Layered Pumpkin Cheesecake

A delicious way to celebrate the holidays :)

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

3 Tbsp Sugar

5 Tbsp Butter (Melted)

1/2 tsp Almond Extract

Filling:

3 packages cream cheese

3/4 Cup Sugar

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 Eggs

3/4 Cup Pumpkin Puree

2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

pinch ground nutmeg

Directions:

Crust:

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine. Press onto bottom of springform pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling:

Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 2 cups of batter and spread onto bottom of crust.  Cook for 10 minutes at 325 degrees.  Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon and cloves to the remaining batter and mix until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.  Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.  Enjoy!

Spread crust into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes

Add cream cheese and sugar and mix thoroughly

Add eggs one at a time and the vanilla

Pour 2 cups of batter into the pan and cook for 10 minutes

Add remaining ingredients and blend with remaining batter

Pour remaining batter into the pan and cook

Remove from oven and let cool for 3 hours or overnight

Creamy Pumpkin Pork Loinchops Recipe

Weirdly delicious, great use of ingredients that I needed to use up.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Butter

2 Pork Loins

Seasoning (Tarragon, Basil, Montreal Steak Mix)

1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree

1/2 Tbsp Mascarpone

1/3 Cup Cream

Dash of Cinnamon 

Directions: 

Add the butter to a skillet and add the pork, season generously.  Once thoroughly browned (about 10 minutes) add the remaining ingredients.  Cook on Low until mixed and warm.  Serve by spooning the pumpkin sauce over the pork and adding a touch of cinnamon & tarragon to the top.  Enjoy!

Add the pork, butter and seasoning to the skillet

Add the remaining ingredients tot he skillet

Mix the sauce thoroughly

Serve & Enjoy!

The Winners! Pumpkin Risotto and Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

October's winning dishes had a pumpkin theme and both turned out amazingly delicious!  Hope you enjoy!  Your votes made the difference, I couldn't have done this without your support.  Thank you very much again!  The number one thing that I learned is how freaking hard it is to cut into a pumpkin...  I guess this being my first time actually trying to cut into it and cook it!  I definitely had to put a LOT of "elbow grease" into it.

 Pumpkin Risotto:

Ingredients:

4 Cups Chicken Stock

2 Cups Arborio Rice

2 Cups Diced Pumpkin (can substitute Butternut Squash if you prefer)

1 1/2 Cups Pumpkin Puree

1/4 Cup Basil (Finely chopped if fresh or use the spice)

1 Red Pepper (Seeded & Minced)

1/4 Cup Italian Blend Cheese

2 Tbsp Mascarpone Cheese

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine broth, rice, pumpkin, and the puree, in a baking dish, and stir to evenly combine.  Stir occasionally, until most of the chicken stock has been absorbed and rice granules are puffed, about 30 minutes.  Remove from the oven and stir in the remaining ingredients.  Top with some extra cheese and basil and serve.

 

Combine broth, rice, pumpkin & puree in a baking dish

Cook for about 30 minutes

Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well

Serve by topping with extra cheese and basil

Double-Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/2 Cups Graham Cracker Crumbs

3 Tbsp Sugar

5 Tbsp Butter (Melted)

1/2 tsp Almond Extract

Filling:

2 packages cream cheese

1/2 Cup Sugar

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Eggs

1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

pinch ground cloves

Directions:

Crust:

Combine crumbs, sugar and margarine. Press onto bottom of springform pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling:

Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Remove 1 cup of batter and spread into bottom of crust.  Cook for 5 minutes at 325 degrees.  Add pumpkin puree, cinnamon and cloves to the remaining batter and mix until well blended. Carefully spread over the batter in the crust.  Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until center is almost set. Allow to cool, then refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Cover with whipped topping before serving.  Enjoy! 

 

Make crumbs out of the graham crackers :)

Press crust into the bottom of the pan

Combine the cream cheese, vanilla and sugar

Mix in the eggs and separate 1 Cup of filling

Pour filling on top of the white layer

Cook for 25-30 minutes

Serve with whipper topping and enjoy!

VOTE FOR WHAT I SHOULD COOK! OCTOBER EDITION!

Welcome back to voting for what I should cook the October edition.  September was such a hit and so much fun to see the votes and cook something that I may not have chosen for myself and would have been missing out.  Due to the huge success I have decided to make this a monthly thing!  So come on and vote for what I should make next weekend for dinner and dessert.  One of the entrees from last month has made it over to become an option again for this month as well as a few desserts that didn't quite make it for the win!  Come on and vote and enter any suggestions for things that you would like to see for next month's voting challenge.  Thank you so much for your participation because without your votes, there would be nothing chosen for me to cook!

In case you want to see the voting from last month check out : September's Options

And to check out the winning dishes that I made go to: Burgundy Pork & Apple Raz Crumble

MAIN DISH

Option A:  Slow Cooker Chicken Chili

I don't use my slow cooker nearly as much as I should, and am always looking for great new recipe inspiration.  I love messing with Chili and this looks like a great recipe to try.

Original Recipe:

slow-cooker-chicken-chili













Option B: Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto
It's that time of year again.  Fall, comfort food, pumpkin everything.  And this recipe looks interesting and delicious!

 Original Recipe:
Creamy Baked Pumpkin Risotto












Option C: Chicken and Dumplings
 Another delicious comfort food, I used to sneak as many of the dumplings as I could and eat them all when I was little haha.  As an adult I always add extra when I cook it for myself, but I haven't made it in many years, so it would be great to revisit it.

 Original Recipe:
Chicken & Dumplings












Option D: Caramel Apple Pork Chops
 You can't have fall without caramel apple, so what better to add than pork?  Pork is always great for adding anything sweet to it, it really complements the sweet flavors.

 Original Recipe:
Caramel Apple Pork










DESSERTS

Option 1: Caramelized Banana Pudding

One of my all-time favorite desserts is banana pudding, this looks like a delicious twist to an old favorite!

Original Recipe:

caramelized-banana-pudding

Option 2: Rice Pudding with Cherries

Rice Pudding AND Cherries, and there is also WHITE chocolate, I am salivating just thinking about it!

Original Recipe:

Rice-pudding-with-cherries

Option 3: Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake 

I love fall for all of the delicious Pumpkin recipes and I also love cheesecake.  What better than cheesecake and pumpkin all in one bite?

Original Recipe:
 Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake









Option 4: Carrot Layer Cake

Carrot cake used to seem like such a weird concept to me when I was younger, but as I have grown older I have learned to love the flavor sensation in my mouth as well as the amazing cream cheese frosting, however I have never attempted to make a carrot cake myself, so this would be my first try.

Original Recipe:
Carrot Layer Cake












Now you have seen the 4 main dishes and the 4 dessert choices.  Please vote by selecting a Letter and Number so that I can go shopping and get everything.  Voting will close in one Week and then I will cook the selected dish and dessert and post my version of the recipes along with step by step instruction with photos of what I did.  Thank you very much for your support, I can't wait to see what you have selected for me to make!