Sopapilla Cheesecake

This dessert is so delicious, the first time I made it my husband and I polished off half the pan in the first day. It's good by itself, it's good with ice cream, and it's good drizzled with honey. I've eaten it warm out of the oven and cold from the refrigerator and it's fabulous either way.

2 (8oz) cans of refrigerator crescent rolls
2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

Soften cream cheese and beat in 1 cup of the sugar and vanilla until smooth. Spray a 9 x 13 pan and press one tube of crescent rolls on bottom of pan and partially up the sides. Pinch the seams closed and spread cream cheese mixture evenly on top. Cover with the other tube of crescent rolls. It doesn't matter if the seams are closed because they will close while it bakes. Mix remaining 3/4 cup sugar with cinnamon and butter and sprinkle on top. The butter will melt and cover the top so it doesn't have to be evenly sprinkled. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until crescent rolls are browned. Cool completely before cutting.

I bake mine until it is very well browned because I like the butter mixture to get kind of crispy on top. It's optional to drizzle 1/4 cup honey on top, but I like it better without.

Awesome Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast casserole's are one of my favorite comfort foods. It's almost impossible to screw them up because they always turn out yummy. There's just something about eggs and sausage and peppers and cheese that is just so wonderful and when mixed together they just make a perfect dish. I first made this casserole for dinner, or brinner, because I was just craving breakfast! It was truly amazing, and hearty! One serving is plenty filling enough, although I went back for seconds. I chose to put sausage in it, but it would probably be just as good with bacon or even ham. Enjoy!

1 pound sausage
1 medium onion, diced
4 cups frozen hash browns, thawed
6 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
1 1/4 cups shredded swiss or mozzarella
1/2 cup green pepper, diced
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the sausage until browned and fully cooked, then drain. Mix everything together in a large bowl and pour into a greased 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 40 to 60 minutes until set and bubbly. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Bacon Potato Salad

I made this potato salad for a Fourth of July BBQ and was amazed at how many compliments it received. I began with a basic potato salad recipe and then adapted it to my liking. I even remembered to photograph it when I was finished putting it together! We'll see how often that happens.

2 pounds of potatoes (I used russet potatoes but next time I think I'll try baby reds)
6 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
3/4 pound of bacon
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 cup mayonnaise (I used low-fat Miracle Whip)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I forgot to add this, oops, but I'm sure it would taste amazing in it)
1/2 cup chopped veggies (celery, bell peppers, onion, any combination. I used green pepper and green onion)
salt and pepper

Boil potatoes, either whole or chopped. I chopped mine before I boiled them to reduce cook time. I removed my potatoes when they were still just a little firm since I don't like mushy potato salad. Drain and cool. I leave the skins on but that is just a personal preference.
Mix mayo, mustard, veggies (reserve some for garnishing), salt and pepper in a large bowl. I added a little lemon and garlic seasoning mixture I have. Stir in eggs and bacon crumbles. Reserve some bacon for garnishing.
Stir in potatoes until evenly coated.
Garnish with bacon and veggies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

**Here's an easy way to cook bacon with very little mess. Line a baking sheet with foil, the baking sheet must have sides. Line up the bacon on the foil and put into a COLD oven set to 400 degrees. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp.

"Fresh Squeezed" Watermelon Juice

Watermelon is one of my favorite summer time fruits. It's very healthy and refreshing, and helps keep you hydrated on a hot summer day. Cutting up a watermelon makes a big mess, though, and is time-consuming, and I think for that reason many people avoid buying them. This drink recipe is a little tedious, but makes the mess well worth it.

Take a seedless watermelon, I use half of a large one, and cut the rind off. Place chunks into a food processor and liquify. I have a Ninja so I use the blender and it works really well. Pour each batch through a sieve and into a bowl, removing the pulp after each batch (my one-year-old daughter likes to eat the pulp). I like to pour it through the sieve one additional time to remove any remaining seeds or pulp.

The next step can be done in a variety of ways. You really can't go wrong. Take a can of lemonade or limeade concentrate and use the watermelon juice in place of the water, then squeeze in fresh limes and garnish. Or for a more natural and pure drink, buy a jug of Simply Lemonade or Limeade and add it to the watermelon juice to your liking. Either way taste great and the limes floating on the top make the pitcher very pretty and refreshing. If you're extra bored or want to make it really fancy for serving at a party, you can cut the other half of the watermelon into small chunks, spread on a cookie sheet, cover and freeze into ice cubes.
 My kids love this juice and they can't get enough. And after the kids go to bed, it is excellent with rum!

Broiled Cheesy Tilapia

For my first post, I thought I would use this recipe for fish since I rarely cook fish; maybe twice a year. Had I bought fresh fish this recipe would have been outstanding, however, I used frozen fish and have decided to never again use frozen or pre-packaged fish. The topping for the fish was cheesy, creamy, and a little tangy and I probably could have scraped it off the fish and eaten it by itself. I imagine it would also taste great on chicken. This recipe took about 20 minutes from start to finish and was very simple.

1 pound of tilapia fillets
1/4 cups Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons mayonnaise (I used low-fat miracle whip)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

I don't usually measure out my spices, I just season to taste. This is approximately how much I used.

1/8 teaspoon basil
1/8 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika (I used smoked paprika)
I sprinkled in a little cayenne for just a little extra kick
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Line a broiler pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Preheat broiler and lay fillets on foil.
Mix together all of the above ingredients and set aside.
Broil fish for 2 minutes depending on the thickness, mine were pretty thin so 2 minutes was plenty. Flip them over and broil another 2 minutes. Spread the cheese mixture on the top of the fish and broil until the topping is bubbly and lightly browned, about 2 minutes.

I tried to make this a little kid-friendly so I served it with waffle fries, but I think some steamed broccoli would go nicely on the side.