lightly brown the top.


Original Chicken And Potato Casserole Recipe found at Grandmother's Kitchen Recipes.

Easy Lemon Cake

Lemon recipes are always on my mind when searching recipes.

This cake is the ultimate semi-homemade, quick and easy recipe and looks delicious!

The recipe is courtesy of Kraft . . . check out their recipe section . . . link at the end of the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. (2-layer size) lemon cake mix
• 2 pkg. (3.4 oz. each) JELL-O Lemon Flavor Instant Pudding
• 1-1/2 cups cold milk
• 1 tub (8 oz.) COOL WHIP Whipped Topping, thawed

Instructions

PREPARE cake batter and bake as directed on package for 2 (8- or 9-inch) round cake layers. Cool in pans 10 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

BEAT pudding mixes and milk with whisk 2 min. Immediately spread over tops of cakes.

STACK cake layers. Frost with COOL WHIP.

Kraft Kitchens Tips

VARIATION
Bake cake in 13x9-inch pan; cool. Do not remove from pan. Spread cake with pudding mixture, then COOL WHIP.

SPECIAL EXTRA
Garnish with lemon slices and fresh mint leaves just before serving.

Recipe and Photo Source:  Kraft

Dulce De Leche Brownies from The Pioneer Woman

This is my favorite recipe from the episode of The Pioneer Woman that I'm currently watching, but you'll need to check out all of the recipes by clicking on the episode link.

It has been a really long time since we have had a wonderful chocolatey dessert and these brownies just reminded me!

Don't they look sinfully delicious?

Recipe courtesy of Ree Drummond
The Food Network
SHOW: The Pioneer Woman
EPISODE: Big Day at the Building



Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, plus more for greasing pan
• 5 ounces unsweetened chocolate
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• Half of a 14-ounce can dulce de leche
• Powdered sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-by-8-inch baking pan (a square pan will result in thicker brownies).

In a medium-large saucepan, melt the butter with the chocolate over low heat, whisking occasionally until smooth and melted. Sprinkle in the cocoa powder and whisk to combine. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes.

Stir in the granulated sugar and vanilla until just combined. Stir in the eggs. Gently stir in the flour until halfway incorporated. Pour the batter (it will be very thick!) into the prepared pan.

Place the dulce de leche in a glass bowl. Warm it in the microwave for 30 to 45 seconds. Drop large dollops of dulce de leche on the surface of the brownie batter. Use a knife to slowly swirl it through the batter. Don't drag the knife sideways through the batter; hold it so the thin side of the knife leads the way.

Bake for 40 minutes, then check the brownies with a toothpick. If they are overly gooey/messy, return to the oven for 5 to 10 more minutes (just be careful not to burn the edges). Allow to cool completely (important!), then sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into small squares.

When warm, the brownies will seem overly gooey/soft. As they cool, they will firm up. (Brownies are best several hours after baking, or even the next day!)