Playing with Lemon Cheesecake

So I made Lemon Cheesecake last night for my grandparents. Sounds easy right? Wrong! I deicded to not follow the recipie (don't reccomend it), but it was too late to start a whole new dessert, so we went with it. And it came out pretty good, I think I did a great job messing dessert up :)




Crust
2 cups Honey Maid Grahams Crackers Crumbs, 13.5-Ounce Units (Pack of 12)
1/4 cup Domino Premium Pure Cane Sugar 5Lb Bag
1/2 cup butter, melted (around 45 seconds in the micro)

Filling
4 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 package (3 oz.) lemon gelatin
1 package (2.9 oz) cook-and-serve lemon pudding mix
1 teaspoon lemon extract
5 eggs, lightly beaten

In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 in. up the sides of a greased 13in x 9 in x 2in baking dish.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth (If using an electric mixer speed 4 for about 3-4 minutes). Add pudding and lemon extract; beat 3 minutes longer. Add eggs; beat low speed until combined. Add gelatin and beat for a couple more minutes.

Pour into crust. Bake at 325 for 30-40 minutes (it was only about 30 for me) or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for about 30 minutes. Refrigrate overnight*.

*Okay, since we were in a time crunch I threw it into the freezer for 1 hour, and then put it in the fridge until the dessert

It came out very well, and the mess up was no longer a mess up, it was a creation!

Cae ♥

Apple Cider Hearkens in Fall

C and I love our tea breaks, thus the name of our blog. We enjoy our chias. I appreciate my flavored coffee, especially at night after the kids have gone to bed. BUT nothing really compares to hot mulled cider. I think that it is more that the flavor and the warmth, I think it is the season that comes with it. If you are from New England, you know that fresh apple cider also means crisp air and colored leaves are on their way.

Today, we had our first warm apple ciders of the season. Not only does it taste delicious, the house smells oh so good.

What's for Dinner?

I went camping as a helper with a younger troop. The first thing and the last thing on the agenda is “What’s for dinner?” It was either to be a pork roast or tacos. Most of the troop went for tacos, but the moms & a few girls, including myself, went for the pork roast. Therefore, we are having pork roast with potatoes and carrots. The troop leader, Mrs. S is a great cook especially with cast iron(my dad and brother, who camp with her in Boy Scouts, rave about her cooking). But tonight the girls will be making dinner with her help. . . I hope it is good.



The question always comes up though (yes, I say it too), “What’s for dinner?” My mom says that I always eat . . . which I do even when I’m bored. Which is to say, when I’m bored, I ask, “What do we have to eat?”. Which is easier to do than say “What can I do?” The problem with that is that it is hard to stop eating with boredom. However, even at the Girl Scout camp with nothing going on except writing and hanging out, I don’t find myself asking this question. I’m not hungry because I know dinner will be done. Maybe I just need a planned time to eat and I’m good . . .I guess . . .for more about the camp, check out some of my other posts.

By,
C

I think the difference is that at camp you know there is no other food available. Of course, if the answer is really knowing the schedule and plan of all meals, I will happily turn over meal preparation.

I will admit our dinner schedule is a little crazy because of my husband’s schedule. We kind of joke that we should live in Europe where a late dinner is the norm.

By,
D

S'more Please

How did s’mores come along? Who created them? Why do we only seem to eat them during campouts? Well, I don’t know, but I would love to figure it out. These are the most delectable food on a campout . . . unless you camp with Mrs. S, who is an incredible outdoor cook and then everything is delectable.

Did it happen like this? One person put a marshmallow and a chocolate bar on a graham cracker and ate it. They gave it to someone else to try and they said “S’more. Can I have s’more?”

Well, now I want to know who made the first one? How did it get its name?

By

C

I don’t have most of the answers to her questions, but I do know that s’mores are no longer relegated just to campouts. Have you seen some of the s’more stuff out there.



For goodness sake, Ben & Jerry’s even has a s’more flavor.

By

D

Cake Wrecks

I'm sure we have all screwed up a cake in some way or some how . . .Like having the top two layers fall off? We'll here is a blog that my mom found. This site Cake Wrecks is devoted to showing cakes with issues. If you need a laught go look at cakes that could be better. I hope you enjoy. : )

By C

"Like having the top two layers fall off" - - -Hmmm! that seems very specific. I wonder if that happened to anyone DD knows. (She actually won first prize with that cake too --- a very long but funny story)

The best thing about this site is sharing it with someone. I looked at it once by myself, but laughed even harder when I shared it with her. We also enjoyed It's Lovely! I'll Take it!

By D

Is the Water Boiling Yet?

DD just received a practical physics lesson. She is trying to cook ravioli before she heads off for teen night at the middle school, but the pot was taking forever to boil.

I kept asking, “Is the burner on?” She would check.

“It is hot but not boiling.”

She must have come to me two or three times, it seemed odd, but she is old enough to troubleshoot.

After 44 minutes, she came to me again. This time I got up to check. This was impossible. Well, apparently not really. The pot was just beginning to bubble. I was very concerned that we had burned an element or the stove’s electrical system had somehow been hit in the thunderstorm that had blown through just hours ago. Then I looked more carefully. She had the big pot on the smallest burner.

Lesson: You can’t boil in a cauldron, if you only have it lit with a match.

Energy emitted from a small burner is not equal to the energy needed to boil a large pot of water.

By, D