Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

For Christmas my husband gave me springform pans. He also gave me a new deep skillet, a new beater blade for my mixer, a cake decorating plate and some cake decorating tools. Before you question why my husband is giving me kitchen stuff, this is not 1950, blah, blah, blah....I wanted this stuff! I LOVE being in the kitchen and he knows it. And there is a large part of me that likes the roles that men and women had in the 50s. Don't get me wrong, I know there are a lot of things that I have as a liberty as a woman because of what other women have done, but I like the idea of staying home in the kitchen making my husband happy. Call me crazy.

SO, I have these new springform pans that I haven't used yet and strawberries were on sale at the grocery store. Strawberry cheesecake was the first thing that sprung to mind! Then I remembered my abundance of Girl Scout cookies in the freezer and decided to make the crust using the shortbread cookies. This cake was absolutely delicious and beautiful!

If you've never made a cheesecake, don't be afraid! They are actually very easy to make and really impress people!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

Crust

1/2 C finely crushed shortbread cookies

1/2 C unsalted butter, room temp.

1/4 C sugar

1/2 C all-purpose flour

Cream together the butter and sugar on high speed. Add the flour and cookie crumbs. Mix well. Place in the bottom of 9" springform pan and bake for 20 minutes at 350. Let cool.

Cheesecake

4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temp.

1 1/3 C sugar

2 T flour

2 T heavy cream

4 eggs, beaten

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp. vanilla

1 C strawberries, pureed

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour and heavy cream. Add eggs. Beat on low until combined. Beat in lemon juice and vanilla. Pour 2 1/2 C of the batter into a separate bowl and set aside.

With the remaining mixture, add 3/4 of the strawberry puree. Mix well. Pour on top of the crust and bake for 35 minutes.

Carefully pour the remaining cheesecake mixture on top of the strawberry mixture. Drop spots of the remaining strawberry puree on top. With a butter knife, carefully create a swirl pattern on top of the cheesecake. Bake for 50 more minutes. Cool on wire rack for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight.

Carmel Delight Ice Cream

So, after the Thin Mint Ice Cream and how delicious and successful it was, I couldn't wait to try again with a new flavor! I came up with this recipe on my own. The hardest part about this recipe was the cookies! This was our last box of Carmel Delights and it took every bit of self-control not to eat one! I tried to convince Charlie to let me buy more cookies, but after the original 17 boxes, he wasn't going for it! :) I left this mixture in the maker a little longer and it made it a little thicker. So it was much easier to add the ripple effect with the Carmel and fudge.

This ice cream was delicious, but not nearly as reminiscent of the actual cookie as the Thin Mint was. It was still devoured by us and definitely a keeper!

Carmel Delight Ice Cream

2 eggs
3/4 C sugar
2 C heavy cream
1 C whole milk
1 tsp. coconut flavoring
1/2 box Carmel Delight cookies (about 8 cookies)
1 bottle of Carmel topping (squeeze kind)
1 bottle of hot fudge topping (squeeze kind)

Whisk the eggs until fluffy. Add sugar and whisk until incorporated. Add cream, milk, and flavoring. Once it's whisked together, add to your ice cream maker. Make sure the mixture is really COLD!

Make the ice cream in your ice cream maker according to your manufacturer's directions. Add the crushed cookies in the last 10-15 minutes. Pour half the mixture into your freezer container. Top with Carmel and fudge. Pour the rest of the ice cream on top. Continue to freeze and harden in your freezer.

Tomato Tortellini Soup

So it's March here in NC and let me tell you what that means weather wise...absolutely nothing! I can be 60 degrees one day and snowing the next! So as we await another snowfall with anything from a trace to 3" expected I made soup for dinner! We had this with grilled cheese. Absolutely delicious! Needless to say, this was not on par with Charlie's "healthy dinner" diet, but it was yummy and warming!

I took a picture...I promise, BUT the memory card wasn't in the camera and I have no idea where the cord is! So no pic...sorry! Just trust me. It's yummy!

Tomato Tortellini Soup
adapted from Taste of Home

1 pkg. (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini
2 cans (10 oz each) condensed tomato soup
2 C vegetable broth
2 C milk
2 C half and half cream
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C shredded Parmesan

Cook tortellini according to package directions.

Meanwhile in a large pot, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini and add to the soup. Stir in cheese. Serve.