* The BEST Pumpkin Cheesecake! * (Cheesecake Factory Style!)

I found my new favorite recipe!! It's a copycat recipe for The Cheesecake Factory's Pumpkin Cheesecake! (Which is my absolute *dream* cheesecake) Here's the recipe.

Ingredients you'll need:

Crust-

1 1/2 Cups graham cracker crumbs (I used the cinnamon ones to give the crust a good flavor.. you could probably use gingersnaps as well.. Mmm!)

5 Tbsps melted butter 

1 Tbsp sugar

Filling-

3 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese

1 Cup sugar

1 Tsp Vanilla

1 Cup canned pumpkin

3 Eggs

1/2 Tsp cinnamon 

1/4 Tsp nutmeg

1/4 Tsp allspice

Optional Topping.. Whipped cream.... etc

**MAKE SURE YOUR INGREDIENTS ARE ROOM TEMPERATURE BEFORE STARTING!!**

First thing I do is preheat the oven to 350º and create my water bath. You can do this by covering your springform pan in  foil and submerging it halfway up the side in a pan of water. The water surrounding your pan will help the cheesecake cook slowly at an even temperature....  OR, you can do like I did and place a pan full of water on the bottom rack of your oven to keep the air moist. (Just make sure there is plenty of water so it doesn't all evaporate) If you're taking the second route, go ahead and place your water pan in the oven to get the moisture going!

Now let's get started on the crust! Crush up your graham crackers until they are fine crumbs. I either put the crackers in a ziplock and smash the crap outta them, or use my blender attachment. While smashing the graham crackers let's get our butter melting!

I usually put the butter in the bowl I'm going to mix the crust ingredients in and pop it in the microwave for 30 sec.

Your crumbs should be done now.. Throw them in your bowl with the butter and 1 Tsp sugar.

Mix until moist. (with the pale dead hand you have in your utensil drawer)

Now, spray your 8in. springform pan with Pam.. or oil it however you feel. Pour the crumbs into the pan and pack into the bottom and sides. (About halfway up the sides)

Pop your crust into the oven for 5 mins.. then, take it out and set it aside.

Grab a bigger bowl and begin on the filling! Blend your cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth...

Perfect!

Now measure out your pumpkin and plop it in the bowl!

::pLoP::

Measure out your spices and toss them in! (I don't think they need to be adjusted, but feel free to experiment!)

Toss in your eggs and gently mix until combined. Don't over mix or you will end up with a mess of nasty!

Pour your filling into your crust...

Place in the oven above your water bath....

Bake for about 60 mins until just the very center jiggles!

Stare at your full sink and laugh... because it's ALLLL gonna be worth it! ;0)

Yay! It's done! shut off the oven and let it sit until it cools to room temperature!... (A couple hours)

I took mine out a little early (after about an hour) and it felt the cold draft in  my kitchen.. cRaCk! *Tisk Tisk* You must have patience!

The next Morning after it cooled and was put in the fridge over night.

*Delightful!*

See.. just cut down the big ol crack and no one will know how impatient you were lol

Hope you enjoy as much as I did! ... It really hit the spot and filled the craving I had for The Cheesecake Factory! I should be good while we are stationed in Germany now! (Not too mention the money I saved making it myself .. YAY!)

Any tips?.. Mods... suggestions?...

Ciao4now!
Steena

Oh the things we take for granted!

We officially have a car!!! YIPPEEEE!! No more walking up and down, hill after hill, in the freezing cold and rain!!! The process was super easy and the gas rations card seems like a very easy system as well! Now I can get out and *explore* .. Sorry it's not a VW.. but we should have one of those shortly.. for now, this has heat and runs! NO complaining :)

*Sniffle sniffle*

I'm a little under the weather.. but I promise to have something up soon ;)

--Steens

*Banana Bread* Super Moist and Flavorful!

Have some overripe bananas? GREAT! Let's make some banana bread!

First, get out all of your ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (I use light) 
• 2 eggs; beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed bananas (6 or 7 bananas)
• optional spices.. cinnamon.. nutmeg.. etc

Now preheat your oven to 350 degrees.. hotcha cha cha chaaaaa!

While your oven is preheating go ahead and start on your batter. Mash your bananas first! You can put them in a ziploc and squish the crap out of them, OR you can throw them in a blender/processor. 

Next, combine your flour, baking soda, and salt in one bowl... and cream your butter and brown sugar in another.

Stir in the eggs to your butter mixture.. then add  your bananas.

This is BANANAS ... B-A-N-A-N-A-S. *snap, clap*

Now is the time to add any spices you'd like.. I kept it simple and added couple sprinkles of cinnamon. I like the banana flavor on it's own :)

Lightly grease your 9x5 in loaf pan... or you can make muffins (which is what I usually do)

Pour in your batter .. glurp glrup glrruuurrrp

Bake for about 60 mins or until your toothpick comes out clean. :0D

Super fabbity fab!

This is the *best* thing to wake up to in the morning.. mmm MmMmMmM!

Baked goods and the Holidays... My favorite time of the year! <3

Quick Change for Fragrance Tarts...

I am a candle person! I love coming home in the evening, lighting up a bunch of smelly candles, and relaxing to the warm glow and comforting smells. Nothing beats it :)

Wax tarts are my next favorite! Unfortunately, changing out that wax tarts can be a pain in the a**. Here is how I switch them out.

First, I heat up the wax until it's completely melted. Then, I pour the wax that's in the burner into an empty glass. (I have one I use just for this purpose) There is usually just a little wax left in the burner so I put a few drops of warm water in them which solidifies the leftover wax before it resticks...(make sure you add the warm water while the wax is still HOT) Dump the remaining wax chunks that form into your wax jar. Now you can wipe off the burners and put your new wax tart in.

Here is my wax jar above.. All of my burners had warm spicy scents that blend well together... I tend to keep the smells separate so that I can reburn them again.

When this wax hardens I break it up and put it in a ziplock until I decide to burn this scent again. You can rebuse this wax over and over and over!

Here are some of my recycled scent tart chunks.

Burners filled with their new fall scents!

Another way to do this would be to freeze the wax filled burners and "pop" them out when they are frozen... I find it to still be quite difficult to do and usually end up stabbing myself with knives in my hands trying to cut the wax free.
The first way works so much better for me... less work and less time consuming! :)

Hope this helps!
--Steens <3

Southern Chicken & (Biscuits, Dumplings, or Pastry)

Since I've been over here in Germany, there has been no better food than comfort food! At least once a week I try and make a hot and hearty meal for me and the hubs. This week I made chicken and biscuits. In North Carolina you'll find it as 'chicken and pastry' and 'chicken and dumplins' I love dumplins and pastry, but my husband (the northerner) prefers biscuits. If you would like to substitute either, go for it ;-)

First you'll need some chicken! I like the boneless skinless stuff because it's quicker. If you feel like adding a  lot more flavor and doing a little extra work, bone-in-chicken works great too. Then you'll need some cream of chicken soup.. (either 1 big can or two small ones) a regular can of chicken broth, some green onion, and some garlic.

Now's the time to pop open that slow cooker! HELLO MY PRETTY!

Rinse your chicken and place it in the pot.... Add your cream of chicken soup and about half your can of broth. (You can add more or less of the broth depending on how thick you like your gravy sauce) Chop up your green onion and add about a handful. This is when I usually sprinkle a little garlic powder, some season salt, and some black pepper. (Do this to taste as well) Then throw in about 2 or 3 cloves of chopped garlic to give it some good flavor. If you're going to use pastry, now is the time to add it. Dumplins can be easy if you use canned biscuit dough. Just throw it in as chunks and it cooks up really nice :) (about one small can) Cook on high about 6 hours... or adjust to fit your needs. Around 30 minutes before the chicken is ready is when I usually toss the biscuits in the oven.. Grab them out and pour the chicken over a hot biscuit for a great meal!

This is the *perfect* dish to fill you up on those chilly days!

--Steens <3

** Happy Halloween! ** A collage of my day!

 ~*~ BoOooOoOoOoO! ~*~

My friend Josh and me. I made my costume out of a cheap white sheet.. some green and gold Christmas ribbon.. and an old broach my grandmother gave me. A bit  of quick sewing and my costume came out quite well!

For makeup I used a lot of bronzer.. greens and golds for shadows.. and some fluttery lashes.

Me and my hubby on the train to Manheim ... Josh made my Banana Republic Cardigan and necklace hot. He was by far a hot chick lol

We had very little selection for decorating so I pretty much made mine.. Trash bag ghosts and a felt spider! Good thing I already had a "morgue" sign! :)

Hope you all had a VERY Happy Halloween!

xoxo

Steena the Grecian goddess

Awesome Marinade! (Bulgogi)

I was CRAVING Bulgogi the other day and decided to try and  make some myself. While doing our normal shopping in the commissary, I came across this sauce:

CJ's Korean BBQ Sauce (Bulgogi Marinade)

I've tried sauces before.. teriyaki... Hawaiian... you name it! Sometimes they're good.. and sometimes I end up very disappointed. Fortunately for us, this sauce was amazing! It was full of flavor and sweet! Just like the good stuff I've always eaten... and *I* made it! This will definitely become a treat in our kitchen! (Especially since Mike enjoyed it ;0)

The sauce features pear and apple which give it its natural sweetness when the meat juices and the marinade combine. MmmmmMMMmmm!

The strong, sweet aroma makes my mouth water.. I still can't get over how easy it was to make something I've always loved! Now if I could only tackle Kimchi! <3

Here is a pic of the finished product! I was going to add some stirfry veggies but found myself way too hungry and tired to get them out of the freezer. We don't have a rice cooker so I just made some Uncle Ben's quick rice, which worked just fine. :)

For the meat I just used some sliced up steak, marinaded it in the sauce for about 1-1 1/2 hours.. then tossed it in a HOT pan. It seemed a little watery at first, but just let the moisture cook down and the sauce will get nice and think and deliciously sticky!

So, now that I've found a fix for Bulgogi here in Baumholder, anyone have a good recipe for Kimchi?..

Ice Cube Making Bags (My Review!)

We don't have an ice maker in our housing issued fridge, so making tea or trying to drink anything cold can be such a pain! The other day I was browsing the commissary isles when I came across these!

They were only a little over a dollar so I threw a pack in my cart. 

Tonight I decided to give it a try. I pulled one of the bags out of the pack of ten.

The directions are state:
1. Fill the bag by using the funnel shaped opening. (Like above :)
2. Turn bag upside down and put in freezer. (I did this and it was drizzling water... Not from the funnel part, but from the seams of the cube sections)
3. Pull the bag vertically and horizontally to loosen the cubes.
4. Use the bag to store extra cubes in the freezer.

Here is my two cents!
As soon as I turned my bag over is started to leak from the cube seams. The water continually trickled down... I place the bag in the freezer.. returned a while shortly and found a half empty bag and a puddle in my fridge. :( I figured maybe it was just that bag and tried again with no success.
Have any of you tried these bags before? I followed the instructions, but maybe I missed something?
Anywho! I won't be using them again.. guess I'll have to stick to my one ice cube tray lol

My sad bags.. :(

If you wanna give them a try they are-- Perfect Ice Cube Bags by Cadie. They make 240 cubes and are made from environmentally friendly polyethylene.

Let me know if you have any luck! :) I was really bummed they didn't work for me!
--Steens

Super Quick and DELICIOUS BBQ Chicken!

Ingredients:
Chicken (up to 3 lbs)
1 red onion (I used about 1/4 cup)
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 light brown sugar
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons orange juice (I put about 2 1/2)
1 tablespoon liquid smoke ( a little less if you don't want a smokey flavor... I liked the kick, Mike is not into the smoked bbq)

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 375 degrees. Coat pan with nonstick spray and place chicken in dish. I butterflied the chicken and placed the sliced onions on top. Usually I season my chicken, but skip it.. the sauce gives plenty flavor!
2. Mix the brown sugar, ketchup, orange juice, worcestershire sauce, and liquid smoke in a saucepan on medium high heat until the sugar dissolves.
3. Pour sauce over chicken and bake until juices run clear or for about an hour. The sauce should be thick and delicious!! mmm mmm  

Here is is ready to go in the oven.. Those onions sure did add a sweetness to this sauce!

Here's the final product! My hubby doesn't "do" onions, so these were quickly scraped off lol.. BUT he really DID enjoy this dish! 

Let me know how it works out for you and how you make it your own! :)

<3

Steena