Easy Chocolate Cream Cheese Danish Dessert

What do you do when you have crescent rolls sitting in the fridge and you don't want just the same 'ol thing?  You make Cream Cheese Danish!  They taste sooo much better than what they look, and seriously, how can you go wrong with cream cheese and crescent rolls????  I altered the recipe that I found online by adding cocoa powder to give it a chocolatey taste, but I'm sure the original recipe would have been just as good.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Danish

2 pks of crescent rolls
2 pks of cream cheese - softened
2/3 c sugar
2-3 TBSP cocoa powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray 9"x13" pan with cooking spray.  Roll one package of crescent rolls out in the bottom of the pan and press the seams together to form the bottom crust.  In a mixing bowl combine cream cheese, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla and cinnamon, mix until smooth.  Pour over the bottom crust and spread evenly.  Take the second package of crescent rolls and roll them out on a piece of parchment paper to fit the pan and transfer on top of the cream cheese mixture.  I sprinkled the top with additional sugar and cinnamon and baked for 25 min. or until golden and bubbly.  Let cool and enjoy.  Refrigerate the left overs.

Dear Hubby is not big on sweets, but he gobbled this one right up.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Until next time...
Sara

Sunday's Storms!

I'm sure everyone out there who watches the news has seen or heard about the major storms that came through the Midwest Sunday.  I didn't really realize until last night's news broadcast, just how close to home one of the many tornadoes were to home.  There were 3 different confirmed tornadoes that passed through Northern Indiana on Sunday, the largest being an EF-2, which was right straight east of me about 5-8 miles away... that explains why it sounded like a freight train coming through with all the wind and rain.  Our weather radio never sounded, the town's sirens never went off and it was announced on the news last night that no one even reported it until after it was all done.  They said it was so rain wrapped that the actual funnel was never sighted, but after reviewing the amount of damage done and the trajectory of it, it was a confirmed tornado.  Here is a picture I took last night of the news broadcast, showing the route of the tornado.  In the bottom left corner, is the town where I live (Akron) and Hwy 15 is only 8 miles down the road.

The other 2 confirmed tornadoes were not too far off either.  One was about 30 min West of us and the other about 45 min North.  Yesterday dear Hubby went into work early to be greeted at the door and sent home until his normal hours (2nd shift) because the power had been off all night and had just come back on only minutes earlier.  He said the boss met the 3rd shift crew in the parking lot the night before and sent everyone home and did the same with 1st shift.  There are still thousands of people without power, and it was reported that they could be without power up until about Thursday or Friday.  Thankfully our power only flickered a few times and only went out for a few seconds before coming right back on again.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the families that had damage done and are without power, and I thank the Good Lord for watching over everyone and keeping them safe.

Until next time...
Sara

What Do You Want For Supper?

What Do You Want For Supper?  The age old question in our house.  It comes at different times every day, but there is a guarantee that at some point during the day it will be asked by one of us.  Yesterday afternoon, I decided that it was going to be bear steaks with mushroom gravy over herb crusted oven roasted potatoes... yummm!  The other day while digging to the BOTTOM of the freezer (a place rarely seen,)  I came across a couple packages of bear steaks that I forgot we had.  The steaks are from a bear I harvested a couple years ago.  After waiting 8 years to draw a tag to hunt it, I was tickled pink that I succeeded on getting my first bear.  I will share a pic of the mount with you, as I was too hungry last night to take a pic of the yummy meal.

This is a recipe that was passed down to me from Bob, and has been shared in Bear Camp by him many, many times.  Bob usually serves it over noodles, as it's faster to cook a huge kettle of noodles than potatoes when you have a camp full of hungry hunters coming out of the woods.



Bear Steaks with Mushroom Gravy over Herb Crusted Oven Roasted Potatoes


2 lbs of bear steaks sliced 1/4" thick
1 large onion, diced large
1 sm pk of baby bella mushrooms, quartered
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 envelope of onion soup mix
2 envelopes of mushroom gravy mix
4 cups of water
salt & pepper to taste


6-8 small red potatoes, bite sized pieces
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp dry rosemary
2-3 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

Place half of the diced up onion, mushrooms and peppers in the bottom of a slow cooker.  Place your bear steaks on top and sprinkle the onion soup mix and gravy packets over the top of the meat.  Put the rest of the veggies in on top of that and add your salt and pepper.  Slowly pour the water in and let simmer on low for 6 hrs.  Stir occasionally to make sure your steaks don't stick together and to get the gravy between each piece to absorb as much flavor as possible.  The steaks will be fall apart tender when done.  If your gravy is too thick add more water. 
Mix potatoes, herbs and olive oil together in a bowl and spread out on a baking sheet.  The last half hour of the bear cooking, I put my herb crusted potatoes in the oven for 30 min at 350 degrees, stirring once to get a crust on all sides.  Slightly mashed them with a fork on my plate and served them with the gravy over the top.

This meal can easily be made with venison steaks or beef, and goes great with glazed baby carrots on the side.  I think my Momma would have even liked this meal, and she's not a big fan of bear meat!

Until next time...
Sara

Pistachio Pudding Dessert

 

 Pistachio Pudding Dessert

Pie crust:
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 cup chopped walnuts

Layer 1:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 (8oz) cream cheese
1 cup cool whip

Layer 2:
2 regular sized pkgs instant pistachio pudding mix
3 cups milk

Topping:
cool whip
chopped almonds

Mix butter, flour, nuts; press into 9x13 inch pan. Bake 350 for 20 min. Cool. Mix powdered sugar, cream cheese and cool whip; spread on cooled crust. Beat together pudding mix and milk until thick. Spread on cream cheese layer and top with a layer of cool whip and chopped nuts. Refrigerate.
  

This is a recipe that was shared by a family friend and can be made with any of your favorite puddings.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Until next time...

Sara

Mother Nature Showing Her Splendid Colors

I  know I haven't posted much lately, but I haven't been around much either.  My Mother-in-law has been dealing with some major health issues, so a lot of our free time has been spent bouncing between the hospital and nursing home with her.  Somewhere in the middle of it all I realized that Mother Nature has been creeping up on us down here, showing her splendid colors of fall.  Being from Northern Wisconsin, I am not use to having fall so late in the year.  It's the first of November and our leaves down here in Indiana are just starting to show their true colors.  Back home, fall has come and gone and snow has threatened a few times already.  I was talking with Mom the other day on the phone and I told her that if she came for a visit she could enjoy fall all over again!  Here are a few shots from outside my front door...

The house sparrows are still here in mass numbers and have picked up a few buddies along the way also.  When we first moved here we had 2 cardinals hanging around.  They had 2 babies over the summer and their babies now have 2 new friends for a total of 6 different cardinals.  I don't know if they think they are part sparrow or what, but they are always with the house sparrows wherever they go.  If you see one, the others are close behind.  Here is a pick of the buddies sitting in the top of my tree in the front yard.

Here is another one of the sparrow buddies... kind of hard to pick them out with all the colors going on, but they are on top of the red bush.

I did notice the other day that there were some different birds hanging out with the sparrows, but of course I didn't have my camera handy at the time so no pictures of them ...yet.  They were more finch size with rosy pink chest feathers and brown backs.  

Here are a few more pics from the front door...

 

I hope you are enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer as much as I do.  

Until next time...

Sara

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

This is a recipe that was passed down to me from one of my former co-workers back in Wisconsin.  She use to make this in the fall whenever we would have potlucks at work, and it was always a hit.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Crust
1 c. flour
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 c. soft butter

Filling
1 can pumpkin
1 pk cream cheese - softened
2 eggs
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. milk
1/2 tsp allspice
1 tsp ginger

Start off by mixing the ingredients for the crust and putting it in a 9"x13" pan, lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 min.

While the crust is baking, mix together the filling ingredients.  Set aside until crust is baked.

Remove crust from oven and pour the filling mixture over the top while it is still hot and return it to the oven for an additional 30 min.

Let cool, then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hrs before serving.  Keep chilled.


This recipe can easily be doubled or even be topped with cream cheese frosting and chopped nuts, or a little dollop of whipped cream.  I actually cheated slightly on the crust and used a shortbread cookie package from Betty Crocker and then doubled the filling because I had 2 cans of pumpkin that HAD to be used soon.  If you double the recipe it will require a little longer baking time.  It was roughly about 10-15 min longer.  It still turned out amazing!  I hope you enjoy!

Until next time ...
Sara

Thick & Hearty Chili

I know you might be thinking that I fell off of the blogging world, but I haven't!  I talked to Mom yesterday and she said "How am I suppose to know what you are up to if you aren't doing your blog?"  So, Mom this is for you!!!

I have been in the kitchen most of the day today, making bread, pumpkin cheesecake bars and chili for supper.  I would like to share my recipe for my chili with you.

I start off with hamburger in a soup kettle over med/high heat and brown that until the pink is almost gone.  Drain whatever grease you might have from the hamburger and return it to the heat.  I then add diced tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, diced onion and bell pepper along with chili powder, garlic powder, Cajun seasoning and fresh cracked black pepper.

I let the above mixture simmer for about 5 min to absorb the seasonings and to soften the onion and peppers.  Then I add a can of kidney beans and a can of Bush's Country Style baked beans.  I know, I know, baked beans are not a normal ingredient for chili but I think it's what MAKES the chili, giving it a slightly sweet taste along with the spice of the chili.

After adding the bean mixture, I start adding the sauce.  I use tomato sauce and tomato puree and a little water swirled in the bottom to get the remainder of the sauce out of each can. 

I then let it simmer for about 20-30 min, letting the flavors all meld together.  In the meantime I boil a couple handfuls of whatever kind of noodles I have in the cupboard, until they are al dente.  Drain and add to the chili.  Like I said earlier, this is a thick and hearty chili, so you should be able to stand a spoon up in it.

That is what is still left over after eating supper, so I guess I know what is for lunch tomorrow.  Yummm!  I made this chili for Dad once and he said "This ain't chili, this is stew!"  But that is also coming from the guy who thinks that chili is hamburger with a homemade tomato sauce that is like water.  His is still good, but I like mine better. 

Here is a basic look at the recipe and measurements are estimated because I usually don't measure anything.  I take after my Mother when it comes to measuring... a pinch of this and a dash of that... if it don't taste right start experimenting with whats in your cabinet.

Thick and Hearty Chili

1 1/2-2 lbs hamburger
medium onion - diced
bell pepper - diced
2 sm cans of diced mushrooms
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of tomato puree
1 can of dark red kidney beans
1 family size can of Bush's Country Style baked beans
1-2 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp cajun seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
 1-1 1/2 c noodles - cooked al dente

Brown hamburger in soup kettle over med/high heat, until slightly pink, drain and return to heat.  Add onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, diced tomatoes and all of the seasonings.  Simmer for 5-10 min.  Add both beans and tomato sauce and puree.  Reduce heat and simmer for 20 min. stirring frequently so your beans don't stick to the bottom of the kettle.  Add boiled noodles and simmer for an additional 10 min.  Remove from heat and enjoy. 

I hope you enjoy the recipe and hopefully tomorrow I can get the recipe for the pumpkin cheesecake bars on here for ya!

Until next time ...
Sara