cherry cheesecake tartlets

My friend Annie made these darling, mouth-watering cherry cheesecake tartlets. Aren't they cute? I was pretty full after my huge plateful(s!) of dinner last night but had to have one. I went from pretty full to about to burst. These will be perfect for future Christmas parties, showers, picnics and any kind of party!

cherry cheesecake tartlets (my friend Annie found the recipe at Diana's Desserts)
1 1/8 cups graham cracker crumbs (see note below)
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened,
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling (see note below)

You will need:
standard size cupcake or muffin liners (and Annie used mini)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place cupcake liners into muffin tins.
In a mixing bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and 2 tablespoons sugar; adding the softened butter to mixture until it forms small crumbs. Place approximately 1 tablespoon crumb mixture into each cupcake liner and pat it down.
Beat cream cheese and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla; mix thoroughly. Spoon a layer of cream cheese mixture on top of crusts; fill cups 2/3 full.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (shorter for mini cheesecakes like the photo). Let tartlets cool, and spoon cherry pie filling over the tops. Chill tartlets in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve chilled, and store any leftovers in refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.
Notes: Blueberry pie filling may also be used for the topping, if desired. Other cookies or biscuit crumbs can be used for the crusts of these little tarts instead of the graham cracker crumbs, such as Vanilla Wafer crumbs, Shortbread Cookie crumbs, Chocolate Wafer Cookie crumbs or Hazelnut Cookie crumbs. Makes 16.

mini peanut butter cup cookies

Leslie made these mini peanut butter cup cookies for us for our dinner last night. I'd seen them before and have always wanted the recipe. It was a very hot evening and the peanut butter cups started to melt creating a marvelously oozy chocolate peanut butter experience for anyone seeking an indulgent bite or two.

mini peanut butter cup cookies (my friend Leslie)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 bag mini Reese's peanut butter cups

Cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg and vanilla together.
Add flour and baking soda.
Form balls (a little smaller than a golf ball) and drop into mini muffin pan (greased).
Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes.
Let cool 3-5 minutes in pan. Squish a peanut butter cup in each "muffin".

What Leslie has to say- hers began to melt after she put the peanut butter cups in so she put them in the fridge to firm up. They were super easy to get out of the pan after they were firm.

rio shredded pork

My friend Leslie made this pork for our dinner last night and she's an excellent cook. It is delicious! It's tender, sweet and rich and is excellent in tortillas or in a salad, just how Cafe Rio does it.

rio shredded pork (my friend Leslie)
1 cup salsa
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sprite or coke
3 pounds pork tenderloins, pork loin or other pork roast

Combine first three ingredients and pour over roast. Cook in crock pot on low for 6-8 hours. Shred meat for serving.

taco chicken

My friends Annie and Leslie and their families pampered my family with a very nice dinner tonight before our big move- Cafe Rio Style!  Annie made this chicken and Leslie made the Cafe Rio pork. 

taco chicken (my friend Annie)
3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 packets taco seasoning1 cup chicken broth

Place in a crock pot and cook for hours. (I'll try to get some more specific directions like low or high and for how long)

red, white and blueberries

This is the kind of breakfast you'll want to have all long weekend long! Delicious. Make sure you have lots of waffles on hand. One is definitely not enough.  Happy Memorial Day!

red, white and blueberries
4 ounces light cream cheese, softened
8 ounces light sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
10 waffles, nice and hot
blueberries
strawberries, sliced

Combine first 3 ingredients with electric mixer until smooth. Place a waffle on your plate. Top with berries and top with yummy cream cheese mixture.

garlic chicken farfalle

This is a great recipe and I have my friend Erin K. to thank. When I told her I needed to cook for a big group last summer she suggested I make this recipe.

garlic chicken farfalle (Portland Mama)
16 ounces farfalle pasta
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3-4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon pepper (I used about half of this)
1/2 cup butter
1 pound bacon, crumbled
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 (12 ounce) bottle Lawry's mesquite marinade with lime juice

Place chicken in crock pot with bottle of marinade on low for 6 hours. Pull marinated chicken out of the juices, allow to cool a little bit and shred. Set this aside. About a half hour before serving, boil the pasta. In a small saucepan, melt butter, add garlic, whipping cream, pepper, cheese and bacon. Whisk together on low heat for 3-4 minutes. In a large bowl, pour over cooked, drained pasta, add chicken and stir though. Sprinkle a little bit more shredded Parmesan cheese on top.

snickerdoodle blondies

When this recipe came up on my Blogger dashboard today I knew I had to make this recipe right away. The ingredients are so basic there's no reason not to make them right away! Luckily, I hadn't packed my 13x9 pan because these are heavenly, especially when they're still warm from the oven. You'll want to make them pronto. The gal at Delightful Bitefuls describes these beautifully.

snickerdoodle blondies (blog: Delightful Bitefuls)
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsaltd butter, softened to cool, room temperature
1 cup white sugar
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

cinnamon-sugar topping
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. LIghtly butter a 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper and butter paper.
Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.
In large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Add the flour mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated. The batter will be thick like cookie dough.
Scrape batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly.
Make the topping by combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping evenly over the top of the batter. It will look like a lot, but trust me, it's perfect.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool slightly before cutting (or as long as you can stand).