Chocolate Raspberry Cheese Cake

It was my first attempt at a complicated SOUNDING cheese cake.

The outcome?

Divine

Delectable

Down right easy and YUUMY!

So, as always, I'll share the recipe!

Crust:

2 1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

**(I just used a store bought crust-and used chocolate crust, but you can use any kind)

Filling:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk
Dash of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

Topping:

2 Tbsp. sugar
1 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla

**(I omitted this and just melted a handful of chocolate chips in the microwave, then dropped spoonfuls in random places on the cheese cake and then added spoonfuls of raspberry juice and swirled it all together)

Directions:

1. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter, press into buttered 8 inch pie plate to form crust on bottom and sides.

2. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually add in lemon juice, 1/2 cup sugar, milk, salt and vanilla.

3. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour filling into crust.

4. Bake at 325F for 25 to 30 minutes or until set.

5. Combine the 2 tablespoons of sugar, sour cream, and 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla; spread over top of cheesecake then bake for 10 minutes longer. Chill for 5 hours or more before serving.

It was SUCH an easy recipe and so yummy!! I don't really care for SUPER SWEET cheese cakes where I'm done with the first bite, but this was a fine tasting cheese cake, real smooth and just right in sweetness. The chocolate and the bitterness from the raspberries really helped settle the sweetness down too!

I surmise you could use any type of fruit you wanted--since this recipe was just for a "plain" cheese cake but I just added raspberries.

OH, the RASPBERRIES--I poured a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture into the crust first, then I used a handful of thawed out raspberries and just spread it on top of the cream cheese mixture, then added the rest of the cream cheese stuff, then baked it. :)

Candy Bottles

As if this isn't so cute!

I made these for V-day and dropped them off at Ronny's work. I just got an email from his this morning that said "we finished all the goodies in the bottles...the guys thank you!"

And whenever I have people to say "Thank you" to, I make these. Aren't they adorable?!

http://naptimejournal.blogspot.com/2010/01/repurpose-cream-soda-bottles-into-fun.html

Just a note

Just so you know. It isn't a job. It's an opportunity and a privilege.

It's a blessing and an adventure.

I love being your mom.

Activity Day with the Girls!

The kids learned how to use the chopsticks---no, I didn't make them...they wanted to!

First time eating Crepes for everyone!

Diego learns how to make Crepes! Oh, and there's Jules too! lol

I was asked to help out with the Branch's "Activity Day" for girls ages 8-11.

Well, our branch is unique, so I ended up having 7 kids, including teenages, boys and their friends and 3 adults! LOL)

Anyway, we learned how to "cook".

Garlic Fried Rice and Crepes.

I think the kids really enjoyed it, and it was fun to watch them try out the chopsticks! We really do have some awesome kids in our branch! :)

BLUES CLUES

We played BLUES CLUES!

I just cut out a dog paw and stuck it around the house.

Kai's been into Blue's Clues and he LOVED finding the "clues"! It was also a GREAT way to get him to nap after I taped the clue on his bed! ;)

Meat over rice

Ground Beef over Rice

I don't really know what it's called, but in Japan, there are THIN slices of beef marinated and poured over rice, but I just use ground beef/pork

Brown up meat.

Add about 2-3 tbsp. of Soy sauce (more if needed-taste it)

add 1-2 tbsp. of Sugar (more or less)

(1tsp. of Mirin if you have it, if not, no worries)

Just cook a bit more with a pinch of S&P and pour over rice

It's really simple, a quick lunch with a side salad or something but quite tasty!

Sunday morning

Gettin' Ready to head out the door for Church!

Cute boys, huh?

Japanese Get Together!

We had a Japanese/Asian get together and OH MY, the foods were all so very delicious!!

We had ALL kinds of foods with those affiliated with Japan somehow! :)

Kai's new Chore

Kai and I made paper placemats with fork, spoon, knife and plate cutouts on them so that he could begin to learn how to set the table properly! He loved it and did a very good job!

Front Entryway decor

I got this little stand for $60 off at target! So...of course, I repainted it! ;)

Kai's FIRST Talk in Primary!!aiha

Kai gave his first talk in our new branch!

"I am a child of God, and I want to be good! Amen!" lol Goodness, our little baby's all grown up! ;)

Frontway Bench

This is my new bench--got it at Ross and just painted and sanded it with Kai! :) We use it to remove/put on our shoes! It's so lovely!

Alma's teachings

"The Lord shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it."

I've always liked and appreciated the scripture in Alma which testifies that the Lord does not TAKE AWAY burdens, but he blesses us that we may CARRY them easier. (So that we GROW and receive the STRENGTH we so often pray to receive)

This was just another way of saying that which Alma taught.

"The Lord shapes the back to bear the burden placed upon it."

Thanks, Barker, for this awesome quote!

You appeared out of nowhere and you have been a great friend to me all over again.

GO GET'EM, TIGER!

After Holiday Sales!

For those who haven't figure it out yet, or haven't gone out to do this yet,

go out and scavenger out those AFTER HOLIDAY sales!!!

I was a few days late, but I went out this morning for the After Valentine's Sale and LOVED what treasures I found!!!

paper plates (hearts), gift wraps, candies (a bit more pricey), plastic dishware (heart shaped), bowls, v-day cards, decor, cups, candles, door hangers, etc.,

ALL UNDER 50 CENTS! Marked down at 75% or more!!

This is the same for any other holidays. I was able to find KILLER deals for Christmas after the new year's this year all things marked at 80% or more!! I would never ever pay full price for holiday decor, but with super cute door hangers being $1.00, instead of $10, I can justify having cute decor for each holiday!!

Happy Smart Shopping!

Life Missions

So I'm reading a magnificent book called: Achieving your Life mission by Randal Wright.

OH my, it's good. Just what I needed.

I just needed to jot down a few things that I've felt impressed about...they stick better this way.

"Asking for Specific Questions"

Ask "what wilt thou have me do?"

and He will answer.

"You can make every decision in your life correctly if you learn to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit" Marion G. Romney

How deep is that?

None of us are sent here to take a back seat and clap on as others perform in the spotlight. We have ALL been sent here with specific missions. No one else can do it better than we can. It is up to us to find those answers and get busy! How neat is that?! I've been thinking A LOT about who I am and what my mission in life is for the past year or so. A LOT. I feel impressed that although we may accomplish one or two missions, after we completes an assignment, we should always look for the next assignment...the work is never done.

Can you imagine what kind of a world this place would be, if everyone got busy in accomplishing their life missions?!

Elder LeGrand Richards once said, "...I can think of no greater disappointment that could come to one of our Father's children than to finish this life and then be told that he had failed to accomplish the things for which he was sent into this world."

Anyway, my heart is full with awesome teachings from this brother, but more to come. :)

So go out there and pray to know-specifically what YOUR mission in life is!

Exciting, exciting!!

Strawberry Apple Pie

Here's my not so pretty but YUMMY picture of the strawberry Apple pie I was telling you all about!!!

MMM.

..." Do we have any left!?!? "

Meal Planning2: It's Smart

Meal Planning: It's Smart

A few months ago, I had talked about "meal planning."

Why? You should all by now ;) But here it is again

1. It saves time and energy

(5:30pm-"ugh, what will I make today?!")

2. You spend less eating out

(5:30pm. "ugh, I dont' know what to make. "LET'S EAT OUT!")

3. It's healthier

(5:30pm- "ugh, I don't know what to make-"here, here's some PB and J Sandwiches and chips or cereal!")

4. It's Cheaper

(5:30pm--"shoot, I don't have *** ingredient-gotta run to the store!"--and you spend $40 easily everytime you're out...that's my WHOLE WEEK'S grocery bill!!)

5. Dinner's on the table faster

because you've already thought out in advance the preparation in advance-you can get ready for dinner throughout the day instead of;

(5:30pm "dang it, pork chops for dinner=the pork's frozen still!")

6. You get a variety of meals because you put aside time to think and plan ahead-I actually get to go through cook books and study menus and things I want to try, instead of resorting to the same things we always eat, just because it'd be "faster" to make

Anyway, I'm sure there are a lot more benefits to meal planning, but there were a few of my reasons of why I do it.

But I had already talked about that before: so today, I wanted to put up my menu plan. Also, not only do I plan for ONE week now, I do TWO weeks. It's that much better. :)

Breakfast:

Crepes

German Apple Pancakes

Pancakes and hash browns

Toast with eggs

Fruit with Yogurt

Waffles and fruit

Breakfast Casserole

Eggs and sausages+toast

Coffee cake with banana smoothie

Strawberry bread

Strawberry Strudel

Cheese, Egg and ham sandwich

Lunch:

Japanese noodles

Rice and Chicken drum sticks (baked)

Fried rice with soup

Tuna Sandwich

Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread

Japanese meal

Grilled Cheese

Corn dog and carrots

Pizza toast

Left overs

chicken salad on Croissant

Pork fried Kimchee (Korean)

Dinner:

Chimichangas

Curry over rice

BBQ Pork cubes

Meat Loaf

Hamburger helper

Hamburgers

Tonkatsu (Pork breaded in panko)

Crock pot burritos

Hawaiian Hay stacks

Sloppy Joes

Mushroom tomato sauce Spaghetti

Sides:

Potato Salad

Mashed Potatoes

honey Carrots

Mexican sides

Alfredo Pasta

Green salad

Artichokes

Broccoli

Soups

mac&cheese

Homemade Rolls

This is just an example.

and there will be repeats sometimes, but it gives me a quick list to run through and see what options I have. This way, I don't have to look 10 times in the fridge/pantry to figure out what I will be making that day. I can even plan ahead and cook things together- for example, when I make mashed potatoes, I can boil more potatoes to make a side of potato salad for another meal. I also make a column for "Ronny's lunches," since I like to pack him things to take to work, rather than have him spend money to eat out every day!!

(think about eating out: $5/day=$1200/year, $10/day=$2400)

I've had weeks where I've done without planning our meals ahead of time.

WHAT A CHAOTIC WEEK THAT WAS.

It's just smart to plan. It takes a little bit of time in the beginning, but you save way more time in the long run this way. Try it!

The other morning, Kai came into my bed and we snuggled together.

Then he saw the glass of water next to my bed and asked if I wanted some.

"Sure," I said.

While passing the cup to me, this is what he said;

"Here you go mamma, and DON'T SPILL IT

CUZ DADDY WILL THROW YOU OUTSIDE THE WINDOW AND YOU'LL GET AN OUWEE

AND HE'LL GIVE YOU SPANKINGS. MAD ONES!"

(who's not laughing? Well, I laughed)

"Mamma, IT'S NOT FUNNY! HE'S A MAD ONE!"

ahh kids :)

Strawberry Apple Pie

For some reason, "Apple and Strawberry Pie" came into my head so I searched around for some recipes.

I guess I wasn't the first one to think of the combination...so finding a recipe wasn't hard. And I made it...OH SO GOOD!! Here's the recipe! I took a picture of my yummy pie with vanilla bean ice cream, but the camera is downstairs and I'm too lazy to go get it...so you'll only get the recipes tonight! :)

PIE

Ingredients

5 C. thinly sliced peeled granny smith apples

1 C. sliced strawberries (I just squished frozen ones)

1 TBS. lemon Juice

3/4 C. sugar

3-4 TBS. all purpose flour

Double crust pie sheets

Topping:

1/2 tsp. Sugar

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Directions: In large bowl, combine apples and strawberries; mix lemon juice. Combine sugar and flour and sprinkle into the fruit, toss lightly.

Line crust into pie dish. Add filling, cover with other crust sheet. Wet top crust with milk (a tsp. will do) and sprinkle sugar topping if desired.

Bake at 400 for 50 min. or until golden around the edges

Double Pie Crust Recipe:

Ingredients:

2C. Flour

1 tsp. Salt

1 C. shortening

5-7 TBS. cold water

In large bowl, combing flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture becomes coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half and roll out separately.

Chi chi chi, le le le, Viva CHILE!

We had a Chliean Fiesta Last night!

Would you believe, that in our new branch, we have:

7 people either who served missions in Chile, or who ARE chileans?!

We have all talked about how the Lord must have some kind of plan for us "chilenos" in this branch!

Not to mention we had 3-4 people in our old ward who were from the SAME mission as Ronny and me!? Where else would that happen, but Utah?!?! Kind of weird! But fun.

So we got together last night and just brought together some of our favorite Chilean dishes...

I miss Chile!

Handsome stud muffins

HEY KAI! WHY DON'T YOU SQUEEZE JAIDEN A BIT TIGHTER AROUND THE NECK?!?!

YAH, THAT'S THE WAY! LOL (I'm kidding, folks)

I have the cutest darnest little muffins!

err, I mean, STUD muffins! ;)

This is Kai and Jaiden today for church.

"Don't go astray!"

"So Kai, what things did you learn in Primary today?"

Ronny asked, trying to encourage a wholesome family conversation over lunch time after church today.

Stuffing his face with rice and fish flakes, a typical lunch around here he said;

"yup, we learned lots"

hmmm, Ronny thought, and began singing a tune:

"follow the prophets, follow the prophets..."

Kai's little face brightened with the song.

I think we hit it.

"....follow the prophets.." I continued,

(if you know the song, you know what I'm talking about)

Kai swallowed his big bite of rice, and hurriedly hoisted his little index finger up in the air and finished the song;

"DON'T GO ASTRAY!"

What a crack up!

So there you have it.

We have never taught him this song at home,

we have never even heard him sing it,

but there it is.

Children DO listen, and they DO learn.

A big thanks to KAT, who week after week, endures her challenging calling in this branch's primary. Let it be known that she's absolutely making a difference in each of those tiny children's lives...even if they seem to not be listening...

they are...and they will tell you...

"follow the prophets...'cuz HE KNOWS THE WAY!" :-)

Cream Cheese & Chocolate Double Deckers

Cream, Cheese & Chocolate Double Deckers

{crumbly cookies filled with a sweet cream cheese-simply luxurious}

for the cookies:

1 C. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 C. (4oz) cream cheese

1/4 C. (1/2stick) sweet butter (I use regular stick butter)

3/4C. sugar

1 Egg

3 1/2. bittersweet chocolate, melted (I use 1/4 bag of choc. chips)

for the filling:

1/2 C. (4oz) cream cheese

1 C. powdered sugar

Set oven to 350 degrees

mix flour and baking soda and set aside.

Beat half of the cream cheese and butter until soft and smooth

add sugar and egg to butter mixture and mix until light and fluffy.

stir in chocolate, then the flour mixture.

mix to a smooth dough.

drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet

bake for 10-12min. (i do 1o min.) until firm at the edges

remove from sheets and allow to cool

beat remaining cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth and soft.

spread onto one cookie.

sandwich with another cookie.

makes 2 dozen cookies

Chocolate M&Ms

Dear Today,

as much as I know my son Kai has the sweetest heart,

always wanting to share with his little brother Jaiden,

would it be alright if I snapped a little to find a large bag of peanut M&Ms empty and chocolate all over the crib, the sheets, the blankets and the baby in the morning?

I know Kai just wanted to share...but still...plus, where and how in the world did Kai get to the bag of candies?!

Waiting for your reply.

THANKFUL

I had a nice friend come down to spend some time with me this morning and

we made cards with her nifty cool stampin' up gadgets!

OH HOW I LOVE CRAFTS!

I'll be having a stampin' up girl's night in party soon and you're all invited.

I'm excited

But here's why I'm writing today:

I seem to forget now and then, how much I truly am blessed.

Now, I don't ever undermine the great worth of occasional VENTING, COMPLAINING, MOPING AROUND and even feeling sorry for one's self, I actually think everyone benefits from venting once in a while,

but truly, I (we) have so much to be grateful for when we're done complaining...

So today, I am grateful for:

My ears to hear my kid's "I love you"s

(although I hear much more of the "AAAGH!!! MAMMAAA!!!"s)

I'm grateful that I have hair on my head

(I know this because poor Ronny complains for the lack thereof for himself)

I am grateful that I have two legs, two arms and two hands which are fully functional (not in shape, but functional) to give hugs, to clean, to walk and take care of myself, of others, and even find some time to do FUN things like make cards!

I'm grateful that I am alive.

If you're having a bad day, HAVE A BAD MOMENT OR A DAY.

Then I hope you can get over it and find the good things in your life.

I'll try to do the same.