Avacado Cheesecake!

I love the flexibility that homeschool gives daily life these days. Miles and I enjoyed a couple of hours of school, then he helped me wash dishes and we hung out with a good friend the rest of the afternoon. My friend wanted to make an avocado cheesecake for someone at my old job. I miss all the people there so much, they were such great people. I know I made the right choice leaving work to stay home and school Miles. However, not going to work, cooking amazing food every week and sharing my work with tons of people makes it tough sometimes. So I thoroughly enjoy any chance I get to cook for people, especially someone special. And if anyone deserves a special birthday surprise it's this guy, he always goes out of his way to help people, no matter what. He even helped me fix my car twice and was happy to do it. People like him are so important to the general well being of the world that they need a little something special every now and then. 

I love this recipe! I first made it for my little sister's birthday because she loves avocados...and cheesecake. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It's not too sweet and a little tangy but absolutely delicious!!

**BTW Sorry in advance for the lack of pictures. I was having fun hanging out with my friend and forgot :-(

Avocado Cheesecake
1 1/2 Tbsp. powdered gelatin
1/2 cup water
1 lb. cream cheese
3 ripe, Fresh Avocados (cut in half, remove seed and scoop out with spoon)
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
7 oz. Greek yogurt
8 oz. whipping cream

Crust
1 13 oz pkg Pecan Sandie cookies
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 oz. butter, melted


Filling
Combine gelatin and water in a small bowl and place over double boiler, stirring until gelatin dissolves. Remove from heat and set aside. With a paddle attachment cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. In a food processor, add lemon juice with avocado and process until smooth. Add avocado mixture to cream cheese mixture and mix together until well combined. Place whisk attachment on mixer. With mixer running, gradually add the warm gelatin to the avocado-cream cheese mixture and whisk together until well combined.Add the yogurt and mix together until well combined again. Using a hand held mixer or standing mixer with whip, whip whipping cream to soft peaks.
Fold whipping cream into the avocado mixture until well combined. Pour mixture onto prepared Cookie crust and allow to set in the refrigerator overnight to completely set.

Crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a 9 inch cheesecake pan. Using a food processor, pulse together the pecan sandies, sugar, salt, and grated lemon peel until finely broken up. Add melted butter and pulse mixture again until small clumps form. Press crust into prepared cheesecake pan. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until crust begins to brown slightly. Allow to cool completely before adding Avocado Cheesecake mixture.


Here is the link to the original recipe, I only slightly modified it so I want to give credit where it is due:

http://www.avocadocentral.com/avocado-recipes/Avocado-Cheesecake-Bites-with-Pistachio-Shortbread-Crust

It's that time of year....

This has been a family filled weekend full of movies, cuddling, snowflakes, and hot chocolate. We had a few chores around the house but otherwise it was a great kick off to the holiday season. My son loves Christmas music, in fact we have been listening to Pandora's holiday playlist since September during school time, and his favorite station is now playing it 24/7. Thanks to Sunny 99.1 my house is now constantly filled with holiday tunes. Ask me how I feel about it in a week. He was then in the holiday mood so we broke out the Christmas DVDs and watched Elf....this inspired hot chocolate with peppermint marshmallows and snowflake making. 

Darth Vader Hot Chocolate

Cheers to rare, random, and family fun on chilly winter nights.

Pot Pie!

This first week has been crazy, from starting this blog, getting my little munchkin to focus when he is so excited for the upcoming holidays, to fitting in time with extended family to bake, so I am glad it's finally the weekend. Friday morning was the start of a pretty normal school day, except I started using a new computer program, Raz-kids, for our reading lesson. So far Miles loves the program, it rewards him for reading and taking quizzes with points to build and customize a robot and/or spaceship. Since he finished his Life of Fred book on thursday, he only had his Kumon workbook to complete for math.While he was working on his word problems, I started dinner in my trusty old slow cooker.

Last week my husband bought me some AWESOME wild mushrooms and I decided to make a mushroom and beef potpie, I am calling it beef wellington pie to make it sound fancy. It was a really busy day so I cooked the meat portion all day in the slow cooker and right before dinner I  magically turned pot roast into pot pie. (I am definitely adding the recipe so don't you worry). After getting that all settled, I got back to active involvement in the school day. It went so well, not every Friday does, we were done by 1:15....Well, technically, there was a storm outside so the internet was acting crazy and I couldn't get the videos I wanted to watch on Africa and the equator so I am just going to have an extened Africa study session on Monday. No reason to start new material when we are only doing "class" on Monday and Tuesday and cooking "school" on Wednesday getting ready for the big day. After school we headed to my in-laws house where Miles got to see his favorite little cousin to decorate Pilgrim hat cookies and Teepee cupcakes. My nephew has discovered pinterest and chose these fun projects. It was messy and fun as all good projects should be and the boys got to run around Nana's house like crazy monkeys and had a blast. The wet drizzly winter weather had set in by the time we left and I rushed home to finish the warm, hearty pot pie. Immediately I tasted the beef and after 5 hours on high in the slow cooker it was perfect.

Beef, yummy and delicious!

I removed the beef to a glass dish and broke it up using a spatula (be sure to save the remaining liquid in the crock so it can be used in the pie filling). Then I chopped the other goodies...shallots and wild mushrooms.

Shallots, Maitake Mushrooms, and King Trumpet Mushrooms

Now it was time to get back to cooking so I melted some butter in a pan and satued the shallots, then the trumpet mushrooms and the softer more delicate Maitake mushrooms. When they were all soft and lighlty brown I added soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper. and ladles of the beef liquid, about 4. It simmered away until almost all the liquid cooked away then I added about half the beef (reserve the rest for another meal)

Everything simmering and steamy...

While this was all cooking down I blind baked the bottom crust, and shredded the cheese for the top of the pie. Just for the heck off it I put a little cheese on the bottom of the cooked crust to help the crust not get soggy (I don't know if it helped but I hear brushing egg whites on the bottom crust helps), then piled in the filling, topped with the other crust, cut little steam slits on top and sprinkled cheese on the cheese.

Ready to go in the oven.

Now it was time to relax.....the pie was in the oven and i had 20-25 minutes....what to do....well I made my little man an open-face roast beef sandwich on some leftover French bread and topped it with the remaining shredded cheese. The boy is sweet but he doesn't like mushrooms....I don't get it, we tried so hard to raise him right. I tried to get a picture of him eating his sandwich but he ate it so fast this was the result.

What, what??

Now it was time for the big reveal, even Miles couldn't resist a sniff, of the amazing and beautiful pie. I still couldn't get him to try it. I have to say it was really good. It could do without the cheese. I feel the crust would have cooked better with out it. You have to decide if you want a crispy cheese crust or a crispy top crust. Either way is delicious in its own way.

Beef Wellington Pot Pie...kind of

2 1/2 pounds Beef chuck roast

Montreal steak seasoning

Flour for coating the meat

3 Tbsp oil

1/2 c red wine

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 c beef broth

12 oz wild mushrooms or regular button (chopped)

3 small shallots (minced)

2 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp soy sauce

2 sprigs of Thyme

1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 c shredded sharp white cheddar cheese (optional, almost as good with it)

2 pie crusts (this mom takes a shortcut here and I buy Pillsbury refrigerated rolled up crusts from the can                 biscuit section..best advice I will ever give you....know when to take a shortcut for your own sanity)

Beef Roast

Season the beef with the Montreal steak seasoning on all sides, then coat with flour. Heat a large pan over high heat with the 3 Tbsp of oil and carefully sear the roast on all sides until golden brown. When thoroughly seared, add it to the slow cooker, then the wine, Worcestershire sauce and beef broth. Set that baby to high and forget about it for about 5 hours. (This can of course be done a few days ahead.) When done remove beef from the liquid and pull it apart (I just squished with a spatula) reserve the meat and liquid for making the filling

Filling

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil a pie dish and line it with a pie shell, poke the bottom of the crust with a fork and blind bake on sheet pat until golden brown 5-10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat and add butter.When the butter is melted add shallots and saute until transparent. Add mushrooms and cook down about 5 minutes. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, thyme and 4 ladles of the liquid (about 1 1/2 cups). Cook for about 5 minutes then add half of the beef. Continue simmering for 10-15 minutes over medium heat until most of the liquid is gone. Remove from heat and set aside.

Sprinkle about 1 cup cheese on bake crust, add filling, top with second (raw) crust. Cut steam holes in the crust and sprinkle more cheese on the top crust, too. Put pie dish on sheet pan and bake until golden brown about 15-20 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.

Ribs!

Thursday was quite the busy day, we did school from 9am-2pm and it took up every second. We are using Oak Meadow 2 and Life of Fred as our curriculum this year. I add in extra science and math because he loves these subjects. I let him direct the science and I add in Kumon workbooks for math. This week in Oak Meadow we are studying the continent of Africa and distinctive features of various animals. We were also supposed to start clay work for art, but we don't have any, so we are starting that the week after Thanksgiving (we are taking Thanksgiving week mostly off) We did an experiment out of Steve Spangler's Naked Eggs and Flying Potatoes, where we put hot sauce on pennies. It was fun and now we have a whole collection of shiny pennies.Miles loves The Life of Fred, he just finished Goldfish in the elementary series and  is already begging me to go on. It's such a cute little story and the math you learn is very diverse and it keeps his interest and attention. We also finished our daily reader, Horrible Harry and the Invasion of the Purple People. He was very proud of himself for finishing it. He is such a reluctant reader and I am very proud, too.

Towards the end of school I started on our recipe for today, OVEN BAKED baby back ribs, before running to Tae Kwon Do class. I trimmed and prepped the ribs while he was finishing his last workbook page.

I seasoned one with our favorite pre-made salt-free rub (Rasta Rub) and  Kosher salt. Since my little man doesn't like spicy the other one was seasoned with a mixture of salt, pepper, garlic powder and a little brown sugar. 

 My favorite way to cook oven ribs is 15 minutes in a 450 degree oven, to form a nice crust, then I lower the temperature to 325 for about 2 hours. I put them in for 15 minutes in 450 degrees and right before I left I bumped the oven down to 325 and scooted out the door. (I don't recommend leaving the house while things are cooking but my husband would be home in thirty minutes and Tae Kwon Do is 5 minutes up the road and only 50 minutes long, so I took the risk.) They were done a little while after we all got home and settled down for the night. I served them with edamame (my son's favorite vegetable) and thick slices of French bread.

Oven Baked “BBQ” Ribs.

2 slabs Baby back ribs

rub of choice

BBQ sauce of choice 

(I use a sweet sauce and a spicy rub)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Open the ribs and give them a light rinse under running water and pat dry. I like to take off the thin membrane on the bottom side of the ribs, then season both sides of the ribs. Put them on a rack on a sheet pan (spray with nonstick spray, I forgot and boy do I regret it), I could fit both on one pan but you may need two. Put the ribs into the oven and set your timer for 15 minutes, when that time has passed, turn your oven down to 325 degrees and let bake for about 2 hours. My husband makes the best homemade BBQ sauce and I asked for his pork sauce for these babies. When the ribs are done I baste them with the sauce (you can use your favorite), return them to the oven for 5-10 minutes to glaze.Then, pull them out and let them rest 10-15 minutes before cutting.

 

November's possibilities are exciting.....

This has been a crazy month so far. My baby brother got married, my birthday happened, holiday preparation is in full swing. Of course, we just started the second trimester of our homeschool and it looks so fun. Thanksgiving is next week and I am excited for all the cooking involved. However, I am looking forward to the year I can cook the whole meal and serve it to my friends and family. Don't get me wrong I do love the big family dinners but only cooking a side dish really cramps my inner chef. This year I am making a brownie ice cream cake for my sweet nephew, his birthday usually falls on or around the day, and a Cajun seasoned turkey in our infrared propane cooker and maybe I can sneak in another dish without upsetting the in-laws. I have my favorite recipes for theses two dishes, the brownies are always Ghirardelli's delicious brownie recipe and my turkey rub comes from Bon Appetit. I will for sure post pictures next week, but for now here are the recipes I will use.

Bon Appetit (my favorite magazine ever!!!!) Cajun Seasoning

5 Tbsp Kosher Salt
2 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
2 Tbsp Garlic Powder
2 Tbsp Sweet Paprika
1 Tbsp Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp Dried Thyme
1 Tbsp Black Pepper
1 Tbsp Onion Powder

Stir these all together in a small bowl with an airtight lid. Can be made one month ahead, and stored in the airtight container. Remove the amount you need from the bowl and reseal the lid (you don't want to contaminate the extra seasoning with turkey grossness). I keep this seasoning around all year for the random pots of gumbo, for grilled chicken...well the uses are kind of endless and you will be surprised how fast you use it all once you start using it. I buy those Costco/Sam's size of each spice so I can make it whenever :)

So you just basically rinse the turkey, take out all the innards from the cavity and rub it down with the seasoning. I rub under the skin, on top of the skin and inside the cavity. Then cook it either in the oven or I use the infrared propane cooker (truthfully my husband does this part, mostly, it appeals to his inner grillmaster).The bird gets crispy like a fried turkey but without the oil and it's so juicy! I want to add that I just love, love, love this cooker. ( no one made me say it) It's great for pork loin, but that's for a later day.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41keMAAbtJL._SL500__SR290,237__.jpg

OK so to the best part DESSERT!!

Ghirardelli's Chocolate Brownies
Makes 16 brownies

1/2 c Semi-sweet chocolate chips (get the best you can afford)
4 oz Semi-sweet baking bar (same deal here)
1/2 c Butter, cut into pieces
1 c Firmly packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp pure(never imitation) vanilla extract
2 Eggs
3/4 c + 2 Tbsp AP Flour
1/4 tsp Baking powder
3/8 Tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, prepare an 8 inch square pan by lightly buttering it.Chop 4 oz chocolate and melt over double boiler until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Stir in vanilla and brown sugar. Add eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly add sifted dry ingredients into the egg/chocolate mixture. Fold in chocolate chips, then pour into prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

**Little disclaimer!! These are recipes I have used many times and written in my little recipe composition book ($0.10 at back to school time) so I may have slightly modified the recipes. I believe they are pretty accurate to the originals, however.

Chef to teacher....

The biggest and most rewarding transition of my life was the day I quit my job as  sous chef at a local winery to be a full-time, stay at home, homeschoolin' mom. I am passionate about cooking and I love my family, so my happiness is cooking for my family and friends. This will follow my journey into the homeschoolin' chef life. I am learning to balance my desire to cook delicious, mostly from scratch meals, while homeschooling my son to give him the amazing education he deserves. Some posts will have cookin' and some will just be about schoolin'. I am excited to see where this trip takes me.