Helping In The Kitchen

My kids love being in the kitchen with me.  The other night, when I was feeling particularly sick with the flu, Kasi offered to cook supper.  She baked chicken, with macaroni and cheese and edamame on the side.  It was delicious!  But, it also led to a little jealousy on Brandi's part, so tonight, she helped with dinner.

I wanted to make my seasoned potatoes (you can find my recipe here) so I asked her to cut the potatoes for me.  At 9, she was a little nervous using a sharp knife, so Bob found an interesting solution.  He cut the potatoes into disks, and then Brandi used my pizza cutter to cut the potatoes into bite sized pieces.  It was an inspired solution that allowed her to help without endangering her fingers.

Cooking Creme Chicken

Looks good, right?  The other night, I sent my husband to the store (the girls and I were fighting the flu, so we were quarantined at home) and he came home with this new product from Philadelphia, called Cooking Creme.  It is delicious! 

I simply sauteed some chicken cubes in my pan, and once it was cooked through I added the creme.  Once it was all melted and bubbly, I added broccoli and corn (both of which I cooked in the microwave).  That's it.  Everyone loved it. I am sure you can add whatever kinds of veggies you like.

There are several different flavors of the Creme, and I used the Italian Cheese & Herb one.  I am looking forward to trying the garlic variety, too.  I actually have some chicken left over from last night...I might see if I can come up with something garlicy tonight.

Frieling Nonstick 9" Glass Bottom Springform Pan Review

Isn't this a beautiful pan?  I was given the opportunity to review a product from one of CSNStores 200+ stores, and I chose this cheesecake pan.  I have been wanting to make a homemade cheesecake for a long time, but I didn't own a springform pan.  I was so excited when this pan came in the mail. I knew I could make an awesome cheesecake, and I was right!  The only thing that I didn't like was that my cheesecake split while it was cooling.  Has this happened to you, and does anyone know how to keep it from happening in the future?  The first picture is what the cake looked like right out of the oven.  The second picture shows what happened after it cooled for a bit.

Looks delicious, right?

 Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 5 (250 g) packages PHILADELPHIA Brick Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup sour cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 (19 ounce) can cherry pie filling

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F if using a silver 9 inch springform pan (or to 300 degrees F if using a dark nonstick 9-inch springform pan). Mix crumbs and butter; press firmly onto bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes.
2. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Add sour cream; mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until blended. Pour over crust.
3. Bake 1 hour 10 minutes or until center is almost set. Run knife or metal spatula around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool before removing rim of pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Top with pie filling before serving. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator. 

 The pan worked perfectly for this recipe.  The cake separated from the sides of the pan easily, and when I released the clasp, the pan came off perfectly.  I loved the glass bottom, because it made it super easy to serve the cheesecake.  There was no transferring it to a serving dish...it was already on one, which is dishwasher safe. I would recommend this pan to anyone looking to make a cheesecake.

**I received this pan free of charge from csnstores to review and keep.  The opinions expressed are my own, and we not influenced in any way.  I was not required to write a positive review, but how could I not when I love the product so much?

Birthday Dinner With Mom

 My mom made the most delicious dinner for me for my birthday.  The picture above does not do it justice..those are lasagna rolls.  Simply put, they are lasagna noodles rolled up with all different kinds of yummy cheeses in the middle.  There was also a cheese sauce on the bottom, and red sauce on top.  I am not kidding when I say they were so good!  Then again, everything my mom makes is awesome.

In addition to my two cakes, my mom also made red velvet cupcakes.  I was not lacking in birthday goodies this year at all. :)

Super Bowl Weekend

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Kenmore Live Studio. All opinions are 100% mine.

This weekend, most Americans will be glued to their televisions watching the Super Bowl.  There will be parties with lots of food, and probably a lot of beer, too.  We don't watch football in our house, so we will probably just hang out together.  It's my birthday this weekend, so we will most likely celebrate that.

For those of you who do host Super Bowl parties, I found some Super Bowl Recipes online that look pretty good.  I love that the recipes are demonstrated, so it's easy to follow along.  Check out this recipe for bacon cheddar popcorn. 

I have to say, I would eat this any day of the week.  It would be a perfect addition to our family game nights.

This next video demonstrates shrimp skewers, and even though I don't like seafood, this is a simple recipe that I would make for company.  Heck, I would probably make it just for the family, too.  Check it out.

If you are throwing a Super Bowl Party this weekend, check out all the superbowlfood recipes.  The cook in the videos is fun to watch, and he is easy to follow.  You may find something new to add to your party spread.